please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Went to the Bentham earlier this week. My wife informed the barmaid that the hand drier in the ladies was not working. A couple of minutes later, an obnoxious man, who turned out to be the landlord, came over and was most discourteous. He virtually told us to get out and when he saw my CAMRA shirt he said, "and I hate CAMRA members as well".
I will certainly never return to this pub, but on the bright side there are about a thousand better pubs in London to go to. Cest la vie.
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Named after the famous utilitarian whose cadaver can still be viewed in the main building of University College London nearby) this is also pretty utilitarian in nature despite a billed range of ales (Harvey's among others was actually absent and a pint of Young's lacked care in the keeping). I'd agree with the previous interlocutor in that it exposes CAMRA's weakness in judging pubs on the beer and nowt else.
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A standard bar with 4 mainstream ales. Beer of variable quality. Dont see why it merits a place in Good Beer Guide.
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I've been going to this pub since 1981. I regularly meet friends from UCL (which is probably along with UCH one of the biggest providers of custom here). Mostly it is a handy place and usually reasoanbly friendly, does ok food and has reasonable beer (and ok, but expensive wine).
yesterday, we were twice told rudely not to consume food on the premises. Ok so they sell food here, but we've been here often on the outside tables eating stuff, and spending lots at the bar (this time, we'd had 1 order of over twenty pounds already including a bottle of aforesaid wine which must have had a markup of ten pounds or so compared with off-license sales) - as regulars (who I know the bar staff recognize) and long standing customers, and from local institutions, you'd think they'd at least have the good business sense to be polite to us about it - frankly, I was unimpressed - it wasn't a busy friday, it was a medium busy thursday.
Previously I'd have put this pub at 7, but this nearly made us all leave and announce a boycott.
#FAIL in customer relationship management.
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Terrible. Bad management, poor service and rude owners. Definitely avoid.
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The best real Ale pub around UCL. They also have the most single malts i have ever seen in a pub south of the border.
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What a great wee trad pub , a real hidden gem - we found this place just off the tottenham court rd , whilst looking for somewhere for lunch and were not disapointed , It has a 4 real ale pumps, and from the couple of pts i had (xb and doombar) very well kept - also old rosie cider on hand pull too.
For Lunch my wife had the fish and chips which she really enjoyed it was a huge bit of cod, nice and crispy with homemade tartar sauce and i had the beef burger , it was huge , the best burger i've had in ages , a proper hand made patty too.the chips were tasty as well and the portions will not leave you hungry.
This is a lovely pub ,big open windows , tables outside, no fuity machines or tvs or pool tables , really clean , nice friendly staff . We had a good bit banter with the landlord too and my wife was pleased to inform me that the ladies were lovely and clean aswell. Would definitely recommend it .
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If I hadn't stood at the bar and watched the staff pour all the ale slops into pint glasses and then top up to order myself, I would not have believed this went on in this day & age. Such a clean well kept pub, who will serve you absolute shit to drink. Amazing.
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Well kept beer with a good selection of regularly changing guest beers. Some of the best pub food in the area. Tables for sitting outside in the summer although it does get busy at lunch times with the local office trade.
trees - 29 Oct 2010 15:02 |
A bit small but good beer and cider selection. Friendly and efficient staff. Excellent pub food.
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Small corner pub near the university with a good range of ales and cider. Finding a table was difficult. Many people were spilling onto the pavements outside. Service was swift and efficient despite the number of customers. A replica of Jeremy Bentham's head can be seen above the bar. Beers available were Ringwood Best, Everards Tiger, Youngs Original and Sharps Doom Bar. Westons Old Rosie occupied a further handpull, in addition to Stowford Press. A pub that is handily located near both Warren St and Euston Square tube stations just off the northern end of Tottenham Court Road. I would happily visit here again. The only drawback is that it does not open at weekends.
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Not a bad alehouse considering the area. Whereas many places look like a pub from the outside but bear no resemblence once inside, this one doesn't look too much like a traditional pub from the outside but does feel like one once inside. Four ales on - tried the SA and the Butcombe Gold which were both decent pints.
anonymous - 11 May 2010 22:31 |
I didn�t think that this place was anything out of the ordinary for a London boozer except for the efficient staff that seemed to be coping very well with the early evening rush that occurred during my visit.
The pub is named after Jeremy Bentham who was a 19th century philosopher and social reformer who, according to the pub sign outside, looked like a Gorg from the popular 1980�s cartoon Fraggle Rock. His unflattering picture hangs outside over some picnic tables that are located on a handily wide path that people can spill out onto during the busy periods.
Batemans GHA and Bank�s Bitter were available, but the XB was off as was another unidentified ale. San Miguel was also available alongside a selection of standard lagers and I was surprised to see Stowford Press and Old Rosie being sold at the same pub.
I'd drink here again, but I wouldn't go out of my way.
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Named after the founder of University College London, who�s embalmed body still dwells in the university�s main building just around the corner. The pub offers welcomed relief from the student dives and designer bars that litter the north end of Tottenham Court Road. Four to five real ales on draft often include an unusual offering � A fantastic pint from the Titanic brewery on my last visit. Worth the effort if in the area.
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This pub is hugely improved. Around 5 real ales in good condition served by a very friendly landlord and staff. Great atmosphere and food is hearty and pretty good value. I stopped coming here for a while despite it being my work local but would strongly recommend it again now.
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Well I liked it and the outside is a nice, relatively quiet place to sit. Beer is really good and a good choice.
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A nice pub for the area, four ales on tap, basic but adequate decor and a larger room upstairs.
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A little intimidating if you're a group of girls out for a drink - there are some weird guys in here!! Avoid unless you've got a couple of six-footers around who can look after themselves!!!
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A good range of beers, if a little expensive. Mainly college/hospital staff and a few colourful regulars. By no means the worst pub in the area and, thankfully, not frequented by the media crowd
anonymous - 27 Jan 2007 15:25 |
The beer here is usually very good but it is rather pricey. Nice to sit outside in the summer and watch the totty. Food's ok. Always found the bar staff very friendly.
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Nice place but so close to UCL and UCH it gets totally packed out. However in summer - it has outdoor seating - it can be delightful. Food adequate, but beer much better. Usually a couple of decentish ales. Wine list good.
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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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On our first visit to London, this was the first pub my wife and I visited (mainly because I teach philosophy and I was intrigued by a pub named after a philosopher that I talk about in my classes; also, it was close to our lodging).
It was crowded in the middle of the day so we sat upstairs, where we interrupted a couple in business attire that appeared to be just moments away from copulation. Aside from that, the food--a chicken burger and a mushroom burger--was great, and the Guinness was even better. Staff was friendly.
When I visit London again, I'll go back.
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Pretty so-so place when all's said and done, and expensive even by Fitzrovia/Bloomsbury standards. There used to be a really good psycho cider on tap, but that seems to have disappeared. In summer at least, can be so crowded that your only option is to stand outside: opens at the weekend, but often almost empty apart from old gits smoking exceptionally malodorous cigars.
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One of the best in the area. Always has a good selection of good real ales
well kept, and a good variety of bottled beers.
Had a non-smoking area upstairs for about
6 months, then the pub was taken over and was smoking again.
The renovation at the start of 2005 kept the same traditional feel,
although the last time I went upstairs still feels a bit bare.
Given that this is in the heart of UCL you'd expect such a good pub to
be swamped by students, but it has more staff than students. I guess
its not trendy enough.
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This pub always has around 4 ales on and they are served to a good standard. Not bad place to go if you are in the area - not a favourite of mine but certainly somewhere i'm likely to go again.
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Don't ever go here for food. We went for an quick lunch and waited well over an hour after numerous complaints and still didn't get our food. We got fed up and got our money back!
Ian - 13 Nov 2004 15:49 |
Wonderful. Orkney Dark Island available on the night I visited
frank - 2 Nov 2004 16:10 |
I went to the JB last night - I studied at UCL a few years ago now and this pub is still good - it does a simple formula well done, there was no food available, but i was only really here for the beer. Good proper pub pub with friendly staff.
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Had a great night there on fri. loads of unusual guest beers, very crowded though, 8 out of ten
tim hartford - 15 Aug 2004 06:48 |
If you go to a pub near Gower St do not be surprised if it has students in it. Rather nice really though my students days are long gone. Coming from the City for weekly TaiChi lesson this pub is ok. Not for camra geeks or gastropub foodies
andy - 23 May 2004 12:25 |
Does seem like it's full of students insofar as seems filled with post-teens and can get crowded. Second floor upstairs is quiet and has several tables, which is a bonus if the downstairs is jammed. Somewhat in the middle of nowhere between TCR and Gower. And to all those sensitive souls who seem to have it in for me for being - dare I say it - critical of their favourite pubs: I have many recent happy memories of this place, so there. PS - I'm male, I have a fine circle of close friends, and I have left many positive statements about some places. Try not to let my comments ruin your day, eh.
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I work at the pub, and find it a very pleasant and friendly atmosphere to work in. The locals are lovely, as are the staff, and the pub has a super range of ales- hand pulled by my fine hand. Not many london pubs can boast to have all its guest ale beer mats displayed above the bar, there must be hundreds and hundreds. As for having too many students, we don't actually have that many- just fine art students from the Slade who come to see me. Brill pub, go have a drink there 10/10
gem - 27 Jan 2004 01:09 |
they try to have a few unusual guest beers during student term time, but I find the prices a bit steep.....
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very good and friendly
craig - 11 Mar 2003 23:00 |
Visited with a friend in January or February and found the beer to be wanting. I had to have one pint changed (which they did with good grace) but the alternative beer was "ok" but enough to deter me from making another visit. However things can always get better! Better off going to the head of steam in Euston
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Nice pub, really good if the weathers nice and you sit outside. Only bad thing is it has a lot of students due to the med school nearby.
rdear - 23 Oct 2002 13:08 |
