The Hereford Arms, South Kensington — Restaurant in London

Went here for Easter Sunday because it was close to our hotel and had good reviews. We are American and love England and a good Sunday roast. I got a reservation for 5:30 several days in advance. My family and I arrived on time and were promptly seated. The wait staff was nice. When we all asked for the beef Sunday roast they informed us they were out. Bummer but absolutely not their fault. Lesson learned. If you want Sunday roast, go earlier. People continued to come in after us and we saw a few plates of beef roast walked right past our table but kept quiet. (apparently you can order in advance so they can save you a plate?) The issue arrived when the couple seated right next to us asked for roast as well and we clearly heard the server say they only had one beef left (we had already seen a few go past us) and one pork. Funny because when we instead ordered pork after being told there was no beef, they told us there was only two pork left. So two of us ended up with chicken. Apparently that was Also not the case. I understand ordering in advance but for SURE the table next to us were walk ins as we saw them come in and heard the entire conversion. My husband was polite but let the server know it was "disappointing" to be told there was no beef and two pork when that wasn't the case. That was the end of his complaint and resolved to enjoy the rest of the meal. The worst part was the big guy behind the bar RIGHT next to us was upset we had a small complaint and said overly loud where we could hear on: "What do they expect us to say?? If we're out, we're out!!!" He acted as if we were really upset when my husband just calmly pointed out the situation. Sir, we realize when people are out of food. We are respectful. We made no demands nor were we rude. But when patrons are told one thing and it clearly isn't the case and then you talk about us where we can hear you, it feels degrading and is poor for business. My teenage sons felt really bad and the rest of the dinner was eaten quietly. Of the food: sticky toffee pudding was the best part. The yorkies were a little burnt and the chicken was dry. Could've still been great with a little kindness and empathy but the guy behind the bar was determined to not be...

Deserving lots of stars. I contacted by email before traveling to Gloucester Station. I told him I was gluten and lactose intolerant. It took a few emails but we figured out that the online menu created by corporate has items that Hereford arms does not have. So Owen helped me make the best of it. I wanted a grilled chicken and fries, which they did not have. They have some chicken breast on bone! I don't pick at bones in restaurants. We settled on a beef burger after he was able to verify that the beef burger meat is 100% meat, with no bread filler added. When it came to the Fries, he even made the suggestion that there might be some cross-contamination with other products with gluten coatings using the same fryer. To my amazement they were able to satisfy my request for boiled potatoes!! And to make less mess at the table, small baby potatoes. They were just fine with serving me the beef burger, no bun, no lettuce, no condiments or sauces. Just meat and potatoes. The downside was that everywhere else that would be about 9 £, however they charged me the full price which was a hair over 15 £! And the meat patty was not "large". But it sure was tasty! Smaller than Burger King but much tastier. Plus tap water with a paper straw! Although he touched the outside with his fingers, which I usually frown on. The place was busy, the staff were extremely cordial and inviting. The server knew the menu. And I am so glad that they didn't once complained that I did not order any Beer, because I'm gluten intolerant I can't drink beer! But they did not mind, maybe because they charged me the full price for the burger even though I only had the meat patty and potatoes. Unpeeled potatoes so they did not have to do any more work than if they had put frozen french fries in the fryer. A...

Food was "fair" rather than "poor", same for decor and service. You could do worse than this pub in the immediate area. We chose it because we were entertaining visitors who had just arrived off a long haul flight and didn't want to go far from their hotel, and a thorough search of the surrounding area suggested this was probably the best option. It seems to mainly be frequented by tourists and is therefore quite food driven. I had the ploughman's which wasn't bad, although didn't seem particularly authentic: ciabatta was an odd choice for the bread, and it seemed more like a cheese board really (what was brie doing on there?). Also some of the cheese looked like it had been hanging around a bit - the cheddar was cracked and dried out. This rather confirms my suspicion that it's impossible to get a good Ploughman's in central London.

My fellow diners say the fish and chips was probably the best of the three dishes they ordered - my wife says that dish would just about merit a "good" rating, although perhaps the claim on the pub's website that they offer "the best fish and chips in the Borough" is a little bold. The other two dishes - the steak and ale pie and sausages and mash - were too salty. In both cases the mash potato wasn't particularly good quality and they ended up leaving most of it.

In terms of decor, all fairly modern as far as I could tell, and it looks pretty similar to the way most chain pubs in London look these days. I do wish pubs would give up on those fake chalkboards with the wine list etc on. Although the pub dates back to the 1860s I couldn't really spot any features which looked original. There are a few rough exposed beams but I assume these are a...