The Elephants Head Reviews Summary

Atmosphere & Ambience

Pros:

• "This is a great pub. Great beer, lovely food and lively atmosphere."
• "Always really fun, always some old tunes playing. Just a really lovely vibe here which makes it perfect for an easy night out to some 60s tunes."
• "The place was lively with good music and a nice relaxed vibe."
• "It's one of those places where you're never on your own for very long."
• "The pub exuded a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere, with cozy stools tucked away in a quiet corner, creating an ideal space for a leisurely conversation."
• "The atmosphere is great. A lot of energy and good music."
• "You cannot hear anything from the outside, but when you come in and the sounds of the 80's classics fill up your ears you know that this pub is all about enjoying the good times."

Cons:

• "The place has a reputation for being full of violent racists anyway."
• "The atmosphere is no longer the elephants head atmosphere we know and love, will no longer be choosing this place over others."
• "Now atmosphere is non existent."
• "The place was a little bit too noisy, but the music was good and compensated for it."
• "Sometimes it gets too loud very difficult to have a conversation."
• "Music ok but you could not talk to the person opposite as different members of staff seemed to have different ideas about music levels."
• "Place half empty, those that were in were not listening to the dull music - just looking at their phones."

Service & Staff

Pros:

• "Fun atmosphere, friendly people, staff and even the security."
• "Attila was serving us, and he is been amazing. So funny and friendly."
• "The staff were friendly."
• "Great staff, music every night (good mix of DJ`s & live (open mic) every evening) & pub~grub available daily."
• "The staff is very nice, and the barman offered some beer 'samples' before we choose what to drink."
• "The staff behind the counter when ever I visit are great and give really good service."
• "The Irish barman on duty was an absolute gem, displaying exceptional politeness and genuine helpfulness."

Cons:

• "The bouncers on one occasion were very rude to someone in a wheelchair."
• "Service very poor. They have a Spanish girl that doesn't know how to serve and she sneaks in every private conversation you have."
• "The staff seemed belligerent and unhelpful...when placing an order for food it took FOUR attempts for them to get it correct."
• "Very rude head bar maid."
• "Some of the staff are really rude, especially the skinny guy with long hair and punk style."
• "Had an extremely rude barmaid with winged eyeliner, and dark lipstick, tattoo sleeves on both her arms, wearing a shirt with cut off sleeves, who served me twice, and slammed both my drinks down."
• "The person who served us didn’t seem to understand what we were trying to order."

Food & Drinks

Pros:

• "I brought some foreign friends here for a traditional English breakfast, and it was perfect, in a traditional pub that is refreshingly un-restaurantified."
• "The Guinness there tastes like silk and the bartenders are highly experienced & well trained."
• "They have a great range of drinks and happy to say they sell real Coca Cola in glass bottles, thank goodness."
• "Excellent fish & chips plus great beer."
• "The beer selection is varied, and they were well served."
• "Superb Guinness served by really nice friendly barmaid."
• "Drinks ok prices great selections couldn't believe my mate Ray & Nephews was there on the shelf!!"

Cons:

• "Moreover the quality of the drinks was poor and substandard."
• "Worst burger in London (at least out of the place I ate in)."
• "The food: The toasty was cold and the cheese was fully un-melted, the burgers (bean, halloumi and chicken) were bland, and the chips were atrociously greasy and flavourless."
• "Drinks are extremely overpriced."
• "The lager was a nice pint unfortunately the food was very average."
• "This was honestly awful, both in terms of service and food."
• "The beer was awful.. The service was awful.. The toilets were awful.."

Security & Accessibility

Pros:

• "Bouncers are sound though and they let me in after showing a credit card."
• "Also, they have bouncers at the doors that make the place feel a lot more secure."
• "The security there is top notch (I’m from America) and super friendly when you ask them anything or need anything."
• "One of more famous pubs in Camden, I don't think I ever seen it empty."
• "The Elephants Head is ideally located at a main intersection on Camden high road and Jamestown road, within easy reach of the market and lots of great shopping and about a five minute walk from the underground station."

Cons:

• "Used to be a nice place, playing old school blues and live music etc., but the 'tough guys' they employ as security pushes people away: hence the constant tension and the decreasing quality of clientele."
• "A racist doorman put paid to a first date there, unfortunately."
• "The security at the door uses camera to enlarge the ID on screen... the 'security check' exposes us to possible danger."
• "The most racist bar so far!!! I can't believe they didn't serve me because I'm from Romania."
• "I was having an enjoyable evening until I arrived at this pub... the bouncers were aggressive, confrontational and rude for no reason."
• "They have a squad of bouncers, most of whom are begging for a fight."
• "Man at the front door... Aggressive and rude."

Value & Pricing

Pros:

• "Typical characterful Camden pub. A bit rough around the edges but decent prices, great atmosphere with a lot of great old tunes played during the afternoon."
• "The staff were so friendly the wifi was really fast and the atmosphere was fabulous."
• "A great choice to spend your night in Camden town!"
• "One of the best pubs around!"
• "Great beer. Lovely atmosphere."

Cons:

• "Charged £1.20 for a dash of lime in our pints by an attitude with **watever** on her jacket."
• "Definitely elephant head is not the same with expeensives prices and not nice, rude and disrespectful staff."
• "Very expensive in comparison to all the other pubs in the Camden Town area."
• "The drinks suddenly go up in price at some point during the evening."
• "Very very strange institution, don't me wrong it's a very fun night out however I've had too many of my friends rejected from coming in now for no apparent reason."