The Elephant

Went there to eat last night. Nice place, lovely food and attentive bar staff. Unfortunately The Elephant ruined all their good work by inexplicably adding a 10% service charge to my bill, despite my having ordered my meal and my solitary pint at the bar! I've never experienced this in a pub before. I didn't have the heart to argue over £1.48 but I won't be returning.

Oh dear, a complete shambles. On arrival my family were charged at by a large barking dog. Dog/pub owner was not apologetic, just glared at us (I should have turned around then). We were the only customers in the pub eating but the food took quite a while although was of good quality. By now we just wanted to get out quickly and salvage our disappointing evening. Food overpriced, drinks extremely overpriced. To top it all they had the nerve to ask for a service charge which we refused to pay. Poor bar girl looked overworked as nobody else was present to help her so I secretly handed her a £5 note. The Irish bar opposite saved our evening with 4 halfs of Guinness and an atmosphere.

We went to the Elephant on Tuesday 21st February evening & had a 241 on main meals voucher which we used. The bar/restaurant was pretty quiet, with only the 1 other table dining and an employee/Manager sat in the corner drinking with a large group of people.

The food was so so disappointing which was such a huge shame as I had wanted to try it out for a long time after hearing such good reviews about it. The potato skin starter was very dry and looked like it had been sat around for a good while; the mash that came with the pie of the day was so unbelievably dry and hard and looked/tasted like it had clearly been reheated.

The food was well below average standard and took quite a long time to get to us (especially considering that we were 1 of the 2 tables dining) - the only reason that we did pay the final bill was because we had the 241 voucher.

We informed the Waitress that the mash was dry and she responded with 'ok I will tell them' and walked off. We paid the bill after going up to the bar and she had kindly removed the charge for the starter from the bill but the experience was still very disappointing.

We will not be returning any time soon and will certainly not be recommending the place to anyone.

In response to the Managers comments on other people's reviews below (please do let me know if you would like a contact telephone number/email address for me if you would like any further information on our experience) - as I can assure you that our review is not malicious as accused of others but is indeed entirely based on the awful experience that we had.

Over Priced for Poor quality. Lazy staff, total rip off. To add insult to injury having to pay service charge for this aweful expeience

Watched the 6 nations here last week. Great game, good atmosphere, will be back again now that I know I can book a table for the game. Also running a pizza and pint promotion for £10, I think for the whole tournament.

Visited the Elephant with no prior knowledge about it. Had a meal Saturday evening 6th Nov 2010. Very warm friendly service from Ben and his team. Very pleasant setting with open fire. Food - one rib eye steak and one lamb dish were delicious. All reasonably priced too. A refreshing change from the normal "pub" venues. Couldn't fault it!

I booked a Sunday Lunch for my partner and me. When we arrived we were directed to a 'reserved' table by the barman but as we were sitting down were told it was reserved for someone else. We were then asked to wait for a table to become free. This should have prepared us for the lack of organisation that would follow. When we placed our order most of the items on the menu were not available as they were serving 'a party of 50 upstairs'. This I cannot understand as I am sure that a party of 50 would not have walked in off the street without prior booking. Once an establishment know a party of 50 will be dining then surely it would make sense to up their orders from their suppliers? Our first choices on the menu were unavailable - we were very disappointed.

We then waited for 50 minutes (1 hour from when the table was booked) for our meal to arrive. Again, we were told it was due to the party of 50!! I must say though that the food was very tasty and well cooked - compliments to the chef.

We then ordered desert and again was little choice left. When our desert arrived (after again a very lengthy wait) we didn't get what we asked for (we asked for chocolate brownies each but were given a chocolate brownie and an apple crumble). Not sure how this could have got mixed up. We didn't fancy another long wait so we accepted it.

We had booked the meal through Groupon which is a pre-paid voucher. I had given the voucher in when ordering the meal. We left at the end of the meal and was halfway along the street when one of the staff came chasing after us asking if we had paid for our meal - sooooo embarrassing to happen in the street in earshot of other people.

This experience was such a shame as the food when it did arrive was good - just a shame that there was such a lack of organisation (I don't accept excuses that there was a large party in ... didn't have any evidence of this).

Would not return.

Well, initial impressions were favourable, in terms of decor & furnishings, as we made a lunchtime visit. Beer choice and pricing seemed fair and service was relaxed & friendly.

My wife had a nice salad, tho' no bread was provided (just imagine that in Europe - there would be a riot!), I had a homemade soup, which was very pleasant, tho accompanying homemade bread was rather plain & boring.

I think verdict is positive but it rather stuck in my craw, to have a 10% service charge applied; I do prefer to reward service spontaneously, in the form of coinage for the server, rather than bill addition going to who knows whom!

Might re-visit but, hey, there are lots of choices out there..........

Visited recently to see what all the fuss was about, doesnt seem too bad, although i wouldnt say it was amazing or anything. The place overall seemed ok. Drinks prices were quite expensive which i could get over after the initial shock, but the main thing was when i was sat down and someone kept coming over every 5 minutes asking if i wanted to buy another drink which quickly became tiresome. It seemed quite pushy to be honest i just wanted a quiet chat with mates. had to leave in the end because we felt awkward not wanting to buy anymore drinks as though we werent spending enough, shame. an alrite place but felt like i had to keep constantly spending just to feel welcome

Went to the opening night of this bar. Very nice interior and atmosphere with no loud music or raucous behaviour even when the footie was on. The landlord was very friendly and accommodating. Good place to be for couples or groups of friends who do not want to visit the roudier bars on this street. It was such a contrast to the other bars where loud music and behaviour seem to prevail. I look forward to visiting when they open for food.

by ladywholunches

I had a great night on Saturday night even after a disappointing game of footie. Enjoyed the wine, beer and the atmosphere. It was good to see all the fighting was going on in the other bars and no grief in the pub, too old for that sh*t. Looking forward to going back for some food...

I too was in The Elephant on Saturday night and was chatting to the new owners who seemed really friendly and keen to make sure the reopening of the bar was a success. I thought the refurb has been done tasteful and in keeping with the building and its features. The tacky, tasteless and impersonal nature of the Slug and Lettuce and Revolution was highlighted by a bar which actually has some character, where you can hold a conversation, listen to decent music and have a decent drink. Yes it was perhaps a little bit more pricey than some places in town but at least that kept the pikies and scumbags away (most of whom were in Revolution!). I'm really looking forward to seeing how the bar and atmosphere develops as it becomes more established. A welcome new addition to the area in my opinion.

Not sure about some of these comments - must have been at a different elephant - I liked the restoration, and you might be colour blind as it is not cold?, it was at least thought from before, unlike some attempts to create a bar. Yes the prices were a little more than revolution but if you want cheap then drink next door - having lived in London you expect to pay a little more when it not school chairs and fosters!

Must have been in different bars? I was also there on Saturday night and thought it was brilliant. Lovely decor, great name, really different selection of beers. Peroni. The new reassuringly expensive lager (forget Stella), the guy even abided by the Stamford Press rule! Asked about the food and was told mid/end this week, will defo be in to try it out. Not the cheapest place but then I always find that helps keep real the d*ckheads out. If you want a night out surrounded by kids drinking go to Revolution, it's not far after all.

I thought it was good actually. Nice decor, not filled with clutter, great choice of beers and prices pretty much the same as Revolution and others around. Looking forward to the food starting.

Ok first impression, - the walls and bar have been redecorated in a minimalist style that, unfortunately makes the feel of the place quite cold, and the reception received at the bar wasn't much warmer.

I went in on Saturday night with some friends we were on lager and vodka/coke, were told that they only sell 'doubles' (so much for encouraging responsible drinking) It wasn't helped that the person behind the bar asked my friend if I was on something as they couldn't serve people 'on drugs'! cheek.

Perhaps when they open the kitchen and start doing food it will be worth another visit to sample but I don't see us visiting again on a night out, the Rummer is a much more comfortable/friendly atmosphere and the staff are much nicer.