The Castle — Restaurant in London

This pub is local to work and love it for its quirky atmosphere and crowd. Have only been early evening and mid-week when the vibe is chilled and relaxed. The bar staff are pleasant though the tall barman with the ginger beard is a great character. Prices are good for the area and the semi circular nature of the bar means you can see out onto the trendy passerby. The back room is more intimate and interesting. Was told there is a late night club below on certain nights and occasional gigs and comedy nights in the upstairs room. I checked them out and look like very eclectic and small spaces so could be interesting. Room downstairs smelt very damp though, as most cellars are. Would recommend this pub for a few drinks especially if you prefer your pubs like actual pubs and not gastro, foodie places. In a good area with lots of restaurants close by and trendy brick lane a stones throw away. Although this pub is accessible on the ground floor I am not sure the toilets are. I like this pub, it is real, honest and rough around...

The staff has never been overtly exceptional (excluding the blonde manager, she is of the few female bartenders that will serve women rather than attractive men) but is to be expected of late-night locations. However, the man working this evening chose to ignore my request for a double, likely assuming I had already had too much to drink. The woman beside me had just walked in and asked for 5 beers, the gentleman may have misunderstood but also did not confirm the order and poured one instead. As he was doing so, I mentioned that she had said five, not one. The bartender ignored me again and did not confirm with the customer. I frequent this bar because they are open late and the staff is usually more pleasant, the security is often cheerful and protective of patrons. However, on a Sunday night, I really expected a more patient staff. Especially considering that the bar was nearly empty. I would definitely recommend this bar to anyone looking for a good night out but be careful as to which bartender...

Terrible bartender. Visited this place last night for the first time.

The bar man with the large beard was extremely rude and aggressive.

After merely trying to compliment him on his beard, he responded with sarcastic remarks and gestures, and how boring it was that people asked him about his beard all the time.

I was obviously puzzled as to why he was so offended, but to avoid causing any trouble, I took my drink and went back to the other side of the bar.

Shortly afterwards he then confronted me (quite aggressively) WITH the bouncer and continued to talk about how offended he was that people always ask about his beard.

After a few minutes, he then said something along the lines of, "I was only doing it to make a point for somebody else". He then proceeded to sarcastically try and shake my hand with a smirk on his face.

I refused, and his response was, "get the F**k out of my bar".....all because I was trying to compliment him.

Disgusting...