Royal Saracens Head

masterbaker

master baker 17th October 2009

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There is a tendency among bar staff here to place unsold glasses and carafes of white wine in the fridge and pass them off to unsuspecting customers.
Even though refrigerated if in contact with the air, white wine will soon lose its flavour and taste.
This has happened to us on a number of occasions and the wine has had to be changed by defensive and surly staff.
It seems an unneccessarily mean practice for an establishment that sets out to be upmarket and trendy with prices to match -even though it is part of a pub chain. The advice is always make sure your wine comes from a bottle or one of the casks they use.

Flynno

Looks great but so disappointing 2nd May 2009

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This pub come restaurant may look inviting but don't be fooled. The staff were surly and our food disappointingly tasted microwaved. The highlight was tea served in a cafetiere.

Sambo84

great local bar 24th August 2008

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I live just down the road from here and I love to pop in for an after work drink with freinds or for lunch on a weekend. They do the nicest south african chenin blanc here and they staff are really freindly! They have a nice selection of drinks including hendricks gin which they even know goes with cucumber instead of lime which is always annoying when you go to somwhere that doesnt know this. They have realy nice decor inside with drift wood and ornate carvings along with nice chuncky tables and some cow hide rugs it really has a nice feel to the place. They also sell a nice selection of champagne which is good if your celebrating. There food isnt the best iv had I will admit but it is still nice. they have a nice duck pizza or crispy duck salad. I had a veal hotpot once which wasnt very nice but I still had a nice night as the atmosphere is so good.

It can get very busy at times so often you wont be able to sit down in the bar area but it just adds to the atmosphere and personally, I love this place.

rhood

Never Again 13th January 2008

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The rudest barman I've ever encountered combined with a disinterested manager meant we stayed for one drink then moved elsewhere.
Just goes to show, you can spend a fortune on decor and furnishings but without good service it's all wasted. Definately a case of style over substance.

StevieT

Rather disappointing actually 27th April 2007

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I recently moved in just down the road from the Royal Saracens Head and was quite excited by the prospect of having such an establishment just 5 minutes walk away. It certainly talks the talk, having been the subject of a recent refurbishment, with wonderful large oak tables, intimate lighting, friendly staff and a buzzy atmosphere, but sadly, what lets it down is the quality of the food. This is particularly true, given that the prices are on the higher end of what one would expect for a gastropub. I have been twice now, once for lunch and once for dinner and on both occasions have felt rather let down when the food has arrived. On the first occasion, I had the fish pie, which was reasonably pleasant, in an unexciting sort of way. On the second occasion I had the rather extravagantly priced salmon and crab linguini. Here, the linguini was sloppy and overcooked, with the crab in a plain tomato sauce, that had that slightly fishy smell that seafood develops when it has been in the fridge for a couple of days. The salmon steak was well cooked, but a rather bland accompaniment to the underwhelming linguini. On both occasions my wife chose from the salad menu and both choices were frankly awful.

Allegedly, fish is supposed to be a speciality here, but with Loch Fyne a mere 2 minutes walk away and prices not too dissimilar, that seems a weak selling point.

If you're going to come here, expect a great environment, a good atmosphere, but don't hold out too much hope for the food!