The Queen's Head — Restaurant in London

Be cautious when booking an event!

My partner and I visited The Queen’s Head in February and spoke with the owner about hiring part of the garden area for some engagement drinks in June. From the outset, we made it clear that, as we’re young and saving for a wedding, we weren’t looking to book a full buffet. Instead, we planned to provide some light food for our guests, with the understanding that many would also purchase food and drinks from the bar.

The owner was initially very accommodating and confirmed our booking, agreeing to our plans and being happy with this arrangement — we were absolutely thrilled. We sent out invitations to friends and family travelling from across the country to celebrate with us. Unfortunately, the excitement didn’t last.

Over the following two months, we were stuck in back-and-forth discussions trying to resolve the food situation (despite it being agreed). Although we disclosed our budget from the beginning and agreed an arrangement, the pub cancelled our booking, stating we weren’t spending enough on food. We explained again that guests would also be buying their own food and drinks, and we even offered to double the minimum spend because we were confident our group would exceed it.

Eventually, the booking was reinstated, and we continued trying to meet the pub’s ever-changing requirements. Although our original terms had been agreed, we stretched ourselves significantly — agreeing to spend twice what we had initially budgeted, just to keep the booking.

Then came the final blow: our booking was cancelled again, this time because the pub had received a more lucrative request for the same date.

It’s appalling etiquette to even consider new bookings for a date you’ve already confirmed with someone else. We were devastated — left with just two months to find a new venue for our engagement celebration, despite doing everything we could to make it work.

Our excitement about our engagement was overshadowed by this experience with The Queen’s Head. What should have been a simple, joyful event became stressful and disheartening. Very...

This is a nice pub. Let's get that out the way first. This review is not about the pub, it is about the absolutely disgusting parking system they have adopted. I've read numerous other reviews concerning exactly the same thing. The Queens Head management insists they cannot get involved with parking disputes. Complete nonsense. Any establishment choosing to employ the services of Premier Park can 100% get involved with parking disputes. We visited the pub in December, we live in Pinner so have no reason to abuse a parking spot at the pub but we were on our way back from a walk so called in and parked in the car park. We used the ipad at the bar to register our vehicle. A month later we receive a parking fine for £100. Baffled we tried to explain to the pub that we were IN THE PUB but they refused to get involved. We submitted a receipt to Premier Park to prove we were IN THE PUB and they refused our appeal. We have since changed our local to the Oddfellows arms.... The Queens Head need to ensure their ipad system is FLAWLESS or they face losing many more customers that have had...

Used to love this pub and I had given it 5 stars previously as my running club use it once or twice a year. However last night two young barmaids were unconscionably rude to many members of our club. We'd arranged for our bags to be stored in the pub but were told we couldn't in a very offhand way meaning we had to put them in someone's car. A few who asked for tap water before we went for our run were given a very hard time about it. Licensed premises are legally obliged to supply free water. My girlfriend didn't even want to come back after the run as she felt insulted when she arrived late. We spend a lot of money when we come back from our run and we would need an apology before setting foot in this place again! Such a shame because it's a great location for a trail and has served us well for many years. Some locals I spoke to about it said that the service had gone downhill recently. People like that should never be working in hospitality - the clue's in the name! Seriously avoid! We're now using The Oddfellows Arms round the corner. A much more welcoming...