Horse & Groom — Restaurant in London

🚇 Oxford Circus 🍺 £6.40 Taddy Lager

An Eye Catching Sam Smith’s Boozer.

The Horse & Groom is located on Great Portland Street on the border between Fitzrovia and Marylebone. The nearest Tube is Oxford Circus, it’s a five minute walk to get here.

This Sam Smith’s pub was established in the late 18th century and rebuilt in 1856. The exterior of the building has two beautifully tiled entrances, an elegant etched glass bow window plus two murals of a Horse & Groom.

This is a two bar pub with the main bar on the ground floor and a second bar on the first. The main bar is ‘L’ shaped with a black and white chequered floor, an ornate servery and a wall of etched glass mirrors. Off the main bar area are two adjoining rooms with sumptuous banquettes, a stunning partition, a dartboard and a roaring fireplace. The upstairs bar is set aside for dining and is carpeted throughout. There is a smaller servery which has an oldschool brass framed sandwich counter.

The beer selection is all Sam Smith’s brews with no cask ale available. I decided on a Taddy Lager, Sam Smith’s have a 5% head policy to minimise stock loss but I think I got a 10%. That said, my pint was excellent, price point was above average. There is a traditional pub grub menu available, Fish & Chips costs £15.50.

I arrived just after 1pm on a mild Saturday lunchtime in January. The pub was quiet with me being the sole punter. As many of you know, Sam Smith’s have a no technology policy, so there was no piped music to take the edge off the quietness. I did however have a great chat with the two Aussie chaps who run this place, they were excellent hosts and were kind enough to show me around. During my stay a few other punters arrived and the pub livened up soon after.

The Horse & Groom is a beautiful pub that is very easy on the eye. I absolutely love the traditional Victorian look and feel. The beer choice is broad if not familiar and the food menu is not over priced. The welcome is warm and engaging and you’ll be well looked after. This pub is definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.

ℹ️ Info correct on...

Big fan of Sam Smith pubs but yesterday I had a less than satisfactory experience. I ordered the "Hunters Chicken Chunky Chips" starter and another starter. I realised I was overcharged by £8. I asked about the prices of the items to work out the discrepancy, and was told she'd put through the "Hunters Chicken Chunky Chips" as a main. I pointed out that that's not even listed on the menu as a main, so there's no excuse for her confusion. So basically I was charged an arbitrary amount for a non-existent item. She said the manager would be down in 10 mins to sort it. Then she said the manager wasn't coming as he'd popped out and so there wasn't anything that could be done about it. Still no apology. In the end I had to really press to get my £8 refunded. And I was still served a totally different chicken main dish she'd put through instead of the...

We have visited lots of times for after work drinks over the years but this visit 100% is deserving of a review. Although busy, as we walked through the door we were greeted across the bar by a gentleman we later found out to be called Dan. This was so much more welcoming than our past visits.

The pub was busier than we have found it before, but Dan assured us he would find us some seats.

He recommended the pure brew organic larger and can I say what a recommendation, weve always gone for double 4 in the past but he explained why this was no longer available.

What made me write this review is the high level of service Dan was giving to every guest that came through the door, showing a genuine interest in each of them.

We usually only pop in for one quick drink, we stayed for 3. We hope to see Dan this week...