please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
It really is quite ironic that the members who really give a shit about this site , either get their posts deleted or membership revoked whilst the garbage that appears on here on a daily basis largely remains on view. Good move guys.
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Built in 1898, this lovely Victorian pub retains many original features, including rich wood carvings and structural ironwork. Formerly The Bricklayer's, The Clachan was a local for the firemen of Station No. 13 and police officers of the Special Constable Reserve in King Street. It was once owned by the family-run department store, Liberty..Clachan is Gaelic for 'meeting place'.
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Built in 1898, this lovely Victorian pub retains many original features, including rich wood carvings and structural ironwork. Formerly The Bricklayer's, The Clachan was a local for the firemen of Station No. 13 and police officers of the Special Constable Reserve in King Street. It was once owned by the family-run department store, Liberty..Clachan is Gaelic for 'meeting place'.
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Who is this A sshole below, he needs locking up!!
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Currently working on a show at the London Palladium until October, so the Clachan seemed a good choice of pub for after work.
It is a nice looking pub, with a good selection of real ales, but have found the beer more often than not in poor condition, most of the staff are miserable & unfriendly, & incapable of pulling a full pint...& when you asked to have it topped up you're glared at as if you'd just opened a bait box under their nose.. Despite all this, it's always busy!
Myself & my colleagues have decided not to use it any more.. But don't suppose anything will change! Sadly I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
Rob64 - 30 Jul 2015 02:38 |
After several hours in the Cock and after some dinner I popped into the Clachan on a Wednesday night for my first ever visit.
Large Nicholson’s pub with lots of traditional & original features. Being a Nicholson’s pub there was a great selection and variety of ales on the 10 hand pumps. 9 ales on initially then a 10th was added.
I opted for several pints of McEwans Signature @ 4.8%, a very drinkable ale.
Upstairs dining room that was closed on my visit this was probably due to the time of night.
Busy in the bar but no problem to get a drink with the efficient bar staff coping extremely well.
Quite noisy with lots of chatter above the fairly high level of the music but this is a very decent pub with good ale choice that is well kept.
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Enjoyable decorative interior and I gather the pub was formally owned by Liberty’s next door. Centre ‘island’ style bar with good selection of Christmas ales at time of writing, and indeed mulled cider. Prices are a little higher than average but still reasonable for West End. Attractive staff and well dressed patrons. Not really a ‘locals’ pub but perfectly reasonable for acquiring a pint or two while out shopping.
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Decent Nicholson's corner-site pub with fine Victorian exterior and many good Victorian fittings inside - carved wood, mirrors, tiles, etc. The original subdivisions have been removed to form a single, large room with a central bar retaining much of its carving. The normal decent range of well-kept ales you expect of the chain, together with its less impressive menu (although I must say that the scampi and chips was really good). Overall a decent experience of ale, food and ambience.
BobOs - 23 Mar 2012 15:19 |
Excellent pub, great selection of ales. Jaipur on tap plus 5 or so others when I was there. Jaipur was strong but excellent, just the way it should be. Good atmosphere, friendly staff. Would definitely recommend and will definitely be back.
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Excellent pub, great selection of ales. Jaipur on tap plus 5 or so others when I was there. Jaipur was strong but excellent, just the way it should be. Good atmosphere, friendly staff. Would definitely recommend and will definitely be back.
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Went in here on a sunday afternoon/evening for food and drinks. Thought we would try the upstairs dining room with 'full table service'. Upon arrival there was no acknowledgement from the waitress so we seated ourselves. She didn't serve a single customer in the 10 minutes we waited for her to bring menus over and stared at the till screen looking puzzled. When we did receive our menus she didnt say a word. Another ten minutes passed and she came to take our order. We ordered 3 sunday roasts (beef). Approx 15 minutes later we were expecting our food and were told there was no Roast left and she gave us a menu and walked off again. During this time we overheard another customer ordering roast from another waitress who had appeared. I approached the waitress and she informed me that there was only chicken left. Why didn't the first waitress see if we wanted that instead?! Both waitresses acted as if it was their first day without training as they opened the food lift and looked baffled time and time again. Other customers were complaining about the wait times. Neither of them came back to check on us during the meal nor was the bill given to us and we paid at the bar. Cannot believe management have just left two incompetent staff to run the restaurant with clearly little to no training.
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Like all Nicholson pubs, it has that old world charm without looking tacky. A fantastic selection of ales was present and the sevice was excellent. A well recommended stop off, especially if you are contemplating one of the Nicholson ale trails.
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I enjoyed this place in a mni pub crawl, so much I stayed for two.
Good mixed clientelle, nice music and decent beer with an excellent choice.
Would recommend to visiting friends. Clean, bright and airy. Will use again if in area.
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This was ,at one time, a superb London pub until, about 20 years ago, they decided to change the decor and have infantile pop music (?) blaring out for the oiks. Now it's impossible for anyone who likes what was once normality to use. As one socialist scumbag said in 1945, 'we're the masters now ' and this pub is as good an indication as any that the oiks are, temporarily it is to be hoped, in control..
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Good pub. Excellent range of ales and the one I had Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted was just right. Busy, as you'd expect but staff cope well. This is a more pleasant street to wander down than nearby Carnaby Street.
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Was immediately greeted by the friendly barman, who suggested and gave me a taste of an ale as I was overwhelmed by the fantastic choice.
Had standard pub grub which was fine.
A splendid London pub, Highest I have ever marked a Nicholson's pub.
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Last time I was here, I was quite possibly underage. I used to go shopping in Oxford Street with my mate and buy up half of HMV and then try our luck in the pubs.
I returned here out of nostalgia more than anything else, but I had a pleasant surprise when I saw one of my favourite ales - St Austell Tribute and it was absolutely perfect.
I should have had a second, but given they had a fantastic range of about 8-10 ales on, I thought I would dabble with something else. I went for the Acorn Barnsley Gold. It was OK, but not quite as pleasant as the Tribute.
The pub seemed a lot smaller than I recall. I guess 20 years ago when my pub experiences were more cosy little village pubs it did seem huge, but compared to the pubs of today (JDW/ABO and other chains) I suppose it isn't that huge.
Would love to return here - may not leave it another 20 years though.
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Not too bad - but nothing special.
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Unusually, whilst in London on leisure rather than business activities, both pubs I decided to pop into were of the Nicholson's brand, which while being owned by a large and nationalised pub company, actually do strive to maintain more traditional outlets which major on sound pub food and a range of well-kept ales. Unsurprisingly, the Clachan ticks these boxes.
As mentioned by previous commentators, 8 handpumps are supported, half occupied by more regular offerings and the other by less-ubiquitous beers from around the UK. Yesterday, a good variety were on albeit orientated more towards the Midlands and upwards. RCH Pitchfork and Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted were quaffed and found in good order.
I had already eaten so wasn't in need of any victuals, but the usual Nicholson's menu with an accent on good solid pub food (and the customary range of "real" sausages!) was available, and I observed that the dishes brought out for others appeared to be of the consistent good standard I've always found in this chain.
In terms of atmosphere, contrary to some who have obviously arrived at quieter times, it was buzzing, partly - though not primarily - because the latest World Cup football match was featuring on the TV. It might've dominated, but there are plenty of alcoves around to escape it. Decor was classic repro-Victoriana and generally un-branded - perfectly acceptable for this kind of pub. People were of varied ages and backgrounds and it was lively.
Service-wise, a mix of foreigners were manning (womanning?) the bar as per usual, but were courteous and efficient, if not people who would be able or willing to strike up any light conversation with punters - in fairness it was too busy anyhow. I can't say I've any complaints on this aspect.
Ultimately, this place might not be truly exceptional, but compared to so many of the average by-numbers pubs in Soho and beyond, it actually compares very competitively on the beer and food fronts especially, and I would recommend a stop-off if any of you find yourselves in the area.
8/10 - possibly a little generous but the score hitherto seems a little unrepresentative.
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The bar now supports 8 hand pumps which I am sure is an increase from my last visit.
As well as the house TT Landlord and Pride there was Deuchars IPA, Sharps Doombar, Thornbridge Jaipur IPA, Moorhouse Black Cat and RCH Pitchfork on during last Sundays visit and the Jaipur IPA was an excellent pint.
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Lovely with a nice range of ales and whiskies. I stop here whenever passing. Fortunately the tube is nearby as well for my journey home after a good session!
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This pub was a pleasant surprise. I had low expectations but was met with a good selection of well-kept ales at decent prices. Tim Taylor and Pride are the resident ales, with 4 or 5 guest ales, varying in colour and strength. I also ate in the restaurant upstairs, receiving an OK pub fish and chips and some surly service form a stressed out, overworked spanish(?) waitress for �7.
I was quite taken aback by the appearance of the bar manager in the downstairs bar, about 20 stone with a massive gut hanging out of the bottom of her shirt. Not exactly what you want to look at when thinking of ordering food, but it could save you a few quid I suppose.
I will definitely go back there, especially as it is very close to work.
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I currently work at the Palladium so the Clachan is my local, we're in here most days and have yet to have a bad pint of ale. They keep all 8 bitters really well, and are constantly bringing in new guest ales. Food is also great and there is a really nice social vibe about the pub. By far the best pub in the area.
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The ale range was great, could tell that it was well looked after, however the staff did not seem to have much Knowledge on Ales !
The atmoshere was rather quite, but enjoyable. The menu was rather basic which was a little disapointing, but the food arrived quickly tasted great and was well priced for cental London. I will go back, thanks for a fun night
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Former Victorian gin palace situated on a street corner just close to the famous Liberty's store.
Although much of the etched glasswork and screened partitions have now sadly disappeared, and the pub has been openerd up, a fine moulded ceiling and bar back give you a sense of what the pub would have been like in its heyday. Note the ornate plasterwork lettering high up on the outside which tells us that the pub dates back to 1898. There's also a fine mosaic floored entrance on Kingly Street.
It's a Nicholsons pub and the usual framed potted history information board inside tells us that the pub was owned by Liberty's for a time up till 1983. Indeed, the upstairs bar is still called The Liberty Bar and a number of old framed price lists and adverts from the store line the walls by the staircase.
As with the Argyll Arms, from where I had just come, the aroma of cooked breakfasts was noticeable.
The Clachan has 8 pumps, which, on my visit, were serving London Pride, TT Landlord, Deuchars IPA, Wadworths 6X. Also on was Downton Winter Solstice, a beer from Coach House, plus 2 from the Seasonal Ales selection - namely Ryedale's Winter Tale and Hydes Berry Good Ale. From observing staff interaction with customers, I detected quite an enthusiasm and commitment to real ale and it is therefore disappointing to report that the Deuchars IPA was not very good.
This pub is roomier and, being further away from Oxford Street than the Argyll Arms, likely to be less crowded. I dare say that I'll probably pop in here again sometime.
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Great traditional Victorian pub tucked behind Regent Street, just far enough down a back street to avoid the massive hoardes. Usual excellent choice of ales from a Nicholson's pub- 6 or 7 on yesterday on my most recent visit. I'm a big fan of the this place, especially on a cold dark evening
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Visited here again yesterday (Evening) as part of the Nicholson "Dick Whittington" Ale Trail. Fairly Busy but served a good pint of London Pride. Typical Nicolson Fare. Worth a visit for one if in the Area.
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About the best pub around the Carnaby street area having real ales rather than just lager. Tucked behind Liberties its a smallish pub with lots of dark wood and dark red around in typical victorian style. There were about 6 ales on offer, Tried the Monster Mash which was typical of Scottish Ales and awful.
OK pub for a flying visit but would not stop for a session.
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Single room traditional style pub that doesn't have anything special to recommend it but nothing much against it either. Ok for a quick one rather than a destination for a full evening
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Nice range of beers (I enjoyed the Pirate's Gold), a variety of lagers and a couple of traditional ciders. What more could you want really?
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Pick of the pubs on Kingly St - but since the Blue Posts got Greene Kinged and the Red Lion put everything on gas, that's not saying much. A reasonable pint of Landlord for under 3 quid, Pride and Sly Fox also on and working at 5.30. I got served by the one human bar-tender, the rest were 'droids, so although I had a good time, I can see why others haven't. Clientele part-tourist, part-Soho-creatives, neither my type, but its a few yards from Regent St so what could one expect? All in all, a decent experience, and if I was in doubt of that, the fact that The Dog and Trumpet is now an O'Neill's was a sobering reminder of what could have been.
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Nice tradional pub with a good selection of beer, including some regional guest ales. Cheap food as well 2 meals for �10, and the quality and quantity of food was good.
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Setting is really nice and it has a good range of beers, but none of them worked when I went, so a choice of two.
Also jumped up staff, think they are the best bar staff in town, haven't they watch cocktail?? :)
But basically was harassed until last orders to drink up and get out, if they spent move time caring about customers and taking bar orders than impressing their mates it would be a descent place.
Poor show
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mid afternoon , wasn't too busy , still had 7 min wait to be served a short poured pint of pride, beer was average, used to be good when Big mark ran the place, wasnt impressed overall on this visit. Aonther M&B losing it due to inept company policies
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Place was heaving last Friday afterwork, as you could imagine, and not in a good way. Another other day it would have been fine I bet. Got a pint of Bombardier and it was not very good - had much better elsewhere. Was going to go to Argyl Arms but couldn't even get in. Guess I shouldn't be surprised the one place I could get in to get a beer wasn't the best and for a Friday afterwork I shouldn't be surprised. Made our way over to the Ship and it was nicer there and the beer was pretty good too.
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Several real ales on � nothing out of the ordinary though; TT Landlord, Bombardier Pride, OSH and maybe one other. The Landlord was OK.
This is a large corner pub, with a typical Victorian gin palace layout � ornate pillars, high ceiling, tall windows, island bar, and some original mosaic floors. But it looks as if some of the original windows might have been lost over the years. I believe that it was owned by Liberty�s at some stage.
It gets busy with tourists due to its proximity to Oxford Circus and Carnaby Street. In fact it looks as if its main business is as a restaurant for tourists. But it�s a decent enough pub and I would recommend it.
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As mentioned this place has a large real ale and lager selection. The barman was friendly, but my pint of Stella was the first of the day and he hadn�t pulled one through. I was going to get it changed, but he disappeared out the back.
The music was at a nice level and the layout of the pub is very good.
I�m not sure if I would go back if in the area � I certainly wouldn�t go out of my way.
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Six real ales: Old Mill Summer Sunshine, Landlord, Pride, Thwaites Wainwright & Bomber and Batemans Thirsty Work. Also had Erdinger and bottles of Leffe. Beer quality of those I had didn't seem great but they weren't beers I knew. A large central bar with a raised area at the back. Had a steak pie which was fine.
Overall perfectly acceptable and one of the better Nicholsons.
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I Visited this pub yesterday as Part of the "SOHO & NOHO" Dick Whittington Pub Trail". Music, TV's, Nice Bar. Usual selection of Ales served in a Nicholson Chain pub. Foreign BAr Staff who did not undersand plain english. Again we had short measures but was the same in all Nicholsons run pubs visited that afternoon, however was topped up without fuss.
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short changed by staff. both barman and manager refused to admit mistake. now out of pocket. what ever happened to competent staff and customer service orientated management? check your change!
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Tick box for a bit of heritage let down by inferior service and poor ale, despite a fair selection. I had three of them, which ranged from adequate to 'take back'.
Unimpressed.
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Good enough for a mid afternoon break from the bustle of Regent St/Oxford St. Decent selection of beer let down by short measures. An overzealous desire from the bar staff to have everyone (except their mates, it seemed) finished off & out of the pub by ten past eleven on Saturday night. Whatever happened to 20 min's drinking up time?
SA162 - 23 Dec 2007 19:43 |
Sarah, the Guv, and her staff are the most cheerful and friendly folk who run any of the pubs in this part of Soho. Their Spitfire is the best quality I've drunk in London, and their Timothy Taylor Landlord is well worth quaffing a pintertwo!!.
mikem - 21 Sep 2007 09:43 |
I couldn't disagree more about the service - the new bar-staff are friendly and efficient. Food could be faster though...
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A good place to meet up after work; the beer is excellent and the atmosphere is great. Have to watch the measures though!
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yes, the service is often moody; yes, there's an enormous wait on the food; yes, it is usually horribly over-crowded; yes, the ceiling is like a scene out of The Shining.
But there's a general convivial atmosphere at the Clachan and, to keep you interested, an ever-changing selection of great guest ales.
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I'm a bit surprised by the reviews below. I've visited this pub only the once, a couple of months ago, and it was memorable for two things: having great Wadworth 6X on tap and having excellent staff. Well, one person anyway. There was a very sweet Australian girl serving that night, who I noticed was nice to every single customer she served. She was making people laugh. Whoever she was, they were dead lucky to employ her.
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This isn't the best pub in the world by a longshot, however, if like i was you're doing a pub crawl around soho, then it's well worth sticking this pub on your list.
Had 4 ales on, I had something called Tiger, can't remember the brewery but it was really good. Plus they have a few other european beers like erdinger. Bit of a trendy feel to it rather than a 'real pub' feel.
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Tried to get into this pub around 11:00 on a Thurs. with no luck. The bartender was reading the paper and had no intention of opening the door. The signs were outside which I interpreted as it being open. I wanted a pint of Bass as it seemed to have disappeared in other london pubs. I went back after walking around Soho and seeing every other pub open for business. At 11:30 it still wasn't open so I went to Pillars of Hercules instead and never got my Bass. I wanted to taste test it to my homebrew recipe and see how close I was. Oh well.
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This place is a regular of mine and it's one of the best in the West End.
I have known times when the service hasn't been brilliant but they've been few and far between.
The beer is well kept and they have a good selection of ales. The lager is... Well, lager. The menu is good pub food and it's usually served quickly. The pies and the toad in the hole are especially good.
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Good-sized pub which is part of the Nicholson's chain, this means a reasonable range of well-maintained ales, with a 'try before you buy' policy. My better half was pleased with the wine list too. I would have liked the bar staff to have been a bit more clued-up, but you can't have it all.
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Yep, to be honest, the last review is right. What the fck is the point of having a bar that runs the full circle of the gaff and then only serving on one side,,...with no sign to indicate that this is the modus operandi? I am not necessarily that sympathetic to tourists but i had to feel for the Spaniards who waited for nigh on half an hour to be served in the back half the other night, before they realised it was a fruitless endeavour and had to move round. The staff couldn't give a sh it, they are cnuts in here!
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This pub has the worst service I've ever had in London.
We went there because it was recommended in a Time Out guide and all I can say is, the staff must have known Time Out was in that night.
On the night we went, the staff were harrassing customers not to sit in one area of the pub and then another one( it is a pretty big pub) as they wanted to tidy up, while still serving other customers and confining everyone to a small area of the pub.
When I asked why this was I was told they wanted to get rid of people.
When I pointed out that was't exactly the way to treat customers I was told it didn't matter to them if we never used their pub again as they have plenty of customers.
Fair enough as I haven't used it since.
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Great pint of Landlord and really tasty burger as well. Highly recommended.
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i'm going to start my own campaign to get pubs to open late. OPEN LATE! Stop throwing me out at 11:20!
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Four or five real ales, interesting interior (floor mosaics and woodwork), half empty when I got there at 4pm on a Wednesday, but filled up rapidly.
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went there for the first time in 13 years still just as impressed nice one
juzza - 29 Mar 2006 13:38 |
Well, this is that rare beast - a decent ale pub in the badlands of Regent Street / Piccadilly. There were five ales on last night: Pride (as you'd expect) along with Timothy Taylor Landlord and a Hook Norton beer all of which were in good condition. It's a busy pub full of workers rather than tourists; that's the benefit of being hidden down a side street. A useful bolt hole if you're in the area.
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Been coming here years on and off - good pint of Guiness and you can normally find a seat if you hang around long enougth...
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Great pub - decent service. Kingly Street is well worth a pub crawl in its own right. Very busy on Saturdays, which is exactly what you would expect given the location.
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Had a splendid pint of Timmy Taylors last Saturday lunchtime. There was a large group of a dozen or so Frenchies in the pub - each one buying their one drink individually rather than having "rounds". Typical French - a law unto themselves.
Seems more food orientated than some of the other Nicholsons - esp The Argyll near Oxford Street Tube
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does the clachan still close at normal closing time?
I could really handle somewhere like this that stays open a while.
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Visited 27 Oct 05. 5 real ales on offer, I had the Adnams Flagshipwhich was in good condition. Most staff made sure that a pint was exactly that, though those that served a "frothy one", would top it up without any hassle.
Speaking as a suit, what else can the previous writers expect from this pub. It exists almost entirely on the "after work" trade, and reflects that. It most definately is not a local pub, but it does the job in a quiet efficient manner. The prices are reasonable for the area. Where's the problem?
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Really gone down in the last few years. Beer terrible. Worst pint of Timothy Taylors and Abbott in a long time. Un-interested staff.
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Excellent pub. They really know their beer. Food not bad.
The upstairs is great place to get away from the suits which can occasionally pack it out.
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Nice pub for the area, although it seems to fill to the point of unpleasantness with suits come around 6:30 in the evening. However slightly overshadowed in my opinion the excellent Sam Smith's pub "The Red Loin" just up the road.
anonymous - 11 Aug 2005 10:25 |
Tim Taylor's Landlord was the best pint of the many good ones that I had during a recent session. Pleasant atmosphere and friendly staff.
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Yep,..its a nice refuge in here, if you cant find a spot in the upstairs at the argyle,....(they're like gold dust!)
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Pretty good boozer that seems to take the Very Serious Business of Keeping Real Ale appropriately seriously. The Timothy Taylor's Landlord was great, in addition to which they had London Pride and A.N.Other on tap. Good selection of malt whiskies, though they kept the empty boxes of finished bottles up behind the bar which made choosing a little tricky. Food portions looked enormous and the prices were very reasonable for this part of London. The staff could benefit from a little English Language training and the manager could perhaps invest in a clock that shows the correct time, but these are niggles. What was perhaps slightly more worrying was that one of the barmen was called to check out some hobo that had passed out in the loos - I guess that kind of goes with the territory of being situated in W1. My normal reaction to finding myself near Oxford Circus is to run away screaming asap - this place is worth seeking refuge in. Good stuff!
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A regular meeting place of mine because of the location, range of beers and friendly, but not sedate, atmosphere. A well above average after work pub. 8/10
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Enjoyed it thoroughly. Best fish 'n chips yet. Music not too loud, good selection of beers. 8 out of 10 ranking.
primatebonz - 31 Oct 2004 14:01 |
clientelle was a touch tourista, but the decor and beer range were good. Sunday roast had lotsa gravy and a huge yorkshire, but shy on the veg. Their famous fish and chips was huge and the mushy peas very tasty.
That's just two of the reasons I liked it.
Richard - 31 Oct 2004 14:00 |
Local after-work pub. Usually a good selection of hand pulled beers. Food is average. Well worth a visit. a little quieter upstairs. Great Decor. Hidden away from tourist throng.
Andrew (barnsley) Wood - 14 Sep 2004 21:18 |
Fine Interior, excellent friendly service, though the range of beers was a bit disappointing - but that's a matter of personal choice. Generally, worth visiting
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this is one of sohos gems- go! you will love it!! best tried after 2 hours of walking around in liberty's. (you'll need it)
BAD BOY - 5 Sep 2003 15:30 |
Had a nasty shock when buying two pints of Adnams, handing a fiver over the counter & being asked for more money! Why pay �2.80 for Adnams there when it's �2.20 or less in the Wenlock Arms, N1 near Angel, Both these pubs are in Zone 1, but consider the price difference!
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I meant �2.80 of course (see below)
Kevin S - 12 Feb 2003 17:28 |
Nice pub in a good location. A bit pricey though. �280 for a pint of adnams
Kevin S - 12 Feb 2003 17:27 |
A nice pub with a good range of beers. More spacious since it was redecorated. The upstairs is now open for general use instead of being reserved for special functions. However I feel it has lost some of its old atmosphere since the redecoration. Still in my top ten favourite pubs.
Alistair - 28 Nov 2002 10:20 |
