As previous reviewers have said, this pub is now more of a gastropub and has changed its name to the Fitzrovia Belle. 3 ales were on - Greene King IPA, Caledonian Deuchars IPA & Sharps Doom Bar. A couple of TVs were showing live tennis and live rugby union. But I didn't find this a particularly inspiring place to while away time. There are far better places not too far away.
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Now changed appearance and name to Fitzrovia Belle.
Yet another attempt at a gastro pub with ludicrously over priced beer. �4.30 for a green and cloudy pint of Doombar!!!
I am not normally a price whinger but for Doombar? A 4% session beer they have got to be taking the piss.
This is one occaisional punter who will NOT return.
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went to revisit this place only to find it now called the Fitzrovia Belle. New Staff & kitchens, and cleaned up, so it does look nicer. Unfortunately the new owners have decided that it is no longer just a pub, so charge inecess of �4.50 for every single pint. Be warned, you need to have deep pockets to drink there now!
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From the outside this pub looks very promising, nice decor inside and out and an array of handpumps. Unfortunately when I went none of the ales were on so I had to have an extra-cold Guinness. There were 6 of us round the table and the big screen was turned up so loud having a group conversation was very difficult. After a while the bar staff turned off the screen and put on some dance music that was even louder and more annoying than the TV had been.
This could be a great pub but unless there's changes I see no reason to go back.
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popped in to catch some friends at lunchtime a few weeks back. It was my first time in this bar, and enjoyed the friendly staff service. A reasonable selection of drinks, and the ales have 'caske' marks. Could maybe have more than the 3 or 4 on offer.
Nice large screens for Sports watchers, but the tramp alseep by the door (inside!) didn't help the ambiance - not sure if he is a regular, will find out next time...
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Was a Fuller's house a few years back and recall having a very late drink there when it was. Now a kind of pubco sort of place though it is at least split in to two halves rather than the ubiquitous one 'big' room set up. They had a few ales on but the pint of T.E.A. I had was not particularly nice.
anonymous - 13 May 2011 21:42 |
i went down to the pub with a few mates on the weekend. it is located on tottenham court road and is a good place to go to if you are out shopping or just in the area. the pub includes a thai restaurant and we ended up having dinner there as well. the beer is just like everywhere else, but the food was
o u t s t a n d i n g ! ! !
i had some red curry with prawns, while my mates had pad thai and some sweet and sour stir fry.
will definitely be back next time i am in the area.
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My boyfriend took me to this pub today - to catch the footy of course - and I was pleasantly surprised. It was busy, but not too much so. A friendly bunch of people having a pint and/or a meal.
My boyfriend and his mates were having some Thai food, some noodle dished and a couple of curries, which they enjoyed. I'm not much for Thai food myself (too spicy), but I went for chicken salad and was very pleased. Aside from the losing the football match (chelsea fan) we had quite a good night out and I'll definitely be coming back in the future.
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Friendly crowd visiting this place: a mix of tourists and people from nearby offices. Especially busy during sports events, covered from a number of plasma tellies and a big screen in the back. Very good Thai food menu, nice selection of beers and a few decent wines. In othe words: all good here :)
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Frequently go here for a beer after work. I like that they serve good meals and have a lot of choice. Also, the kitchen staff is very polite and considerate. The food is good and fast.
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Cozy and highly enjoyable place. Last time i popped around I had the thom ka soup and red curry, both of which were very agreeable. I cannot confirm anything being wrong about the food from the two times i went.
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On the upside, this place always shows the big boxing matches and does not charge you any extra for the privilege (the only one I know of in the West End that does this). Selection of beers on tap and prices are average for area. On the downside, judging from the times I've been in, this place seems to be a Spurs pub (which may or may not be a bad thing depending on your point of view).
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I work around the corner from this pub but hadn't been in for a couple of years in which time the decor has been updated.
The ale tasted off and poorly kept. The thai food was cheap and terrible. Out of the 4 dishes that were served to our table only one was remotely edible.
So many better pubs in the area and even if there weren't I would just walk till I found one as I'd never use it as a local.
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I don't recognise the comments below at all. I come to this pub for lunch a lot, as I work around the corner, and I find the food in this place quite good and very affordable. The food is of high quality, and presented very nicely by the lovely Thai ladies running the kitchen.
The pub itself was always just fine, but having a Thai kitchen has really added to attraction as far as I'm concerned. 9/10 for me
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Bar Tending Staff are fine, but the food is awful. Tried it twice now and ended up feeling ill both times. My fault for being stupid enough to go back again. There are much better options in the area
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Truly shocking. I have never been to a worse London pub.
Pad Thai running in grease and swimming in a pint of overpowering vinegar. The cook had the blackest fingernails which probably accounted for the very short time that my body managed to keep the food inside.
Beer was also very cloudy and poorly kept.
On the bright side the barmaid was efficient and friendly . Can only hope she moves to one of the other pubs in the area.
trees - 29 Oct 2010 14:55 |
HOLY SHIT!!!! How obvious can you be? Could this pub possilbly be owned / operated by the same person / company as the Gunmakers and the Mason's Arms's? If you check, the last 6 reviews (glowing) on here with the exception of Mr Monkfish, are from users who have also placed glowing reviews of the other two pubs, and between them not placed a single review of ANYWHERE else!!! Ooooooooops
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some pubs have made a real effort for the world cup this pub has probably done more than most, teamed up with Nike! between the two has made for a great veiwing experience.
shame about the shit football but cant help where your born!
great pub if only the crap team put in simlar effort! you never know you might see some of them soon serving behind the pumps, but i doubt it with this pubs efficiant well drilled staff any of them would get a look in.
stick the dark haired barmaid up front she would surely do a better job than rooney and heskey.!
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I really liked this place when I visited this afternoon. A nice little front bar and a larger space to the rear are very comfortable and cosey, big screens are available to watch the sports and there are various framed black and white photos of London past and present on the walls to study if that doesn't take your fancy. Not extensive but reasonable range of ales and lagers and the prices are fairly good for this far into town. Service was friendly and there was no waiting.
Very tastefully decorated, kept spotlessly clean and with nice dim lighting, this is the kind of pub that does what it sets out to do very well and once you are ensconsed at a table, you may well find that you don't want to leave anytime soon, I know I didn't.
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Went and met a friend for lunch and had a great time. Nice and clean, good food, quick, hot and tasty. Nice friendly staff. Planning our next trip soon.
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This pub is now hopefully turned the corner now once again under new owners/management, It is much cleaner, lighting has been sorted, music is now for customers and not the previous crap staff, cleanest toilets on tcr. Looks like going to be best to watch all the sport have great screens.
Food is good all homemade not frozen and they do pie mash and liquor. Its giving it a real go after several failed attemps, i say good luck to them.
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I used to be a student nearby and always came here for the reason it was so cheap, although it really was a hole. I have now moved to the area and went for a sentimental pint and was gobsmacked by the change in this place.
Not sure when it changed hands - think just before christmas - but it is utterly transformed. I bumbed into a regular who i knew from before and he moaned a bit about the price hike but he was still there !
It is now so clean and bright with great framed prints on the walls , completely new staff and beer tasted like beer for the first time in years there!
Havent tried the food yet but it smelt great and will be back with some more folk to have a pie and a pint very soon.
Thank god.
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No character, disinterested staff, 4 ale pumps but none available. There is a plasma screen and they do show Sky Sports, but that is about all this place has going for it.
Thoroughly depressing!
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SHOCKING FOOD... The girl we had serve us didn't go out of her way to make us feel welcome but she wasn't rude.
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Went in there last week with a friend for a pint and a spot of lunch. Ordered their homemade steak and ale pie and it was honestly the worst pie I've ever had in my life. Small lumps of very chewy meat in a watery gravy with a small limp crust. They grudgingly replaced it with a mediocre burger.
Beer was okay but it's places like this that give English pub food a bad name.
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If you're desperate, have only �2 in your pocket and it's chucking down with rain, go to Starbucks next door instead of this poor excuse for a drink.
anonymous - 30 May 2007 15:20 |
What a load of (add a swear word of your choice). It's very cheap, but that's no incentive for going. I'd rather pay �4 a pint and have good service than this dive.
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it was always where we started when i worked up there as it was cheap and lively but its not somewhere i'd go out of my way to visit
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First bell in this pub means no more service, then you are given five minutes to 'drink up and get out' to quote the barmaid, so everyone had to be off the premises by 11pm.
Worst service I've ever had in 25 years of drinking.
Don't go there, at least until they change the staff.
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a nice litle voozer been there a few times
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Another character-less Spirit Group boozer. OK selection of beers, in OK condition, OK food. OK. Thats about it.
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No where near as good to when Keith and Tilly had it in the 80's
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The first pub in the world to aspire to the Wetherspoons stereotype. It has it all. Carlsberg is 1.69, so drink enough and you don't notice.
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WHAT A GREAT PLACE TO GO!
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Not bad, all things considered. Usually has some good cheap drink offers, and once the rush hour crowd has dispersed it's a decent enough place for a relaxed conversation or a half-interested glance at the Sky game. Really came into its own a few years ago, when those who knew how to enjoy themselves to the full would use it as a halfway refuelling stop between Ye Olde Surgeon and The Head Of Steam. Alas, now the former is dead and gone this can no longer be so.
Just one irritation: can they please make up their minds whether they are open at weekends or not?
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One of the cheapest places i've found. Beer and spirits is ridiculously cheap. Watched the footie many-a-time (get there early of you'll be standing all night). Cheap drink just makes up for the fact that your sitting in a dive. dark dingy place with bashed up seats. Another place where the "locals" are served first no matter how long you've been there - but i guess thats how things work so its ok.
crisp - 25 May 2005 13:29 |
Good compromise pub, Better pubs nearby though..
Usually has one real ale and a discount on Tetley's.
often busy but you can normally find a table in the corner.
Great for watching sports, not good on the food front (I once overheard
one of the bar staff responding to a client who thought they'd
been brought the wrong order " ... a pannini is a toasted baguette").
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Small yet long, mobbed when the footy's on. Once spent a sticky summer evening looking into the kitchen in disgust as a tray of small sandwiches spent an hour getting blasted on by an old fan, only to nick half of them when they were eventually bought out for the group next to us. Always crowded. Good sign, I guess.
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Great Pub, a must visit for any and all.
As a side note, I think Kat is one of the most amazing women I have ever met. Marry me!
Denis - 4 Dec 2003 01:44 |
Cheap and good peeps, that's all you can ask for when your an American in London. It will always hold a place in this heart.
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Cheap beer!!
'Old man' setting is fab amongst a clutch of student pubs. Great taste in music too.
Jason - 7 Oct 2003 21:17 |
cheap beer but bit of an 'old man's pub'
anonymous - 30 Sep 2003 21:19 |
Land lady's a real gem of a yorkshire lass! Great offers on lager, ale and spirits. Reguarly shows footie.
Is what I call a proper Pub!
Sara - 18 Aug 2003 12:51 |
Handy location for shopping.
Both the Marstons Pedigree and
Adnams were only of moderate condition. Friendly staff.
Traditonal food.
Peter - 28 May 2003 10:00 |
