please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Amarena - you will be delighted to hear that it get petrol bombed last night.
|
Drinks over priced but always tend to end up at the Escape as there isn't many places open till late.
New Garage every last Friday of the month and RnB, Hip-Hop and Garage all other Friday's... I do recommend them!
Has been rough on a few occasions however, bar is now under new management from this week so lets see if there will be any positive changes.....
|
Each time i have been here i have not enjoyed it, its very threatening late at night. I won't be going back again.
|
Gotta say every time I go in here I find it quite rough. There always seems to be trouble here on a Friday and Saturday. Please guys get these problem makers out!
|
Friday and Saturday nights this bar are still letting in the dregs of society. My friend got glassed in there recently and required over thirty stitches in his face.
|
Me suspects that poster Tor has a vested interest.
|
The Escape has a good selection of tapas-style snacks and pizzas and is generally a good place to go during the day, especially if you're keen to take advantage of the free wi-fi access.
However, evenings tend to be a completely different affair. In the past year, the place seems to have been hijacked by a load of priviliged Herne Hillian teenagers, who seem to use the place for drunken youth club style outings. It used to be full of nice local people and the vibe was always friendly and inclusive, so it's a shame that the place has gone down hill.
A little hint to to the owners - c'mon guys, get it sorted. Revamp the place, get out and promote the place to Herne Hill residents, but more importantly, get checking for ID and keep the teenage brats out.
It's time to take the Escape back to how good it was about 2 years ago. I, for one, will be the first back!
|
It has a good music range, the drinks are great value for money. The atmosphere is lively. Yes it's not a chain...
|
What a dump
anonymous - 27 Sep 2007 11:26 |
Yes I can confirm this place is a shite hole
anonymous - 24 Sep 2007 10:06 |
Ladies and Gentlemen, I can confirm that "Unknowntoall" is the landlord of the Commercial.
That said, this pub does suck - but not as badly as the 'art' they display
|
This place is surely the arsehole of Herne Hill. Crustie gaked teenagers with their common chavs girls. Dirty smelly toilets, with piss and shit everywhere. Dirty glasses. Porely run, shite entertainment and really a place not to be seen in. If you wanna score some shit gak get threatened by the locals have a fight - then head on down. ESCAPE name is very apt.
|
we came in here on my freinds brithday< the drink wass nice and the stuff wasfreindly= t is nair the train statkon and is convenent becaus'e of that. also there arse cheinese takaway and chckin sop nair hair the torlest was clean and smellt nice ad the laddie was nice/ we had a nice time
|
Been here a few times but it's not really my kind of place. Hard to take any reviews signed "Anonymous" seriously. It's just a pub review site - why hide?
|
New management have improved the DJs, the friendliness and the drink selection - worth checking out for a great evening.
anonymous - 1 Apr 2007 17:40 |
This is my local. They�ve put in new toilets and I always fine the food good and the bar staff friendly. I go there a few times a week and enjoy it!
anonymous - 18 Feb 2007 11:10 |
This place is a hellhole! Go there is the evening and you're faced with a place with mingy toilets (and not enough of them either) and uppity (if overworked why have I only seen one person behind the bar at any one time?)staff or if you go in the afternoon you're faced with a pile of yummy mummys with range rover like buggies which are knock over everything in sight including people.
I hate the place - it could have been so much better - perhaps it still could.
anonymous - 9 Nov 2006 16:12 |
Used to love coming here for the amazing pizzas and other food, but the menu has now been cut down to a quarter of what it was, which is a shame. It's true that the staff range from indifferent to hostile most of the time. Usually the place is half-empty, so I'm not sure what their gripe is.
The place is very child-friendly, or at least it is during the daytime, and they often have childrens' parties on Saturday afternoons. They used to have some quite good saturday nights (til about 2am) with djs like jerry dammers, but haven't seen much of that going on lately. If this place returned to form and the staff curbed their attitudes, it would be the best drinking hole in herne hill - here's hoping...
anonymous - 23 Jun 2006 17:32 |
Visited again after a while. definately the best pub in the area.
anonymous - 17 May 2006 20:29 |
Good place to settle in Herne Hill. Friendly crowd and good food. Toilets have been refurbished and some interesting art to look at, if not buy!
Dubya - 16 May 2006 16:03 |
Escape is fantastic... simple but good food, a range of interesting music and a real buzzing atmosphere. Children are welcome during the day. And they have refurbished the toilets (so ignore half the other comments on this website). Good to see local artists promoted.
|
A trad boozer it aint but seeing as it was a burnt out garage up to a few years ago its a welcome addition to the watering holes in herne hill. The sort of place to head to when the talkings done and hopeless dancing is required. For those "I dont like change" misers who hark back to the crap beer and menace of ye olden herne hill days then ganleys (was brockwell arms) is a good choice.
|
welcome to the flat pack bar. if ikea made bars this would be it. next door is the commercial with packet food pretending to be the real thing (see railway tulse hill for guidance) whats happened to herne hill. is it the owners of these bars or brainless trendy wannabees that have moved here, somehow somethings mising
|
Really great,
never had a problem here. Always clean & well managed.
|
Not great but sometimes even shit holes can have their charm. Drinks remain cheap and music can be good.
anonymous - 2 Feb 2006 16:08 |
This is my local and I'm a bit shocked by how viscous some of the reviews have been. I know they�ve put in new toilets and I always fine the food good and the bar staff friendly. OK its not perfect but I go there a few times a week and enjoy it!
|
I think the review below pretty much sums up this place, it's staff and it's clientele. Avoid if have taste.
anonymous - 26 Jan 2006 17:06 |
We've really tried to like this place, and had several crap experiences here before, but the last straw happened last week. Husband and I arrived, got settled in with our drinks and food at the back, on one of the big sofas,it was about 7:10. At about 7:30 one of the staff came over to the table and put a notice saying that the table had been booked from 8. I assumed that this applied to the seats opposite us, as she did not speak directly to us. Got another pint. At about 8 a posse of Nathan Barley lookalikes with their girlfriends arrived, came down to the back of the bar and started setting up dj stuff. Wine was uncorked and served at the big table. As no one had spoken to us yet, we didn't move. Some of the low benches were then placed in such a way as to block us from getting out of our seats, and the party animals were staring at us in a "please leave" kind of way. Then a woman who was obviously 'in charge' in some capacity came over and told us that the seats we were in were booked for a 'private party'. I pointed out that I had been in the seat for about 20 mins before the notice was put there, that this was a bar, and as far as I knew, if you got a drink and sat down somewhere, assuming that it wasn't marked 'reserved' AT THAT POINT, then that was "your seat". This didn't play too well, but since one of the Tristans had started to "dj" at that point, I decided to drink up and leave. We went next door to the Commericial for some nice Belgian beer.
The woman who spoke to us was the owner, I believe.
And since the music was probably too loud for me to tell her at the time, I would like to take this opportunity to tell her:
A successful bar needs paying customers - not free-loading Mockney art student DJs and their anorexic, snotty girlfriends.
Your bar is filthy - how about cleaning the toilets and the floor?
Make up your mind - are your running a bar for the general public, or are we just an amusing backdrop for your private parties?
The bar staff - get them some training in basic hygiene and food-handling, maybe they could run a mop over the floor occasionally.
We won't be going there again, but if your idea of a good night out is to be patronised by a bunch of no-talent trendies, deafened by their truly awful 'music', drink flattish beer served by surly/depressed staff, and be ordered from your seat by someone desperate to halt her impending middle age by hanging out with trendy 'yoof', then this is the place for you. Otherwise avoid like the plague.
|
Awful, Awful, Awful. Went back in for the first time lastFriday, and never again. Flooding toilets, crap staff, no decent beer on tap. Best bet in Herne Hill is to go to the Commercial next door, or don't drink in Herne Hill
|
Why anyone would describe this bar as trendy I really don't know. It's a lousy space with exceptionally poor drinks and equally bad food, dito artwork. That said the music can be good, the staff are generally friendly and the atmosphere pretty decent at times.
anonymous - 10 Jun 2005 15:58 |
Wicked bar, good vibes, Nice people, cheap drinks.
|
Utterly schizophrenic. When quiet, this place is great - interesting 'student bar' atmosphere, nice staff, good music. However, when crowded the staff become rude, the music gets stupidly loud and the punters become a crowd of pretentious mullet-toting wannabes with attitude. Attitude like that is fine if you're a Hoxton fashion designer - when you're Reg from accounts, putting on some distressed jeans, messing up your hair and speaking faux Cockney isn't going to wash with me, boy. Behave yourself, and for God's sake, get a haircut. It's a shame, as the concept of this bar is sound, and helps broaden the available drinking experiences in the area. Oh, and junk the ethnic house music. It's dreadful, and sooo 2002, dahling.
|
Every time I've been in here I find something else wrong with it. Absolutely the only thing going for it is the tables, which are quite funky. Other than that, the food is terrible (a plate of nachos comes with a tiny bit of cheese and a couple of beans if you're lucky, for instance), the bar staff are condescending, the white rectangle walls make you feel like you're in a shoebox, the decks they wheel out every now and again are pointless because the nearly bare walls make the acoustics totally unsuitable for loud music and the art is rubbish. I reckon the only reason why people go here is that they're too scared to go into the other pubs in the area. The newly-refurbed Commercial next door should sort that out though.
anonymous - 8 Dec 2004 17:06 |
This bar does have a passing resemblance to an art gallery: it's spacious and the walls are the right shade of white. I've yet to find any art in the place though, just a collection of (poor) GCSE level canvases that demand amusing sums of money for their ownership. Please, someone buy them and take them away! Prices are reasonable, staff need reminding they work in a bar - not a gallery.
CO - 20 Oct 2004 09:38 |
I have visited this bar twice in the last few weeks. last time being 03.09.2004 where I found the bar staff lively, friendly and eager to please. The prices were cheap compared to other establishments in the area. I had already eaten but from what I saw the food was well presented and looked very tasty. And the music was excellent a nice mixture of new and old
Andrew - 4 Sep 2004 16:54 |
Great bar - the foods really good value although they don't do deserts. The drinks r very reasonably priced. The music and the atmosphere are fantastic. Its my local.
John - 6 Aug 2004 16:25 |
much too bright. i'm not quite sure how it can be described as 'trendy' though... maybe if you're in your 80s. some of the worst art ever produced by mankind, and i include toddlers. it is cheap though!
simon - 27 Jul 2004 17:52 |
Appears to have acquired a steady clientele, a change from the rest of the usual local pubs in the area. A little too fond of itself - smug customers and staff. The only poseur bar in the area.
Goonagain - 29 Apr 2004 16:56 |
its a decent bar with a great selection of spirits and they make a decent cocktail or two but the staff are miserable. I think its a im cool and therefore don't need to friendly? Too cool for school i'm afarid. Also I have been in it when its pretty empty and the staff have the music cranked right up so you can't have a decent chat. Soi yeah great location a worthy idea but teh staff just let the place down.
Real shame.
jubbjubb - 15 Mar 2004 15:01 |
To trendy for Herne Hill
thomas - 14 Jan 2004 13:48 |
This bar has a great location (opp station) and is quite 'trendy'. Staff are bit miserable and it does get rammed at the weekend. Food is limited, but art is very cool. Good for a post work quickie on the way home.
kate - 14 Jan 2004 12:55 |
First of its kind in Herne Hill - thank God
Shame about cheap decor - obviously on a budget with the toilets (disgusting/never cleaned)
Staff hardly ever smile - miserable as sin
Music might be funky but too way out for most tastes and too loud to chat sometimes.
No food of any substance.
Get the music, decor, toliet cleaning, staff, lighting and food right and you will have a winner in Herne Hill as there's nothing else in the area.
Or get massacred by a new entry in the area!
Tom Briggs - 9 Jan 2004 14:44 |
