The Princess Of Wales — Restaurant in London

Booked a table here for dinner. There were three of us and all opted for starters and mains as well as drinks. We were really looking forward to this meal as it was to celebrate a special occasion.

Unfortunately, it fell pretty short of our expectations due to a couple of issues.

Firstly, I ordered the Raclette and Pancetta burger without the house sauce but with the tomato and red pepper relish. The burger came to me without the relish but with the house sauce. Round the wrong way. I got up and went to the bar to politely tell the member of staff of the mishap. Moments later a member of staff came over and said that the order was correct and that the 'sauce' was not the house sauce but mayo. This was not mentioned on the menu or I would have asked without. I do find it odd that one burger would have three sauces in it. Regardless, I believed the member of staff, and scraped the mayo out of my burger. I was about to start eating when the staff member came back over and asked if everything was OK. I said no, not really. She offered to take it back. I said yes please, I would just like the food as I ordered. With the relish but without the house sauce or the mayo. She came back a few minutes later to tell me that the reason there was no relish was because they had run out. Mentioned that their was miscommunication between the kitchen and herself. My burger eventually did come (without the relish) once the rest of my party had finished theirs. I mentioned that as the burger came with ingredients not mentioned on the menu, that is really quite dangerous.

When I finally got my burger, I quite enjoyed it, but my party did not enjoy their mains too much and one actually ordered a side of chips and left most their main.

Despite this, the bill came in full with no deductions and with a 10% service charged included. We paid this without fuss as to be fair to the server, she did apologise numerous times but sticking a service charge on when there has been issues doesn't seem right to me.

Following paying the bill in full, the server walked away. I said politely - excuse me, can I have the receipt. She said the machine had run out of paper. She went away and printed just a copy of the table receipt, not a card receipt. I was told that they didn't know how to print it and that they would need to call IT to sort. I said not to worry (I was in a rush). Won't...

Spent an evening with close friends to celebrate our children’s GCSE results. The young lady that took care of us for most of the evening was lovely, thank you. A young lad behind the bar accidentally broke a glass. Fragments of it came across the bar, at a rate of knots,to where we were sitting. My friend got some in his face and was very lucky for it to have not gone into his eyes or cut him. Accidents happen, but the lad’s attitude and response was incredible. He just stood there with a smile on his face and didn’t say a word. I said are you going to say something or apologise? His answer was, don’t worry about me I’m fine! Wow! As you can imagine my friend wasn’t very impressed with this answer and told him so. I asked him to get his manager to which he replied , she’s standing right here and has heard everything you have said. Good. The manager came around to our side of the bar and felt she had to apologise for him which I find quite unbelievable. The cocky young lad should have been doing that, not her. To the Princess of Wales management team, you really need to put more time into your staff training, it’s not the first time we have heard about the attitude of the staff at this pub by some of the patrons.

James this is the only way I can respond to your reply. We were out having a nice evening celebrating our children’s exam results, not out to antagonise bar staff as you put it. Maybe look at your CCTV again and understand the reaction from us was the result of the unbelievable rudeness that came from the very arrogant member of staff to continue to try and disguise. Our point exactly about the place and the way you continue to treat your patrons with contempt. Its quite astonishing!

Its becoming very clear where the staff are getting their attitudes from. Like we have said before. But you choose to ignore it. If the young lad behind the bar had been trained properly and had acted in the right manner to the situation that he had caused himself, people wouldn’t have got upset with the boy’s very flippant response. Hopefully as a pub manager you will take this along with you and...

🚇 Blackheath 🍺 £7.40 Asahi

The Princess of Wales is perched on the edge of Blackheath in Southeast London. The nearest station is Blackheath mainline.

This pub dates from 1826, the current building was built in 1865. It is named after Caroline of Brunswick, Princess of Wales from 1795 to 1820.

The pub has a long associated with Blackheath Rugby Club, the oldest rugby club in the world. The club was founded in 1858 with the players meeting and getting changed at the Princess of Wales. The pub once served as the changing room for England's first international with Wales.

This is a good sized one bar pub that has an upmarket contemporary feel. The bar area is set out in a reversed “L” shape with the servery stretching down the main section of the bar. At the back of the main bar is a conservatory which leads to a large beer garden. There are some lovely features to this pub like the huge windows, tiled floor, Victorian fireplaces and corinthian columns. The stand out feature is the stunning original Victorian bar back. The bar back dates from 1865 and is one of the oldest surviving bar backs in the country. A refurbishment in 2022 involved the removal of the servery in front, so now you get a closer look.

The beer line up was a who’s who of well know beers, ciders and stout and included five cask ales. I decided on an Asahi, my pint was excellent, price point for this lager as always was high. The food menu is Gastro pub grub, Fish & Chips costs £19.50, Roasts are available on a Sunday.

I arrived mid afternoon on an overcast Saturday afternoon in June. The pub was very busy with a buzzing, upbeat and convivial atmosphere. The punters were a mix of all ages and all walks of life. The service was welcoming and friendly, the team were rushed off their feet and were coping admirably.

@theprincess.blackheath was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. This is a very comfortable and welcoming pub to spend time in. There is a good selection of beers, plenty of food on offer and not forgetting that beautiful bar back. This pub gets a thumbs up from me.

📅 1st June 2024

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