The Ship Tavern Reviews Summary

Atmosphere & Decor

Pros:

• "Nice atmosphere, pleasant bar staff."
• "Superb place. Love the atmosphere. Fresh rosies on the table and an oil lamp."
• "Both the bar and the upstairs restaurant are beautifully decorated and cosy."
• "This is a really nice pub tucked out the way near Holborn station."
• "Dimly lit inside invoking taverns of the past."
• "The mahogany-panelled interior gives it a classic feel."
• "Very clean premises nicely decorated. Good friendly staff which is a bonus."

Cons:

• "Way too many tables have been squeezed into a small space."
• "The upstairs dining hall is too dark and damp."
• "Wasn’t a big fan of the grubby seats and dingy vibe."
• "Needs a bit of crowd control around the evening since it becomes very crowded and no matter where you sit you get bumped into."
• "We were slightly uncomfortable for the duration of our visit as an old man in a white shirt sat on his laptop was screaming and swearing at the staff for most of the visit."
• "Colour bar issues in this place."
• "Very bad experience!!!! A BURNING candle drop on my head when I was putting my coat on cause the candle was loose on a handle stand above my head and my hand accidentally hit it."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Each dish was perfectly balanced."
• "The Food was simply excellent - the staff were very friendly and helpful."
• "Great tasting food that came out quickly - we had the risotto, sea bass and christmas pie."
• "Superb food served in a very classy atmosphere."
• "Amazing food, considering this is a pub."
• "Everything was delicious."
• "The Sunday roast was excellent, tasty with big servings."

Cons:

• "Vegetables were cooked for at least a week, and had no flavor or texture."
• "Unfortunately something changed in their cuisine and food quality went drastically down."
• "The food is now overpriced for the quality."
• "The Yorkshire puddings were dry as a bone and too crispy, the gravy tasteless too."
• "Meat had no flavor - simple salt or pepper would be great."
• "Food was average unfortunately. Healthy servings but quality lacking."
• "The food has also noticeably worsened in quality compared to a couple of years ago."

Service

Pros:

• "The staff went out of their way to make us Americans feel welcome."
• "Staff were helpful and friendly, it was busy so worth booking."
• "Shout out to Francisco, from Sicily, who was engaging, entertaining and everywhere n did an outstanding job."
• "Big thanks to Sarmine, Mirka and the service team for great meal and amazing service."
• "Stephanie gave us fantastic service in the restaurant!"
• "The staff taking orders and the bar man were terrific. Nothing was too much trouble."
• "Service was great and the staff were very friendly."

Cons:

• "The two bartenders didn't seem very interested in serving us."
• "Staff was cold and uninterested in doing their job."
• "Rude manager, He stalked me as I entered the bar like I was going to steal or something."
• "One thing I didn’t expect was our waiter to bear such a fowl odour."
• "Service was automatically added to the bill because we would have given very little - inattentive, unfriendly, not wanting to be there."
• "But the way the staff dealt with this misunderstanding was just awful."
• "NEVER GO HERE!!! Absolutely abysmal service. Waited 15 mins to get served."

Value

Pros:

• "A real gem if a pub. Not sure if I should mention it as getting a table on Friday lunchtimes is hard enough! The pie is always the way to go, they do a stake pie that is unrivalled in the city."
• "Amazing vegetarian options, cooked to perfection! Efficient and friendly staff. Reasonably priced."
• "The food is reasonably priced, delicious and massive."
• "Food is reasonably priced: Fish finger sandwich and chips for £8 and steak roll and chips £13 were very tasty indeed."
• "For where it is in Holborn I think it was excellent value for money."
• "Pricey, but worth it."
• "Staff are pleasant and efficient - never seem to have to wait too long at the bar."

Cons:

• "The food is quite pricey, good but probably not worth the hefty bill."
• "Almost £30 for a below average pie and a tiny portion of mash with some veg with a dodgy beer definitely wasn't worth it."
• "Great staff, but food was overpriced for what it was, I would only recommend for drinks."
• "96£ for two no alcohol on the high side for me. Would not go back."
• "We paid £45 including one pint of beer (the selection is good) and it was the worst money ever spent."
• "My only comment would be that it's a little on the pricey side - £1-2 off each menu item probably would make me want to spend more as I was put off certain options because of the price!"
• "Beef ok, lam good but the pork belly very dry to the point of not eatable."