The Fentiman Arms reviews
From a really nice pub with good, reasonably-priced food and great staff, in the last few years it has become overpriced with dreadful service, poor management and wine you could creosote the fence with. The garden and the bar are the only redeeming features.
by skip, 11 Apr 2008Just to add my two pence worth, I agree with the general sentiment that this pub is overpriced, the food mediocre and the staff unpleasant. Such a shame, as it's so close to my home.
by kernow, 20 Feb 2008I read loads of these reviews and decided to take the risk of starting here for my birthday. The pub itself is lovely, with a really nice atmosphere. Unfortunately, the food is very poor indeed - certainly not worth the money, but more than that generally not very nice. It's a shame, as the place has got a lot of potential. The two star rating I've given it is for general atmosphere only.
by londonsteve, 20 Feb 2008Can I give it 0-zero-0 stars? I should have read some of these reviews before going there. Apparently the female manager hasn't changed, nor improved with the New Year. She is as rude as the comments below describe her. We had an argument about our booking, and she practically shouted at us that we were wrong and she was right, because, she said: "I am English, and you are not".
Right, we were a group of Italian, Greek and English people, and we walked away, leaving her slamming the menu on the counter. Unbelievable.
This place was worthy of Gordon Ramsay... NOT!! A slug could have cooked better food and realised how massively overpriced it is. The management are preposterous too.
by xxtoriaandhannahxxx, 28 Dec 2007I'm really amazed by these comments! I go to The Fentiman every couple of weeks. It's a great pub for a winter's day, there is a good bustling but warm atmosphere. The staff are polite and accommodating. The menu could be a little more varied, but on the whole very good. Do give it a go.
by hac, 10 Dec 2007This is a beautiful pub with an excellent outdoor space. It is pricey but the food is almost worth the money. The bar and waiting staff vary but are generally helpful. I do agree that the female manager is rude - I always find myself confused as to why she chose to work with the public when she seems to have a permanent chip on her shoulder. This place, however, is an oasis in the area.
by naomict, 05 Dec 2007It is a great pub, but let down by the rude staff who seem to wander around with blank faces (there are some exceptions though). Their Tuesday pub quiz is great. Food is overpriced and slow (but tasty). Sunday lunch is terrible at £12 for a tiny piece of roast beef. Go around the corner to the Roebuck where, for £7.95, you will get a MASSIVE Sunday dinner. Advice for them: Service... Service... Service!
by wmunsi20, 13 Nov 2007I totally agree, this is a fine pub. Perhaps it helps if it is 50 yards from your front door. But the beer is good, the food is good and the garden is GREAT!!
by phil3140, 12 Oct 2007Absolutely dreadful - to be avoided at all costs. Food overpriced and average and service pathetically slow.
by jamesjones, 23 Sep 2007Don't be put off by the negative reviews below, this place is good (for its area at least). It has a proper beer garden, a good selection of ale/lager, a popular quiz on Tuesdays and is rammed when there's cricket at the Oval. The food is average and the service is slow when it's busy.
by eversja, 04 Sep 2007I'm puzzled by all the poor reviews. We live close and eat there often and have usually been pleased with the food and the service. It's not cheap but it's still a pub, not the Ivy. On a couple of occasions things have been slow or they've made mistakes and, when we've drawn this to their attention, it's been dealt with expeditiously. Maybe we've just been lucky... Whatever, we'll continue enjoying Sunday lunch in their fine beer garden, whenever the episodic English summer strikes.
by dglambeth, 03 Sep 2007The restaurant manager is very rude and rubbish at her job. Average food and overpriced. I would rather impale myself on a rusty spike than go there again.
by bryzie, 10 Aug 2007I cannot believe how rude the staff are and how bad the service is. We were not even allowed fresh cutlery between our starter and main course, and apparently they were too busy in the kitchen to cut bread!?! Don't go here.
by DeeJay, 10 Aug 2007Absolutely terrible female manager there, rude and obnoxious. We had booked the place for a function, a company barbeque, which we had obviously paid a lot of money for. Bread went to some tables and not others. When we asked for some bread, she practically screamed at me that it wasn't her responsibility to share bread amongst us all. 5 minutes later she chucked some bread onto our table that she had scraped off some other tables. It got worse from that point really. She gave us dirty looks and couldn't cope whatsoever with a group of 80. The food was crap too. Shame really, as it looks very nice from the outside.
by rosser, 07 Aug 2007Dreadful. Didn't even get to taste the food (which looked totally average anyway) as it took 40 minutes to get a drink - and only by my going up to the bar and ordering it.
by dannywalsh, 03 Aug 2007Terribly rude staff - the service is so bad that it would be funny, were the prices not so high. A nice pub ruined by its appalling waiting staff.
by exet0808, 20 Jul 2007Great pub, nice spot, never had a problem with the staff, just don't go there if you are hungry. Food is OK, but small in size and expensive. As are the bar snacks - £2 for a tiny bowl of peanuts (I reckoned 10p a nut). Maybe I am just tight. Good beer though.
by McSmed, 06 Jun 2007Lived in the area for 6 years. Saw the Fentiman change from a boozer to a gastro-pub. (Also seen the Canton Arms change from a boozer to something more funky and seen the Albert go through a few reincarnations - what a shame the upstairs had to go the way of the property developers!).
Fentiman serve real ale (Deuchars), which for me is the sign that a pub cares about what it is doing (barrel management etc). They also have a good wine list and a great patio garden. The food is wonderful and a good reason to go there. In defence of the staff, they sometimes are extremely busy and under pressure to run the place professionally. It's not the countryside, where you can lean at the bar chatting all day to the barman. They are as friendly as anyone who is really busy can be expected to be.
I don't want to write a too-glowing review as it will be impossible to get a table there for lunch!
Too expensive, the food takes an age to get to your table and the staff are rude. I should know, I live four doors down!
by Cassius, 22 Apr 2007Have we missed a great gastro pub in London? Let us know.
Stuart PhillipsCovent Garden »
JLTFitzrovia »
MichaeljohnMayfair »
