please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Terrible, miserable little boozer. Surly landlord guzzling a pint, very average London Pride, uncommunicative bar staff, a truly vile sandwiche @ �5.95 - really to be avoided at all costs.
wtk69 - 14 Apr 2010 15:50 |
A few friends and I found ourselves at the Henry Holland after 11pm on a Friday recently and it had a great atmosphere! Admittedly, we were well on the way, but the staff were friendly and those in there were all singing along to the music (an iPhod I think, no jukebox).
I really enjoyed it but maybe I saw it through rose tinted beer goggles.....
TS77 - I'm guessing your glass is permanently half empty?!
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This is a reasonably sized pub, but the actual bar takes up a lot of space and I think that the layout could be changed as there is limited seating and I found it hard to get comfortable. The barmaid compounded this by being very offhand and abrupt.
There was a bit of background music playing whilst one of the plasma screens was showing Inter v Napoli on ESPN, which I thought a little strange as Man U(re) were being shown on Sky Sports.
Spitfire and Pride were available along with a standard draught selection and although my Guinness was perfectly acceptable I will not be returning here due to the crap atmosphere.
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Rather an austere external appearance, and a distinctly cool (not in the good way) atmosphere inside. The London Pride was OK though.
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Another soul destroying entry into the London West End Hall of Shame...alike nearly Oxford Street itself it is enveloped in a shroud of melancholy, cheapness and hopelessness. A desperate pub in the
ruined capital city of a finished country.
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Went to this pub on a Friday evening after work. Have to agree with the other poor reviews on this website. Place is a pretty basic dreary pub to have a pint to begin with, as I remember from a previous visit 4-5 years previous. I was served a pint of London Pride that was off or at best just very poorly kept. Either way we all agreed that it tasted pretty filthy. I told the barmaid that I thought it was off. She got the Landlord who told me that "that's how it tastes and he'd been serving beer for 30 years and wasn't going to back down". Leaving aside his questionable judgement, if a customer is unsatisfied with a product then it's basic service to offer a refund or alternative, rather than just be rude to them. Needles to say we left immediately after my friends finished their pints. I left mine. Avoid.
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In the six years that I have live in London, I have never experienced such shocking customer service than I did in this bar. I popped in on Saturday to check on the rugby score whilst a friend was having a goodbye party at the nearby Moose bar. I had been in the bar for two minutes when a man tapped me on the shoulder and in a very poorly communicated way asked if I was buying a beer (I actually thought he was offering me one). I proceeded to tell him that I was fine and did not want one right now. Thereafter he immediately got very confrontational and insisted that I leave the bar straight away. I expressed my irritation and gave him some advice on customer service which was definitely not his forte. If he had approached this in a different manner then this whole situation could have been avoided. I would happily have bought a beer during the brief time that I was in the bar. That being said, I have never in my time in the UK been forced to buy a beer whilst I was in a pub with friends who were also drinking. What if I had been Muslim or had a drinking problem. This pub owner has a lot to learn about customer service and it was clear towards the end of the night that his business was suffering as the bar was empty whilst other pubs were bustling with happy drinkers. My advice is avoid the pub at all costs. In a city where there is a pub on every corner, your pounds are better spent by walking a little but further past this terribly managed establishment.
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I really am a little bemused by the positive reviews this pub has received. I paid a visit here to the Henry Holland yesterday afternoon with my girlfriend (5th Sept) and encountered a rather gloomy and uninspiring place to settle. The atmosphere was welcoming enough, the staff were friendly and I liked the background music (Nirvana, Stone Roses) but if ever a pub was in dire need of a lick of paint and a good clean, its here. I�m no fan of modernised trendy establishments and like nothing better than to be in laid back old-style boozers, but I do prefer environments where one doesn�t feel in need of a wash when leaving. Okay, on to the beers. The usual lagers were available and the ale was London Pride. Not the best I�ve ever tasted the glass was dirty too. I�m aware I�ve only paid the solitary visit and I�ll give here another go one day, but based on my visit, it has to be a lowly 4 out of 10. I hope things improve.
HTM69 - 16 Sep 2007 17:02 |
I agree with "casemore" - this place is friendly and relaxed and very convenient for Oxford Street. Best things: it actually still has its barstools (rare species nowadays in London!), and (better still), very decent-looking young barmaids who are native speakers of English, ie.no more miming and pointing required, as in so many pubs in the centre now.
anonymous - 13 Nov 2006 15:40 |
Yeah a good place. Nice atmosphere. What's more the service is excellent (the barmaids actually remember what you were drinking! Unheard of in most pubs in london) and barmaids were quite aesthetically pleasing too...
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Great pub to go after work. Stays open past 11pm most nights and is a chilled relaxed and friendly place.
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Great pub, just off Oxford Street, one of the few pubs in the area that is open after 11pm.
anonymous - 19 Feb 2006 11:11 |
My pub of choice to get away from the shoppers. Always pop in for lunch and a pint if Im shopping in Selfridges across the road. One of the best pubs around the area.
anonymous - 29 Dec 2004 13:23 |
Great bar staff, Shana is awesome
Mint - 9 Jul 2004 13:00 |
A good "working man's pub" - beer, tables and nowt else. Tourist-free and pleasant atmosphere. Food is basic but well priced.
Chris - 22 Dec 2003 11:48 |
A proper drinker's pub. No TVs or quiz machines to distract you, just a bar and some seats.
Techno - 11 Nov 2002 10:47 |
