Carpenters Arms

I went there on a Sunday afternoon with a couple of friends and I have to say that this pub is really nice and perfect for a chat between friends.
They have a good selection of different kind of ales which is nice if you want to try something different!
Food was lovely! my friend went for a Sunday Roast with beef (very tasty) and I opted for a skin on chips fries as I wasn’t really hungry (and of course I tried my friend’s Sunday Roast too :))
I don’t give a 5 star review only because the staff seemed quite lazy and also at one point no one was at the bar so me and other 5 people have to wait until one of the waiter decided to appear! definetly not a problem for a Sunday afternoon, but I hope it’s not the same on a Saturday or Friday evening…

I am assuming that management here has changed since many of these reviews were written, since my experience (admittedly on a quiet Saturday afternoon) was quite different. First off, this pub has one of the better range of beers I have encountered in the neighbourhood. There are only two traditional ales on the handles, but they were both excellent – Doom Bar and Black Sheep. The remaining taps, about 15, give or take, were an excellent blend of local stuff (Camden, Brewdog, Purity), great Continental lagers (e.g. Czech pilsner), and the ubiquitous Guinness. Bar staff was very amenable and courteous. The food was outstanding, from a brilliant lamb shepherd’s pie to delicious small plates of BBQ pulled pork and salmon. Out order of 3 small plates for £12 was easily more than enough to feed two hungry people. The décor inside is very quirky, with some lovely old tile work forming the backdrop of the small bar, and some very nice Victorian detailing. It’s not as impressive as some other, more historic pubs in the area (e.g. the Fitzroy, the Wheatsheaf, and the Sun), but it’s charming and cozy. Since the bar is, indeed, very small, I can see how service could get quite attenuated in the peak after-​work, weekday hours when punters come from all the surrounding businesses to grab a pint. But not all pubs are designed to accommodate 30 thirsty yuppies demanding multiple glasses of pinot grigot at once, and I don’t think it’s fair to condemn a place on that basis alone. It’s location – easy to get to from Goodge St. or Warrent St. station, set back far enough from Tottenham Court Road that it doesn’t get the tourist crowd – makes it perfect, in my book. All in all, an excellent pub, and I haven’t even experienced the rooftop garden yet!

Came here for a Sunday roast, although the food was good, the service was not very good. There was one member of staff who repeatedly kept us waiting at the bar to order anything as she was busy chatting away to someone making coffee’s and she could clearly see us waiting to order. It was very annoying. Wouldn’t rush back.

Great food! Turned up 15 mins before the kitchen closed and the staff were friendly and served us dinner without hesitation. The baked goats cheese salad was delicious !

This review is only for drinks, as I have not tried the food. My wine was good and generously poured, but very expensive. I believe my friends also found their drinks a bit overpriced. It’s Central London, what are you going to do? Toilets are all the way up on the second floor, so definitely not friendly to the mobility impaired. Overall, I judge this place as a fine place to meet, nothing special.

Good menu and nice food but always served luke warm/​cold and the service is pretty bad! Cant remember an order or forget something. Wouldnt recommend or take family again

It’s a shame that a quaint place with a fine selection of beers where I’ve enjoyed drinking in the past is ruined by rude staff who look like they would rather be anywhere else in the world.
Following a misunderstanding between a shouty arrogant lady (the manager?!) and a member of our party (full disclosure: he was smoking too close to the front door) we found ourselves having to move our group of 12 to a nearby establishment where they were more than happy to serve us. While she was certainly within her right it seemed that with most of us relaxing inside this whole episode could have been handled more professionally without unnecessary attitude and insults purely on a principle.
I wonder how the owner of the bar feels about £500+ of food and drinks being driven away purely because of someone’s ego.
With so many bars to pick from in the area I’m in no rush to return here

If you just consider the beer range is quite a good pub compared to the neighborhood — good selection of different beers and some belgian draft (Leffe) plus some good bottle from around the world (Yeah, you can actually have a pint of something different from a lager or — even worse — an english ale).
Since I work in the same block I got used to the grumpy girl working there — hopefully she’s not the only server and the others are more than nice! Food quality is generally of average quality, a bit pricey maybe, but for some reason they serve a very good 28 days aged stake (rib eye) that’s just unexpectedly good — If you have one make sure to avoid the optional bernaise sauce, the chef clearly never tried a real one in France.
The place itself is OK, has some two or three tables upstairs and very nice tables outside with lamp heater. Overall, a good place for a beer after work (especially for who like me works less than 2 minutes from there)!

I’m a bit torn about this place — the upstairs terrace is great and the food isn’t half bad, but the staff was useless.
Wandered in on a Sunday to an empty pub, the staff sitting around chatting. It was a beautiful day (quite rare in London) and inquired about whether the terrace was open for seating — told that it was.
After about 10 minutes gave up on seeing an employee and wandered back downstairs to order drinks. Asked the girl behind the bar whether anyone would be coming upstairs to take our food order and she said that she might come up, but probably not.
Keep in mind we were the only table in the entire place.
Of course, she didn’t come up and I went back down to order. Fine. Then when she brought the food, which was actually pretty decent, I asked for another round of drinks and she hesitated acting like it was just suuuch a hassle to do her job. Give me a break with the attitude.
Anyways, go for a drink or quick casual bite, but I wouldn’t expect much in the way of service. Too bad. It has potential.

Another difficult review.
This time I gave 3/​5, but as another place I reviewed in the past (Bottega Prelibato), if you are working in the neighborhood of this place you would give to it ⁴⁄₅.
This pub has some very good qualities, first of all beers: beers from different countries, like England (even if I don’t usually drink english beers (haters gonna hate)), Italian, American and more overall Belgian (Yes, they have Leffe. That is the most positive thing!). Furthermore, they also have a good selection of bottled beers, coming from all around the world.
Don’t even bother ordering a cocktail, this is not the place where you want to have anything else but a good pint of beer (ah yes they have really shitty wine well overpriced).
But apart from beer, what else? the interior is just ok, nothing special, you have some tables outside with few heating lamps, food… well it’s not THAT bad, but for that price (more than 10 Pounds for a less-​than-​average cheeseburger is not something I want to have, even in Zone 1) you should deserve something different!
Service. I don’t know if it’s just me or what else, but I don’t think they really understood what they are serving: you are serving good quality pints of beer damn it, put some effort in spilling it! These are the things that make me angry, you have a very good product and you don’t give it the treatment it deserve!
Anyway, in the end… worth a try just because of the beers, and if you work nearby it’ll become one of your after-​work favourite places, but other than that… average average average just average…

We stopped in for a lunch one Friday as a substitute for fish Fridays. It’s quite a cute little pub and quite old given the two halves of the pub we walked through. (Reminds me of the one in my area of town where there are still two entrances to each side of the pub).
For lunch we decided to go for the £10 fixed price menu. There are a few starters and mains. I had the Caesar salad and the macaroni and cheese. The salad was pretty fantastic with chopped anchovies on top (as Caesar salads should be). The mac and cheese was kind of boring I have to say and a bit dry. My friends’ gammon and eggs looked pretty spectacular though. My other friend ordered the sausage and mash and there were three big sausages on a plate of mash.
There are also a couple of nice ales on draught which is always a good selling point for me. I imagine we will be back in here for lunch in the future as the food is quite good and the prices on the fixed price menu can’t be beat.

Really nice pub.
Went there the first time for a private works party in the upstairs bar which was our best xmas party for years.
I have been back since and also popped in last night and it has been great every time.
Nice quirky beers, goos wine list, nice food and the bar snacks are a very good idea if you just want a little bite in the evening after work.
Also all the cool people are here :)

This is my local work pub and the level it animosity it garners is strong. As a company most here still default to it, it less than 10 metres from our doorstep, but hopefully in time the masses will migrate away.
As a place it is ok, but the nature of the staff is what detracts. I don’t know if it is a hiring policy but they seem forbidden to help. Even when the place is empty it can take an age to be served. Downstairs it has two bars but no common sense seems deployed to staff them on customer flow.
Promises much but leaves more to be desired. Much better pubs within 3 minutes walk.

Great little pub close to Warren St tube, selling a good selection of ales and beers from Begium and Brooklyn brewery New York. So worth stopping off to sample the selection.
Also nice menu of contemporary and traditional fayre.
Cheers.

Serving up a fine selection of beers & cider, this place is small in the bar area, but very nice place to stop at. A draught Frulli at a sensible price. Ignore the 80% margin Belgo sham. Wooden pub style. Good drinks. Food is supposed to be good too. Not tried it though.

Another great ‘off the beaten track’ pub in Fitzrovia, this pub is mainly frequented by those who work in the area. This means it can get busy on weekdays, but it’s a spacious place with split-​level floors and a roof terrace, so it’s usually possible to get a table.
The décor here is quite unusual and fun, with a bit of a ‘midsummer night’s dream’ feel about it (think lots of fairy lights and foliage). There’s an above-​average selection of beers and wines, and best of all, fantastic food. The meal I recently had on a lunch time went way beyond what I was expecting from pub food, and is well worth trying.
The pub is quieter on weekends, and can be hired out for parties. I’ve been to a few events here and it’s a good choice for medium-​to-​large groups with loads of space to sit and chat.

I’ve been to a few events here, the first held by a colleague of mine — and the second my own because I was so impressed the first time around.
From the outside it looks surprisingly slick, with a few different entrances and usually a big crowd hanging outside.
Both times we reserved the upstairs bar (£700 min spend on a Weds, £800 on a Thursday with a £100 deposit to reserve). There’s a bar, and you get two bartenders if there’s a crowd. Around 60 people came to the event I held for work, and that was probably a bit much. 40 would be a perfect number for that space.
One of the best things about the areas is upstairs is that it’s right next to the stairs that lead to the bathrooms, and it has an outside balcony area.
The staff are great, and there are nibbles available if you want to eat. We’ll be taking our social events back here again, as it’s a nice space and is only a short walk up from Tottenham Court Road tube. The only thing is that the bar shuts at 11pm, but maybe that’s actually a blessing in disguise…

The Carpenters Arms is great for a pint of bitter and a quick bite to eat. It can be quite busy weeknights, filled with marketing workers unwinding after a long day. Weekends it is quiet, offering a good meal and a drink plus a place to sit a read a paper.
They have a patio upstairs, that can be booked for larger groups.

Great place for something as small as an after-​work drink or something large as an event. The first floor has an amazing room where you can get food and sit out on the roof terrace. In the fall and winter, they have it heated too!
Bar staff is always friendly and you never have to wait too long for a drink (apart from Fridays, I suppose — but you get that anywhere).
Women’s toilets are wicked too!

I had a brilliant time here last night at the latest edition of (mostly) monthly London Bloggers Meetups.
Of course, that certainly wasn’t my first time at this Fitzrovia pub near Goodge Street. The central location has made it an optimal pub for meeting friends and attending other networking events.
It’s attractive with a really nice roof terrace. The downstairs area features a little living room section that’s fun (but usually occupied).
Good beer on tap, decent list of wine. There’s food but I’ve never tried any.