Princess Louise, Holborn Reviews Summary

Atmosphere and Decor

Pros:

• "Overall, this is a lovely old-fashioned pub in London with excellent selection of drinks, including my favourite stout :)"
• "Such a family friendly pub!"
• "Interesting pub laid out with lots of separate booths around a central bar."
• "The decor is amazing with wood panelling, etched glass panels and Victorian style tiles."
• "The Princess Louise is such a unique pub - it's split up into different sections, divided by beautiful frosted glass panels and wooden doors."
• "An architectural gem with an array of spectacular original Victorian woodwork and ceramics, complemented by beautifully reconstructed wood and glass partitions dividing the pub into a series of cosy bars."
• "Absolutely stunning Victorian pub with brass, glass and dark wood everywhere."

Cons:

• "Can be a bit of a tourist trap and gets very busy at times."
• "The carpet has stains, the seats feel sticky."
• "However it can be a nightmare when busy to push through and find people with the multiple doorways."
• "Wasn't at all what we were expecting. 🥺🥺"
• "It just feels like perhaps they aren’t trying so much anymore."
• "Nice place, authentic style but to be honest most of the parts of the decor are replacements."
• "This pub without a doubt would be one of the most stunning examples of victorian pub design, sadly it feels very unloved."

Service

Pros:

• "Great staff working, really made us feel at home."
• "Staff are very friendly and great with customers and service in my experience has always been fast and polite."
• "The bar tender is awesome. She greeted us with a smile and made us feel welcome."
• "The staff were kind and helpful without rushing."
• "The fantastic folks working there just lifted the place."
• "Staff were very helpful in accommodating our ten month old - happily letting us drink and my wife breastfeed in the privacy of the snug."
• "The staffs knowledge of the drinks is second to none."

Cons:

• "Wouldn't come back as a result."
• "When bar stuff do serve you they are impatient and disinterested."
• "The reason I hate this pub is the staff - they are hands down the rudest staff I have ever come across out in London."
• "Not enough seats, very slow staff."
• "Once upstairs had closed the downstairs staff more or less told us to piss off outside."
• "Service was terrible, only one lady serving whilst customers waited a while to get served."
• "Just experienced absolutely abysmal service from a barman."

Food and Drinks

Pros:

• "Gorgeous and affordable."
• "The sandwiches were great (again, my brie and pear chutney sandwich was amazing!)."
• "The drinks are cheap and they stock really tasty crisps."
• "It's nice to have a place in central London where you can spend some time with friends and enjoy good food and beer without scrimping and saving weeks prior to that."
• "If a chocolate stout sounds at all good to you, make sure you try the one here."
• "I was expecting average pub grub, but was pleasantly surprised by a good helping of good English food - and modestly priced too."
• "Excellent fish and chips and the pies were awesome."

Cons:

• "They have increased their prices by 30% Almost £7.00 a pint of decent lager and £1.90 for a tiny pack of crisps!"
• "Overpriced, substandard food. The vegetarian option is mac and cheese (just under £10)."
• "Absolutely rubbish could-not-give-a-damn service from the barman when we were last here a fortnight ago."
• "Tried to order the fish and chips, they were out, so was offered the big catch in replacement. Quite bland, chips not crispy."
• "Very cool building and architectural style. Unfortunately, the food was hit-or-miss."
• "The food was disappointing."
• "Just visited for the first and last time. Food was awful portion sizes are small."

Accessibility and Location

Pros:

• "Often you can find a table upstairs, where it's also generally much quieter."
• "Really easy to get to, just a few minutes from Holborn station."
• "The upstairs area is spacious and compared to a lot of central London pubs, you have a good chance of getting seats an tables upstairs."
• "5 minute walk from Holborn tube and British Library."
• "Victorian splendour, a stones throw away from Holborn Tube Station."
• "It is certainly a good spot to come after visiting the British museum in London. It's only a 5 min walk from the museum, also very close to the metro/tube too."
• "A fantastic pub in Holburn, lovingly restored to its former glory by the pub chain owners."

Cons:

• "As well avoid close to the doors because they don't close properly."
• "Disappointing. Too cramped, too busy. Beer was pricey. Staff not particularly friendly."
• "However, the service really let it down."
• "It's almost a suicide to go to the toilet if you are disabled."
• "Downstairs seems to be completely screwed off into private booths which is interestingly different... but very wasteful of space if it's full of small parties of 2-4 people."
• "Restrooms like in McDonald's."
• "The hustle and bustle detracts a bit."

Value

Pros:

• "Everything reasonably priced."
• "Very old, incredible ambiented Pub with the finest beer you can get and at affordable price."
• "It's a Sam Smith's house, so the price of beer is much lower than in most London pubs."
• "Great value drinks too, particularly by London standards."
• "More reasonable prices than other places in London."
• "Aside from that, good beer at reasonable prices."
• "Prices are fair for this part of London."

Cons:

• "Pricey for what drinks they serve."
• "We went in because we were hungry to be told we aren't doing food today its too busy."
• "Pint of coke, cost to them 0.005£, cost to me £4 pounds."
• "I had a look through the food menu for dinner, but it is all on the rather pricey side for pub food."
• "What a pity such a beautiful and old pub is so ill-kept!"
• "The atmosphere has been killed, desperate greed by a pub chain run by accountants."
• "Annoyingly they don't take bookings of any kind even if you guarantee a large group."