The Stanhope Arms — Restaurant in London

Rudest bartender I have ever encountered. My friends and I had been out for dinner and stopped at this pub nearby our home for a nightcap. (we’re 20). As soon as I locked eyes with the bartender I smiled. Instead of a greeting in return, I was met with aggression as she told me to get out my ID. I did so, and she said she would not accept my drivers license because it was not a UK license. Instead, I would need to have my passport. I have been to several pubs during my time in the UK, and I have not heard of this policy. As a student, it would be incredibly dangerous for me to carry my passport to the pub. There are also other ways to verify an ID that aren’t nearly as dangerous (the restaurant we visited prior scanned ours). After scanning the reviews, it seems like several others have had similar experiences. However, the response from the establishment continuously references the “Greene king policy”. I have linked the “policy” from the Greene King official page stating that a drivers license is a proper form of identification.

Regardless of what the identification policy is, the service here was enough to ruin a night. It was unprovoked and highly aggressive. I think my opinion would’ve been very different had the tone of the conversation been kinder. Instead, I felt like I was being spoken down to- which is highly unsettling given we had not done anything wrong. I would never treat another person in this manner, let alone a customer. It was so unfortunate, especially noting that this seems to be a repetitive experience. The world is full of aggression. These establishments offer a real opportunity to touch the people around you. You never know what someone is going through, nor do you know the line they have reached. It is so much...

I visited on the first day they reopened after the November 2020 lockdown. London is currently under some restrictions, which means alcohol can only be ordered with food, which the UK government announced on 1 December could constitute "something as small as a Scotch egg, provided it is table service". Unfortunately, the team here have decided to make their own rules up, which resulted in a deeply unpleasant and confusing visit. You're first met by an unfriendly, militant member of staff who provides you with instructions before you're allowed inside the pub - sanitise hands, track and trace etc - which is understandable but at least provide some degree of welcome or friendliness. The waitress decided to let each customer order different amounts and quantities of alcohol depending on whether she decided you had eaten enough food - not ORDERED enough food, EATEN it. This is against government guidance and is highly subjective. Make sure you check with her what she wants you to eat, otherwise you will find yourself disappointed. Another member of staff propped the bar up playing on his phone for two hours, looking up occasionally and contributing to the miserable atmosphere. This will be a challenging month for many in hospitality as well as their customers but the way through it is with kindness, friendliness and some pragmatism, something this team lacked significantly - an elderly couple who were thrilled to be out again after lockdown were told by one of the managers "You'll need to eat and leave as quickly as possible." With this attitude, and friendlier other pubs a short walk away, this pub is not an...

I can see from other reviews that I’m not the first person to experience discrimination from the staff at Stanhope Arms for being foreign. I visited the pub with my mother to enjoy a quiet drink, and what happened was one of the strangest customer service experiences I’ve ever had.

Here’s what happened from our perspective:

My mother went to the bar to order two drinks — a beer for herself and an alcohol-free (virgin) drink for me. The bartender, a dark-haired woman, immediately and quite rudely told my mother that I needed to come and show ID, because you “must be over 18.” I’m 28 years old.

I approached the bar to clarify that there must be some misunderstanding — I wasn’t ordering alcohol, just a non-alcoholic drink, and I’m nearly 30. The bartender insisted she wouldn’t serve me anything unless I could prove that I was over 25, which was already an odd and inconsistent claim.

I presented my valid Swedish driver’s licence, but she refused to accept it, saying only a passport would count as proper ID. Fortunately, I happened to have my passport with me, which I then showed. After checking it, she returned it and commented that I “look under 25.”

Even after all that, I waited another 10 minutes for my drink — without any apology or acknowledgement — while other customers looked on, clearly just as surprised as I was by the staff’s behaviour and lack of professionalism.

This kind of treatment toward paying tourists is completely unacceptable. Avoid this place if you’re a young-looking visitor or a foreign guest — you risk being treated disrespectfully...