Address: 37 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2BX, United Kingdom
Phone: +442078398577
Rating: 4.6
based on 377 reviews.
Atmosphere & Location
Pros:
"Brilliant atmosphere, amazing food and the cocktails are awesome!"
"What a gem! Less than 2 minutes walk from Trafalgar Square on Whitehall."
"A lovely London pub to visit."
"Lovely pub amongst a lot of average and poor establishments."
"Very busy cosy little pub lovely decor and great atmosphere."
"Every time I go here I smile a lot! It's bloody marvellous! Great staff, food, the drinks ain't bad either."
"Lovely pub with amazing music choices and pleasant rustic venue."
Cons:
"This pub doesn't really follow through a clear concept."
"Table service in the back...but, well, they weren't very good at it...maybe they were busier later than they were staffed for?"
"Finding a seat was challenging even mid-afternoon."
"The pub is clean and tidy but the extremely steep stairs down to the women's toilets will be difficult or impossible for some."
"Very variable closing times because of the pandemic. Worth calling ahead to check closing times."
"Another Whitehall pub that lost its character when they refurbished to grab a piece of tourist action."
Service
Pros:
"Fantastic food and lovely staff, even the the Manager said hello, he couldn't do enough, he advised us which tourist attractions to visit and which open top bus to use, thank you Marvin (think that was his name)."
"Lovely staff and fantastic service."
"Staff were great, the service at the bar was exceptional."
"The friendly staff simply couldn't have done more to accommodate us all."
"Friendly staff made an effort to find space for us."
"Very friendly staff taking time for a chat."
"Pleasant staff, prompt and friendly service."
Cons:
"No chef, no manager or owner bothered to come out to speak to my Mother."
"Unacceptably long wait for food (almost an hour after ordering)."
"Made a reservation for the 25th of December, but when we arrived the pub was closed."
"There is also a waiter running around, who is not quite up to the challenge and struggles getting the job done."
"Roger The supervisor of this place who used to be a chef is completely disrespectful to all customers."
"The staff doesn’t seem to be on point or really care much."
"The service is really poor. I waited for almost half an hour and I had to go to the bar."
Food & Drinks
Pros:
"Went for a pint and ended up having a sharing platter which I expected to be a morsel that wouldn't fill a slug but alas I was shocked to find a decent tray of nice grub for a very reasonable price."
"The Old Shades had a great selection of drinks."
"Cocktails they make is absolutely delicious and asks us our specific tastes to our liking."
"We enjoyed the food, it was classical and tasty. a little bit expensive but considering it was Christmas Day, it wasn't that much, so 5 stars are well earned."
"The steak is of decent size and the fries are amazingly good and NOT oily which is the way I like them."
"Very well presented, freshly cooked and (of course) very tasty."
"Great food and service, my wife and I had the fish and chips and it was one of the best we have had."
Cons:
"Upon our arrival I asked if they had gluten free beer and the bartender said no."
"The food was mediocre."
"The portions was lacking roast vegetables. I only got one parsnip."
"My Mum received some plain strips of chicken, literally in the middle of a bowl lined with lettuce - no salad, just a bowl lined lettuce."
"We got Burgers that were decent, although far from being spectacular and pretty expensive."
"No problem with the staff but it was way way overpriced for okay food."
"When we finally received our orders, mine was all messed up. The brie was cold, and there was bread with no hummus."
Accessibility & Family Friendliness
Pros:
"Mother's with prams or pushers have ample space."
Cons:
"The friendly staff simply couldn't have done more to accommodate us all, from putting thought into the best place for us all to be seated to giving full table service so we didn't need to struggle back and forth to the bar."