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Detail Pages
Woolf & Whistle @ Tavistock Hotel, Bloomsbury, WC1
WC1
WC1H 9EU
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Woolf & Whistle (Tavistock Hotel)
Some changes are apparent comparing my visit with the reviews below. Quite clearly there has been a recent refurbishment, with decor and furniture in tip-top condition even if not to the same standard as regards taste. (The pub sign has a silhouette profile of Virginia Woolf, which is appropriate for a pub in Bloomsbury; I know not what the whistle is doing there.) Quite a few people were here having an early evening meal; I was able to enjoy my beer perched on a high chair at the corner of the bar counter. The bar has two entrances, one via the reception desk (front and centre of the large hotel building, of course) and the other from Bedford Way, near the traffic lights. The long and curvy (almost squiggly) bar counter has three hand pumps in the middle section, with three safe middle-of-the-road beers on: Greene King IPA, Timothy Taylor Landlord and Fullers London Pride. I went for the latter, which was in reasonable nick and not over-priced for London at £2.25 for a half. I only came in because the pubs I had planned to visit were rammed (it was the post-work rush), but it proved to be an adequate substitute.
On 17th February 2020
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3752 recommendations about 3487 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Tav Bar (Tavistock Hotel)
Fairly plain hotel bar enlivened with a few Art Deco features such as the illuminated columns beside each doorway. Otherwise fairly limited pub-type furniture, one silent TV and background music. Just one of three handpumps in operation, offering an OK pint of Pedigree at £4.30.
On 20th March 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Clive Thompson left this review about Tavistock Hotel
Found myself staying here one night after getting stranded at Euston. The Tav Bar is OK but not particularly comfortable, you find yourself either sinking into one of the sofas, if they're not already bagged, or perching precariously on a high rickety stool. This situation is made worse by the fact that they won't allow you to take drinks through into the more comfortable hotel lobby. They do have cask beer Abbot, which was well kept and decently priced for a hotel bar. Service was friendly and efficient, even at 1am. The decor is unusual, they seem to be going for an Art Deco effect but have ended up with something more akin to 70's Kitsch.
On 3rd April 2009
- rating: 5
[User has posted 777 recommendations about 697 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Philip Carter left this review about Tavistock Hotel
Belongs to Tavistock Hotel, No real ale but had Guinness. Nice prices.
On 8th February 2007
- rating: 6
[User has posted 757 recommendations about 720 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Tavistock Hotel
The Tavistock Hotel's bar (the Tav Bar) is open to all comers during normal pub hours and they even have several signs outside to tempt people in from the street. It is a fine example of an Art Deco bar, well maintained and largely untouched by the passage of time. The only concessions to the 21st century are the out of place plasma screen and the noise from the bowling lanes in the basement below (especially when they have the occasional rock concerts there). The beer selection is admittedly not very adventurous (the ubiquitous Greene King IPA & Abbot) but they come surprisingly cheap and are certainly of drinkable quality. The bow tied barmen give the bar a touch a class and it is not difficult to settle into one of the comfortable sofas and transport yourself back the 20's and 30's when this hotel would have been state of the art. It will not be everyone's taste but fans of the period will adore it and it is certainly one of the most pleasant discoveries on the central London pub circuit I have come across for some time, especially given the lack of decent pubs in the immediate area. It is well worth the walk round the back streets from Tottenham Court Road to find if Art Deco is your thing and is especially handy for gigs at the ULU, just down the road.
On 17th August 2006
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]