please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Me and my adventures. I wanted to get a last pint in Poland St, home of Derek Raymond's classic crime novels. Choice of two pubs and I went for this one as it had the blue cask mark and another sign proclaiming it the home of the druids.
I enter and find myself in a real ale pub for gay bears.
well I never.
Decent real ale. And someone tried to Bluetooth me some pictures. Which was nice.
My 20 year old daughter away at Manchester uni has explained to me the meaning of the rainbow flag. We don't have those in Worcestershire.
An experience and I will be back once I am more hirsute.
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Great little pub, I go here al the time and its a great place to pick up guys, I have a lot of luck here.
The bar staff are also very cute
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they do a good pint of the rev. james and keep other brain's beers, which is no bad thing.
a late thirties man in the new lounge area upstairs offered me a copy of the FT and daily telegraph to read. then it emerged he wanted me to take photos of him in humiliating positions, ie, spreadeagled on the floor, with either paper draped over him, or squatting doggystyle with the newspaper rolled up in his mouth and my boot on the top of his head.
i obliged. it takes all sorts, after all... who says london isn't interesting anymore?
7 pts. 4 for the brains and 3 for newspaper boy.
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Obnoxious little man behind the bar last night at 6pm, I asked for a pint and tried to have a little banter about the weather with the barman, who snapped at me. Back in your kennel snappy little dog, you're not that pretty !
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Disagree with many of the comments below, not a bad pub.
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they seem to have renovated it a little, creating a more spacious atmosphere but i'm having a bit of a struggle ascertaining the direction they are taking it in.
do they know, i guess is the question? odd.
it did need something, that's for sure.
it's more of a mixed bar now than just a surly older gay men's bar.
jury's out on it, let's say 5 as i can't really complain about the quality of the beer.
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This used to be a fantastic old school pub that was primarily for older gay men that didn't conform to the gay stereotypes. It was friendly and had wonderful staff.
Over the last few years it has been systematically ruined by new management 'inovations' like execrable DJ's and bar staff that seem to believe they are the license trade's bee's knees, despite evidence to the contrary (the attendance has dropped noticeably).
The staff and clientele are so far up their own fundaments that it's amazing they can talk at all. The management seems to actively encourage a surly rudeness and cliques that exclude people who aren't personally known to them. There are virtually no black people, lesbians or straight 'friends'. In short, a very outdated gay London venue.
As other have said, the toilets are terrible..they are stupidly small, but that goes with the territory of it being a very old pub. It's the fact that they break down so much and don't get fixed in time for opening that is unforgiveable.
I have now decided i've had enough and after 20 years cannot go back. AVOID!
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Sunday nights are very crowdy and the karaoke with the magic Julie is a dream,, the place is filled with talented singers, and the atmosphere is greit,,, a good night to be there
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Recently we were invited to meet some friends in London and go for a drink at the King's Arms. I had heard of this pub before the visit but then found these reviews on-line. They are not the most flattering of reviews and I have to say I was not looking forward to going, based on the several negative comments. However, I was so pleasantly surprised that I felt compelled to register with BITE to leave a review a little more positive than some of the other visitors had left. Of course, we were only there on one occasion and it was reasonably quiet, but most of the downstairs area was filled with quietly chatting drinkers of mixed ages. The place certainly had a lived-in feel but was not, to my mind, as dilapidated as I had been led to believe. We ventured to the upstairs seating area as there weren't many places to sit downstairs. Yes, the carpet was worn on the riser of the topmost stair as these were very narrow stairs and it is almost impossible not to let the toe of your boot clout the riser as you climb. This was the only sign I found of the carpet being worn. From the previous reviews I expected to see it held together with gaffer tape in several places. The downstairs was air conditioned but upstairs was not (or wasn't switched on). They serve limited real ales, but these were perfect temperature and reasonably-priced (for the area - we paid higher at another nearby pub). The bar staff were polite and left an impression that we were actually welcome there - almost like you were invited to share a beer in their living room - one of them politely acknowledged us as he passed to a room at the back too. I honestly can't fault the pub - it's not glamorous, it was not pristine, but to my mind, somewhere which felt almost familiar, and above all, welcoming is far more important. The only minor criticism I have was a few more stools in the bar area would have been better. As for the toilets they were clean albeit incredibly close together (a little dated but perfectly usable). There was hot water, soap and hand dryer. I really don't know what people expect. They were fine and I really can't complain about them. The King's Arms is certainly worth a visit in my view and I would happily return there on another occasion.
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lol, makes me laugh seeing some of these reviews. T
he bar needs a refurb without doubt carpet toilets etc.
Prices are steep but it's Soho. get over it
Still friendly and fun on the right night, beer is clean and the staff are chilled out and fun...
I didn't see any attitude
worth a visit
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Appalling place. Overpriced and over-crowded. Smallest and smelliest toilets of any gay pub I know. In spite of it's supposedly friendly reputation, the staff are attitude-ridden queens. This pub has been trading on it's old reputation for too long and really needs a shake-up.
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Interesting to visit. Decent pint of Brains SA Gold also had Pride. Came in here with a couple of girls. Don't be scared you won't get bummed in the toilets! Ok pub
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This is still London's only real gay Bear Bar.
Most of the clientele are men over 30 years of age - which makes a refreshing change in Soho. It serves real ale (usually!) and is friendly. If you are the proud owner of a beard and/or moustache you will be really popular. Disco bunnies might want to consider other gay venues.
The principal problem is that it gets much toooooooooo crowded. The deep narrow layout doesn't suit crowds and you are likely to get jostled and have your beer spilled by the stream of people trying to get to and from the loo and to the upstairs bar.
The other problem is the loos - which are disgustingly smelly and too small.
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This place gets worse and worse; it took them 3 weeks to sort out the dish washer so everyone had to drink out of plastic and the last time I was in there the concept of a bottle of bleach was beyond them; the toilets stank so badly my nose-hair fried.
Brain dead graffitti but then if you don't respect your customers, why should they respect you?
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Great gay pub for bears and admirers. I usually end up here a couple of nights a week for a few cheeky pints after work.
Staff are very friendly and polite - as are most of the clientele.
Can be a bit cliquey if you are on your own, but with a bunch of mates its a nice place to hang out.
In the summer it gets incredibly busy outside with people drinking al fresco. It also has a much underused upstairs.
Sundays are well known for Karaoke so get there early unless you want to find yourself squashed in a corner with lots of hairy men. But then again, maybe thats what you're looking for....
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Decent pub . Not only has everybody shagged each other here - they all tell each other about it. Unique pub
bob55 - 21 Dec 2007 12:34 |
Well they closed and refurbished this place after the smoking ban came in and it's still a fly-blown dump. Toilets disgraceful so god knows what the cellar is like. Often felt sick after drinking draught here so switched to bottles. Staff are attitude-ridden queens.
Only the clientele make it bearable :-)
Manager has a "DJ" in on a Saturday so converstaion is impossible, he'd obviously rather be running a club than the potentially cracking traditional Gay boozer he has...
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This once great establishment has sadly been fading since the departure of Steve Holroyd. Karaoke is a real winner on a Sunday night but overall the pub is nowhere near as busy as it once was and I think this is mainly due to the surly attitude of certain staff. The punters make this place friendly, but the staff find it difficult to smile and are at times, particularly unwelcoming. Thank goodness for the smoking ban in 6 weeks time, this place supposedly has air conditioning but I have struggled to feel it! The toilets are small and in a constant state of disrepair. Refurbishment is long overdue and what happened to the relaxed drinking laws? This place still kicks out in a very rude and unfriendly manner. There are alternatives on the bear scene to the Kings Arms these days, the brewery and management would do well to remember this.
anonymous - 11 May 2007 13:01 |
i wouldn't recognise the bar from these descriptions, i now only go in occasionally for the pool table and the staff and atmosphere could hardly be less welcoming
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It can get terribly crowded in the evenings, and also, crucially, they take away the chairs after 6pm. It`s a friendly enough place, and if I sit in there long enough, I usually see at least one person I know. Upstairs can be a bit less crowded.
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We refer to it as The Leaky Cauldron. The K.A. is an institution. It gets too busy later in the evenings . It is one of the few "gay pubs", (as opposed to a "gay bar". And even though it gets too smoky, come April 07, that will be one probelm less. One of the few friendly bars in Central London
anonymous - 2 Jun 2006 01:07 |
I unwittingly walked in with a friend to discover it was a gay pub and whilst this would not generally concern me, I did find the Kings Arms quite uncomfortable, probably as it had an all male customer base and there were some decidedly shady looking characters among them. The pub itself is fine, a bit dark but not in any way tacky. Good service, decent beer and a good mix of music. If gay pubs are your thing then I guess you could do a lot worse.
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warmy furry pub with a decent Kareoke on packed Sunday Evenings and no thats not a tautology
This pub was a lot nicer when the previous owners were there, the atmosphere was friendlier and older bears were made to feel a lot more welcome, its got camper and queenier and the staff would be happier working in Comptons
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I went in completely oblivious to the fact that it was a gay bar and was made to feel very welcome (s.w.f) although this was early evening on a Saturday. Good pints served too. Nice to look at a few decent blokes, just a pity they weren't interested in me!
Hucks - 15 Sep 2005 13:05 |
I put the ATM in this pub when Willy was the landlord.. he was a top man, bought me a pint for my birthday and was very sad to go back weeks later to find he'd died suddenly. Not my scene but seemed a decent place and the ale was excellent.
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The beer is probably the nearest to real ale of any gay pub in London (which is not saying much).
The Ancient Order of Druids was founded here in the 18th century - see plaque on wall inside.
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refurbished and not bad. A real daddies bear leather bar. Gets horrendously over-crowded but service is OK even when 3 deep at bar. Go in summer so you can stand outside on the street (and get stared at by the puzzled tourists)
Jon - 9 Mar 2004 13:32 |
