In the show Avenue Q ,there is a song called
"Everyone"s a little bit racist sometimes"
Which sums this up really! , so lets get back to reviewing the pub please Great pint in there again last evening. This time it was the Tribute which seems to be establishing itself as a regular now. Am I right in thinking that only 2 of the 6 pumps rotate guest ales now rather than 3 before? No matter. Lovely beer, lovely staff, lovely pub!Bit harsh Kiwiphil. May I point to your comments about The Walkabout? "...go watch it in a french pub !!! ( oh , sorry , I forgot , they surrendered it to the germans wihout a fight.... "

Isn't that racist? And I am sure coming up to Armistice Day the families of the thousands of French men and women who fought and died for their country would rightly be insulted by your comments. Or was it a tongue-in-cheek light-hearted joke? Like Fartingghost’s comment? It was a throw away statement and I think you over-reacted.

But, this is a site to review pubs, and the Harp is a modern miracle and certainly one of London’s finest, if not the finest. Long may they continue to serve me beer.

an ok pub and decent for covent garden. The beer was very average indeed, and the usual 'IPA's off' and not bothering to change the barrel put me off a bit. Still I didn't expect a great deal Pretty decent pint of Young’s Bitter when I was in here at lunchtime the other day but at £2.90 not cheap, although the going rate for the area. A pretty basic toasted ham and cheese sandwich was £4.00, again probably the going rate, but freshly made and toasted behind the bar using an old-fashioned toaster. The main bar area has a couple of tables at the back but the main seating is provided by stools by the window or at ledges around the sides of the pub. A comfortable enough pub if you are on your own or with one or two chums, but not really large enough if you are in a big group. Since the smoking ban, about 2/3rds of the customers seem to be standing about outside - this still leaves the inside quite busy, but rather more relaxed than it once was. Nice pint of Harveys, and another five (usual suspects) to choose from. A nice place to escape the tourist madness that is Covent Garden (and try the upstairs bar if you want to sit down).

The only bad thing about this place is overcrowding - and that's there for good reason. It's not exactly a real ale stronghold (usually 2, sometimes 3, beers on handpumps) but it does have an excellent range of draught beers from Ireland's Porterhouse brewery plus one of the best selections of bottled beers in the country. Try to go at a quieter time of day, and you should have a great time.Absolutely love this place - great selection of beers (but not wines if you are into that), friendly staff, heaps of seating indoors, great ambience, and a nice big outdoors area. In the thick of the action but tucked away enough to not be too hectic - a great place to watch the world go by. Food is also good quality and reasonably priced. Only criticism is the small number of tables in the outdoors area, which could be much better utilised.I was left disappointed - A fair few of the beers were not available and some of the bottled stuff is very expensive. This is a great place to go if you're made of money, as one of my mates put it - hopefully i'll come back in a few years and enjoy it more!

A very odd place.

But odd can be good.

This time, however, it wasnt.This is a little gem in the heart of theatre land!! we absolutly fell in love with it! friendly, welcoming and a different burger every week....what more do u need. This is a little gem in the heart of theatre land!! we absolutly fell in love with it! friendly, welcoming and a different burger every week....what more do u need.

Nice little place to pop in, good for a couple of beers but maybe not a whole evening. Found the bar staff pretty friendly when I was there.I like this pub for some reason. Tiny little pub but room to drink outside on a sunny evening. This was pub 8 of a crawl and despite that I managed to visit the toilets without breaking my neck. Must have the steepest steps to a toilet in London. Couldn't not go back, and was with a knowledgeable friend (he seems to have an almost encyclopedic A-Z / OS co-ordinate feel for all pubs in Central London) one late afternoon t'other week. Beer was fine, and guy behind the bar happy, and then one of the earlier encountered bar persons came in to work. Said hello, nice to see you, or words to that effect. All quite friendly and welcoming, so we enjoyed another beer before leaving. So happy to re-rate upwards, and look forward to another visit next month.

went here on a lovely friday evening, looks as tough it is going to be busy inside because there is always a huge crowd outside but inside was nice and quiet with plenty of seats and good fast service at the bar.
Great atmosphereManaged to get a seat for once, and enjoyed a nice pint of McMullen Cask Ale (which has plenty of hop flavour for a light 3.8% beer) in a traditional London pub which is usually just to close to Covent Garden for comfort.Perma-rammed corner boozer an Orang Utan's throw away from Covent Garden.

Have to admit that I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised - there was a decent range of the McMullen's ale on, and served fairly well. Also the interior and exterior retain some nice olde worlde touches.

Worth a stop if you can find a seat.

Last night we went to see the game (NL-Italy) at the Lowlander, Covent Garden and I think this is the last time I'm going there.

The snacks and platters are incredibly expensive and you get very, very stingy portions (but suppose us Dutchies are known for this). The beer selection is good but be prepared to pay a nearly £5 each.

Staff wasn't the friendliest nearly bit rude and constantly asking if you want another drink.

If you are looking for a pub with a wide range of beers and great food I can recommend the Dovetail http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/29/2904/Dovetail/Clerkenwell.Excellent choice of European beer, no British real ale. Service is ok, though fairly slow when busy. Good point is that you don't have to pay for every beer and meal before you receive it, but downside is the size of the bill when you do get it. Very expensive, even for Central London. Also they add 12% "voluntary" gratuity to the total, so beware!!Don't bother going unless its to eat AND drink beer. If thats your plan then its well worth a visit as the range is superb and food informal and nice too. But not really a prop up the bar for a quick beer sort of place.

Small? Yes. Expensive? Yes (but what would one expect for the area?). Decent pub? Yes.Pub 6 of a Friday night crawl. Previous reviews some this place up, nothing to like/dislike about the pub. beer was good, service was fine. Nothing much else to say. Bit on the small side, but has a quaint feel. If your with your other half or one other person, suits well

Suprised to see the comments below. I've been using this place as a meeting place for a couple of years now and never had a problem with the food or the service. In fact, the Portugeuse steak is to die for!Went to this pub last night and had one of the worst meals I have ever had in a pub.

I mistakenly thought it was a traditional oasis in the trendy London pub market, and hoped for some decent British pub grub.

We were severely disappointed. The food took a while to arrive and it was really grim when it did. My chicken was rubbery and tasted odd and came with very odd looking sweet potato and my companion was less than in impressed by his tasteless sausage and mash. The beer was really badly kept and watery, bearing no resemblance to the Adnams it was meant to be. Also, the staff were pretty unhelpful and it was not good value for money.

I would not go back.

We then went down the road to the friendly Harp and had some excellent well kept interesting beer there - what a contrast.A top find in a swamp of tarted up bars. This place always seems to have a friendly crowd and well kept beer.

A 'dodgy council estate pub'? What rubbish!
There's always a nice few ales on here.
I agree about the odd shaped bar though.
Have a couple here, then pop over the road to The Lamb And Flag.Went in here and felt like I was on some dodgy council estate pub. Clientele left a lot to be desired. Took a long time to get served due to incompetant bar staff.Went in for quick couple of pints for a friend of a friends birthday.

Beer was ok, wouldn't rush back for it though, like most Covent Garden pubs really.
A bit like the rest of the pub which suffers from having a bar far to big for the rest of the pub, so even with a few people in there it becomes cramped.

For those using journey planner to get here the postcode is actually WC2H 9LD.Really noisy in here too. I was here for a drink with a friend a couple of months ago and we ended up practically shouting at each other to be heard.Good beer, awful venue. What is it with microbreweries and industrial surroundings? Just because you brew on the premises doesn't mean I want to drink in what looks like a factory. It's like going to a steakhouse made to look like a meat processing plant.

The toilets are confusing as well, as they label the ladies "Herr", which of course means man in German, and I tend to associate Bunkers with Germans (or at least ONE german).

It's a good place to stop in for a swifty while the missus is blowing your credit limit in Neal's Yard, but I'd never settle down for an evening in here.

Oh, and I love photos of this place! Minutes of mind numbing entertainment flicking between the two. Doors open/doors close/doors open/doors close.

I love this pub. A group of us from work reguarly visit and the staff are always great. They give out free samples of theier sausages about 6pm on a Friday and we end up buying a mixed plate of all the different flavours every time- try the steak and black pepper. A decent South african sauv Blanc for a tenner also! Went to the OT with colleagues on a Thursday lunchtime. Pleasant interior. Being a sensible fella and it being a work day I ordered a shandy. This seemed to be about 60% lemonade. We ordered food and despite the place being very quiet it took around 45 minutes for them to provide basic pub dishes like fish & chips. Slow service with no explanations despite us asking for progress reports.

Would just about go again for a quick pint but not if I needed a quick bite.Nice place, if you get in at a decent time

Fast service, and a good 'it machine' to have a stab at

I too visited a couple of weeks ago to find no real ales on. It's a real shame, but I would tend to agree that this place seem to be on the slide...THIS PUB HAS GONE TO THE DOGS *GRR*. Turn up at 5pm on a Friday night - NO real ales, not even the Skinners Lager!! A disgrace!! These new oweners have RUINED a great pub :-(I love The Cove; the pasties are delicious, and not heated to the nigh-on molten lava temperatures that the West Cornwall Pasty Company shops usually work to. The real ale is lovely, and a great complement to the pasties. The terrace is a great spot to people-watch, eat and drink, and be sociable, on a warm summers day. The downside is, as virtually every other poster has commented, the ridiculously loud music (totally unnecessary for such a small pub), and occasionally having to wait quite some time to be served. Please, owners - take note!

Nice little pub with some great photos round the walls. Saw a picture of Max Bygraves. Fantastic. Great to find a proper pub in London.The Harveys and Timothy Taylors was excellent.Wendy, the Landlady made us feel like locals.I shall definately use this pub whenever I visit London.An enticing looking little pub from the outside and indeed, comfortable enough within, The Lemon Tree does tick some of the right initial boxes, but really isn’t a place I’ll be rushing back. It didn’t quite work for me. The only ale on offer was Young’s Bitter, though it tasted delicious and the girls behind the bar were professional and friendly enough. Up the rickety staircase and you’ll find yourself in a little room with some additional seating. With the movie posters and student-style conversation amongst those seated, it did sadly have the feel of a sixth-form common room on my visit last night (29th Dec). Thai food is a speciality here, but I’m not such a fan of that either to be honest.

This is a great pub, good beer, don't care about food, good standards, football and they grasp the concept that us fellas don't want to be served off auld boots and shaky auld drunks ( Prince Of Wales ) because they always have a couple of crackers on the payroll. Good work man with moustache. If you are a poor man like the fella below I suggest you don't drink in Covent Garden, bet he never shut up about it all night. Your mate. Cracking bar I'll stop by next time I'm in town.I hadn't been in this bar for years. but gave it a try last week. Pub was good - attentive service and nice decor - but shocked at being charged more than £7 for two pints of Early Bird. The bar maid explained this as being due to the budget increases! Covent Garden is expensive, but this seemed excessive.This was one of my favourite boozers. Friendly, great staff, great beer, charming Landlady and while not allowing anyone to take advantage, the pub has always been pretty relaxed at closing times.

Last night we were asked for our glasses at 11.05. We were still drinking but for good measure we had our beer mats from us.

The over zealous barman then came and demanded our glasses, in no uncertain terms, again 5 minutes later.

Is the bar manager new? If so and the landlady is reading this can she please get rid of them and restore some of the discretion that appears to have been lost.