The Lansdowne, Primrose Hill

I phoned the Lansdowne on Friday to book a table for lunch for me and a group of work colleagues. I asked if I could book a table for ten for 1pm (it was 11:30am at the time) and the person on the other end of the phone told me it was very short notice and I assumed he was going to say that they were all booked up. I was ready to replace the receiver when he said he would take the booking just this once but in future could I make sure I made the booking further in advance. I found myself apologising for the inconvenience, expecting that the pub must be full on a Friday lunchtime, so was particularly surprised when we arrived at 1pm to find an empty dining area apart from a couple eating at a table in the corner. I was the first of our party to go to the bar to order food and stood there ignored by the barman for a few minutes who seemed busy not doing very much as there was no one else at the bar. He eventually summoned the will to take my order whilst managing to be surly and quite unpleasant for the 30 seconds it took. Afterwards I found from speaking to my colleagues that he had been similarly curt whilst serving them. I ordered the mussels which when they arrived were chewy, tasteless and were covered in barnacles which was a bit off-putting. Some at our table already had their food when the surly barman returned to tell us that they didn�t have enough chips for everyone who had ordered (and already paid for) them. Before we had time to register any sort of disappointment he had shrugged his shoulders and walked off. The general view from our party was that the food was at best average and substandard at worst. So unless you are a fan of service where you are treated like an inconvenience and overpriced food you would do well to avoid the Lansdowne and visit any one of the other better pubs in Primrose Hill.

26 Apr 2010 14:38