Lock Tavern — Restaurant in London

Awful experience: poor standards and appalling customer service in a very generic setting.

This used to be my local in the early to mid-2010s before it changed hands and was refurbished in 2018. It used to host excellent gigs and DJs, the atmosphere was great and the roast and burgers were the best in Camden.

This was my first visit after the refurb having previously been put off by the new look. Once inside, my first impression was that the flowers outside, the new decor and wallpaper are more “small town hotel pub” than Camden iconic destination.

Sadly the excellent music programme and stage have long gone, and the place has lots its character and atmosphere. Live music is more than hosting a local musician with a guitar, as was the case today (no offence to the musician who was quietly playing in the background this evening).

More than anything else though, my negative review is due to the poor standards of service and cleanliness I experienced that should have no place in a pub of this type.

I went to order a few drinks and to my surprise my white wine was poured in a spritz glass with a large Aperol logo on it. The pub was not busy, it was 5.30pm on a Sunday, but apparently they had run out of wine glasses and the only other option was going to be a tumbler, and there was no acknowledgement on the bartender’s side that this was not ideal, in fact, he was quite annoyed that I had asked if it would be possible to have my wine in a wine glass. The answer was unapologetic: “I can give you a tumbler, we’ve run out of wine glasses”.

Reluctantly, I took my drinks and went to sit down when I noticed lipstick marks on both sides of the wine glass.

I went back, explained the issue (I even started with “I’m sorry, I’ve just noticed…” despite this not being my fault at all). The bartender went to the other end of the bar and, after checking a handful of tumblers for cleanliness (and putting them back down in the same place as they were probably not up to standard either!!), he eventually found a decent one and without a single word or facial acknowledgement he just put down the tumbler in front of me and turned away.

I couldn’t believe that I had to then explain that, given the first glass was clearly dirty, I couldn’t just pour the same wine from the dirty glass into the tumbler.

Again, without any acknowledgement or apology, the bartender went to speak to a colleague who confirmed he could pour me a fresh drink.

I appreciate that occasionally glasses can come out of the dishwasher cycle with lipstick residues, that is not what I’m disappointed about, but it’s the way the issue was dealt with that is disappointing.

Mishaps happen, somehow pubs can run out of glasses even if it’s a quiet night… but what was below basic pub standards was the disappointing service I received, and the fact that I was not told they had no more wine glasses before ordering. Had I known, I would have ordered a different drink. I hope the member of staff with the long hair and moustache gets some training on drinks presentation and customer service. I assumed they may be new to the job, but this someone who has worked there for months, judging by Instagram.

Lastly, the back garden roof is now all covered in plexiglas allowing no air circulation at all. It’s basically like an enclosed smoking area. It is also worth noting that during this visit most of the toilets were...

The Lock Tavern it’s been always one of my favourite place in London. Atmosphere is still ok but Unfortunately I have to say I had a really bad experience recently. I booked tables for 23 people in the garden on Saturday evening. The person in charge of the booking ensured me that we could have 3 big tables so we could sit together. I was celebrating my birthday and I specifically asked at what time the kitchen close on Saturday as we wanted have dinner. She told me last order for food is 9.15pm and because was my birthday I could have complementary Prosecco . Well, we arrived at 8pm ( booking time) and we got 2 separate tables. First thing that went wrong. We tried to order food but they give us only a “late night menu” that basically was fries and small portion of chicken. They also have pizza margherita (14£) in that menu but they pizza was already finished ( we try to order food at 8.20pm! ) . The poor staff was completely unprepared to answer any of our questions. I try to talk with the manager ( or supervisor) in charge ; he laughed at me and he just said “ food stop at 8pm, after that only night menu’.” At that point I didn’t want ruin my night and we ordered the small dinner they were offering. Few people and I ordered and paid for foods that it never arrived at the table. I did come back and talk with the person in charge and he said that they checked all the orders and he was sure that the food left the kitchen and probably someone else at the table eats our food or perhaps the food was delivered to another table. He, once again, laughed in my face telling me he can’t do anything and he can offer me a bottle of Prosecco ( that I supposed to have as complementary and I never received). Again, never received the Prosecco or any try to sort the situation. We wanted have good time and we didn’t complain too much but we will never come back. The manager was rude and unhelpful, I understand that was busy night , maybe they were under staff, I worked in a pub I know what does mean manage a lots people but you can always explain your reasons and make people happy with small gesture and definitely no laughing in my face when I try to explain what it was going wrong. Be professional because at the end of the day we spend a lots money in “your”place . Sadly this place is not anymore the coolest pub in camden definitely no a place to have party , it’s just a random pub with a...

The Lock Tavern, 8.4/10

Came here a while back as a final stop on a long night out. We were slightly intoxicated, walking around Camden trying to find a boozer. Quite literally stumbled onto this one.

Bouncer was stood at the door. Uh oh. None of us were walking in straight lines. Nor were we talking any sense. But with our old NLP charm we managed to sneak our way in.

The staff had done us well here. Turned up with no booking. Silly amateurs. Still gave us a 6 man booth out back. Wicked. Service was fast. Didn’t mind us being massive loud idiots. We weren’t in here too long, but next time we’re here, we’d imagine the rating will get bumped up.

Just before we left, we noticed the vibe dropped slightly in here. There was an ominous presence hanging over the pub. As we were about to bail, we noticed that Matt Hancock had entered the establishment. And he was trying it on with all the waitresses. The smarmy scumbag. We knew something had to be done.

With the pictured menu in hand, we went over and bashed him over the bonce with it. Old touchy feely was proper sparko. As we left, everyone gave us a guard of honour whilst chanting “northlondonpints!” Guess drinking pints and saving the day is just what we do.

So that’s how that menu snapped, alright. We boshed that mug in the head with it. We did not drunkenly punch it in half. How could you suggest such a thing? We did nothing of the sort. So drop it. Drop it like we dropped Hancock.

Reviewed 02/07/21 on...