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The Old Coffee House, Soho, W1
W1
W1F 9SF
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Old Coffee House
If it didn,t sell Brodies its pub i would avoid.Both times i have been in i have been given a short measure.3 Brodies on cask and 5 weird and wonderful flavoured keg beers.Superb pint of Brodies -mild though.Worth a visit.
On 20th May 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about The Old Coffee House
For me one of the best boozers I have found on my admittedly few visits to London.
A bit dark and dingey, but not seedy, its painted red inside with various pictures hung on the walls, a bit quirky but comfortable.
A Brodie's house, the beer was exceptional and the best I have had for some time.
All round boozer I would hope to stumble upon when in London
On 26th September 2012
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Old Coffee House
This is a nice single room Brodies pub not too far from Regents Street. The simple layout has bare floorboards covered in places with old rugs, with plenty of standard seating throughout as well as the odd high stool and drinking shelf. The walls are covered with old portraits, brewery mirrors, stuffed animals in display cases, boxing memorabilia and deer heads, whilst various brass instruments, pots and pans hang from the ceiling, making it reminiscent of the Cross Keys in Covent Garden - another Brodies pub. Two TV screens were on showing Spanish football to no-one in particular. It was pretty busy when I visited, with most of the seating taken up and this, combined with the muted lighting, gave the place a nice ambience.
The biggest disappointment on my visit was the beer choice. Despite having plenty of hand pumps, there were only two beers on - Brodies Amarilla (£3.10) and Redemption Pale Ale. The Amarilla was excellent though, which went a long way to making up for the lack of choice. The barman seemed nice enough, although he didn't seem too bothered about the beer situation.
I can't ever remember walking past this place before, so I'm glad that I looked it up after reading the recommendations below. It's a very good little pub and a worthy place for Brodies to showcase their beers, so long as they can ensure they keep the pumps in use.
On 14th October 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3126 recommendations about 3126 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
paulof horsham left this review about The Old Coffee House
I have to say that I was expecting it to be a little busier - the pub was pretty much empty on my arrival and entirely without customers once I'd left (a mid-week mid-afternoon). Bare boards and dark inside, it's a fairly traditional London pub, although the prices (£3.10 a pint) fortunately are not.
4 Brodies ales, plus one from Redemption, are on offer. Quality was good (I can recommend the Amarilla), but I found the service no more than functional: a shame, really, as Brodies beers are hard to find, but well worth seeking out. I would return, but I can't say that I'd rush back.
On 27th May 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 459 recommendations about 431 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Old Coffee House
A long single room with the bar along the side wall, wood flooring, red coloured walls and patterned ceiling, the decor includes various random objects suspended from the ceiling, bed pans, a coal scuttle, an electric guitar, pots and pans etc, there are WWI recruitment posters above the bar, lots of boxing memorabilia including a framed ticket for the bout between Muhammad Ali and Henry Cooper at Highbury in 1966 plus a framed collective of letters from David Beckham as a MUFC apprentice together with some signed pictures. Amongst all this there are stuffed grouse and fish, antelope and stag heads and a selection of hunting scenes. If that wasn't enough to keep me entertained the Scottish cup final was on TV, followed later by the rugby version.
As reported previously the beer here comes mainly from Brodies of Leyton, a few miles east, they had English Best, Bunny Hopper, Citra and American Brown plus Redemption Hopspur, from Tottenham funnily enough.
This is an excellent proper pub situated on the edge of what is a busy vibrant part of town where the tourist dollar is king, but not necessarily here where everyone is welcome and service and quality the most important thing. Highly recommended.
On 22nd May 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Old Coffee House
I really enjoyed my visit to this traditional soho pub,which has been well reviewed below.My trip was on a busy Friday evening,and it was disappointing to see a lot of reversed pump clips with only Brodies Amarilla and 7 Hop Session available.However ale quality was terrific,and on a warm evening the hoppy citrus Amarilla flew down in a good session,solid value at £3.
At peak times the pub is rightly popular and the upstairs bar was reserved for a function.The bar service was crisp,efficient and friendly despite the throng,and folk spill out to drink on the pavement.There is a good mix of customers from young to old,and this place is most definitely on the list for a revisit.
On 26th March 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2745 recommendations about 2745 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Old Coffee House
This is easily one of the best pubs in this area. It’s a Brodie’s house, so you can expect the ale quality to be good – on Friday they had on Brodie’s Red: English Best; California; and Special, as well as Redemption Hopspur. I went for the Special, a 4.6% rich brown ale at a reasonable price (for this part of the world) of £3.00 a pint. I didn’t get to look at a menu but they clearly do food as I spotted menus on other tables, and all the tables had bottles and sachets of sauces, as well as condiments, on them.
The pub itself hasn’t changed since my previous visit a year or so ago, which is a definite plus. It’s furnished only with normal tables and chairs and some upholstered benches, and still has the appeal (to me at least) of a real and fairly traditional pub. The walls and ceiling are choc-a-bloc with all manner of bric-a-brac – hunting prints, copper cooking utensils, brewery mirrors, WWI recruitment posters, and even a couple of antelope heads. Unfortunately I missed the signed David Beckham letter mentioned by John Bonser.
The pub is somewhat off the beaten track so it doesn’t get many tourists, although it does get busy with regulars. However there were a couple of American tourists in on Friday lunchtime who perhaps did not understand the pub drill, but the barman brought their drinks over to their table and assisted with the menu. I like to see people being helpful in this way. This is definitely a pub worth visiting if you’re in the area.
On 8th January 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Bonser left this review about The Old Coffee House
This is a pub that has been on my radar for a visit for some time, but it was not till early June that I actually got round to getting here for the first time.
It's a fine traditional street corner pub situated on the fringes of Soho. Externally, we learn that the pub offers "real ales from our own micro brewery", although this strikes me as being somewhat slightly misleading as the range of beer pumps on the bar indicate that the micro brewery in question is Brodies, which, if we didn't already know, is actually in Leyton.
The interior is bigger than it looks from the outside, but is well decorated with plenty of pots and pans hanging down from the ceiling, some boxing memorabilia, guitars, stuffed birds, First World War posters, enamel signs and several old Truman Hanbury and Buxton mirrors. I did also notice that framed letter from David Beckham that I recollect seeing in the Cross Keys in Covent Garden some while ago.
The pub was originally a Coffee Public House run by the Temperance movement.
On the afternoon on my visit, a large drop down screen was showing the Australia v Ghana game, but it didn't dominate or detract from the friendly welcoming atmosphere. Notably, it was clear from the interaction between bar staff and customers that there were a good number of customers who were regulars and on first name terms with the staff. Tourists were relatively few and far between, although those that did venture in were cordially welcomed.
There were approx half a dozen Brodies beers on. All beers appeared to be priced at £ 3.00p. Both the Special and the Pride of St George were on good form. On the basis of my visit, I would expect the pub, which advertises regularly in London Drinker, to make next year's 2011 CAMRA Good Beer Guide ( stop press - it has !)
I quite liked this one and it's going on my list for an early re-visit.
On 15th October 2010
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Old Coffee House
Every inch of wall space in this pub has a painting, mirror or wartime poster on it - GOD SAVE THE KING!
The pub is long and narrow and the bar almost runs the whole length of it. A had to wait for the barman to finish his cigarette outside, but he apologised and was very friendly whilst serving me. Standard lagers were available along with 6X, Deuchars and Pedigree. There is a plasma screen at each end of the pub and there were a few people watching the cricket whilst I was there.
The bogs are very smelly, but the rest of the pub is good and I will definitely go back for another visit.
On 1st September 2008
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5288 recommendations about 5256 pubs]