Bars with character in London

“The Porter House is a nice restaurant to enjoy some nice drinks (they have really good wine) and good food, if you are around the area. The staff are nice, although one of the brothers is much nicer than the other one and makes you feel more at home. But in general it is a nice place to go.”

“Went to see avatar. the cinema was brilliant lots of leg room. the seats recline and they have a little table for your snacks. The staff are super friendly. Great access for wheelchairs.”

“Very good cafe. Great service, always willing to swap items or add extras. Very good standard of breakfast and not expensive. Can definitely recommend”

“I've never liked sushi. Tried it a few times from supermarkets, restaurants in West London and a few others. My experience at this place has changed that. Defne the waitress made sure we had an excellent meal, advising us what to have (even the eel), ensuring we both had time to consider our choices, then brought food to our table without delay. She even thought ahead to bring us the necessary utensils to help us share the food we ordered - sharing a burger is messy without a sharp knife cutting it down the middle etc. Such waitressing skills may sound unsurprising, but sadly they are rarely seen to Defne's standard of attitude, ambiance and professionalism. As well as the superior service, the food was really excellent too and has changed what I look for in a sushi restaurant. Well, I probably won't go anywhere else for sushi, I suppose.”

“Great members bar on -1 at The Ned. Old bank vault with all of the original safety deposit boxes left in place. Good service, drinks and food. Very well done bar and nice atmosphere.”

“Great pub and such a fantastic atmosphere. Went there with a group of friends on a Friday evening. Reasonably priced drinks, bottle of Prosecco was really nice too. Evening started off with Sports on the TV, then live music afterwards. A definite must visit in Epsom, will certainly return.”

“A nice alternative space in Catford with an excellent cinema too where you can take your pint and enjoy a good movie.”

“We stayed in the King of Kings room, and we had such a wonderful time here. The bed was incredibly comfortable, and we enjoyed every second we spent sleeping and relaxing here. The service was amazing - no other hotel we have stayed at before or since can compare to the Standard's level of customer service. Thank you so much, and we will definitely be back in the future!”

“Hired the Buttery for my Mum's 90th Party, excellent service, excellent room, excellent buffet. Also stayed one night in one of the lovely guest rooms, breakfast was really good. Staff, Venue, Food, Drink, Accommodation all first class.”

“Lovely lunch, the shellfish ( prawn cocktail) was super tasty and served in the prettiest of bowls. The monkfish and prawn curry spicy but not too hot and a really good consistency. My partner had the fish stew which he loved. Our friend had the fish pie, this was delicious, comfort food with elegance.”

“Went in to watch a Liverpool game, met Tim (fellow LFC) and Levy, good local lads. Cheap beer for London and a sound pub, will be going next time I'm down too.”

“The Ealing location was amazing room was clean and the staff extremely friendly. My sons and I were traveling over for a football match and in the chaos I had thought I booked the Wembley Ibis. The staff there kindly held our bags until the event was over. Was thankful to know our bags were safe while we had fun.”

“Great bar , great people, live music and a dance floor. What's not to love!!”

“Best place to stay in London! Simply can't say enough good things about this hostel! The staff are friendly, kind and very accommodating. The rooms are clean and there's free lockers under every bed (bring your own lock). There's lots of bathrooms, also very clean. Best of all, there's an awesome pub just downstairs that really comes alive at night. It can get a little noisy with the live music at night, but the staff give you a really good quality pair of earplugs upon arrival. Don't let the noise bother you though, go downstairs and join in! The environment is very inviting and you immediately feel at home! This is a great hostel to make new friends and meet people from all around the world. Thank you all so much for such a great stay, will definitely be returning!”

“We went to the Blakes hotel restaurant last Saturday night without a reservation. We were greeted warmly then treated with delicious food and excellent service!!! Simone was our waiter and he served us brilliantly while regularly coming over to check that everything was okay during our meal - which it always was. Marta is one of the managers there and was excellently attentive while also ensuring that our experience was formidable. Classy, sophisticated, delicious with impeccable standards and service!”

“One of the best clubs I have ever been to. The sound system is incredible, especially in room 1. The staff is super helpful inside, I have nothing negative to point out. A perfect place if you want to rave for long hours with some of the finest artists in the scene. If not, definitely this place is not for you.”

“Great beers, amazing wines, really knowledgeable and friendly owners, they’re obviously very passionate! Love this place.”

“As you maybe aware I’m a big foodie who loves dining out in the finest of restaurants. But when it comes to choosing wine we either go for the countries that we know or we leave it to the recommendations of the sommeliers. So with this in mind we wanted to broaden our horizons let’s say by learning more about wine in general ie taste , smell , tannins , acidity etc. with the additional knowledge of knowing what wine wine is good value for money and which style of wine goes with which style of food. So we gave it some thought and approached our good friend and drinks expert Alison Taffs at the Hop Inn Hornchurch our local micro pub to see what she thought and because it was only going to be the two of us if it would be worth her while. But after a little chat we discussed a budget so it would make her time and effort worthwhile. We gave her a couple of weeks to put together a format and gather some wines to taste and talk about. This led us to sunday when our tasting would take place. We arrived at the Hop Inn and our table was laid out in the corner. You could see straight away that Alison had put a lot of effort into this to which we were very grateful. She had laid out tasting note sheets , an iPad screen displaying various information and a list of the six wines we would be tasting. She decided that we should keep the discussion to european wines and in particular Portugal , France , Austria & Germany. Her knowledge was incredible as she guided us through the different stages of tasting wine. This begins with appearance which will include the colour. This is followed by smell , condition , intensity and the character. Then it’s time to taste to find out if the wine is sweet or dry as well as how much acidity , length , body and tannins. To finish you would decide what type of food you would match the wine with. We followed this by talking about pricing and what wines from specific regions when you look at a wine list are good value for money. This information really was invaluable and will certainly help us in the future. We’d personally like to thank Alison for a fabulous wine tasting afternoon. To listen to her knowledge and passion really was a pleasure and we definitely got more out of this than we first thought. I would highly recommend if your interested in wine to arrange a session yourselves whether your a couple like us or a larger group you will certainly benefit from her vast experience in the industry. We’re certainly looking forward to booking another session with her soon”

“Always a warm welcome from Vincent and excellent beers. A great place to be with friends.”

“Titanic Plum porter. Superb. Great staff and fog friendly. Didn't want to leave !!!”

“Lovely little place. Very friendly owner. 10 stars for the toilets. Will definitely be back. Great choice of drinks. My partner loved the Bexley brewery bitter.”

“Great selection of constantly changing beers, both draught and in cans - as well as a great selection of spirits and ciders. All served by friendly and helpful staff - a gem of a pub!”

“Suspect the whiskeys came out of a ginger doing a helicopter, tasted good nonetheless”

“Truly a step back in time. The Junior suite was large and appointed with antique furniture and paintings, and a very comfortable bed. The whole place gives the sense of living in an English country House in a quiet spot in Soho, just a half block away from all the action.”

“This cinema is really with special charm! Every corner is full of vintage vibe (even the restaurant beside it and the bathroom). It is really enjoyable experience to watch movies here. Highly recommended!”