The George & Dragon — Restaurant in London

I visited a few months ago and was very disappointed. After leaving a review, I received a response suggesting the venue had improved since it was still new at the time. So, I decided to give the George and Dragon two more tries this week but unfortunately, my experience remained just as bad and disappointing.

The place still feels like it's trying too hard to be trendy, coming across as overly pretentious and overly gentrified. Aside from the name, it doesn't feel like a pub at all. The atmosphere isn’t welcoming, and the service is poor. Bar staff are slow, disorganised, and often ignore the order in which people arrive.

The music is another major issue. It's too loud and more fitting for a nightclub than a pub, making it really unpleasant to enjoy a drink or a meal with friends.

It's a shame because the refurbishment is appealing, but the overall experience doesn’t match the setting.

I was genuinely looking forward to the reopening and revamp of The George and Dragon, but unfortunately, my dining experience last night was a major letdown.

Upon arrival for our 7PM booking on a Monday (just five days after the pub reopened), we were told they had already run out of three main dishes: pie, fish and chips, and steak. With a menu offering only seven meals in total, this left us with very limited options: the catch of the day (no clarification from the waiter and no price listed), a beef burger, and two vegetarian/vegan options which didn’t appeal to us.

To start, we ordered the focaccia to share (£12.50). What arrived was a small, uncut lump of bread and a plate of olive oil. Hardly “shareable” and definitely not worth the price.

Due to the limited menu, I ended up ordering two starters. My partner and his friend went for the beef burger (£17.50 each). The food was disappointing across the board.

The beef burger was basic – just cheese on the beef with chips – no garnish, no side salad, nothing - £17.50 everyone!

The crispy Korean chicken was rock hard, and the halloumi starter was drenched in a salty sauce, making it inedible. Chips were passable but bland.

The dessert was the final straw. We initially ordered a Banoffee Pie Sundae and Sticky Toffee Pudding. When told the sticky toffee pudding was unavailable (again, really?), we opted for two sundaes. What arrived was laughable: a layer of sliced banana topped with whipped cream and a Cadbury flake. No toffee, no ice cream. At £7.50 each, it was insulting. Honestly, they had probably run out of Banoffee Pie Sundae as well and were just too embarrassed to admit it. I sent mine back, and the waitress apologised and removed it from the bill. My partner, however, had already eaten his “dessert,” and we were charged for what was essentially bananas and cream.

When paying the bill, I expressed my dissatisfaction directly to our waitress. She apologised again but made excuses about the pub being unexpectedly busy. Come on, you’ve been open five days – plan ahead. Running out of most of the menu is unacceptable.

The wine selection is overpriced, even for Wanstead. Compared to The Bull and The Cuckfield – which are already pricey – this was another level. My £10 glass of Pinot Grigio was served warmish, and though the waitress saw me putting ice in it, she said nothing.

Yes, the decor is nice, and moving the bar to the front was a smart choice, but that’s where the positives end as far as I'm concerned.

For the price, the food and service fell drastically short. Yes, The Bull and The Cuckfield are expensive too, but at least I feel like they care about...

We used to visit the Wetherspoons at least weekly so were excited to see what the new establishment would have to offer. With they're promises they would keep the family friendly vibe and continue to make it a space for the community we decided to pop in for a drink. The experience was awful from the start. We asked the gentleman putting out the A frame if it was ok to bring the baby in and he scoffed and rudely said "well yeah". When we went to the bar my mum ordered a glass of white wine and wasn't asked what type or if she wanted a particular label, she was just given whatever one was in the cooler, which turned out to only be a couple of degrees lower than room temperature. When we later noticed 'great wine list' on a sign we went to the bar to enquire if there was a wine menu because it wasn't included in the drink menu on the table and the bartender pointed to a random piece of paper on the bar and said "it's right there" and then turned away. We'd also read on the A frame they did a beef burger (which apparently they don't serve on Sunday so glad that was being advertised...) and wondered about the other food. When we asked if there was a food menu we were told "you can only eat in the dining area" and then had another bit of paper thrust towards us before being ignored again. The 'dining area' was hidden away at the back behind what looked like an old cafe style curtain with nothing inviting or enticing about it at all. Another customer was enquiring about a table and was rudely told "well that's not happening, we can't fit eight of you". I don't think we saw a single member of staff smile or act happy to see any customers. We were made to feel like we didn't fit into their expectations of appropriate clientele and we probably couldn't afford to be in there so there was no point being friendly. It's such a shame that a family friendly pub that catered to the community has become a place focussed of making profit and not creating a welcoming...

It was me and my family’s first time eating at the George and the Dragon, we went for Father’s Day dinner and we had high expectations since the renovation. The staff were friendly but ineffective in providing the service we wanted for the special day.

We were seated on a dirty table which I had to clean after we had been served, because the staff hadn’t noticed. We ordered 3 of the same cocktail which the waitress had got wrong, so we wasn’t served our drinks until we had finished our starters. To be fair, we ordered the beetroot salad and the fried squid, both we throughly enjoyed.

After finally getting the correct drinks (after two different managers had intervened), we shortly received our food. My Dad had ordered the fish and chips and considering the price, the portion of chips was laughable. I ordered the pork belly with apple sauce that didn’t come with apple sauce, my sister and my mum both ordered a chicken roast which came dry. For desert I ordered the Posset that came unset and inedible, which I asked to be removed from the bill.

And before we had finished our deserts one of the mangers had come with the card machine to pay, we had not asked or received the bill yet and were still eating.

I only felt the need to write a review of this nature due to the expectation of luxury and the staff and kitchen’s inability to execute. Charging high prices is fine but being unable to see that reflected in a high standard in food or service was upsetting, especially on the special occasion.

It seems that at the George and the Dragon you are paying for the aesthetic of luxury without the...