Had a blast here last night, great food, great staff, even better drinks. We grabbed a pint downstairs and made our way up stairs to the air conditioned section and ended up spending 3 hours drinking and meeting a bunch of people. Can't wait to go back. read more

The Chandos - Amazing hot dog - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

Great pub, so much right about it. Cheap, good Sam Smiths brews, good food and comfy seats in the upstairs Opera Room, great location across from Trafalgar Square, even great service. read more

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Real old pub. Very loud the evening we went which was a Thursday. There are two levels so seeing and hearing that there was a lads night out going on downstairs we went up stairs. There is a bar up there also which is good and lots of sofas to kick back on and have your chat. Did get a little loud but better than downstairs. Bar did not have a great wine selection but probably not the sort of place if you are looking to flick through a wine list. Close to the stations so good location for the drink on the way home from your night out in Covent Garden or Leicester Square. Noticed good old 'find us on Yelp' sticker on the door so 'go Chandos!' read more

The Chandos - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

I been visiting this Pub for years! Always a good atmosphere and a reasonable price. However, last week I visited the Pub for the first time since lock down. The Pub wasn't that busy, but I was shocked and appalled by the cost of drinks! A pint of coke and a 1/2 larger was an incredible £7.15 - I get Pubs are struggling, but to pass the financial loss directly onto the customer is unfair! I get its London prices too, but this is ridiculous! These prices will only serve to push trade away! read more

This pub is great! Loved the drinks and atmosphere. Staff was friendly and pleasant to chat with. It's a great place to grab a drink if you're walking around the neighborhood or after work. Only reason I'm not giving 5 stars is because I didn't try any of their food so I feel like my review is not complete. read more

Yet another Sam Smith pub worth a mention. This particular one is located around the corner from the National Gallery and Leicester Square. A great place to come of a drink with a big group of friends since it is spacious and spread across two floors. Also your friends will never be able to give the "I'm too broke to go out" excuse, because frankly anyone could afford at least one drink in this pub. As usual the only thing that is lacking in a Sam Smith pub is a bit of background music to stop the loud chatter of people to get to your head. But other than that, this place definitely does it for me. read more

The Chandos - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

As far as traditional pubs go you could do much worse than Chandos near Trafalgar Square. The large bar with an even larger upstairs room gets very busy very quickly so get there early if you want to bag a table, otherwise you'll have to stand. The venue is quite dimly lit but has character. The prices of drinks are great and you can get a bottle of wine for less than £10 which doesn't taste like turps. The food menu is quite dull but it's okay and the service is good considering how busy it can get. read more

The Chandos - Chandos - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

This place is for sure a 4 to 5 star spot, I'm giving it a sentimental 5 star rating. I always find myself here every time I visit London, if you are anywhere near Trafalgar Square and want to hit a true London pub come here. Its a two story pub, I'm a second floor fan. Its slightly hidden and a great local spot where you can sit back and relax from exploring London. Its the perfect place to meet friends for drinks, great setup for relaxing and conversation with those huge comfy leather sofas. The food is alright, I mean its an English pub food and your reading a Yelp review... you aren't coming here for food. Drinks are affordable, its a Sam Smiths pub. I've managed to find this pub every time I've been to London since I was 14. I just found out after a conversation with my Dad that this is where we celebrated when my family was granted permanent visa's to live in the US when I was ten. That made me smile, I will always get a drink here when I visit London. read more

The Chandos - I suck at finding this place hope this helps others! - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

I ordered the fish and chips and the liver and onions. The were delicious and the price was definitely very reasonable for London standards. The fish was fresh and flakey, and the liver was really good with the sauce. read more

Great pub near national gallery. Went in there alone and ended up not feeling alone! Great atmosphere, drinks and fish and chips !

A full pint of pulled Sam Smiths bitter Pale Ale for Under 4 pounds is tasty and an amazing bargain. You can tell the smart locals hang here and it gets a good happy hour croud. The bartender was friendly and helpful. If I come back this is the first pub I will hit when I get into town. Oh and the savvy travelers appear to hit this place too. read more

Arrived about 8pm on Friday evening, for the fish and chips dinner others reviewed well. The place was packed. Good sign right? Nope. First floor chaos. Dirty glasses everywhere. Looked like 2 frazzled servers trying to keep up. No sign of food or menu anywhere. Then we saw the sign that food was served upstairs. Saved? Nope. Equally packed, less servers, no menus and no one eating. Not a single person having food. I guess if you're a 20 something hanging out and having a few beers this is the place to go. Just wasn't what we expected based on other reviews. read more

We ate lunch at The Chandos after visiting a close by museum. It was two stories where pub only downstairs, and one can also eat upstairs. Both the food and the beers were better than average. I ordered the fish and chips. We enjoyed coming here as it was there when we were hungry. read more

Had a late lunch here today but was much put off by the bartender taking our order being pretty racist. The food also being fairly mediocre I can't see why I would recommend it. read more

I scoured the internet for a place with reasonable food yet central for theatre in London - this was one of the pubs I came up with. Took a shot on it and turned out liking it a lot. Great place for a beer in the afternoon. Prices are very reasonable for central London, and the entire lower floor is simply for drinking (including outside). Upstairs is where you can have food, seating is first come first serve and so you could be circling for awhile trying to find a table. We lucked out and got one really quickly. Food wasn't bad - I was hoping for a better portion. We all got meat pies and they were a tad small with a small amount of potato as well. I'd come back for food here and perhaps try something different. All affordable options though. Typical pub - order at the counter and its brought out to you. Pay at the counter as well. Central, affordable and nice. A good find. read more

Food was delicious. I was in Europe for 10 days and this was the best meal I had. I'm a server and I believe in tipping 20-25% no matter what. However our service was horrible. The tip was included for 2 ppl. Which is weird london is a place that adds tips however our server didn't deserve 12% she was horrible. But the food was spectacular and I won't rate bad strictly because of that. read more

The tomato soup and fish and chips are fantastic. Best fish and chips I've had so far. Beer is grand! Location is smart if your visiting buckingham palace or the area. Nice and clean but not a old traditional pub like you would expect. Very nice and 100% would come back! read more

The Chandos is close to Charings Cross, a Sam Smith establishment, with large draught selection. We came close to 10pm and it was buzzing, plenty of people downstairs with booths, tables and standing room, as well as bar upstairs which was packed, more couches and comfy seating. I loved the traditional feel, not to mention the atmosphere. Friendly and efficient barmen, nice crowd, and great beer/cider. We didn't eat, the kitchen had stopped serving but it was a good place to stop for late drink. read more

The Chandos - Samuel smith cider - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

We ate upstairs with our toddler, who'd never been to a pub. The sandwich items and the vegetable pie were quite good, and reasonably priced. The crowd was spectacular, and the ambiance is remarkably friendly. Service was excellent, as well. I hope to come back again and again. read more

Perfect location, fun ambiance, decent food - especially for the price, and the wait staff were charming, helpful, quick and tipped the scale in favor of the 5th star. read more

The Chandos - Grub and glug - perfect after a day of museuming - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

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This pub is a favourite of two friends of mine, and we usually meet up with them here. Happy to do it, since it's easy on the wallet. Good ol' Sam Smith. Like Annie W., I've only ever been able to grab a seat in the Opera Room upstairs. The very private, walled booths downstairs always look so fun and exclusive... it almost makes me feel shamed to walk past and peer in to see if there are any vacancies. And then begrudgingly wandering upstairs, defeated. One of these days, Chandos... I'll get a booth. And I will WIN. read more

First of all, because this is a Sam Smith's it automatically gets 3 stars. If that wasn't the rule, I'd probably have given The Chando's 2 stars. But, because you can rely on Sam Smith's for quality and good prices, 3 stars it is. The pub itself is rather large and, on a Friday afternoon, pretty full but not insanely so. We were able to find a wee table in the back which pretty quickly turned into two wee tables and a large bench. We had been hoping for one of the lovely booths but that wasn't to be. There is also an upstairs area but I didn't see it because I was holding the wee table whilst others scouted for something larger. Apparently, the upstairs was full, too. We came with a large group from work and we were all drinking and buying bar snacks. When a guy came to clear our table full of empty glasses and empty packets of bar snacks, we were chastised for bringing in a can of Coke (an empty can was sitting on the table) and a plastic bag of nuts (it was a peanut and wasabi pea mixture I had leftover from my lunch and had opened for the table to try). We were threatened with expulsion if it were to happen again. Seriously. The guy was a dick about it. I get not bringing in outside food but when we're clearly not using that food in lieu of buying from the pub what's the problem? But, whatevs. Be a dick. Because this is a Sam Smith's (and close to my work) I'll probably be back but it won't be because of the awesome customer service or friendly atmosphere. read more

I come here every week with some friends so I do have a lot of affection for the place but I'll try to not let that blind me to it's faults! Firstly I adore Sam smith's pubs in general! Ambiance! No loud music! Cheap, cheap lager! Woo! The Chandos is a pretty good example of such and it's great to find pub slap bang in the middle of tourist land that is so... well I guess, unspoilt. Most of the other pubs in the neighbourhood are grottier and crowded-er, just through sheer day to day throng of people. The Chandos however manages to be avoid the scruffy and have a good mix of regulars, tourists and workers in. It has a nice historic pub decor, with the downstairs more drinking den and the upstairs 'opera' bar more for lounging. It's always, always crowded in the rush hour but upstairs is usually better. Actually, I just don't bother to even look downstairs anymore! I just head straight up to to the Opera Bar. Alcohol, other than beers is certainly more expensive but not out of the central London Price range. Lager and ale on tap so ridiculously cheap however The food is AWFUL! If I've not had chance to eat before I get there I'm stuck with it so I've tried most of the menu and it's dire beyond the dreams of dire. Stogy, stogy microwave veg (always carrots and peas!!!) and mush! AVOID AVOID! The McDonald's is just around the corner - GO THERE!! They used to have a really good menu but they changed it last year when the food menu was standardised across the Sam Smith's chain! A real shame as each pub had found a couple of good things that it did really well. The Chandos could do you a huge, huge bowl of curly fries for £4.50. Alas! SO really good for as a happy spot for a drink with some pals, but avoid the food at all costs. read more

The Chandos is another one of the Sam Smith's pubs in Central London which means that you are not charged an arm and a leg for beer despite its proximity to Trafalgar Square. As a creature of habit I usually go for the Alpine Lager but the other drinks go down well. I would happily recommend The Chandos to any tourist in the Trafalgar Square area. read more

Self seating. Can get pretty busy. Place your order at the bar and food will be bought to your table. Food is pretty cheap i guess, but mediocre at best. read more

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I'm probably going to be made fun of for the 5 star rating on a Samuel Smith pub, but I really don't know what else I would want from a pub. Downstairs is you standard great pub. Open and lined with booths. Classic feel. There is also room to have a beer outside, weather permitting. Then the real hero for my is upstairs in the Opera Room. Fantastic for lounging and the greatest ease of comfort. I remember the first time I went in I felt like I've been there for years. The location, staff, and regulars are always exceptional. I'm still not sold on Sam Smith food, but for a great cheap beer in an even better spot, I don't know what could be better. I really love this place. read more

Seating is very limited but totally worth it! Food is wonderful. Got a taste of British pub life with the whole family! Upstairs room was more spacious! read more

Not to be a Debbie Downer or anything but every time I got made redundant from my old job me and my work mates would all come here and get drunk to cheer ourselves up. It was actually quite fun! This pub is a good old Sammy Smiths venue so you'll find own brand drinks and food served here only. It all tastes a little funny and different but it's abut a third of the price of any other pub in this area, overall making it a winner. They also have really cosy sofas so snuggle down in if you come here on a week night and want to get up close and personal with a date! Only warning is, most people know how cheap this place is so if you come here after 5.30 you are highly unlikely to get a seat. read more

We were having a touristy day in London around Trafalgar Square and wanted a pub lunch. I chose this place based on the Yelp reviews. We headed upstairs as there were clear signs telling us food was upstairs. As with most pubs, you sit yourself down wherever you like and order at the bar. They have a really great drinks selection which is why my review is 3 not 2 stars. Staff were extremely friendly. I had a lovely apricot beer. There were a few fruit beers, a wide array of ale on tap and in bottles, ciders, spirits etc. Food was standard pub grub- burgers, so on. As it was a chain pub I assumed the food would be pretty good as you can usually count on a pub for a good, filling meal. I chose fish and chips. The chips were fine but I found the fish undercooked- it was hot but had an odd texture. It came out really quickly so I suppose they just bash everything out. It's not too surprising that the quality isn't great as it's in a very touristy area. I would definitely check this place out for the drinks and maybe get yourself a bowl of chips. read more

Great pub, slap bang in the centre of London, reasonable and fairly large. The "problem" is that, because of this, it is almost invariably full to the gunnels! There's usually more room upstairs than down, but most times I've been there of an evening, I've had to stand for a while before swooping, vulture-like, upon an empty table. It's a Sam Smith's, so own-brand only, but this makes it cheap(er) and their beer selection is very wide indeed. A fine place to drink in Central London. read more

Nice location close to Trafalgar Square, comfy seating, very friendly staff - many from Australia, pub lunch menu around 5/8 pounds the meal and 4 pounds for a pint. I even needed to charge my phone and the bar man offered to charge it behind the counter ;) read more

The Chandos - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

I got a booth! I got a booth! After an angry look from a city boy who also wanted the table. But I'm afraid to say, while the privacy and space were great (along with the feeling of superiority after beating Joe Smart for the spot) the acoustics weren't so good when chatting across the table. "What's that?" I hear you cry. Actually I didn't. Exactly. read more

This is my favourite local haunt. As a Sam Smith pub my top picks will always be the fruity beers and a packet of their pork scratchings! The upstairs has a cosy feel, especially if you can nab a sofa seat or one of the window perches for two. Downstairs has more of a rough and ready vibe and works better for meets of big groups of people in my opinion! Only frustrating part is there's never any signal or wifi and in true classic Sam Smith style they don't offer any wifi. read more

Great food. Love the service and the atmosphere there. Will definitely come back and dine in again

- As being part of the Sam Smith's chain would suggest, we're talking great beer at knock-down prices. The Chandos is a notable example though due to it's size, Two large floors, and its location, looking as it does across Trafalgar Sq. If it has any foibles it's that the food is only so, so, and now and again on a midweek evening it can get very busy. These are small quibbles though as its pros definitely out weight its con's. read more

We were looking for typical English food and we found this restaurant. It is really good food for a great price. We really enjoyed it!

As close as you can get to Trafalgar Square without actually being shat on by a pigeon, The Chandos somehow manages to ward off a large majority of the tourists and leaves a pleasant work-like atmosphere for locals and the like. Perfect for those who travel out of Charing Cross, it's a Sam Smiths, so you know what you're in for. Reasonable priced self brewed lagers and ciders and a hella lot of wood and dimly lit areas. No music in here, so get your chat on. It's not really a first date place is it, but it's ruddy brilliant for meeting with friends before a night in Soho or for a slap-on-the-back-you've-just-made-it-through-another-week drinks session on a Friday eve. Never had the food - I must get round to doing this in the name of Yelp! read more

Went here because Rick Steves recommended it in his book. And of course the minute I walk in I see other people in there with Rick Steves books.....go figure lol. But of course, I also saw a lot of locals grabbing a drink after work and socializing. Aka....IT WAS PACKED DURING HAPPY HOUR TIME lol. We had to creep and stalk for a while before we got a table upstairs. The place is a very traditional pub like with people standing, sitting on bar stools to booths, to couches, to single couch chairs/comfy fabric chairs etc. Oh, and its pretty chilly so girls, unless you drinking a good amount you might be chilly upstairs. As for the beer, I can't remember what we had but it was so creamy and smooth, delicious. The food we ordered was fish and chips, chicken masala or something like that and a bunch of those meat pies things (see pics). I have to say honestly none of the food was that good since its pub food lol, so make sure your drinking when your eating here. And considering I can't really drink, wasn't that much fun being their eating pub food sober -_-. lol, but if I could drink I think I would have liked this place more. Oh, and this pub is kid friendly, lots of families when I went. Overall, nice little pub, beer is good, food is meh when your sober, make sure your drinking when you eat the food like all pub/bar food lol. Not a fan as I probably wouldn't go back but its okay. read more

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Jane C's review has prompted me to place mine for this excellent place. Central location, near the brights lights of Leicester Square, and that old bloke atop the big pedestal. Wonderful Sam Smith's ale on draught - I love that stuff, and sooo cheap. Tues night, after 7.30pm, plenty of seating upstairs - nice area, with it's own bar. Sensible! Downstairs was busy, but quitened down later. I've passed this pub when it has been absolutely rammed - so appreciate earlier comments re: seating, space and general popularity. Don't be put off, it's still a great place. I'd throughly recommend this and other Sam Smith pubs in London - there are over 20, I believe. read more

Absolutely loved this place. Great beer, excellent service, fair prices, varied menu. I enjoyed the Mac and cheese with chips. My husband enjoyed the crispy chicken sandwich also with chips. There were many far more British items on the menu but these Americans were missing home a bit. This location is perfect if you are visiting the National Portrait Gallery, many theaters, Leicester Square, TKTS sales and London pass pick up site. Highly recommend. read more