The Sir John Balcombe in City of London

Great pub lovely location but managers haven't got a clue. Big game at wembley loads of people wanting to spend money before travelling up. Gets busy scream and panic so they close the pub!!! Get the staff in and make some money u idiots.

Don’t bother, been to the pub on many occasions before travelling to Wembley, but never again, I told the manager on arrival I had booked a table for 8 of us, he just shrugged and said ok, went to find my table myself which was downstairs right next to the toilet in the corridor only 4 chairs round 2 tiny tables ( I had booked for 8 remember) when I managed to get the managers attention he said he was at full capacity and was the best he could do🤷🏼‍♂️, then turned aggressive and threatening before screaming at the bar man “no more food or drinks for this table” . We made it easy for him and left,Your behaviour was disgraceful as we had young children with us too, other customers were shocked at the behaviour, and shortly after we’d left he’d finally imploded 🤯And told the whole pub “ no more drinks,” and shut the pub. What a nut job 🙁 give it one star for entertainment value

Fantastic pub! Both food and atmosphere is amazing, lovely staff - would highly recommend coming here!

Awesome experience!!The Manager was very friendly and flexible considering that I made a last minute booking.I was offered the private room downstairs which is very clean and quiet 👍🏻Good drinks, food, atmosphere and service. Everything was excellent!I highly recommend this pub and will definitely go back for after work drinks and even to organise anything else in the future. Thank you!

Nice Experience. Very clean, great food and beer, plus staff very helpful and attentive. Would definitely recommend a visit.

Unassuming pub from the outside, standard grey paint with minimal writing, not really enticing.....but, once inside you are in classy, well decorated bar. Warm and welcoming. Pints were great too.

Had a few drinks here on a Friday night. Pretty good atmosphere. Staff were very friendly and efficient. Would visit again.

Visited pub on Friday evening with group of friends. Atmosphere was great. Bar staff attitude and service was amazing considering that bar was busy. We did order food too and it all came hot and tasty. Favourite so far were chicken wings. Definitely will come back. Can't recommend enough.

I booked this pub for lunch for four people. I had multiple issues with my visit.Firstly, I tried to call to change my booking to 2 people, and I was told it was too late to change the booking. I asked if they had vegan options available, at which point I was told you can ask when you arrive. I'd called to check in advance so I wouldn't have to leave if there were no options.When I arrived, every table was taken. As the staff found my booking, they told me they hadn't reserved any tables because they "didn't think it would be busy", despite it being a Saturday lunch time in central London and Liverpool playing, with the pub showing sport. The staff eventually offered me a raised bench sat in between two other parties. I asked if I could wait for a proper table instead, as I didn't want to be in between people during COVID.After another wait, we were sat on a small table underneath the main TV, so we had loud people watching the football above our heads.We ordered the food. It took 45 minutes for the food to arrive, there was no apology for this. I ordered the vegan burger. It was very small and came with "nachos" which consisted of a small number of tortilla chips, avocado and tomato. The burger itself was completely burnt, clearly extremely overdone. So I had to send it back - again there was no apology or even explanation that a new one was being made for me. This is for a dish that costs £11.50.Had we not paid at the start, I would have asked them to not bother and left, but as we had paid, we stayed while my friend finished his food. Once he was almost finished, I received a new burger - again no apology whatsoever - which was cooked fine this time.I was disbelieving that the service and food could be so poor, and throughout with no acknowledgement of the extremely poor experience we had.I am usually accommodating for mistakes, especially if staff are helpful and kind when trying to rectify it, but I did not receive this. I feel writing a review like this is my only option, to advise others to avoid this establishment.

And the winner of the Words Cheesiest music award goes to... Need I say more? However despite the 80s arrangements, a lovely pub indeed. The staff are welcoming and helpful. The place itself has that warehouse, bare brick look with surface wiring etc. I love it! Simple and understated. Who was Sir John Balcombe? He was a lawyer and Court of Appeal judge not so long ago. What happened here? For those of you old enough, "The Balcombe Street Siege took place just up the road. This was an IRA related event that occurred in 1975, just before Christmas. Sad times and we all hope all can be resolved through dialogue.I digress, a lovely pub and a lovely pint.