please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Much better than you have any right to expect, next to the tourist hoardes or 221B.
Four real ales on. I went for an absolute superb Redemption Urban Dusk. Easily the best pint of the day and one to look out for again.
Very busy - efficient staff. Good atmosphere.
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Nice gastropub with a good/interesting beer selection, both lagers and ales, and a relaxed atmosphere. Plenty of tourists naturally but they blend in fine. Piano in the corner than an old Cockney geezer comes in to play from time to time for half pints of bitter which I find nice and quaint.
Becomes more lively nearer closing time but never any trouble or anything. Would classify this as a pub for a dinner-date more than anything or somewhere for a few pints after the cricket etc.
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This is a lovely pub, with so much potential, but the service is terrible. It can take 15 minutes to get a drink, even though it is regularly busy on a Wednesday and Thursday there is usually only 1 or 2 bartenders, who are polite but in some serious need of training.
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I can concur that service seems to move at a snails pace whether it is busy or quiet. Can get horribly sweaty in the place as tables/chairs dominate the bar so it is a real push/shove sort of place to get from A (the bar) to B.
If you like leering at female drivers in their cars in the Baker Street traffic you'll enjoy a beer outside.
Whether Sherlock would have gone in here - 221B being virtually next door - I have my doubts!
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Busy pub near Baker Street tube station. Large main bar with a smaller dining area to the left. Grubby gents' toilets down some dark stairs. Good selection of bottled beers and 4 ale taps with Cask Marque logos on them, although two were turned around. The Box Steam Brewery "Tunnel Vision" was fine at �3.60 although service at the bar was a bit slow at times.
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Popped in for a pint after a game of tennis in Regent's Park. Agree with previous reviewers to the extent that the refurb has left the drinking area is a bit small compared with the dining area judging by their relative popularities on the night I went (a Friday). On the plus side, they had 4 ales on as well as a good range of lagers/wines. I think it manages to keep most types reasonably content and is a decent option if you're in the area, but not worth making a special trip for.
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Just noticed the previous comment and I would also agree about the poor service. I visited at the end of May. One of the barmen (a guy with ginger hair) was a complete joke - served me a beer which was well under a full pint. I asked for it to be topped up and he must have put around 1 extra millilitre in. I complained again and it turned out he thought filling the glass up to the top of the CE symbol on the glass indicated a full pint!! Er, no. Then he started to get really argumentive! Crazy.
Later the same guy was clearing glasses and picked up my newspaper from the table and walked off with it - I had to chase after him and get it back. Beyond a joke. Some staff training is seriously required.
Beer and food are ok, its the service which is the problem
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I echo other reviewers' comments on the customer service here. I was there last night and experienced very slow the service at the bar. It took almost 10 mins to get a drink even though there were only 3 or 4 customers waiting. The bar staff just looked like they couldn't be bothered. At one point one of the barmen seemed to go and stand in the corner and do nothing for a couple of minutes even though there were still people waiting to be served. It's a pity as there is quite a good lager selection and the food was actually very good.
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I've been here a few times and I used to think it was decent pub but not anymore. I went at lunchtime and it wasn't very busy (hardly anyone there and no one at the bar not even bar staff) but it was hard to get served. The bar staff were simply rude when I asked if anyone was serving. Seriously, some businesses don't have a clue when it comes to customer service and this is one of them. I won't be going back.
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Used to be a busy pub with plenty of drinking. Often full of people who have been playing sport in Regents Park and had a reasonably good atmosphere.
Sadly it seems to have undergone a refurb, with the old dark corners repainted in boring pastels and with wine glasses and salt/pepper grinders ostentatiously laid out on over half the tables below the bog-standard gastro-pub blackboard. There's no exposed kitchen though and the menu looks too big for any small kitchen to cope with. I didn't eat but I heard people trying to order and being told several dishes were off - in fairness it was a fairly quiet Tuesday night.
At the same time drinking has clearly gone down in importance, with several lagers and ales not available either.
I'm sad to see how The Volunteer has changed in this way and hope the rugby/cricket/tennis players in the summer colonise the eating area and reclaim it for boozing.
4/10 for the new pub, 7/10 for how it used to be...
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I have to be honest I was a bit disappointed.
It looks like a pub which has been spit and sawdust/rough and ready back in the day but which has been refurbished in a way that only half works.
May have got it on a bad day but the beer wasn't in as good order as previous reviews might have suggested (tried Batemans XXXB and Doom Bar) either; it was alright but no better than that, just my opinion.
It's an OK pub in my view, but I wouldn't rate it any higher than that.
mps77 - 12 Nov 2010 16:47 |
Spent a delightful few hours and much money here on Saturday 21 August with a big group of fellow mad people. Comfortable with a good atmosphere, and tolerance of our..."enthusiasm" ;) AND it has Sierra Nevada on tap. Any pub that has that has a faithful friend in me.
I really liked it.
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I would not recommend this pub to anyone.
Too noisy, bar staff were disinterested in the customers and one looked like they had clearly never worked in a pub before. Food took over an hour to arrive and when it did it was pretty poor quality. They even managed to burn one of the dishes.
And this was on a week day when no one else was eating in the place.
I guess every pub has its off day but this was not a good one for the Volunteer.
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Have visited this pub several times and have had a party there as well. Always enjoy the good beer and lively atmosphere, nice place to go after a day at Lords.....
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In here before Saints tonking of Carlisle in the JPT final. Spitfire, Harveys Sussex and Tribute with Pride being lined up. Usual selection of foreign draught beers for this M & B chain. Decent enough.
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I've drank in this pub a few times over the years and it's always been at the end of a crawl rather than an intended destination. I can now report that it is somewhere I would happily spend an evening.
Four handpumps dispense Harveys Best, Doom Bar, Tribute and a wheat beer from Adnam's. Also on tap are Franciskaner and Erdinger Weissbeers and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, as well as a selection of foreign lagers. I had two pints of Harvey's which were good, my companion enjoyed the Adnam's wheat beer and we then moved on to the excellent Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (�3.95 a pint).
I had a home-made 'Classic Burger' which was tasty but maybe a bit overpriced at �6.95. And adding a pound to the price for a bit of cheese is taking the mick.
The interior of the pub is plain and wood-floored with a mix of low and high tables. There is a separate lounge-type area further back.
Overall a good pub that I will be visiting a lot more often.
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We'd just crossed the famous Abbey Road 15 minutes earlier and chanced upon this pub after going to a Beatles memorabilia store. Stepped in at 11:15 am and ordered a couple of pints of St. Austell Tribute � in dimpled glasses � and enjoyed a pre-noon pint on the edge of Regent�s Park at a welcoming pub.
The landlady was very helpful, friendly and �booked� us a table for New Year�s Eve. We were thankful as many of the pubs we talked to said they were closed or said we'd better get there early.
In the end we got there around 10pm, found an empty table and enjoyed the last couple of hours of 2009. Drank two well-kept pints of Pride leading up to midnight. The place eventually filled up and we all joined in the countdown for 2010. Nice to be warm and with a pint than freezing at Westminster.
Surprised to read the comments about poor service as we were immediately served when the pub was empty and quickly got our pints when it was packed New Year's Eve.
Three cheers to The Volunteer for a great place to start the new year.
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I was there recently. I had a good night - great food, music wasn't too loud, so it was possible to talk properly, unlike many other central London pubs.
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Popped in here for a swift one prior to a lunchtime engagement; I thought it was alright. As the previous review indicates, bar service was slow - criminal when you consider the place was virtually empty. Quite a good selection of lagers and ales; I enjoyed a nice pint of Adnams Kolsch, and Harveys Best, London Pride and Tribute were also on. Worth one when passing but nothing more really.
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Beer is fine - reasonable selection - but bar service is truly awful. Don't think I've ever seen the same bar person twice, and they usually give the impresson of being pretty new to the job. The sort of pub where, when you go in, you KNOW, regardless of how empty it might be, it's going to take ages to get a pint.
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What's the point of this pub? Apart from calling here to use the toilets, the answer is that there is none. Why not go to the off-licence and drink in the park.
Great toilets
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The first thing that hit me in the volunteer was the smell. The, obviously unpleasant, smell of surfaces soaked in stale beer. The barflies (not �hip� Camden pub regulars but actual flies) circling in November further point to the presence of questionable cleaning/hygiene standards.
The decor, while overshadowed by the smell, was quite nice although a little gloomy. The strange charcoal sketches of naked people on the walls coupled with the melancholic deep house that periodically fell out of the speakers bolsters the feeling of gloom.
The beer was of a good standard and, while not the coldest pint I�ve ever had, it was cold enough. I did like the selection of beers the pub had and I was quite impressed to see Sierra Nevada on tap. The pints came across a little overpriced, more expensive than the Windsor Castle; a pub which has a notice stating �never knowingly OVERsold�.
Aside from looks the pub�s bar staff have proved themselves to be less than top notch during previous evening visits.
The place has a lot of potential and only needs a change in management style to really make it a nice pub.
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Not sure what to say about this place. Good selection and quality of beers/spirts, good location and if you're in the right company it can be OK. BUT - very poncy,poor staff and if i'm honest you should go somewhere else if you want a pub to create an atmosphere for you. No music, no real regulars and worst of all a very sterile feeling to the whole thing.
If you're with people you know, who don't really mind, great, if not then jump in a cab for somewhere out of the area. Aussie/Irish bars are normally great.
Good for the area
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This is a nice bar with a good selection of lagers and beers from all quarters and what with the renaissannce in cider, this drink is realy well represented behind the rather then just sticking to the usual suspects the have some quite obscure marques, well worth checking out if you have the time, as the amount of choice can be a little bewieldering
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This is where this website goes wrong. They allow irrelevant postings to be made. This is a fantastic pub. There are some rare and interesting beers on tap that you won't find in any other pub in this area and the staff are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about them. They also have a large cider selection and the real ales are served to perfection. This is my local as I live around the corner and the reason for that is no matter how busy it is the staff are always friendly to me and make the time to say hello and find out how I am. This is a true gem for this part of London and I would highly recommend it. As far as the food goes I have no complaints.
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This would be quite a nice pub if they got some bar staff who knew a little about doing their job.
I went for with a friend for lunch and a pint and made a specific about my food, which was completely ignored, with no apology and no offer to change it. Then my friend had his drink snatched away from our table before he had finished it.
And don't be fooled by the pretty blackboard menu, the food is pretty average.
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Absolutley terrible. Went in last Wednesday at about 11.30pm for a late one.....Does anyone ever check the toilets in this place, the toilet was completely blocked with s*&% and there was toilet paper and urine all over the floor, dread to think what the kitchens are like!! Bar staffs english not great. Used to be a great pub when it was refurbished a few years back, perhaps they should start all over again. Try The Globe up the road!!
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Hi!!! is the best pub on the world, great food, manager and staff!!i was worked there as a chef all summer and i have only good memories, i have a lot of days when im missing this place, i decided to come back to my country to study but it's not easy to forget this lovely people and expirience, i hope to come back there someday.Peter,Warsaw Poland
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I used to work here when I was studying for my degree. I really loved this place and I was treated really well. I went back home after I completed my degree and moved back to London recently. I was glad to see all the old faces still working there and all my favourite regulars still drinking there. Now that I've moved back to London it will be nice to be on the other side of the bar and not one of the 'foreign' barstaff. (that was a dig at the comment below)
I always remember the Volunteer with fond memories and it's my favourite place to go drinking in London.
anonymous - 18 Oct 2007 22:37 |
A real mixed bag. The beer selection is fair, the crowd and decor are hip, the menu is good. On the downside, there's usually an ale tap off, the staff are variable, the place is packed most evenings and most weekends.
It was my local for a time while I was in a wheatbeer phase, but now I just feel crowded out by afterwork suits and weekend tourists. Plus I got a little tired of foreign barstaff pouring ales like lagers or not knowing the names/types of ales they sell (e.g stout, bitter, "landlord").
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This is an odd place. I've been twice on a Sunday. Once it was absolutely lovely, and showed signs of becoming a favourite pub. The second time it was hell in a bap. Totally crowded out with tourists. My food came fairly quickly - my friend's food - she'd ordered just after me - did not appear after an hour. I went in and they said "five minutes". What should have been ciabatta with dipping oil was a couple of slices of toasted mother's pride and what looked like Tescos sunflower oil with a bit of chilli in it.
My food was fine.
Bit of a hit and miss place though, it seems.
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Great pub!! food is very well cooked and teasts amazing. staff and manager are very friendly and polite. you dont have to wait at the bar for hours for a drink either, unlike most pubs in London! good atmosphere which is always a good thing. all in all a very well managed pub which i would be glad to eat and drink in again.
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This pub is my home away from home. I've always had a good time in here and find the staff polite, helpful and very friendly.
They've done an excellent job with the smoking ban coming out and have managed to keep the great atmosphere going despite this.
Food is excellent but not pretentious and they have an excellent range of beer, cider.
Keep up the good work guys!
Bex32 - 10 Jul 2007 22:49 |
I have just attended the volenteer with three friends despite the comments I read on here. We had food and drinks for lunch. We were served in minutes and the food was hot, tasty and a good size portion. I will go back as I am now working near Baker St. Thanks to those on at lunch time today.10 July
anonymous - 10 Jul 2007 16:24 |
That and serving staff wandering around apparently unable to find the person whose food they are carrying!
Good for a drink though. After all despite the poor tales of food here the pub has a reasonable score.
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Don't bother trying to eat here.
We work in the Baker Street area, and have really tried to like this pub, but have given up, the service and food is appalling. Food is always slow, even when the pub is not busy and dishes never come out at the same time, every time we've been, some of the group have finished eating before others' meals have arrived. The excuse you are given is that meals are processed in order that they reach the kitchen, this cannot be true as most times, the people who order first are the last to be served. We've had meals not reach the kitchen at all. It is a shame, because the food is actually quite good.
Most staff are slow, rude and clueless, they do not know what is on the menu, and many do not have a good understanding of English.
Beer & Cider selection is good, so I aggree with the comments that it is fine for a drink.
An overhall of the kitchen process and some more friendly staff would make a massive difference.
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Had a sunday roast - the lamb. Dead dry, really bad meal.
The pub looks a great place to drink beer though, the barman seemed ok (if a bit hung over) but some of the waiting staff didn't really seem to know what's going on.
Also had to wait 35 minutes for said dry roast.
Meal bad, but will probably go back for a beer.
anonymous - 6 Jul 2007 08:56 |
Visited for first time this lunchtime - good beer, good food, and friendly service.
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We went here after the cricket for a roast. Most of the meat dishes came out dry and the lamb looked like it had been laying around for days and had to be replaced with fish and chips that were great. The vegetarian option though tasty came out as the rest of the table had finished their meals. Upon complaining about the lamb and lateness of the meal the waitress became rude and abrupt. Lots of beer on tap so a ok for a drink.
Would not consider coming here again.
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Was in there last night. Very good atmosphere and great rock artwork on the walls.
Bar staff a little slow but overall, good place.
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Ventured in here on Sunday after taking a stroll in Regent's Park. Although the pub was extremely busy the service was excellent.
I had an excellent roast dinner that I washed down with a pint of Aspall's Cyder (on the landlady's recommendation).
I'm going to have to come back to try all the other beers they had on tap - well that and to see that gorgeous landlady again!
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scaffolding all gone now, and outside looks better than before the scaffolding went up
anonymous - 19 Apr 2007 18:33 |
went here the other night, looked grubby from the outside and there was a lot of scaffolding, inside was nicely done out, good selection of beers. but was really busy.
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Spent Saturday evening here drinking with friends and was impressed. Four beers on tap - the Landlord was very well-served and there was also a guest ale from Theakston's (Copper Butt) which was on good form. Lots of continental lagers as well. Pub did what looked like quite nice gastropubby food, but we didn't eat. The pub itself is quite pleasant, with modern decor. Although it got busy, service was always prompt and good. I'd definitely come back.
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Spent a good Friday night here last week. Gets very busy but the real ale is well kept and the waitress service meant we didn't have to get up off our seats all night. Top Hole!
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Ventured into this place Friday afternoon. Great art deco feel rather funky! Interesting range of drinks tried some random scrumpy that was on tap it went down like a treat :-)
Wineo - 16 Oct 2006 14:45 |
Really enjoyed this bar. 4 Real Ales, nice d�cor and the crowd in there seemed suited for the bar, everyone looked comfortable. Only gripe is that it too a while for one of the 3 bar staff to stop talking to each other and serve me, not sure how they would have coped when the cricket got out later that evening.
I�d go back. Would love to spend a whole afternoon there in winter based on the beer and the mood of the bar.
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The beer in this pub is always superb. Four real ales on (usually Taylor's and Pride but the others change from time to time). The staff are always happy to let you have a taster if you're not sure.
I've had many a good night in here and I've always found the staff quite friendly. It does get extemely busy but the atmosphere stays quite pleasant.
I'd recommend this place for the beers alone but it's definately worth popping in if you're in the area. It's by far one of the nicer pubs in this neck of the woods.
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Popped in here after the England Sri Lanka game at Lord's on Satruday. Seemed a nice enough place, in passing. Lots of be-shorted lads watching the football on screens, whilst foreign student types sat on floppy leather sofas reading books.
Good selection of Benelux poison available if that's your bag.
Wouldnt make an effort to come here again though.
Else, fairly harmless.
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I have to update my earlier comment, as I have loved going in here every week for the past year or so, but now have to admit that it is rapidly going down the tubes. Where the staff were always the same and friendly you now have a huge turnover and rarely see the same face twice; great food has now become dry, overcooked, tasteless and blatantly reheated; fast service is now a 45 minute for a burger; banter at the bar was replaced on my last visit by two separate people lining up to complain; the good music has disappeared and the clientele has slowly moved from a fairly young good mix to becoming another hive of suited office drones creating a lame atmosphere. You may as well go to the Globe, and that�s saying something. It�s time to head into Marylebone. What a shame.
Glad you liked it now geordiedave, but we are total opposites on this one.
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Having recently visited The Volunteer I have to admit that I was really pleasantly surprised having visited it 12 months earlier. The decor is subtle and not overwhelming which sets a great atmosphere, the bar is stocked full of a fantastic range of beers and wines, so much so that my first run in with Friuli lasted for the best part of the day (and it was only supposed to be a quick stop off). The food menu was absolutely supperb, I must time my next visit to coincide with their sunday lunch. The ambience was relaxed and informal and due to its location has the perfect set up as a meeting place, a stop of from Regents Park or a place to go and spend an entire afternoon and evening. The lighting also lends itself to a fantastic date pub too.
As for the staff, I have absolutely no complaints, always attentive and kind, I had each beer poured with a smile. Always keen to divluge history of the pub or extensive information of the beers and wines, you will not come across a more informed manageress than the one at The Volunteer. I can't wait to get back!!!
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great place - good selection of beers abd bitters and excellent selection and quality of food
however the invasion of touch rugby players making it a lot less comfortable
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Have been there the last two Wednesday nights after touch rugby in Regents Park. On both occasions the bar was understaffed and the staff were extremely rude and arrogant. Last night our food never turned up after an hour and a half and the arrogant women behing the bar tried to imply we had "stolen" our order number anyway....
To the b1thches behind the bar - IF YOU HATE PEOPLE SO MUCH DONT WORK IN CUSTOMER SERVICE!
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Good luck, Gareth.
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Great place! Nice beer selection and very reasonable food and a fantastic array of ladies.
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Nice. Good looking pub full of good looking women, an excellent division between seating and standing areas, and outside tables which work remarkably well considering they're right beside the traffic hell of Baker Street. Expense, and really small, scruffy toilets are my only criticisms.
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Far better than it has any right to be given its fairly uninspiring location. It feels more like a suburban pub rather than a central London commuter pub by a tube, and is better for it.
It does get busy, but it remains surprisingly tourist free in a big tourist area.
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Quite a revelation having drank there in its previous incarnation. Lots of European beers and three real ales (with a delicious Wild Hare from the Bath Brewery on at the moment). Although expensive, its very pleasant to drink in a bar that treats its beer with so much respect and having seen all the micro brewery pump clips dotted around the bar, there's obviously been some great nights recently. This was number two on a five bar pub crawl last night - we never moved on.
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Used to be alright. Now it's full of cushions, ponces and neutral colour schemes.
B-O-R-I-N-G
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Highly recommended. A warm, comfy place to sink a few ales. Everyone there (staff and punters) seems relaxed and friendly - and you can't say that about a lot of pubs around the centre of London.
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This was surprisingly alright actually. Quite busy, but just enough room, nice and dark, good selection of beer and friendly bar staff.
Er, for once I've got nothing to whinge about.
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Couldn't put it better than Rhys below. Good ale (Thwaites and Fullers) and friendly staff. A relaxed pub which was surprisingly busy for a Monday night. They must be doing something right.
Martin - 26 Oct 2004 11:57 |
Lovely place but found that the music is a bit loud for me and most of the people that I go there with. Would be great if they had organic wines!
Graham Turnbull - 18 Oct 2004 10:56 |
It's haunted!
Wed - 23 Aug 2004 15:29 |
Since being refurbished a couple of months ago the place has lost none of its original charm. However, it has gained a sophisticated interior, delicious menu, extensive wine list and a superior range of continental beers and traditional ales.
More relaxed than a style bar yet more stylish than an old-fashioned pub, the Volunteer has been given a contemporary edge and has a soothing loungey vibe. The interior is a cleverly eclectic - not overstated - mix of traditional pub, funky retro and contemporary furniture with (slightly) chintzy soft furnishings. Discreet and comfortable zones have been created using the furniture to give privacy to couples and groups and a warm welcome from the professional and friendly staff awaits all who enter.
rhys - 20 May 2004 15:49 |
Loved this pub in 1983, went back in 1990, again in 1994...and AGAIN in 2001. Their vegetarian lasagne was too scrumptious for words. Lovely decor (lotsa brass and dark green) , music not deafening....great place.
Gets my vote.....Wendy C.K.
Wendy Corbett Kelley - 5 Feb 2004 08:56 |
It is by far the best pub on Baker street. A great mix of tradiiontal london pub and style bar. Serves real ales and delicous food (I love the sunday roast)
Jenny - 15 Dec 2003 14:00 |
Great place to meet friends over a drink. This pub/bar is stylish and music is not so loud that you can have a proper chat with your friends.
Jin - 11 Dec 2003 15:07 |
This is a quaint pub near the Sherlock Holmes museum on Baker Street, London. My son and I visited this pub one night on our trip to England this past summer....a smal l corner pub...great beer.
Kathie - 16 Nov 2003 01:55 |
