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Detail Pages
The Stage Door, SW1
SW1
SW1E 5EB
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Stage Door
Typical central London pub, given a 'traditional' dark wood refurb at some stage and thus almost entirely devoid of character. It used to be a reliable place for a pint, but there have been problems with availability of real ale from the five handpumps over the last 12 months. Mind you, there have been two in operation on both recent visits and one might find Greene King IPA or Youngs Ordinary as well as Pride (oddly priced at £3.64). Less busy than one might expect, given its proximity to Victoria station and the nearby theatres. NB - Scheduled to closde for good in September 2012 as part of the major Victoria Circle redevelopment.
On 23rd June 2012
- rating: 5
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Stage Door
This is a simple, single room pub roughly opposite the main entrance to Victoria train station. The pub, previously known as Victoria Stores, was renamed the Stage Door in 1963, as a reference to the nearby stage door of the Victoria Palace, although as Roger mentions below, there is virtually no reference to this anywhere in the pub, apart from a small plaque outside. The interior is fairly bog-standard, with wooden floors and half panelled walls creating an uninteresting backdrop against which to enjoy a pint. There is a good deal of seating to fill up the space, with some nice benches in the corners and a raised seating area at the front. There is evidence of previous partitioning, but it's all pretty much open-plan now. Various TV screens were showing rolling news and large six nations flags hanging near the bar suggest that they are deployed to show sport at more opportune moments.
The bank of five hand pumps had just Greene King IPA and Black Sheep Bitter available, with turned pump clips for Fuller's London Pride, Wells Bombardier and Young's London Gold. I tried the Black Sheep which wasn't really up to much unfortunately. There was also a sign advertising cheap mulled wine, so presumably they're trying to flog the stuff they couldn't sell over Christmas.
I've been past this place many times, but never stopped off for a drink before, despite the fact that it looks quite appealing from the outside. However, following this visit, I'm not sure I'll bother with a return as there are a few pubs that have more to offer in the vicinity.
On 16th February 2012
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The Stage Door
Despite the name and the proximity of the nearby theatres, the Stage Door doesn’t actually have much of a Theatre theme aside from a few tatty posters near the door advertsing what’s currently on around town. In fact the Stage Door could just as well be called the Dog & Duck and be situated anywhere in town such is its uniformly bland and characterless nature.
The interior is a single room with bare polished floors, a screened off section to the front and a slightly raised area to one side. It can get extremely busy and tables are generally at a premium so expect a vertical session unless you get in early or, if the weather is kind there are a few barrels outside that encourage some vertical street drinking. There are a couple of well poitioned flat screens and a few bits of memorabilia, old pics and various nick nacks but it all seems very contrived and soulless.
There is a half decent selection of ales (Bombardier, Doom Bar, London Pride Youngs Ordinary and Black Sheep on my last visit, the latter 2 of which were off) and prices were reasonable for the area with the Doom Bar notching up £3.10. The bargain basement food includes several main courses between £4-6 and even cheaper snacks. Evening meal and pint deals include Curry on Tuesdays (£5.99), Burgers on Wednesdays (£5.59) and Grill nights on Thursdays (£7.49).
The area around Victoria is a desert for good drinking dens and to be fair, the Stage Door is probably one of the better establishments but that is saying more about the area than the pub.
On 23rd December 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Blue left this review about The Stage Door
I've been here a few times recently, main observations that the range of ales is still well looked after, service is friendly and efficient, and the atmosphere seems somehow more relaxed than I'd expect in a busy pub next door to a theatre and opposite a major station. A quick pint here after work turns agreeably into two or sometimes three, before I start hankering to return to one of my locals. So it's a 2-3 pint pub on my scale of how long I'd want to stay there.
On 19th December 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 271 recommendations about 270 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Stage Door
I found the governor in here to be very friendly and he served a decent pint of Pride. Bombardier, Landlord and Greene King IPA were all also available from the bar along with Staropramen and some standard lagers.
There is a plasma screen in the corner, but I saw no sign of any sport advertised. Also, there is limited standing room as the pub has lots of seating – probably to maximise the dining capacity during the day.
I would pop in here again if passing.
On 26th March 2009
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5251 recommendations about 5219 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Philip Carter left this review about The Stage Door
Smart looking pub with dark wood interior, friendly staff. Sells real ale, 5 pumps. very handy for the theatre nearby. As the name suggests, it is right opposite the stage door, so you may get some actors in after the show.
On 1st April 2007
- rating: 8
[User has posted 757 recommendations about 720 pubs]