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Beer of the Week (w/e 17th March 2024) with Mobyduck on the Pub Forum

The Anchor & Hope, Southwark, SE1

36 The Cut
SE1
SE1 8LP
Phone: 02079289898

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Tris C left this review about The Anchor and Hope

I came here a few years ago and it was as gastro then as it would appear to be now and crowded on a Saturday night with poor acoustics.
This isn't my thing so I'll not return.

On 7th February 2020 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 1943 recommendations about 1910 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Rex Rattus left this review about The Anchor and Hope

I clearly visited very shortly after BF's visit and obviously nothing had changed in the interim. I would say that about half of the "pub's" total area is available for drinkers (the area on the right), which is bare-boarded of course, and furnished with non-upholstered hard wooden chairs, some small round stools, normal "scrubbed" tables, and with a solitary tall table with tall stools. The outside is especially unattractive, being painted black with the pub's name in bold white lettering, and inside the walls are painted a sort of maroon or purple colour. I only had a fleeting look at the diners' area en route to and from the gents, and the only things of some interest there were the large, modern and unintelligible painting on the left, and the framed print montages featuring things and places I failed recognise.

It was surprisingly quiet when I was in at around 1.0 PM on Tuesday, with only a handful of diners in the dining area, and only yours truly in the drinking area. I'm all for a quiet pint, and I got one in here as there was no music, TVs, or other distracting mechanical devices such as fruit machines or others of their ilk.

I too encountered a farly uninspiring ale selection, with Tribute, Bombardier and Young's Bitter (£4.10 a pint) available. My pint of Bitter was in good shape as well - so some pluses even if it didn't strike me as anything special, and fairly characterless if truth be told.

On 2nd September 2016 - rating: 5
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Bucking Fastard left this review about The Anchor and Hope

This street corner gastro pub splits in two halves,the right side is a large open plan square room with crowded traditional furniture and the bar,and this is where you can sit and drink.The left side around a pillar is the restaurant and an open kitchen,where the tables cannot be booked but are offered first come,first served.It's been in the Good Food Guide for many years,and cooking skills are high but a meal will easily set you back £40 per head with some wine.However I have given marks as a pub,which is the weakest aspect.Given the care taken with the food ,a real ale selection of CW Bombardier,Youngs Bitter and St Austell Tribute (£4.40) seemed by comparison both dull and expensive.The pub gets rammed afterwork and before performances at the Old and Young Vic and with people waiting for a dining table asked to hang around the bar,getting served at peak times can be tricky.Sometimes diners spill out into the pub seating area,which detracts from a pubby atmosphere.There are better boozers close by,but if you like your food this is a bit of a treat.

On 25th August 2016 - rating: 5
[User has posted 2709 recommendations about 2709 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Moby Duck left this review about The Anchor and Hope

Not served at 3:30pm despite Whatpub stating a 4:00 closing time on a Sunday.Same lineup as mentioned by John below. Anchor And Hope? Hopeless in my book.

On 19th June 2016 - rating: 4
[User has posted 1853 recommendations about 1827 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


john gray left this review about The Anchor and Hope

Busy,gloomy,square shaped uninteresting bar.Very noisy.One side given over for dining.Doom,Trib and Youngs bitter continued the uninteresting theme.Let me out of here!

On 27th February 2016 - rating: 5
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Anchor and Hope

I have only been here in the early evening when it is so packed I can't imagine how anybody finds any space to eat (but the chefs working in the ubiquitous open kitchen usually look reasonably busy). Dreadful layout of mostly small tables and stools means that it is almost impossible to get to the bar when crowded (especially when the whole counter is taken up with people on stools eating). There also a few token patio tables out front, but that doesn't really help when so many people are standing on the pavement that they cannot actually be used. Three handpumps, offering Toungs Ordinary, Bombardier and Charles Wells DNA 'new world IPA' (£3.80) on my most recent visit.

On 5th May 2013 - rating: 5
[User has posted 8039 recommendations about 8039 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Nick Johnstone left this review about The Anchor and Hope

Awful foodie pretentious place. I was glared at for surveying the pumps rather than the menu!

On 29th April 2011 - rating: 2
[User has posted 98 recommendations about 98 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Roger Button left this review about The Anchor and Hope

Anyone with an immediate aversion to Gastropubs won’t be particularly enamoured by the Anchor & Hope despite it being widely considered and often voted as the best Gastropub in London (and in some cases, Britain). The ghastly pretentious exterior is matched by an equally dour and bleak interior with minimal lighting and simple furnishings. It has a continental bar feel to it with its floor to ceiling windows that fully open to the street. About half the pub is retained for drinkers with the main dining area to the left hidden behind a wall and curtain but peeking through, it seemed as dingy to me as the drinking side. The small tables make it more suited for small parties and couples rather than large groups. On the beer front, there were 3 Ales available on my visit - Summer Lightning, Bombardier and Youngs with prices that I would consider very reasonable for such a place and certainly in line with the area. Despite being obviously popular (it was packed on my visit) it doesn’t really possess any general appeal and is certainly more aimed at the restaurant crowds. From a drinkers prospective it is perhaps worth a quick pint out of curiosity for completists rather than somewhere to while away an evening.

On 3rd January 2010 - rating: 4
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Steve of N21 left this review about The Anchor and Hope

This is a gastro pub aimed more at foodies rather than drinkers. Most of the place is laid to dining tables and although there is an area in front of the bar this is usually busy with people waiting for tables. I guess the food must be good as loads of people seem prepared to do this.
But if its just a beer you want then the Windmill Tavern further along the cut is better for that sort of thing.

On 16th May 2009 - rating: 5
[User has posted 2094 recommendations about 1985 pubs]