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Sherlock Holmes, Charing Cross, WC2
WC2
WC2N 5DB
Pub Type
Greene KingReviews (Current Rating Average: 5 of 10) see review guidelines
David Walton left this review about Sherlock Holmes
Trekked here on the way home as my recording couldn’t verify I had been here since I started tracking pubs on PG. definitely the only one here potentially previously unvisited in the post code. Was pretty effing manic when I got here about 9.30pm. Plenty of beers on handpump (Abbot, Tribute, GK IPA) but the instant I walked in the door I thought a glass of red wine is safer here. No idea what the red wine was, asked for the wine list and was told there was a single red so chose that!! There were some ales on hand pump that sounded like they were made up names to sell to tourists. As I said I had always assumed I had been here but maybe that was my sub-conscious telling me that was the case to protect me. Anyway job done, never to be repeated.
On 20th March 2024
- rating: 3
[User has posted 115 recommendations about 115 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Sherlock Holmes
I spent a pleasant few minutes in nearby Whitehall Gardens while waiting for the clock to tick around to midday opening time here. This is a very good looking pub to external appearances, and I suppose some will be intrigued by the endless Sherlockian paraphernalia on the inside, but as a pub it leaves something to be desired. Two rooms, with virtually identical beer line-ups on the hand pumps (see photos), but the left hand side (door says 'saloon') has low tables with menus, while the door on the right ('public') has exclusively high tables and stools. The central bar, facing both ways, is in dark wood (including pilasters and gantries), with foot rails and hooks, which would normally gain my approbation, but in the face of all this Holmesian tomfoolery I just yawn and move on. Oh, my notes say that my GK IPA was ok, but I can't remember drinking it.
On 2nd February 2022
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3746 recommendations about 3483 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about Sherlock Holmes
Last visited around 20 years ago, this was formerly the Northumberland Arms, rebranded by Whitbread as a Sherlock Holmes-themed pub in 1957; the place apparently appears in one of Conan Doyle’s novels and supposedly contains elements from the [Ideal?] Holmes’ exhibition, salvaged from the Festival of Britain, 1951.
Arriving on a Monday mid-evening, the pub was unsurprisingly rammed with tourists, looking for the Ye Merry Olde London experience. I’ve been in busier pubs and the crowds here should come as no surprise to the staff, but there was absolute paralysis, staff standing there like rabbits caught in the headlights of a car. After about five minutes, I saw red (A Study in Scarlet?) and went to the vastly superior Ship & Shovel next door; this place acts like a forcefield to keep the tourists away from it. I returned 20 minutes later and there was a relative calm, with glasses and plates of partially eaten food on tables, chips all over the floor, one trodden on by a woman, who slipped and narrowly avoided a nasty accident. The furniture is tatty, my studded banquette cracked and leaking stuffing, though otherwise there are typical Greene King nods, the only difference is a TV ‘beer board’. Décor is Holmesian, with a toy dog’s head in a wall mounted, glass fronted box, I suppose a reference to the Hound of the Baskervilles.
Ales: two Lilley’s ciders, Abbot, GK IPA, Sherlock Holmes House Ale (Morland) and Windsor & Eton’s Father Thames at £2.70 a half, tasting like it was sourced from the nearby said river, soapy and grim.
This has to be one of the worst pubs in central London; less Conan Doyle, more Conan the Barbarian.
On 2nd November 2021
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Sherlock Holmes
Street corner Sherlock Holmes themed pub with modern etched glass depicting the stories heroes.Internally quite small and L shapes with original external doors for the Saloon and Bar but just the apex door open due to Covid regulations.Lots of pavement seats which seemed a better option than the rather busy interior,tourists will want to tick off this place,although it is a little faux.No T&T if outside with table service.
Greene King owned meaning Abbott and their IPA,a house bitter (no doubt GK as well) and something called Dr Watson's Porter which I was told by the server was brewed by Portobello.It was shockingly bad,very watery and impossible to finish my half despite being clean and non vinegar.I should have guessed this might be the case in a tourist trap,beware.
On 3rd September 2020
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2728 recommendations about 2728 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Sherlock Holmes
Not a bad two-room Greene King pub, provided that you don't get there at the same time as a coach-load of Conan Doyle enthusiasts... Typical 'olde London pub' interior; supplemented, of course, by loads of Sherlock Holmes memorabilia. Beer-wise, there is a bank of six handpumps in each bar; and, whilst many of the clips are duplicates, there is usually a reasonable selection of well-kept beers. These were the Sherlock House Ale and Watson Golden Ale, Greene King IPA, London Glory and Abbot plus the seasonal Belhaven Scrum Down (£4.30) on my latest visit.
On 12th March 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Sherlock Holmes
Currently shut for redecoration and 'internal space alteration' according to the GK planning application to Westminster Council plastered in the windows. Presumably so that they can pack more tourists in.
On 18th September 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2111 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Sherlock Holmes
A short stroll from both Charing Cross station and Trafalgar Square, the Sherlock Holmes lies in the heart of tourist London and attracts more of a passing trade than office regulars. Originally called the Northumberland Arms, in the late 50's this pub became the new home for the Sherlock Holmes exhibits that had previously been on display at the Festival of Britain (the pub itself stands on the site of the Northumberland hotel that featured in certain novels, hence the Holmes connection) and is also close to the old Scotland Yard police station.
The pub is very enticing from outside with its floral displays and patterned glass windows. The horseshoe shaped interior is cosy enough and far more comfortable than it was prior to a refurbishment a couple of years ago when you would literally fall through the seats. Naturally the Sherlock Holmes memorabilia takes centre stage with walls littered with letters, business cards, stamps, police whistles, magnifying glasses, TV and Stage pictures, the iconic pipe and even a stuffed head of the Hound of the Baskervilles! Upstairs, the restaurant offers views into a faithful recreation of Holmes study complete with a wax model Sherlock. There is a single small TV above one of the the doors which seems a little inadequate should it ever be needed. There is also some limited seating on the pavement outside and the passing traffic is generally tolerable for a main road in London.
It could be argued that without the Holmes theme, the pub is fairly ordinary and being a Greene King pub, the beers are quite predictable with 5 Greene King Beers across 12 pumps (IPA, Speckled Hen, Abbot, Royal London and their own Sherlock Holmes Ale (which I believe is Morland Original - a regular Greene King trick in London’s more touristy pubs). The prices are about average for the West End and service fine if typically impersonal.
This was a favourite watering hole for Jimi Hendrix in the 60’s although these days it is primarily a magnet for tourists and Holmes enthusiasts which isn’t to say that it is not worth a quick visit if passing by.
On 4th September 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about Sherlock Holmes
A GK-owned theme pubaimed at tourists and the curious, the Sherlock Holmes revamp aided by COnan Doyle's family in 1957. There is a room with Holmes memorabilia and a restaurant upstairs. The clienetele was an unholy mix of tourists and bores, while the staff was largely uninterested in serving, except one gentleman who, whilst enthusiastic, was not able to supply a full measure without a fuss. Beers were from GK and Wadworths (guest beer?). The Great London was pretty average and the overall experience was disappointing. A good place to meet at lunchtime as it's easy to find, and it was convenient for the Colony Club (next door) and the Northumberland Hotel opposite, but it's not somewhere I would choose to spend an evening and I wouldn't bother to include on a crawl when there are so many better pubs nearby.
On 17th August 2010
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3286 recommendations about 3251 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Sherlock Holmes
This is a fairly big u-shaped pub next to Charing Cross train station. It has set itself up as a Sherlock Holmes theme pub and all sorts of Holmes memorabilia adorns the walls, whilst a muted TV set plays old black and white Holmes movies.
It's a Greene King pub so the pumps had IPA, Abbot, Speckled Hen, Royal London and a rebadged beer uninspiringly called Sherlock Holmes. The Royal London was surprisingly well kept and I was able to find a table to myself at which to enjoy it.
My fellow customers seemed to consist almost exclusively of foreign tourists - a testament to the success of the theme perhaps.
There are better pubs in the area and I imagine this place could become tourist trap hell in the summer, but it was fine on an overcast March evening.
On 30th March 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Sherlock Holmes
Very attractive pub from the outside and if you can get one of the outside seats on a fine summer's day then you will be guaranteed to get in 100's of tourist's holiday pictures, as this place attracts them in swarms.
It's not so attractive on a cold, wet December evening, but then has the advantage of no tourists and only the after-work crowd.
It's an OK pub dispensing the usual GK fair, and my pint of Morelands, I mean Sherlock Holmes ale.. was perfectly passable, but hardly memorable.
To the Holmes enthusiast then this place is probably worth a visit.
But for the rest of us London residents the main purpose in life of this pub will always be to filter out the tourists before they discover the far superior Ship and Shovel further up Craven Passage.
On 22nd December 2009
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2111 recommendations about 1992 pubs]