Marquis Of Wellington Bermondsey — Restaurant in London

This is a long and detailed review but I believe people should take the time to read this before considering visiting The Marquis of Wellington Bermondsey.

Me and a group of friends (3 girls and 1 guy) entered the pub after having come from one of the local wine bars opposite that had just closed for the evening. We had each been given a small plastic cup to finish the remainder of our wine, which we had carried into the pub.

As there was no clear signage nor was there anybody at the door to tell us otherwise, we had assumed that it was fine to enter with them - bear in mind that each of our cups contained around 50ml of wine at best. It took around 5-10 minutes of us being inside before a member of the bar staff brought it to our attention that this was not allowed, fair enough

We moved to finish what little wine we had so we could comply and buy drinks from the bar. But instead of handling this minor issue with any semblance of professionalism, another staff member aggressively demanded we leave immediately, refusing to listen to reason or allow us time to finish. The situation escalated rapidly and unnecessarily. Out of nowhere, and without any provocation, a security guard stormed over and violently grabbed my male friend’s arm, where he held his tiny plastic cup. The force used was shocking—completely disproportionate to the situation.

My friend didn’t resist, yet the security guard tightened his grip and refused to let go for what felt like a good 30 seconds. It was only after other staff intervened that he finally released him. By then, we were terrified and fled the pub, feeling utterly unsafe.

This wasn’t just an overreaction—it was intimidation and physical aggression over something as trivial as a few drops of wine in a plastic cup. The security guard’s behavior bordered on assault, and the staff’s initial hostility only added fuel to the fire. It felt as though they were looking for any excuse to exert power and escalate tension rather than resolve it calmly.

The Marquis of Wellington is not just poorly managed—it’s a place where aggression seems normalized, and customer safety is disregarded entirely. The lack of basic conflict resolution skills among staff is alarming, but more concerning is their readiness to resort to physical intimidation over minor misunderstandings. This could have ended much worse if someone had reacted defensively or if the security guard had been even more forceful. This establishment has shown itself to be a dangerous place where customers are treated with hostility rather than hospitality. Their staff and security desperately need proper training—or replacement altogether—before their reckless behavior leads to serious harm. I wouldn’t recommend anyone step foot in this pub unless they’re prepared for a...

Disastrous experience - strongly suggest you go to the Woolpack around the corner on Bermondsey Street and avoid getting mocked for your drinks order.

Went with two friends for the Wednesday pub quiz. One friend ordered a lemonade, lime and bitters - barman responded '... this is a pub... we don't have bitters. Better go the Chelsea or the Kings Road for that' and looked us up and down with an expression of disgust. Immediately after he got our order wrong, and then charged us £6.50 for a pint which, ironically, is well above Chelsea prices.

When we asked if the pub quiz was on he responded 'maybe it is, maybe it isn't, we'll see'.

This pub was supposed to be my new local having moved in round the corner and has a website which boasts: 'The Marquis Of Wellington has a great reputation for quality, great service and a relaxed atmosphere, making both customers and staff feel like they belong the moment they step through the door'. Ironic, given we could not have been made to feel less welcome and left immediately never to return. Interestingly the website doesn't have an email address, probably to deter feedback and previous bad reviews on trip advisor were responded to by the owner but they clearly gave up and stopped replying more recently - such was the volume of horrifically poor reviews.

Worst London pub experience I've had in eight years of living here. Oh, and one side of the pizza we ordered was incinerated into a block of carbon so thick that even Han Solo would have struggled to free himself from it. Temporary blindness would have been the least...

I haven't reviewed before but my friend and I felt so unwelcomed in this pub it's still bothering me a month later. honestly i don't usually blame hospitality folks being a bit fed up sometimes cos it can be a rough thankless job. I visited here with a friend on the way home one evening as it looked like a lovely pub from the outside. It was quiet and we were cheery with the barlady, but we took a little while to decide what to order because there wasn't quite what we wanted, which is fine we're easy customers, but she was so rude with us about it. I have a hearing problem and she wouldn't speak up for me to hear better as she was mumbling, and then got irritated with me having to keep asking to repeat things, rolled her eyes at my friend, was unhelpful as we asked about the different drinks, and walked off without saying anything as I was paying. We eventually got our bad, warm, flat drinks, and sat drinking them feeling deflated and sad so went to the smaller breweries round the corner instead and they were lovely. I'd understand the cold treatment if we'd been drunk or annoying (we've both been barmaids we know it's tough!) but we were fine and being as friendly as possible and were obviously annoying her just by being there. Take your...