Captain Kidd in Tower Hamlets

Wanted a quick sandwich and drink before catching a train. Waited 45 minutes for our sandwich which never arrived (we were offered it as a takeaway, still too late). One member of staff was very pleasant and tried hard, it didn't work though. £30+ down the drain. Beautiful riverside pub, one choice of white wine, poor selection of beer, what a waste.

It's nice that this place hasn't been taken over by a chain. They still could do with a few more people to work there as service could be quicker, there only seemed to be one person working there and trying to do it all! We had drinks and the burrata salad, it was really nice. There are lots of things to read on the wall and it's all very interesting.

Stood at the bar for 7 minutes while the one bartender spent more time talking about his personal life to another guest than acknowledging our presence. The pub was not busy at all and while he was on his own it felt like we were being ignored. Awful experience and despite the pub is beautiful it is not worth it.

Be wary of your order- this is a chain that does its own thing. Bar staff not overly forgiving and we ordered a classic cocktail but it didnt deliver and we loved this place. Order somthing simple and the snacks are great.

Lovely view of the river while we had a drink. But the pub is over priced at £8 for a pint of lager. The member of staff that served us had zero personality and quite abrupt.

As a born and bred Londoner this mock pub is a disgrace no on tap beer when we choose Sam Smiths , then when I asked for a common glass of white wine , the server said none stocked and S Smiths were brewers not stockists of wine , the man is an idiot I thought nearly every pub in London stocks usual white wines pubs used to have experienced staff or this pub is an exception waste of my monies

Dudes, when people would like to spend money in your business, let them! We wanted to order food on a sunny evening and we’re told we couldn’t unless when relocated! So we did - to another pub.

Forget the blurb on the website about "cask conditioned beer" - no bitter of any sort available yesterday evening. Also no tonic for gin. Shambles. Bar taken over by a group of 5 or 6 loudmouthed unpleasant sweary geezers. Only gets a 2 star review as the terrace overlooking the Thames is nice.

A nice enough riverside pub Nothing special. Good polite service by bar staff but 2 soft drinks and two pork pies for £26 is beyond excessive

Rude barman. Beer not a full pint. When queried he said ‘I’m not trained to pour a full pint’ Cocky, arrogant idiot. The place is understaffed by a moron. Dump and the lager was foul

What a disappointment of a venue! Booked the Captain Kidd after our wedding for drinks and dinner and what a mistake that was!!! Booked it 6 months ago, confirmed that there would be table service in the dining room for drinks and food. Went in and confirmed again a month ago and again last week. We arrived at our booked time, tables not set up told us we can just move them ourselves, no bar service upstairs had to wait in a bar line out the door for 20+ minutes per shout, asked 5-6 times for our dinner order to be taken, told we couldn’t order mains only snacks / entrées as the kitchen was too busy - such a joke! What a terrible experience, slow service and a huge disappointment to our day. Nice view but there’s much nicer pins around. We ended up leaving, didn’t order food, went to a pub up the road and spent our money there. Don’t waste your time here.

We were out for an Easter walk in the area and dropped in to this pub for some food and pints. People in front ordering tried to pay with cash and the bartender told them card only, she looked ticked. I stepped in to confirm they didn't take cash, and he said yes card only. We said but you're a pub! And all walked out. Too many pubs to go to. Found one a very short distance away that did take cash and gave them our business instead. Since when do these pubs get to dictate to us their customers on how to pay them? How dare you take away our choice with legal tender! Will never return!

A failed Saturday lunch attempt. The pub was sorely understaffed, to the point that it took 10 minutes standing at an almost deserted bar to get a menu (staff were aware that I was there, but there was no acknowledgement), let alone trying to order food. And what was coming out of the kitchen in that time looked tired and bland. We had no confidence that we we would get a decent meal in a timely way, so left without food or drink. Never again, there are much better, friendlier and more attentive pubs close by.

The food was quite dry/overcooked, the portions fairly small, and there was a long wait for the food. It was very over priced for a sub standard meal. The location and building were lovely, as were the staff, but I definitely wouldn't go again unless going just for a drink.

I was so looking forward to a meal at this historic pub. The reviews on their website were good and I didn’t look here. The food was very disappointing. Beer tasted peculiar too. Such a shame.

Went for dinner with friends, i had fish ( probably from icelands out of a packet) with cold oven chips. My wife had a microwaved over cooked steak and ale pie with cold veg, both our friends dinner was very poor . Our starter came at the same time as our dinner,as I was hungry and already paid for the meal I ate my burnt starter (chicken wings) ,all served in around 40min by staff that couldn't be bothered.

Stopped at the Captain Kidd this afternoon 20/01/24 for something to eat and a drink with friends. 4 of us in total. Got a great table upstairs by the window with a great outlook on the river and was hopeful the food would live up to the surroundings even given it’s really just pub grub. It got off to a bad start when we asked for menus for the 4 of us and were given one by the uninterested barman. We then joined the queue to order as said barman was on his own and this took about 15 minutes to finally get our order in and lots of the choices we’d made were no longer available for whatever reason? On a Saturday? We then waited about 40 minutes for any of our food to appear and when it came the starters and main course came together and it was all mainly cold where the heat lamp hadn’t reached and dried out where it had. The lady who finally served the food apologised for the wait and blamed it on a lack of staff but that really isn’t good enough. We were going to complain but the lone barman was still too busy so we just left not to come back. Disappointing given the view we had.

Been before and underwhelmed. Sadly called in again 2 years later. How can any restaurant not serve a good sausage sandwich! And waited 45 minutes for the privilege of the experience. Few punters and no effort made to make it special. Suspect it will stay this way until somebody decides to raise the standards. Shame cos it’s a good location. Limited beer choice too! Just dreadful.

A very nice, traditional english pub, at an amazing location, with an amazing view. If I had to describe an original english pub this will be the one, THOUGH the service and the food was appalling. First of all, on Sundays they only have a sunday menu for food, so basically sunday roast or fish and chips pretty much. There were about 3 tables in total and by 2:30pm they run out of yorkshire puddings. They said they could replace that with some extra veggies and potatoes which obviously they didnt :P :P. The whole group went for a sunday roast, and the food was absolutely appalling, overcooked, the beef stake was like gum, there was literally no taste in the dish and for a £18 it was very very poor. On top of that, we did ask them about gluten free dishes when we made the reservations and they said that they do, but when we arrived we found out that even the veggies have gluten in them. They had to spend about half an hour with the chef to think what they can do about that. So the overall experience was really, really poor, they did say at some point that apparently they have changed their chef etc etc. Very bad experience unfortunately as the pub is at a really nice location by the river.

I'm a big fan of Herr Smith's pubs, ive got 2 very local to me, shame one has been shut for over a year! I digress! I fit in Captain Kidd as an when as it's away from centre, my visit was fine,no probs, beer on form, everything else ok, i'm baffled by other negative reviews. However, people speak as they find, could be different shifts have different levels of service / quality of staff. Obviously this should not happen. Just a possibility. I've noticed other pubs in London have variation, not least choosing to wrap up before time so they can b*gger off early which in my book is ubacceptable. They would not dare if Fuhrer Smith was on the prowl! So, i recommend the Captain to all and sundry, it's a great spot if nowt else and deffo worth a visit for foriegn visitors especially our cousins.

Another regular visitor of this Samuel Smiths pub but since last year it has gone downhill. We headed in for lunch 12.30pm on 5th Sept, really hot and sunny day. Pub had about 15-20 customers spread inside and out so know atmosphere like I remembered previously.. We asked for a drink first then we would decide what we wanted for lunch. My wife wanted a pint of lemonade shandy. No lemonade available, no apology, explanation they had had a busy weekend. Why could they have not gone to tesco's.or another pub nearby to get some? We didn't stay to find out what other food or drink they had run out of or forgot to order enough of ( long shelf life on lemonade) Samuel smiths,remember 'The customer is still King' even more so in these times of austerity.

This could be a fantastic pub - it’s in a lovely spot and has plenty of space, and the Sam Smiths products are pretty good once you get used to them. However it was badly let down by the same problems that are causing many other Sam Smiths pubs to struggle and close down. The main issue was a 10 minute queue to be served by one person at the bar. For such a big pub, they just didn’t have the staff to cover bar and food service. The other problem is that the value of Sam Smiths has gone through the floor - it used to be a cheap place to drink but the cost difference vs other chains has significantly narrowed, especially when you factor in their notorious ‘free flow’ policy where staff are (based on employment tribunals) punished if they serve full pints - a generous head is given to avoid giving people the full pint they paid for. So it was a brief visit. Hopefully one day Humphrey Smith will retire and the business will modernise with a better deal for staff and a better offer for customers.

We thought it would be nice to take some American friends to a traditional London river-side pub. Oh dear, how embarrassing. They didn’t have our booking in the restaurant, apparently because we had booked on-line. (An hour later Open Table messaged me to say we were late for our booking.) We had to wait for an hour for our food to arrive. I complained (twice) to be told that our order was ‘complicated’ (two salads and fish and chips) so they had prioritized easier ones. Really? The serving staff were pleasant enough but appeared to be working in a really poorly managed system. Won’t be rushing back.

Visited the Captain Kidd on Saturday with the family and we had such a great time. Managed to grab a table outside with a view of the river and what a view it was! Big thanks to Adam (bar staff) for serving us and making us feel welcomed, All of the staff was great! 10 out of 10 experience would defo be coming back again I recommend the Taddy lager!

I went to the Captain Kidd as a little homely spot but the river. My friends and I thought we go there before we go to a different location because we had plans to go clubbing that night. We ended up staying there the whole night. We even ordered food and my favourite dish is the sausage and mash and the little onion rings on the top we a welcome treat. I would 100% go back there again where that be for a function or just a drink. 10/10

I’ve been coming to this pub for many years but haven’t been here for maybe 3 years . What a shock the bar staff don’t actually seem to want to serve you !!! I had a pint and a packet wait for it £9.60 !!! The table I sat at was sticky and the whole place just felt dirty . With a decent manager and some well trained staff this pub could be amazing yet for some reason nobody seems to care anymore which is so sad . Someone from Sam Smith needs to make a visit maybe undercover they would be truly shocked I’ve been to many Smiths pubs all over and I’ve never seen anything like it . I’m guessing this must be a flagship pub of chain. Please do something before it’s totally ruined. So very sad .

We thought we’d give this pub a second chance. Last time we came they had no decent beer and only one white wine. This time they excelled themselves - no white wine at all! This place could be a goldmine - the best south-facing terrace overlooking the Thames; the building is lovely too but the way it’s run is just tragic. Didn’t bother with the food after we saw how badly the bar was being run.

had another lovely meal and afternoon here great views of the river and great company we had a lovely meal i had steak and ale pie with mash carrots and gravy, my wife had a cheeseburger with chips, thank you Molly and Cisqo hope to...

As Sam Smiths pubs are well known for very reasonable prices, we decided to pay a visit to the Captain Kidd. It was a Saturday at around 1pm, and there were 4 of us, I ordered 2 pints of Extra Stout and 1 Rum and...

Nice beer but my wife’s white wine was almost room temperature. The bar service was almost too much trouble. Our sandwich was okay though

Had a lovely Sunday roast. A few ate off the main menu. Everyone enjoy there meal. We also had afters but one couldn’t as no vegan option. Staff were very apologetic but allowed us to get something at the local shop for the vegan. Staff...

We had never been here before and went for lunch as we had been out walking near the river Thames near the Tower of London, St. Catherines Dock etc. This old pub is named after the famous William Kidd more famously known as Captain Kidd,...

Don't eat here unless you want overpriced, dry, unseasoned microwave food. Staff are useless, clearly nobody was well trained behind the bar. Half the menu wasn't available to order, probably should have left at this point! When the food came, a couple of the burger...

We went last night after scattering my sister's ashes nearby .ordered food and only chicken burgers were available and vegan ones ,which we weren't planning to eat apart from one vegan burger ,one of the starters was unavailable ,we had gone upstairs as busy downstairs...

Atmospheric pub. Feel like it’s a part of history. Love it. Outside also feels special on the Thames.

I took my mother-in-law to Captain Kid, which is owned by Samuel Smiths, for a swifty. I will never go back there ever again. The drinks are overpriced. A pint of Cider Reserve is £7.00, and a pint of stout is £6.20! Are you for...

Great food and atmosphere this evening. Staff were welcoming and friendly and overall we had a great time.

had a lovely afternoon sitting by the river and good conversation with Molly and staff, lovely relaxing time, hope to see you soon

Definitely is on my list of pubs that tourists should visit, named after Captain Kidd a famous pirate, who was executed nearby for piracy ( possibly not even guilty) there is lots of memorable on the walls and a noose hanging over the door that...

My favourite pub. Great location. Summer time this place is packed due to the outside part facing the river.

Awful beer that had clearly been sat in the tap all night. Cloudy and tasted off. Had to argue at length with unhelpful staff to get it replaced.

Sour beer and inexperienced staff. I am a big fan of Sam Smiths beer, but my second pint was definitely off, staff couldn’t care less.

Good location - be it sunny or stormy - there is always lots to see on the river and great atmosphere. Good beer, limited soft drinks, coffee Ok. But the bar staff could do with smiling every now and again and the tables could do...

I love this place, visit it every time in London. Fish and chips and beer. Nice view, sun, legendary place. Not too much people.

Absolutely lovely place to stay for a drink. Special shout out to Charlie who was great to chat with during our visit! Xx

my Daughter and me had a lovely afternoon here today great service and conversation with Ashley the manager, thank you hope to see you soon

Amazing lunch at high tide downstairs, one of London's great pub windows. Warm bar staff, mixed clientele, a few tourists, a few locals. Feels like a real pub, not like a pretentious gastro or tourist trap. Exactly what I wanted it to be.

Just had the best Sunday lunch with my family! Cooked to perfection and really tasty. Service was excellent as always when we visit. Look forward to coming again next week with friends.

Poor Sunday experience. Veggie sunday lunch order was followed by a cooking time warning for roast spuds. We said we were ok to wait but then a message came that the veggie sunday lunch option was completely off and could we order from the regular...

Very poor. Waited for 10 minutes to get served while bar staff was dishing out food. No acknowledgement that I was even standing waiting at the bar. Walked out. Poor poor service.

i pop in here as often as i can i live in Essex so have to rely on trains, this is a lovely pub, i had a lovely drink and chat with Molly the very friendly bar staff, thank you hope to see you soon

Excellent lunch on Sunday. Friendly staff. Decent pint and lovely pie and chips. Perfect. The usual Sunday Roast was not on as manager was away but this did not spoil our enjoyment. The pub has excellent river frontage and an enormous terrace. Ideal for a...

Just had Sunday lunch here. Will not be returning. All frozen ingredients including the Yorkshires & roast potatoes Veg was frozen peas & carrots. Gravy powdered granules. Beef & plates cold To top it all they didn’t have any Horseradish or mint sauce to take...

Bangers and mash was exactly what we were hoping for, a classic British meal. Food was great along with the friendly bar staff.

Another historic pub on the Thames in Wapping. The interior is large and open, not the cozy feel of Whitby or Ramsgate. The large windows offer great views of the Thames. Sam Smith pub so it much variety in beers. Nice outdoor space. Better for...

My husband and I happened to pass by this lovely little pub by the river when we were walking our dog. Not only is the place dog friendly, but the staff were so helpful and welcoming, even though it was quite busy!! The food was...

I Visited this amazing place with some friends. The staff were so friendly. They were very helpful and accommodating. When ordering food, they recommended the fish and chips, which was delicious. Look forward to visiting again.

We visited the pub for a booked meal with family and ended up on 3 separate tables. I asked at the bar for the allergens list as my son must avoid a few of the big ones including milk. At first I was not allowed...

I popped in for a passing pint. There was one other customer at the bar who was being served. There were four people behind the bar busy faffing about doing I don't know what. I waited for two minutes just to be acknowledged. When this...

To get straight to the point here- I was served cheesecake with visible mould across the majority of the slice. I had already had a mouthful before I noticed the mould. Myself and a group of friends ate both mains and desserts at this pub....

we were walking around Wapping and stopped here for a lovely meal and good service and conversation with Molly and Cisco behind the bar thank you hope to see you soon

We went in to order food at 20.15 pm and were told the kitchen closes at 20.30pm, still they took our order and were happy to serve us for the most part, the atmosphere was pleasent and friendly the food was pricey but nowhere near...

This pub looked inviting due to having a beautiful and large outside area however when we went to order at the bar, it became apparent that the staff were clueless and also unaware of how the queing system should work. I asked the bar staff...

Visited today whilst staying nearby and decided to come here as it looked nice. The outdoor seating area is nice and the general pub. Staff lack knowledge of what they serve drinks wise, I asked for the least fruitiest larger and then received one that...

The pub is lovely and the river views wonderful. However the staff serving at the bar are woeful. I visit semi regularly and on sunny days there are long queues for the bar. The staff are so relaxed and lethargic they literally serve one customer...

My 4 friends and I visited during the day to celebrate a birthday. 4 of us managed to order food then in mid order we were told we couldn’t order the 5th meal as the kitchen had closed.,,,,,, We managed to get our money back...

had another lovely fish and chip meal here at 12.30 lunchtime lovely meal and great views along the Thames great chat with Ashley and customers i live in Essex so only manage to visit once a week, if i lived nearer i would be in...

Visited this pub and found the staff extremely hostile. We also witnessed an altercation with some customers - the staff dismissed their complaint and were really rude - was hard to ignore and we felt uncomfortable. Will never return.

The menu is standard pub fare but the food was beautifully presented and delicious: - the best pub meal I've ever had

Iconic location, attentive waiting staff, great array of ales and fair prices. The land lady is unreasonable, bad mannered and potty mouthed. She has an unusual dislike for customers that change seats during a six hour visit and an obvious hatred of children. Very flappy...

Positives - Amazing location on the Thames with a huge beer garden, spacious interior, 100 yards from Wapping overground station Negatives - 1. extortionate drinks prices. 26 quid for 2 doubles and two soft drinks. Sam Smiths pubs used to be known for reasonably priced...

While doing the Thames Path we stopped here for a drink. It is not really a historic riverside pub but is a converted wharf (1980s I think). But very well done. The pub was busy as it was early Saturday afternoon. The bar staff were...

Have been coming to this pub for several yeas as like location. Needs a change of bar staff as very slow, and the lady behind the bar on 22nd May gave the impression that customers were an inconvenience. Since Brexit the quality of bar staff...

Had a lovely day and meal in The Captain Kidd for my Daughter Kerrys Birthday thanks to Ashley and Roy managers for lovely meals, great service,

Very poor service - we ordered some food, only a BLT d so nothing that required a lot of cooking. We waited over an hour and nothing, so we ended up having our money back and moving on. Dreadful place.

on a walk along the Wapping area called in for a drink and relaxing break and great conversation and views across the river

Converted old warehouse, spacious, full of charm and great views over the Thames. A reasonable venue which we promised ourselves that we would return during the summer to enjoy.

Spent an hour waiting for ridiculously cheap food - awful quality and clearly incredibly overpriced. Seems that it’s just a drinking location, as the staff seemed surprised we would even be ordering food which was very strange.

Booked Sunday Lunch for 3pm. Queued for 15mins to order food, to be told no more meals being served. SERIOUSLY DONT BOTHER

We went for lunch on a January Saturday lunchtime. The pub looks tired, dirty and a bit unwelcoming. We had Whitby scampi and chips, both were really cheap, obviously not Whitby scampi,and the chips tasted of old fat. I had fish goujons which were ok....

ITS A LOVELY PUB AND RESTAURANT, The staff and customers are very friendly and welcoming, i go here once a week, as i live in Essex, if i lived local i would go here more often, Ashley and Roy the proprierters are very friendly and...

Busy busy night last night! We had to wait only 5 minutes to be able to be seated by the staff. Lovely positive atmosphere and noticed how busy and friendly the staff is. The landlady served me at one point and on ordering food I...

I wish I’d double checked all the negative reviews before going here. No single person was exaggerating. Basic food, rude staff (who apparently was the landlord) who weren’t even working at the time, going out of their way to make our evening the most hostile...

We visited The Captain Kidd for a drink on a Sunday afternoon set in a lovely location on the river it was a great place to enjoy a pint in the sun.

The staff were very rude from the outset They talked amongst themselves rather than attend to customers They made it very clear they wanted to attract zero customers so they had to do less work Don't waste time going here We saw a lot of...

If you are looking for a friendly pub fo not visit this place Rude arrogant staff Poor selection of drinks

I chose this pub because of its outside space and views. But that’s all it has going for it. The staff are odd, mocked and made comments about customers once that person had left the bar. The drinks menu was limited. Gin & Tonics came...

So expensive for where it is. Sam Smyth's pubs are renowned in London for being cheaper than most. This one charges central London prices, despite being very much off the beaten track. The service is ordinary, the food and drinks average. Better go down the...

Where to start with how absolutely awful this pub was. A friend of mine had booked for her birthday 3 weeks in advance. She got a call from the very aggressive manage the day before the book to yell at her about the inconvenience of...

A lovely Riverside location on a wonderfully restored 19th century warehouse. Nice enough food and drink. A couple of the staff however came across as rude and impatient which slightly spoilt an otherwise nice afternoon.

Wapping isn’t short of the odd riverside atmospheric pub but Captain Kidd has to be ine of the best. Approached along a cobblestoned street due west of Wapping station it soon reveals a large yet cosy wooden interior with enough of a breeze to ensure...

After waiting over 50mins for our food, which we were told would take 30mins max. Part of our party asked the staff how much longer would it be. When the food finally did come the member of staff with a top knot, walked away from...

had a lovely meal with my wife Ashley and Roy the publicans even gave me a birthday card, staff very friendly and helpful made us feel very welcome as always, had a lovely day thank you all at the Captain Kidd

Turned up to try and secure a table, staff left us waiting at the door in the rain for 10 minutes and totally ignored us. Rude, ignorant and will certainly not return. If I could give it 0 stars I would.

Staff are rude and do not serve you. Avoid at all costs. You are better spending your cash some where else

excellent location with views over the thames, i started coming here 2 years ago once or twice a week and since it has new management it has improved a great deal,the old staff were ok, but the bar staff Gabriel, Grace, and managers Ashley and...

What a great night at The Captain Kidd couldn’t have wished for a better birthday meal. Great staff lovely food was looked after perfectly by everyone keep up the good work in these hard times Well done!!!!

Me and my husbands beef roasts were delicious, the lounge upstairs was very homey and warm. The two ladies service upstairs were fabulous and we enjoyed our stay as we chatted to them overlooking the Thames! We have been here before earlier in the summer,...

I don't like Sam Smith's beers but i knew that before i went, so can't complain..... But i was charged 7.20 for a bottle of Stout - ridiculous. Barman Gabriel was very helpful and polite .

As you can see from previous reviews, this place has the worst managerial customer service ever. We were visiting for my brother's 18th birthday, drinks and waiter were fine. Upon leaving, I forgot to wear my mask to the toilets (my mistake) but the landlady...