Food and service was great. I ordered the big fish and chips with cod and it was delicious. The staff is very friendly and made my London pub experience exceptional. I'll definitely stop by here again next time I'm in town. read more

The fist pub we stopped at. Not bad at all, good pub food. Great experience, but nothing specific that stood out to say I have to come back. If I am ever in the area, back I would stop again. read more

Oh Bag O Nails. You seemed like just a regular, generic and run of the mill and not outstanding pub. Then I ordered a vodka soda and it came garnished with tiny, fresh, ripe strawberries. I don't think that's every happened to me at an establishment of your kind. Well done you, even if many of your promotional materials do not understand how to use an apostrophe. read more

Good place to stop and grab a bite to eat. My husband and I were coming back from Buckingham Palace, wondering why the heck it was so crowded (turns out Charlotte of Cambridge had been born that morning); we were hungry and this place looked good to us. I had some sort of beef pie (that's not on the menu now, it appears). It was delicious, came with mash and a little gravy boat, so awesome! My husband had something smaller, but still as good. We found out later that Bag O' Nails is one of a series of pubs throughout London owned by the same company - we went to another similar pub a few days later and were well fed also. Recommended if you're in the area. Food, beer, and service were all good. read more

They should name this place Bag 'O Tourist trap. Food was just okay. Americans, think Chili's or Friday's or Olive Garden. Also, their bathroom is upstairs and is like trying to use an airplane bathroom except there are two other ladies trying to squeeze in around you. Biggest bummer for me is they didn't have spicy mustard for the sausages! read more

Just another pub in London but I had to stop by here because I thought the name was cool. It is located across the street from Buckingham Palace so you can order a pint and watch all the tourist stand in line to get into the palace or wait here for the changing of the guards. read more

Bag O' Nails - Aug 08 - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

This one was kind of boring. A chain and tourist haven (yeah, look who's talking). It's in a tourista area, near Buckingham Palace. As good a stop as any if wandering around, Westminsterstyle. read more

A stone's throw from Buckingham Palace, Bag O' Nails, which is part of the Taylor Walker pub chain, is a cozy haven for drinking pints and gorging on British comfort food. Why would you ever order anything here but the fish and chips? I chose the Codfather, which for a 2-pound up-charge affords a more generous portion and three slices of bread with butter. I skipped the unnecessary, wheat-filled carbs and attacked the massive fried cod, almost too elephantine to fit on the plate, alternately dipping each bite in malt vinegar or ketchup. Within four forkfuls, this became the standard by which I will judge all other servings of fish and chips. The garden peas were terrific, and the crispy "chips" delighted my taste buds. I also tried the scotch eggs. When prepared warm and soft boiled, the crusted sausage and egg flavors blend in an intriguing way. A later rendition at another pub, served chilled with a hard boiled egg, was disgusting. Bag O' Nails wins in so many ways. read more

A fine place to have a beer before dinner! We went around 5pm on a Friday and a good majority of the people were just beginning their bar hopping, so the atmosphere was lively. It was a bit on the expensive side, but a good location considering our hotel was across the street. read more

This place is pretty similar to its sister the Royal George next door to Euston. I like independent businesses and I patronise them as frequently as possible, unfortunately in my experience they never show football which drives me to places like this. If anyone knows sports pubs in central London that aren't chains and don't charge £12 for carling in a plastic glass, please get in touch. The BO'N has two big screen TVs (which suits the its architectural footprint) and they are situated so most people in the pub can watch. In a show of solidarity to sports fans they advertise which games they are showing so you can make an informed choice. The food is expensive, £13 for fish and chips (+£2 for large), £11 for a pie. It's nice but it is still pub food, Taylor and Walkers answer to Wetherspoons market dominance seems to be serve impressive ingredients (see wild boar and venison) and hike the price. To be fair to them they have a selection of ales and the staff are friendly. In essence it is a standard pub seduced into price inflation by location. Not bad but I hanker for something more for my midweek European football viewing. read more

I wanted a "traditional" meal, and that's what I had at the Bag O' Nails. More importantly, though, I had my first Doombah, which I loved! And finally, most importantly, the staff was friendly and chatted just a bit with this single traveler, which I enjoyed. read more

See all

The meat pies are [expletive] great. Two of us got the chicken and one got the steak, and all three of us were very happy and quite full, despite their relatively small size. The mash potatoes and gravy was also very satisfying. Another of our number got the rump steak and enjoyed it, but ended up wishing he'd also gotten a pie. The drink was good, but less impressive. Two of us had a red that was potent enough, but less complex than we hoped for. And the beer served its purpose and went down smoothly, but in general I haven't been blown away by the brew here in London. Still, this place fit the trend, so I won't penalize it for that. The biggest drawback was definitely the service. Our waiter, who seemed to be the only one dealing with all of upstairs and maybe more, understandably seemed short of patience with our initial order, which involved some indecision. The issue came at the meal's end, though, when getting the book and paying it proved a nearly half-hour ordeal, which is always hard to forgive. read more

Not a bad pub by all accounts. Quite small, but traditionally arranged with an interesting demographic of clients....and they sell Laphroaig which is always a plus!!!! If you want to find somewhere convenient with plenty of seating for its size that isn't too pricey around Victoria you cant go far wrong with this gem! read more

Head upstairs for bangers and mash or an excellent chorizo pie along with a nice beer or wine. Or stay downstairs and just enjoy a drink. Either way, great atmosphere. Great restaurant. Great bar. Great service. read more

Bag O' Nails - Great pear cider - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

See all

Great beer... Their own 1730 cask was nice, but a little warm for my taste. The food was ok, certainly not restaurant quality, but ok for being a pub. Very close to the palace, the Royal Muse and Queens Gallery. read more

Just a drop for 2 beers and some chips. Not bad! A smile would be nice :) Beers with manual pump, so a little charm about that. Nothing crazy but that do the job... read more

This was probably our best meal in London. We all got burgers ( different varieties) but they were delicious. Service was good but seating was a little tight. However the food made up for it. Considering it is really close to Buckingham Palace , I thought this place was great. read more

STAY AWAY. The staff is rude and the food is overcooked. There are a lot of better choices within a block; save yourself the disappointment and keep walking. read more

Surprisingly nice inside, given the name. Don't mind the construction outside, just another traditional English pub with a bit of an upscale vibe (perhaps its a requirement for this part of town). read more

Meh. Standard pub with below average food. I barely even remember this place enough to say more than that...

A formidable sounding place, though I have a soft spot for it as I rolled into it, still reeling from a terrible interview gone wrong. I was definitely one of only a few people in here (it was around 11:30am). Never tried the food here aside from chips but I found it to be good on drinks. Not hugely pricey for this part of town and they have Old Rosie, so they already have a good start with me. A pretty standard pub, with plenty of room both upstairs and downstairs. The upstairs is closed during slow hours but the place gets pretty jam-packed after 7. I like it because it's central though not as touristy/backed as the Shakespearean pub just outside the Victoria tube stop because it's slightly out of the way. Definitely my go-to when I am in the area getting the Oxford tube or meeting up with a friend to travel somewhere. read more

Disgusting food! No customer service at all! The pub was not crowed at all and still no one was willing to work. Employees were talking amongst themselves and seemed pretty heated on what they were talking about. We sat for a very long time until the food came which was terrible. read more

I like this pub! Near the Rubens Hotel where I am staying. Cod fish and chips were nice and Guiness is perfect..they serve extra cold. Little tables outside to want the crazy traffic on Buckingham palace Road. They had on Euro 2012 and a good crowd to watch. I recommend if you want to pop in for a beer. read more

Terrific atmosphere with a LOT of history - particularly for rock and roll fans! Came here for the Sunday Roast - one beef, one chicken - and it was as advertised. We ate upstairs (quiet and plenty of room), but the real vintage ambience is in the pub on the first floor. A good choice! read more

Just had fish and chips, which were excellent with mushy peas. My son had the burger and fries and hoping we'll be back. Great authentic pub feel. read more

We stopped here for dinner and a beer. The service was completely horrible. Took so long to get someone to wait on us, we ordered at the bar. We might have had another drink but we were forced to pay once we ordered but if we were able to get waited on, we didn't have to do this. The food was only somewhat ok. The name is what drew us to the place the food/service is what we ran from. read more

This pub was down the street from Buckingham Palace and we had concerns that it would be a below average tourist trap...wrong. I got a chicken and mushroom pie that was just about the best I ever had. The waitress said that the steak and mushroom pie was even better, sorry I missed it. The pastry was very delicate and flaky. The entire pie crust was excellent, perfectly cooked. The filling was tasty. This was real winner. Husband had the bacon and chicken wrap, also a winner. Lunch was $31 for two people. a little pricey but excellent. Great wait staff. read more

Im not much of a "pub" girl, but I know that's what London is famous for... so I guess this is pretty much what I expected. I went for dinner, so we bypassed the loud, drinking crowd downstairs and went to the upstairs diningroom to eat. I had Lasagne (I know, weird choice when you're in London) but it was decent. Service was pretty minimal. No complaints, but probably wouldn't go out of my way to eat here again. read more

Had to try fish and chips, total cliche, sure, but I'm glad I did! It was wonderful. This was a great pub with friendly service and the food was awesome! Bread pudding for dessert - best I've ever had. If it looks full, head upstairs. More seating there and appropriate for families. read more

We went here after a stroll through the Royal Mews, near Buckingham Palace. We are a mixed couple, I'm the tourist, "she who MUST BE obeyed," was born in Balham, London, UK. Holds dual citizenship, didn't get to the states, until she was 28 yrs. Only relating this, because Her Ladyship, is very good at picking out a decent pub. Like all pubs, you must order your food and drinks at the bar, which causes problems, as many Americans, are unaware. She ordered while, I held a table for us outside. Frequented by locals and tourists, the beer, food and ambiance, were great, really enjoyed our time here. Our server, brought our food out, which was a sharing plate, consisting of fish (cod), & chips, 2 pork sliders, 2 slider sized steak & ale pies, mush peas, two sauces. We also had some laughs, with a group of 7 or 8 others, seated next to us. She was from the states, he from Manchester, UK. BTW - it's rumored that, Paul McCartney met Linda Eastman here. You're impressed? read more

See all

Traditional English fare. We had meat or veggie pies. They were pretty good. The place was just a bit overpriced, but we were in a very touristy area near Buckingham Palace, so I suppose that is to be expected. They do have free wi-fi. read more

Not open when they say they are. Should either be open at the time shown on their website or change their website.

If I could give 0 stars I would. The chips were disgusting- rock hard and I could not pierce them with my fork. The pot pie crust was like gluey dough - not flakey at all. The waiter was so sweet and kind but the woman manager behind the bar was a complete hag. She was so rude when I asked to return the food and yelled at me. The man behind me also returned his fries and the woman to my left returned her entire meal. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MOBEY THERE. Go anywhere else. Just gross and gross manager - yelled at the customer next to me and told her"you can't just tell me to take it back - tell me exactly why you won't eat it!!!!" read more

I was famished and looking for a place for lunch when my boyfriend and I stumbled on this pub. It is just across the street from the Royal Mews. It was a disappointing lunch because it was TASTELESS. I ordered the traditional roast since it seem to be the specialty of the house and thought it was the worst meal I had in London. How can you mess up on a roast? My boyfriend was equally disappointed with his Salmon dish. The service was very slow and the dining room crowded with too many tourist. Wish we had the fortitude to venture elsewhere for a meal instead of ducking into this pub. read more

nice location, good food and beers, good service!! classics like fisn n chips are very tasty read more

Loved this place. Sat upstairs and had best service. We each ordered fish and chips and the meal was great and very filling. Will be back next year. read more

Little pub right near Buckingham Palace. Although it's a chain as mentioned by others it has nice ambiance and a great selection of beers. It was raining the day we were walking by, making it a great place to seek refuge and enjoy a pint. Friendly bar staff too! read more

We happened upon this place as we were walking back to our apartment from Buckingham Palace. The food was fine and the portions were ample. In fact, the steak and ale pie were more than my husband or son could finish because they give you potatoes and veg also. I had the scampi (which is not shrimp in butter and garlic but what they call fried shrimp in London) & chips, and my younger son had the Korean spiced wings. It's a starter, so he also got a salad. You can get those same flavors as a salads but he likes the wings on the bone...sometimes you have to pick your battles! Anyway, this place is fine...not amazing but not awful. read more

Good pub quite near to Victoria train station. Usually good service, not having to wait too long at the bar before getting served. Food is home cooked and reasonably priced. Can get busy on Friday nights due to proximity to train station and tourists visiting nearby Buckingham Palace. read more

Waiter did not understand American English well; fish was bland and greasy, chips were good. Beer was cold and poured correctly in a nice glass. I think representative of English chain pub fare. read more