Trafalgar Arms — Restaurant in London

If you are looking for a family pub or a relaxing, dining experience for a special occasion look elsewhere....Our family came to Trafalgar Arms for Father's Day Lunch - Quite a special occasion for us given current life circumstances.

I have been to this pub many times, being a local for many years and if I can be honest it is always a hit or miss. I can recall fresh Sunday roasts, but also a visits when our food never arrived but I was never bothered about the reviews and always gave this place a chance. Myself and my partner always understood the perks of this industry - it might be a busy day, the food planned might run out or the staff shortage can occur - all understandable and completely relevant points to consider...

This time we were greeted really well and shown to the table that wasn't suitable for us - most of the area was free and few of our guests were smokers, but the table directly next to ours had a really small baby. The request to move to a really far end of the patio was accommodated. On the arrival we also requested a highchair for our toddler, she is quite lively, so when we were told one was not available, we tried to keep her entertained in our corner. She is only 19m old, so feeding her lunch on a grown up chair was quite a challenge.... While being served, I reminded several members of staff to bring the highchair when one is available. We ordered 3 roasts (beef, pork and lamb shoulder). Both the beef and pork were ok (If I would be picky - potatoes were truly overcooked, but again we never expected a fine dinning experience). My husband's lamb shoulder, however quoted on the menu as 400g - was nowhere near there, considering it was the smallest and the most expensive item (my partner is a chef, so he knows the sizes of meat joints by eye). Again, no major issue with us - no complains. My toddler. however started to be really unsettled and we saw several tables with kids being sat next to us. I reminded the servers about the highchair for us. Meanwhile, all the tables around us were provided with one, even though some kids where much older than my daughter and fairly, as I watched, did not use it throughout the visit. Again - not a bother at this stage.

Eventually my husband took away our daughter to an unoccupied side of the patio to play - not to bother other guests with or without children. He was stopped by a female member of staff, who said this was an exit path for the staff to serve the tables. He did acknowledge this and moved away. Soon after this my he was stopped by a male member of the staff, I was not present (just watched) but I was told by my partner, that the conversation did not started in a polite manner. He tried to explained to the staff the situation we were put in and as quoted ' the guy truly just wanted to have a go at me - I nodded and had none of it so he got annoyed'. As it was Father's Day, my partner straight away reacted and took my daughter away from the establishment. At this point I though 'Enough is Enough' and approached the receptionist to speak to a manager on duty. She first claimed, she is the person to speak to, but later pointed me to the server, who was around our table and who also lastly spoke to my partner.

What makes a great manager is the ability to put an easy on customers frustrations. I had approached him not to be offered free drinks, but for him to acknowledge the misjudgement. This manager, however to myself was full of attitude even though I kept calm. He also claimed my partner was rude to him. I went back to the table with my heart pumping of frustration and anger. He approached me again to apologise and offer drinks on the house, which I refused, because to be fair his attitude ruined our visit. So, I WON"T BE RETURNING EVER AGAIN.

There is so many nicer and more family friendly pubs in the area such as Charles Holden or Merton Abbey Mills. I wish Trafalgar Arms staff will acknowledge the raising population of families in the area and be more accommodating and welcoming, especially in those...

Absolutely appalling from the start to finish. Arrived to sit down for 3pm yesterday for my family - mum, dad, brother - for Father’s Day and my parents 40th ruby wedding anniversary. I booked this sitting a week before. On arrival my brother is told by a gentleman at the bar who was extremely unhelpful or friendly that it will be an hours wait to eat. Although the booking was for 3pm. I asked again he said ‘well maybe it will be 45 mins’ no explanation of why or an apology. Or just a friendly manner of customer service. He said to come up and order ASAP. So we sat back down looked over the menu and decide on x3 roast beef lunches, and 1 roast chicken lunch with 2 side orders of truffle cauliflower cheese. He then states that there are NO roasts available… abit bewildered we ask why he said, ‘ the fridges are not working properly’… so we ask what is available he says roast pork.(but I thought the fridges were not working so to eat pork in that heat is diabolical. Again no apology or anything to compensate. So it went from being an hours wait to eat anything. To them being told there are no roast dinners… we ask to speak to the manager - a lady comes over again not very polite or friendly. It’s quite shocking really… we ask why and she says she’s had staff call in sick. She said she’s stressed as it is. We explain this isn’t our problem we are here for a very special occasion and we had not been informed prior to our booking and also on arrival why were we told there would be an hours wait for food and to order ASAP. Why were we not told on arrival there are no roast. Infact more precisely there is not any beef or chicken… then we could have made a decision on whether to sit down and eat or not. By then we’ve ordered drinks. We asked what can be done to rectify it. The manager said there’s nothing I can do and again not one apology. I said well some of don’t eat pork. So my brother asked about the pork as some eat it and I dont. She said very rudely ‘but you just said you don’t eat pork.’ Now whether this is the case or not why was that relevant for her to feel it appropriate to comment on that. As a manager and good customer service are you meant to defuse the situation and make things right, or do you cause confrontation with your customers. We asked is there anything she can do to compensate it. She said NO! The body language, the attitude, the tone was disgusting. We had no choice but to leave as we felt humiliated in front of others in the pub and uncomfortable and unwelcome. If honest after being told the fridges weren’t working properly we were not confident to sit and eat any food there. We had considered ordering the crab but if the fridges are not working is this even safe? We then had to find another place to eat which did not serve a roast dinner, which also cost us more money and my poor mum who’s just had an operation was slightly unwell and not fit to travel further. The treatment we received was disgusting and we will not be returning after living in tooting for the last 40 years. I will filing a formal complaint to head...

🚇 Tooting Broadway 🍺 £6.15 Pravha

The Trafalgar Arms is located at the southern end of Tooting High Street in Tooting, Southwest London. The nearest Tube is Tooting Broadway, it’s a five minute walk to get here.

This imposing high street pub was built in the 1930’s and has an wonderful ArtDeco frontage. The pub closed in July 2013 and was set for conversion to residential use. Thankfully, the pub was bought by Young's and extensively refurbished.

This is a stylish good sized pub that is bright and airy. The servery is centrally located and has two unique fireplaces. To the left is a dining area and to the right is a comfortable bar. Towards the back of the pub is a private dining area with outside space. Situated at the front of the pub is an impressive patio beer garden which is partially covered.

The beer line up is solid and offers a broad range of cask, London brews and familiar favourites. I decided on a Pravha, my pint was great, price point was a smidge above average. The food menu is classic British fayre, Fish & Chips costs £15, Roasts are available on a Sunday.

I arrived around 5pm on a warm Saturday afternoon in April. The was an upbeat buzz around the pub both inside and out. The pub was fairly busy inside and packed in the beer garden. The punters were a predominantly younger crowd outside and mixed inside. I decided to plot up in the beer garden and watch the Bournemouth v Man Utd match. The service was excellent, the fella who served me was welcoming and pleasant.

Lots of positives to report from @thetrafalgararms in Tooting. This is a gorgeous looking pub which although stylish it still has a laidback feel. There is a nice local atmosphere here and a good mix of punters. The beer selection will please most and it’s not overly expensive. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in this part of town.

ℹ️ Info correct on...