The Bolingbroke — Restaurant in London

This pub in Wandsworth was recommended to me by a good friend, for which I heartily thank him. You have to know about this gem to get to it and I am pretty sure you will not be disappointed if you do visit. Lovely setting for family gatherings for Sunday lunch, you should book in advance - just to be sure you can find a table. Very pleasant atmosphere and very busy. Pity it was raining - on a sunny day the tables outside must be really nice, especially since the roads around it are pedestrian on Sundays. Had a meze dish to start off while we waited for our friends, with warm pitta bread slices, olives and feta cheese, halloumi and roast synergies and red peppers as well as tzatziki and hummus dips. Yummy. For mains we went for the traditional roast beef and roast pork dishes (with a “Yorkie” , Yorkshire pudding) - crackling included with the pork! We also tried the wild boar sausages and mash. Full to the brim as we were, the charms of the server were not wasted on us and we did try the cheesecake and chocolate pudding, followed by good espressos to keep us awake after such a grand meal. The staff were simply excellent and I will definitely be back next time I’m in...

Not sure if it was just an odd day for the staff at The Bolingroom but unfortunately my friends and I had one of the worst experiences here.

The food was fine, fantastic even! It was the service that was lack-luster at best... drinks took a while to make that wasn’t a problem if the member of staff who served us had of let us know that the cocktail(s) we wanted wasn’t possible not 10 minutes later which happened 3 times!

But it was the paying of he bill that just took the cake! First we were over charger for one card payment that when we asked about, it was refunded and we were told the money would come back into the account ‘at some point’?! And was made to pay again! The poor waiter made to serve us must of had some trouble understanding? And the management didn’t help at all, just came to the table to tell us what was what then leave! Without helping the waiter who was taking the payment in the first place!

I want to give the staff the benefit of the doubt but we will not be...

More a victim of geography and demographics than a bad venue in itself; you would be hard-pressed to find a London pub that has less soul than this diversity vacuum. Situated at the quiet end of Northcote Road, the Bugaboo river that carves its way through Nappy Valley, this impassive Victorian slab comprises a saloon and a dining room, packed with white middle-London. Spectacles are habitually rearranged to a soundtrack of rustling Barber jackets and earnest Game of Thrones discussion, but the overriding image is one of people tipsy on Gavi and struck dumb with dissatisfaction, boredom and emptiness. As you would expect, the beer is pretty good and there seems to be a reasonable range of food on offer, but the great challenge remains: reconciling the banality and uniformity of the patrons with London's awe inspiring diversity,...