please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
It is Dog friendly which after the closure of Academy is worth knowing
|
Very much modernised since the last time I went there (which admittedly was some time last century), tables outside and a large servery area. Had Sambrooks Pumphouse Pale Ale.
|
Had a nice pint of noble English lager here yesterday to slake a summers afternoon thirst. Looked like a good selection of ales, staff friendly and plenty of respectable punters going about their business. Not particularly worth seeking out but certainly worth a visit if in the mood and in the area.
|
Reading the last two or three reviews i was thinking i must have gone to a different Mitre.
Sorry guys, but this place blew me away!
I have just had the best night i have had for ages. Great atmosphere, top service. The place was super busy but the guys were bang on it.
We will definitely be back.
|
Oh dear, modern gastro pub by numbers. Very suitable for the area. 3 real ales when we got there Adnams ,Old Hooky and Doombar. But Adnams tasted like it had just been cleaned. No argument from staff but surely they tasted it themselves before they serve it.
No character, and similar to a number of other pubs in the area. Serving two real ales doesnt make you a good pub. If you are ale drinker who likes their pubs to have soul go elsewhere.
|
I went to The Mitre on saturday and unfortunately was unable to eat there due to:
- Extremely unwelcoming atmosphere
- Miserable bar staff and waiting staff
When one side of the place is busy and the other side is empty and you have 4 people who walk in and want to eat and drink and can't find a seat on the busy side. You don't make a rude song and dance about seating them on the empty side!
Don't think I will be going back!
|
I went to the Mitre tonight to meet a friend for some dinner. I'd been advised that the Prince of Wales (my usual HP hang out) had declined rapidly under new management, so thought I'd go here. In hindsight, I wish I'd stuck with the Prince of Wales...
Couple of things I didn't like:
* Atmosphere or lack there of
* Staff - One particularly surly lady
* Quality of food - Top money, poor quality
On the plus side:
* Very pretty pub
* In the summer, the veranda would be nice
* Good selection of beers and an extensive wine list
I'd just like to run through my negatives quickly for anyone thinking of going for the first time. Its a modern pub, with nods to the past, old furniture etc like you see in many London pubs / gastro pubs. However, what got me was the weird mix of music. One minute it would be banging house, then it would be jazz, then some weird chill out stuff. It seemed like there was no theme or ambience I could relate to and it made me feel a bit on edge.
Staff. They have a lady called Monika working there who was extremely surly and rude. I'm pretty patient with people in the service industry, but this woman must've flown into London on a broomstick.
Quality of food. I had their Angus burger because they'd sold out of roasts (acc. to Monika) by 6pm on a Sunday (good one!) And it was served in a bun that looked similar to those you get with a McDonalds Hamburger, and fries with so much salt I could feel heart disease would soon be imminent if I continued to eat them. The burger was �11.50 which is at the top end of burgers in my book. I live in Fulham and there a number of places on the Kings Road and Fulham Road that for �10 server you a bigger burger, and one that actually feels a bit 'gourmet'. This was a very simple burger, with lots of gherkin, and not much substance to it.
Overall the evening was okay, but its not somewhere I'd go again in a hurry. I'd much rather visit The Mitre on Dawes Road in Fulham!
jpw82 - 16 Jan 2011 21:57 |
After a bad experience here many years ago, I steered clear of The Mitre for a very long time. Now I wish that I hadn't. I visited The Mitre this month and I was pretty well blown away. Perfectly kept real ales, relaxed clean comfortable and spacious environment, pleasant staff, scrumptious food. It's a beautifully designed, well run modern pub. Also, the prices are appropriate. They're high, because it's Holland Park, but they're not ridiculous. 10/10.
|
I don't think anyone above has been to the Mitre since it changed..it is a wonderfully warm and extremely classy joint I have to say!
I remember it when it was the dirge of a place people poke about but believe you me, it has totally revamped with great new Management and fabulous, 'way better than average pub grub'.
I strongly advise all to try, I am off there again for a lip smacking Sunday Roast this week, can't wait!
Siobhan
|
New Management
The Mitre has been recently taken over my new management. It has friendly staff and a brand new food menu. The Mitre has a great selection of real ales and a fantastic wine menu. There is also a lovely outdoor terrace, which can seat about 30 people.
We are also planning a complete refurbishment after the Notting Hill Carnival.
Hope to see you down there soon!
|
This place rubs me the wrong way. I have no idea what it's trying to be - is it a gastro, or an all-bar-one clone? Either way, I've only been two or three times in the last four years that I've lived in the neighborhood. I wouldn't want to sit here drinking a pint, and I wouldn't want to sit here eating a meal. So that's lose-lose on the atmosphere.
Holland Park has a serious lack of decent pubs, and this one is right at the bottom. Holland Park is screaming for a nice pub with a good atmosphere and great, but simple food. There's a HUGE gap in the market. POW/Castle has the worst kitchens known to man. Academy and the new Clarendon are far too formal for a quick bite.
Marylebone has some excellent locals with great pub food. Why can't Holland Park? Grrr!
|
After being recommended The Mitre by somebody (whom I have now lost all trust for) as a decent place to grab some good grub and a pint on a Sunday afternoon - I have to say I was utterly appalled by what we received.
The short, rude, little bald man//hobbit who I can only assume was the 'Governor' sat us down to our RESERVED table (reserved as it was a friends birthday - so was a bit of a special occasion), only for him to forcefully 'suggest' that we didn't split the bill, but that we "sort it out afterwards to save [him] the hassle".
We didn't have a problem with this at the time as we were sure the food and service was going to be good. We were wrong.
After waiting for over an hour for our food, with ZERO attempt from him to even acknowledge that we�d been waiting so long, the food started to arrive. I say STARTED because it took another half an hour for ALL of the meals to arrive at the table, with the final meals arriving well after the first person had finished theirs.
This is bad enough, but still he didn't even acknowledge us. No apology. Nothing.
In fairness the food was OKAY, apart from one - the Roast Beef; it was like eating an old handbag stuffed with the excess fat from Fern Britton's thighs.
When we spoke of our disappointment to said Hobbit, he was disinterested at best - still no apology.
We asked for the bill � service was included.
There was no way were paying for 'service' which simply was non-existent. When we made 'Frodo' aware of this, his reply was shocking - "I didn't expect you too anyways! Youngsters never tip", whilst walking off with our money.
First off we're not youngsters, we all have professional jobs are would be MORE than happy to tip had the service been good. We may have been youngsters in his eyes simply as we hadn't quite required the need to start dying our beards yet, as he clearly had.
I'm not sure if this is a common hobbit trait or not, I'll look into it...
Avoid this horrible little man, and his �shire� at all costs!
joeid - 17 Jun 2009 11:11 |
I was at the Mitre last night and it was the worst, if not very close to the worst Pub experience I've ever had. In no particular order....
The first three choices of wine were not available and the fourth was fetched from downstairs and served warm. The barman was unaware there was a 4 for 3 offer on despite the sign still being on the wall) and had to call someone to confirm before giving us the deal. There was no toilet paper in the womans or mens toilets.Meals ordered at the same time served over a 35 minutes period. When the manager was questioned on why the meals were served so far apart he was unapologetic and abbrasive (bordering on rude.) A mouse ran across the floor during dinner.
Do youself a favour, avoid this pub like the plague (unless you want to catch the plague - see note above about mouse.)
|
nice place, the staff are interactive and helpful. i like the sofa area in the back. comfortable and slithly out of site. and a nice area out the front for people 2 smoke, really enjoy there.
|
Went there on two occasions last saturday and sunday.
On the saturday it was just a quich half pint and a magazine before the evening really starts.
The place was nice and friendly, and attractively lit.
There are big tables very suited to big group of, say, 10 or 12.
The pub is divided into a proper pub section on the road side, and a more formal dining/restaurant section on the back. I sat on the pub section with my half pint of Staropramen, and my drinking experience was certainly pleasant, this pub being of the sort I like, that is: lively but reasonably quiet.
Having been satisfied with the experience I came back for lunch the day after, after noticing that the prices in the nearby (and by far nicer) "Ladbroke arms" do cost a ladbroke arm and a ladbroke leg.
In the Mitre the prices where on the upper region of what you would call reasonable (which is perfectly fine considering the location), and I ordered a steak and ale pie with a pint of Abbot IPA. I was slightly annoyed, though, that I could not sit outside in the beautiful springtime sun because the rare table were already occupied; whether this is because of licence issue or not I cannot tell, but the terrace outside could easily host double the tables they had. Therefore I sat in the restaurant section on the back, which is nice and peaceful and with a good service.
The pie was actually very good and above my expectation, though not huge as you would get it in, say, the bunch of grapes in Knightsbridge. With mashed potatoes and vegetable and a tasty and abundant gravy it was exactly what the doctor ordered.
The beer was, as always by the IPA, something that would like to be an Abbot, and will never be. How a pub can serve the Greene King range and NOT have the Abbot is beyond me. The IPA was also the only ale available, this I find upsetting (see below).
The bathrooms were acceptable for the standard of the pub, though slightly uncomfortable because of the pretty steep and narrow ladder necessary to reach it.
This pub is a good place to come now and then for a quick pint particularly if you drink lager.
For the ale lover I am afraid the place is simply not good enough and I think that the management will have to try harder to remember what a pub is for.
I would have been a 7, but considering the lack of a decent choice of ales I will give it a 6.
All in all this
|
Having lived mostly in East London I have been spoiled by choice with pubs, but since I have been living in Holland Park in the last two years I have gone out infrequently, and selectively. My visit on this occasion was a purely chance affair to catch up with a friend and I have to say I didn't register the name of this place when it was suggested. This is surprising since I have walked past the place practically every day in this time. Having read the previous reviews before going my prejudices seemed justified, but I was willing to give it a go myself, and come to my own opinion. My first was the extractor fan needs changing, as it stunk of burning fat, but there was no sign of any food having been served to create the stench. Around me there was a sense of industry as new signs were being freshly written, but I felt the place was more due a paint job and general tidying as fixtures appeared to be coming of the ceiling and the the lamps were matted with old dirt. The space itself needed reorganizing as there were far too many covers to male it homely as a bar. Some sofas at the front would help. The choice of beers seemed as before, and so I plumper for Kronenburg, which was cold and for me a little clawry, that suggested a pipe cleaning would be beneficial. My friend turning up fashionably late was treated very well by the staff as I watched from afar, and it is clear there is more urgency here, but the bar was practically deserted, so I would expect no less. My friend seemed to know more about the place, and he seemed to concur with the reviews, but suggested that it was good for group drinking, due to it's size, particularly on Fridays. Unbeknown to me she had ordered some chips on arriving, and so I was surprised when the waitress arrived with them, and intrigued to experience their culinary skills. Alas, of was not a good start. The chips looked burnt in places and reheated, which seemed somewhat mean given the cost of a patato, and the taste was best forgotten. In the distance we could see another batch ready to go, which looked significantly more appetizing and yellowy And we were left wondering why, given the new managements wish to change the pubs image that it did not start with basic quality control, especially given he seemed to be running round making new menu boards. On this limited display I would be loathed to take anyone there and try the more expensive items ok the menu, which we thought overpriced compared to other quality establishments in the area. Would I go again? I couldn't imagine why, and certainly not for bubble poker nights! That sounds truly ghastly! My advice for the new owners would be to spring clean, soften the front area with sofas. Oh, and always, always test the food you serve; if you wouldn't eat it why should a paying customer?
|
FANTASTIC PUB WITH A GREAT NEW MANAGER, THEY ARE HAVING POKER NIGHTS EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT WHICH LOOKS FANTASTIC!
OLD REVIEWS ARE FALSE COMPARED TO THE NEW LOOK AND ATMOSPHERE OF THIS MAGICAL VENUE
|
Terrible, terrible, terrible.
The food was terrible.
The wine, terrible.
Service, terrible.
This is not a pub, nor a gastro pub, nor a restaurant.
Close it, start again, tell us when you're ready.
|
The place is huge and on a Saturday afternoon we had plenty of sofas and room to let two toddlers go about their business without annoying anyone.
The burgers have aromatic fresh herbs and the chips are pretty good.
|
As noted by others below, much more gastro than pub. Only one of the two handpumps was on, and I got a very odd look when I asked for my 0.8 of a pint to be topped up. However, once served, the Bambardier tasted surprisingly good and cost less than I was expecting for the Holland Park location.
|
If you think gastro pubs are a good idea (and you're an overpaid dolt if you do) then come here and have all your opinions shattered, because this pretentious pile of utterly predictable stripped pine, bawling yahoos and chrome is frankly all gastro with not the slightest trace of pub. When I arrived the bitters were all off. Fair enough I thought, I'll have a Guinness. Then the Guinness ran out and then all the bottled beers ran out. So I spent the rest of the evening licking the ashtrays and sobering up. I mean really, why bother? Why? No really. If you're treating your paying customers with that much disrespect and loathing, why actually go to the bother of running a pub? Why not just sell your pub to a fast food chain or a supermarket or an abattoir and run away into the distance with a big wad of cash laughing your damned fool head off? Why not just hide behind a bush and trip people up? If this place did away with the showy open plan kitchen open to the elements and bothered to stock more than one type of beer it could legitimately call itself a pub, but until then avoid the sorry site that is the Mitre and all it's ridiculous �18-99 for a tiny non descript meal of char grilled pomposity on a bed of ostentation and a self important jus. GRRRR!
|
ludicrously crap service - bar staff totally unprofessional, just standing about like morons, or in small cliques. God knows what it's like when it's busy.
shame, as a great location.
rocked as 'The Raj', years ago.
|
The staff at the Mitre were extremely slow and unhelpful. After ordering our meal for four, we were left to wait for over an hour, so we got to watch the table next to us eat their entire meal, and they ordered after us. When we tried to get the waitress to check what was going on, we were ignored, and then was ignored again by the next waiter we asked. Finally the third waitress asked the chef, only for us to see him shaking his head in confusion and then forgetting about it. We still waited another 10 minutes and ended up walking out in frustration. It was only at this point that anyone acknowledged us. Add to all that, the drinks were expensive, so the overall experience means I'll never be going back again.
anonymous - 28 Jun 2007 23:38 |
Piss poor service: it took me about 30mins to get served on a not-too-busy saturday evening with only two bar staff on hand. second time i went to the bar it still took about 5mins with only 2 other punters, while 1 of the 2 barstaff was fannying about cleaning up limes. Absolutely stunning.
(although it has to be said the the hand cut chips were pretty good)
|
Nice enough pub but the bar staff are a bit slow. Maybe they were just thinking up a reason to justify charging me �3.40 for a half of orange and lemonade, an impressive 21% more than the price of a pint of so-so Bombardier.
|
Nice pub but the service is a little slow and the staff can be unfriendly at times. Very quiet during the day time but the bar can get quite busy in the evenings.
The food is great but there is never any ale on! I loved their fish & chips!
|
I managed to confuse the bar staff by ordering some food, which incidentally is EXTREMELY expensive - �10.50 for a steak sandwich. All the bitter was off too. However the atmosphere and place is nice although quite empty and once the bar staff figured out how to place a food order they were very friendly.
|
Service at the bar was slow when not many people were in but later when busier it was quicker - bizarre. An annoying barman did not comprehend that a half of coke was the same as a small glass of coke - even more bizarre! The two hand pumps, Bombardier and an unlabelled one were not in use. We had some of the chunky chips. They had a strange flavour as if the oil needed changing.
On the plus side, there were plenty of attractive young ladies - very pleasant indeed!!
|
I remember this pub as the Raj. Not too bad, a tad expensive though but pleasant enough.
|
Definitely the best food in the area. If you want to pay for it! It is a 'gastro' after all.
As for the service, I've never had a problem here but I must agree with the 'comical' statement made by 'vaci'. Last time I was here they brought my wrapped cutlery without the cutlery - just a rolled napkin!
anonymous - 24 Aug 2005 19:03 |
I see the Mitre has reverted back to its original name. When I first started drinking there (1984),inbetween it became the Raj....then the Rat and Parrot. I last drank there 3 years ago and I must say I found it just as friendly then as it was 20+ years ago. I was a black early 20s young man back then...and I always found it a nice boozer. when I last went I took my au-pair along and she could not believe how friendly it was and the way total strangers struck up convos etc. dunno about homophobia but it definitely ain't racist!!!!!
|
My experience (when it was the Mitre before) was similar to foxski's - not homophobia in my case, but badtempered rudeness from the bar staff. Maybe it was the same person, but they surely can't still be working there.
|
A great improvement on the old Rat & Parrot. The interior is a bit spartan, but plenty of space and seating especially in the 'snug' area. Every time I've eaten there the food has been excellent, but the service is so inept it's comical - they'll bring out the food but forget the cutlery, for example.
|
Took over 15 minutes to get served and there were only 3 customers - it was a Monday evening. Simple rule about bars: you can never have too many bar staff. Problem is, those who were dining were ordering more drinks, so the bar staff had to accommodate them, as well as bar punters like me.
The snug looks like a good area to nestle, but the rest was a bit plain.
They DO have beer - in fact I enjoyed a nice Bombadier. They have IPA too. 1664 Wheat Beer was tasty but �4 a pint. Yikes.
|
Well, I wandered past this evening and it's been renamed and renovated. It's now called The Mitre, and describes itself as a "pub and dining room". It's basically a large, trendy wine bar that does Sunday roasts. No beer, just one or two lagers.
|
I've lived in this area for 16 years and visited this pub just the once, long ago. Went in with a girlfriend and they demanded that we both produce proof of age, then asked us to leave because we couldn't. We were both over 30. I've always looked young for my age, but this was ridiculous and blatant homophobia. Still, I guess 15 years later I could go back for a second visit. Maybe. Sometime.
|
When I lived in Holland Park, I spent a lot of time in the Rat & Parrot there, and I have to say it is one of the nicest pubs I've visited. The staff made me feel welcome everytime I showed up, and the food was delicious
Bj�rn - 14 Nov 2004 20:36 |
pretty neat and prettyt good
anonymous - 9 Nov 2004 09:47 |
Agree with comment below - but this pub has now closed! Lokks like they're doing it up very nicely.
stuart - 14 Oct 2004 14:35 |
It's unfortunate people still go to Rat and Parrots - if they didn't, they could be replaced by proper pubs that serve up a decent beer/food/atmosphere.How this Holland Park branch has survived for so long is a mystery.
walnut - 30 Aug 2004 11:14 |
I have watched many a football match here! It's a shame the big-screen is not aligned with the projector, and you often have to ask very nicely for the manager to turn the volume of the footy up so you can hear it.
Jim - 3 May 2004 22:21 |
I like this pub. Been here a couple of times to meet friends and it's never been overcrowded. Showed the football on Sunday and even then, there was a nice deliniation between the football watching crowd and the lazy-Sunday-afternoon-drinking set.
Pool table at the back, one of those huge projectors for matches, 'does what it says on the menu' food - a handy pub betwixt Holland Park tube and Notting Hill Gate.
|
