Mc & Sons Vauxhall — Restaurant in London

Most disrespectful service experience I've ever had

Long story short, I had the manager give me the most disrespectful treatment I've ever had from a company, all because the bar messed up my food order.

So I arrive with a large group from a dance event to this bar and most of us order food, naturally enough the food takes a long time to come out because of the huge number of orders that the kitchen has. Some of my friends are waiting an hour, an hour and a half for their food, so I try be patient since I know there's a lot of stress on the kitchen. After two hours I go up and ask about my order and I'm told that no more food is coming out, so I'm just not getting what I paid for. The staff member I talked to, who I think was the manager, a larger guy of African descent wearing a flat cap, assumes a very accusatory position that I'm trying to cheat him. I understand that they have to check to make sure I'm not lieing and trying to get money from them under false pretences, but he asked multiple times to see my bank app for the money that was paid and multiple times what was ordered, saying something along the line of "we don't give out food for free". This all felt very over-the-top, excessive, and accusatory. After 20 or so minutes or arguing with him and proving that I didn't get what I paid for, he finally agrees to give a refund. It seemed like he was hoping I'd just give up on trying with how long he made it. While he was setting up the refund, I said "this has been ridiculous, I'm never coming back here", he then starts arguing with me again, at which point I was worried he would try back out of it so I stopped arguing with him and just took the refund, it didn't seem like a fight worth continuing to court. He insisted that if it took so long that I should have said something sooner (within 45 minutes apparently), even though so many of the others in the group had to wait very long as well, up to an hour and a half or so. He also said that he was being nice and was trying to resolve the problem by giving me a refund after all of this, as if that wasn't the minimum he owed me out of common decency, as well as a legal requirement. He refused to apologise for all of this, either personally or on behalf of the company, continuously dismissing the problem and basically trying to shift the blame for the situation onto me, constantly expressing a rude and disrespectful demeanor. While arguing with him, the others in my group noticed what was happening and I explained it, I don't think any of them, including the organiser who I spoke with in depth about this with because she felt responsible since she chose the venue, will consider going there again. I understand that with the huge number of orders that mistakes are made, I had no real problem with that, it was the disrespect shown by this staff member that frustrated me. I've worked in public-facing service work and never showed so much sass to a customer, let alone for something that was genuinely the fault of the service provider. One of my friends waited an hour an a half, was given an apology, spoken to very nicely, and was given a free starter for compensation for her troubles, this was all given from a different staff member who understood how to treat these situations where mistakes are naturally made. The guy who handled my situation was the most rude, unprofessional, and arrogant person I've had to deal with in a bar setting. I've been in situations where guys in bars have tried starting fights with me that showed...

🚇 Vauxhall 🍺 £6.90 Guinness

Mc & Sons is located in the heart of Vauxhall just south of the river. The nearest Tube is Vauxhall.

This pub was built in 1891, a Charrington’s house called The Royal Oak. In January 2023 the Landlord retired from this much loved Irish boozer and the pub closed its doors. Thankfully, in May 2023 the pub reopened as Mc & Sons which is part of a fantastic stable of pubs which includes the very atmospheric Kings Arms in Waterloo.

The decor is traditional with lots of Irish memorabilia including photos of the pubs owners family through the ages. This is a long and narrow pub with the servery located on the left and a cosy snug just by the entrance. There are some nice features throughout like the fireplace, velour upholstered pews and all manner of old knick-knacks. Upstairs, there is another room which is bright and airy which leads to a patio roof terrace. There is also an additional outside space to the side of the pub.

The beer line up was impressive and included beers from London breweries, mainstream heavyweights and of course Guinness. I decided on a pint of stout, my pint was excellent, price point was a bit high. The food is Thai, Pad Thai costs around £15 depending on meat/veg etc.

We arrived around 4.30pm on a warm Saturday afternoon in August. The pub was quiet with a couple of punters in attendance. The atmosphere was chilled and relaxed with a nice local pub feel. The service was outstanding, we were served by a wonderful member of the team whose name was equally wonderful, Cambridge. Cambridge, told us all about the pub, what the pub has on and was the consummate host.

This pub has live irish music every Friday and Saturday, a lock in Thursday to Saturday but you have to be in before midnight, service stops at 2am.

I was lucky enough to have visited The Royal Oak, it was a tremendous oldschool local that will be sorely missed. That said, it is great to see the pub’s future secured by a family who know a thing or two about the pub game. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to @mcandsonsvauxhall , get this one on your list.

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OK - the Royal Oak was what it was, but we didn't use it so we only have ourselves to blame. When it comes to your local, use it or lose it - it's very simple.

Moving forward, I think Mc & Sons have done an excellent job with the interior of the pub and have successfully built a pub to last. I've been in 3 times since opening and the place somehow attracts a great buzz rare in modern newly-opened London pubs of today. It is atmospheric and comfortable and no corners have been cut in the installing of furniture and decoration - it is convincingly well done and the owners clearly know exactly what they are doing. Hats off and fair play, credit where it is due.

Beer selection is slightly more adventurous than your average. Prices of the pints would be off putting to old skool locals starting at £6.20. Tonight I had a pint of Lost & Grounded and two halves of Forged Irish Stout for about £14.

Real ale was being served here when I first visited in 2023 but supposedly has been off for 6 months. There are 2 cask lines here. Surely the demand for a barrel a week is there if you source a cask of something good - Surrey Hills Shere Drop? Thornbridge Jaipur? It seems a crying shame and a great opportunity.

Overall I hope to see this pub continue to gain the popularity of locals and so far I do think it offers something positive for our area. I'd recommend popping down for a...