Fitzroy Tavern Reviews Summary

Atmosphere & Decor

Pros:

• "possibly the cutest pub we've ever been to!"
• "The pub in itself is nice and very typical."
• "Beautiful, maze-like old building."
• "Gorgeous Victorian pub with saloons, dark wooden décor and fireplaces."
• "Really nicely maintained, historic, pub."
• "It's been transformed to look as close as possible to the original Victorian pub, with four or five separate bars on the ground floor, loads of etched glass and tiling on the walls and floors."
• "Retains some striking original Victorian decorative folderol including an embellished ceiling and noteworthy etched glass."

Cons:

• "It can get a bit claustrophobic on a Friday night in the smaller spaces."
• "They've gone a bit overboard with the refurb, feels like an upmarket wetherspoons."
• "This pub has really gone downhill, since the renovation."
• "Now, though, it's been refurbished and the place lacks any character."
• "The ground floor level has been split into several tiny bars and I simply can't understand why."
• "It’s now separated into separate tiny rooms, so you need to go outside to step between bars or toilets."
• "With the downstairs split into separate rooms, it can sometimes be tricky finding the person you are meeting."

Service & Staff

Pros:

• "The staff are SUCH NICE PEOPLE!!"
• "The lady who served was very polite to be fair."
• "Staff are warm and welcoming service with a smile."
• "Staff polite, helpful and cheerful."
• "The staff were extremely attentive and very friendly. Highly recommend!"
• "Professional, friendly staff."
• "First and foremost, a good bar serving experience requires excellent customer service. Anil Kumar he is friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable about the drinks are serving."

Cons:

• "However the owner was incredibly rude to the clients and his own employees."
• "Manager (young female) terribly rude! Also notice treated staff poorly."
• "Whole experience ruined by 1 pretentious and self righteous employee."
• "Friends birthday. A few of us there. Enjoying ourselves and a bit loud... We were made to feel very unwelcome by the extremely moody and hostile bar staff."
• "Staff weren’t friendly or helpful - in fact they didn’t care."
• "Staff seemed tired and disengaged."
• "Really lovely pub however the staff in the bar downstairs were really rude."

Food & Drinks

Pros:

• "The fish and chips was great in quality, but also in price; the fruit beer was wonderful."
• "Fantastic food reasonably priced especially for the area."
• "The Fitzroy Tavern is renowned for its savory pies."
• "Good British comfort food."
• "The food is excellent as are the drinks (All Sam Smiths own brewed)."
• "The lamb shank was perfectly cooked, falling off the bone, and the sauce was incredible."
• "Their chips are certainly tasty!"

Cons:

• "They served me a warm beer and when I asked the bartender and the manager to serve me a different bottle of Strawberry beer that is actually cold, the manager REFUSED."
• "DISGUSTING G and T's and even more disgusting attitude from husband and wife management duo."
• "Every fizzy drink we ordered was completely flat and they refused to refund."
• "Terrible food, overcooked, dry, too salted… it can hardly be worse."
• "We tried the meat pies and we scampi. Both were dry and bland."
• "The Old Brewery Bitter which I paid handsomely for was not particularly fresh."
• "The White Wine is horrible... The assistant manager was also very rude."

Policies & Management

Pros:

• "I write occasionally and would love to sit here (without my writing computer as it is a digital detox pub) to write in the place that Dylan Thomas did."
• "Great pub traditional style great outside seating and friendly staff also nice to see that they serve organic beers."
• "An oasis of civility and tranquility steps away from the busiest streets of London."
• "This is a treasure of a pub. A quiet place upstairs to have meetings / drinks / food."
• "The Fitzroy Tavern is an awesome spot to chill and grab a pint in Fitzrovia. It's a historic pub that's been around since 1883 and has tons of character."
• "Love the place. I recommend trying the second floor where you can get more home like experience and the staff encourage not using mobile phones, tablets, etc. Just socialize with people around you."
• "Great location in the heart of Fitstrovia."

Cons:

• "Beautiful pub but EXPENSIVE for a Sam Smith's. Also, when I got my laptop out to do some work I was told I couldn't! They said it was a 'digital detox pub'!"
• "The no phone policy should be asserted a bit more politely."
• "However the silliest thing were the laminated signs on the table admonishing people for using their phones!"
• "The real deal breaker is that the decor seems to be based around a series of signs insisting that mobile devices may not be used under any circumstances."
• "The inflexible nature of these rules along the way they are presented and enforced make for a very unwelcoming atmosphere."
• "Just been waiting to meet a friend, replying to a couple of messages and e-mails, enjoying a cold beer and got told by a barman, who I’ve never seen before, that they have a policy that says no phones or tablets are allowed here."
• "Nice place, but they put signs up behind me to suggest it's a mobile device free zone, whilst I was with a client and then proceeded to rudely have a go at me when I took a call."

Value & Pricing

Pros:

• "Nice pleasant pub. Sam Smith so very well priced with small sacrifice of unknown brands."
• "Prices are surprisingly affordable for the area and really good value for the quality you get."
• "Typically great value ale, for a pub so close to the bustle and hype of Oxford Street."
• "Great location with very reasonable prices for Central London."
• "Good beer, good food and a library; what more could you want?"
• "There's a great selection of Sam Smith drinks on tap, and the pub food is delicious."
• "Professional, friendly staff."

Cons:

• "Modernised Sam Smiths pub, in a good location."
• "This formerly cheap Sam Smith's pub is now very expensive."
• "It cost £10:40 for 2 pints of lemonade and lime."
• "£22 for 2 poor gin & tonics."
• "The food is a total joke, charged 7.50 for some frozen scampi and there were 6 of them, hilarious!"
• "I honestly think the beer is dreadful."
• "Somehow they've managed to turn the world's best pub into the world's best toilet."