The Lord Herbert — Restaurant in London

Unfortunately, my experiences at this pub have consistently been disappointing due to the owner’s attitude, which has a significant impact on the overall atmosphere. The owner often comes across as rude and unwelcoming, particularly towards working-class customers and those who don’t seem to fit his preferred clientele.

There are numerous examples I could give - such as refusing to switch the TV to football when the pub is empty and no one is watching the golf (despite having the right channel, so that excuse doesn’t hold up), outright strange stares from across the bar, or even telling us to leave if half of our group has finished their drinks and hasn’t ordered a new round within five minutes - which has happened more than a few times. It is just weird that I spend money in a pub to watch some sport and then I am refused for no reason. The owner clearly pays for a subscription and advertises a £10 rule to watch sport, but this doesn’t apply for us, even if the pub is practically empty with, again, no one watching the golf.

I’ve also witnessed uncomfortable behaviour towards my Black friends - being stared at, asked to remove harmless items like beanies, or even being told to move because we were apparently using the ‘wrong’ chairs.

It’s a shame, as some of the bar staff are genuinely friendly and welcoming, but the owner’s behaviour continually overshadows any positive interactions.

Based on similar feedback I’ve read and heard from others, it appears I’m not alone in feeling this way. Ask around at other local pubs or among regular pubgoers, and you’ll likely hear the same - often expressed in rather colourful language I must say.

Unless you happen to fit a very specific type of customer, a visit here may leave you feeling uneasy or unwelcome. If, however, you align with the owner’s preferred demographic and the overall trend of gentrification in Woolwich and the local area, you may not encounter these issues. That said, I would strongly encourage those who value comfort and inclusivity to...

Been to this pub twice. Once with my husband, we were served by a lovely woman, very kind, welcoming, had a wonderful time.

Went again tonight with my husband and two friends with their new born baby. Same woman was there who remembered us, very friendly, said hello and made us feel welcome.

The landlord First of all told my friends to move their pushchair out of the way in a very rude manner, even after saying to him that it needed to be close by for diabetes medication and for the baby he did not care and told us it needed to be moved. My husband then went to get a drink at the bar the landlord was stood next to him, the landlord said to the girl that was serving my husband that kids weren’t allowed from 8pm, the girl that was serving my husband was very confused and walked away, so the landlord took over serving. The landlord then spoke to my husband and told him that kids needed to be gone by 8pm that we need to quickly finish our drinks but we should have finished them and left 5 minutes ago.

As we were leaving the pub we came across two other families. One family had children and the other family also had a newborn baby. My husband asked the landlord if they had been spoken to aswell about leaving, the landlord said no and that he would sort it out. All the time while holding the door open for my husband to leave. He never did sort it!

Unfortunately I don’t think this situation has anything to do with our friends baby, it was made very clear that as soon as this landlord heard us talking and realised that we weren’t from this area - he wanted us gone when all we wanted was to have a couple of drinks with friends! We are very upset by this situation!

I think in the future if you do consider making the rule of children need to be gone by 8pm then you should make some signs or add this to your Facebook page so in the future you don’t find yourself in a similar situation where you have to ban people like you did my husband all because he was sticking up for our friends 8...

I was very much looking forward to visiting this local. I have now done so three times, each time giving it the benefit of the doubt hoping that the next visit would be better because I am a huge fan of the pizza place that operates on the premises. I can now say with confidence that I will not be returning and feel it necessary to warn people of it instead.

The good: By far the best thing about this pub is Toledo pizza which operates on the same premises but outside the pub. This is worth travelling for. Pet friendly and the owners dog is gentle and well mannered (the exact opposite of the landlord himself). They serve beer.

The bad The owner / landlord is outright rude and disrespectful. This is not an issue with the bar staff who do their job with a smile. However, if you somehow stumble into this establishment due to the facade of a good atmosphere, avoid all interactions with the owner or risk having your visit and day ruined. Simply greeting him or asking basic questions like what time it will close are met with hostility. The place is not clean. The bathroom is filthy and smells like one of the porta-loo on the last day of a music festival. The pub floor is thick with dirt and hair. As mentioned above, the fact that it is pet friendly is a positive. But the very least that a pet friendly pub can do is vacuum the floor from time to time as any other well run pub would do.

Having seen other reviews critical of the owner I am sure that my review will also be met with denial and further hostility. However, I am hopeful that he takes time to reflect on how he treats people. It is unacceptable, even more so for someone who operates in this industry.

I also hope that Toledo find another location so that they can continue operating without being affected by the state of the Lord Herbert's...