Hoop & Toy — Restaurant in London

🚇 South Kensington 🍺 £6.70 Estrella ❤️ A South Ken tourist hotspot. . Located in South Kensington near the National History and Victoria & Albert museums, you will find The Hoop & Toy. The nearest tube is South Kensington which is just around the corner. . This pub was established as the Grapes in around 1515 and renamed the Hoop & Toy in 1784. The current building dates back to just after World War II following damage from bombing raids by the Nazis. This pub is said to be one of the most haunted in London. When the nearby tube station was being built, workers accidentally unearthed the pub’s cellar which was found to contain the bound bodies of several dead priests. It’s said they woke these souls and since that fateful day, phantom priests have been spotted around the pub. . The decor here is traditional and is dressed in the usual Greene King fixtures and fittings. The bar is a good size and there is plenty of seating to rest your laurels. Around the walls are a few screens which show live sports on BT & Sky. . The beer line up was full of familiar keg favourites, there were also some craft and cask options too. I decided on a pint of Estrella, my pint was great but price point was the most I’ve paid for a pint Estrella, not so great. The food menu is traditional pub grub, Fish & Chips costs £15.95. . I visited around 1pm on a Sunday lunchtime, on arrival the pub was absolutely packed to the rafters. I didn’t have to wait too long to be served and the service was good. Not long after I was served a long queue formed leading back to the entrance to the pub, this is a busy pub. The majority of punters were tourists who’d been exploring the area and visiting the museums close by. . There is a lot of history and intrigue associated to the @hoopandtoy but it was difficult to soak it in due to the touristy nature of the pub. . ℹ️ Info correct on...

Popped in here to take an out of town friend for Sunday lunch after the Natural History museum. I should have turned around as soon as I saw the Greene King sign. After eventually finding a Sunday menu from our table that seemed to have been squeeze anywhere it could be I order 2 roast beef’s. I was presented with the worst looking plate of microwaved food I have ever seen, the beef was so over cooked and tough as leather boots. The potato’s were clearly out of a bag. The green stuff on the plate was totally unseasoned and had the texture of rubber and the cauliflower cheese had basically been boiled to the plate. In too much of a rush to complain at the time.

Just don’t eat here. Go somewhere else

Edit: So they asked me to contact them, and I did. Still waiting for them to get back to me, over 4 days later. Typical Greene King, happy to take my money, and will publicly pretend to care about my experience, while rubbing their hands together all the way to the bank! Do not visit this establishment!

Update2: After emailing the pub as requested on this review on 8.12.24 it is now 22.12.24 and I’m still waiting for a response from them. Totally disgusting behaviour. If you don’t care, don’t pretend. The food here was disgusting and over priced and the pretence that they care about your experience is a joke. If it wasn’t for tourists this pub would most likely cease to trade. They...

I will admit, as an American tourist coming to this pub I was not entirely familiar with it. I went up to the bar and ordered drinks. Paid with my credit card. Got a notification from my credit card company that my payment to this pub was pending. 5 minutes later the barkeep comes and gets me at my table to let me know there was a problem with my payment. I come back up to the bar. I show him my Capitol One App where my payment is pending. Another worker, who had no dealings with me until now, tells me my first payment is voided. I explain that my payment is pending, I show him my App with the pending payment. Doesn’t matter. I pay again for my round of drinks. It’s entirely possible that sometime in the next 24 hours my first payment will be voided. And maybe I only paid once for my round of drinks. I honestly don’t know what happened. But there is something to be said for customer service. Tell me that you voided my first transaction and show me the receipt. Do not argue with me when I show the payment is pending. It’s entirely possible that their system is being wonky. Not a great experience. Food was solid pub food. Beer selection was good. Service was...