Two Chairmen — Restaurant in London

This pub in the centre of London, just through St James Park is a jewel in the crown. I have been here now on 3 separate occasions and on 2 separate trips to London and it’s worth the travel. The pub is fantastically set with plenty of history and atmosphere. The food is amazing, drinks are fabulous but the staff are something else. Always so helpful, friendly and up for a good chat when they are not too busy. John is the best and has fantastic customer service skills and is very down to earth. Lovely man and someone I have had the pleasure to meet. John helped us to make sure you had a table to eat and were well looked after. I love this pub and will make this my new local when visiting London. It is so good, on my last trip I booked a hotel around the corner from the pub, just so I could go there to eat. Would recommend this hidden jewel every time and will be visiting again soon. I would give more stars if possible, 10/10 all the way. Thanks for the hospitality John and Gia, we will see you again soon. Your friends Jade and Zico...

As a Two Chairmen regular for several years, it’s a shame to see what has happened to the pub since the change of landlord a few months ago. Beer is now served in plastic cups if you’re drinking outside after about 6.30pm, even on quieter nights. I understand why they might be necessary when the pub is extremely busy, like after a big political event, but it seems silly that they are now the default. They were never used under the old team. Plus, there are now quite eager bouncers, which takes away from the pub’s community feel. I understand that residents and the council make life for a pub difficult, but the bouncers seem particularly heavy-handed in enforcing the rules, shouting at people for even having one foot in the road. But the main thing is: Please get rid of the plastic cups! Most other pubs get by on glass. Since pints at the Two Chairmen are approaching the £8 mark, it seems like a step too far. As a whole, the experience at the Two Chairmen is now less of being a customer, and instead of feeling like a problem to...

We visited as a group of three adults and two children and were seated upstairs without any issue. No one asked if we’d be dining or mentioned any rules about the table. When our waitress (possibly South African) took our order, she was immediately rude, telling us off for not ordering meals for every person and insisting we were in “£20 per person” seats. Half the tables were empty, and we’d simply been seated—how were we to know?

Later, when a party of five came in, she loudly complained across the room that she could have given them our table if we weren’t there. It was humiliating and completely unprofessional. Her colleague looked visibly uncomfortable with her behavior and was kind and apologetic—she’s the only reason this isn’t a 1-star review.

A very unpleasant experience in a pub that claims to be family-friendly. Disappointing and embarrassing. We won’t...