Richmond Vault Gastropub, Craft Beer & Cocktails in Richmond upon Thames

After a long travel day our friends found this place. Awesome drinks and atmosphere!

We are from America and stumbled across this place and actually ran into the owner Lee and what an experience. I love the atmosphere and the drinks. I think it’s a must see destination. Had a great time and great drinks.

Love this place, staff are great and very proactive when it comes to serving you, no messing around. Owner was really great and welcomes you to the premises.

Lee (the owner) and the entire team went above and beyond to meet every one of our needs. It’s rare to find a place that genuinely values its customers while offering outstanding prices and a great experience. The team at Bootleggers absolutely nailed it. Thank you — we’re already looking forward to coming back and checking out the other bars as well!

Came to the Bootlegger and didn’t know what to expect! Wow was I blown away with how much the staff care and how helpful they were followed up by some of the best cocktails I’ve ever had in my life. Also the food was gorgeous fulled with a lot of flavour and portion sizes was great! Extremely recommend

To tell everybody the truth.... This bar is probably (leaning towards most likely) the best cocktail bar I've been to.... And yes I've been to a lot. I went to the opening of the bath bootlegger and it had phenomenal service, great cocktails, sick live music and they mentioned that bootlegger was a chain. Obviously I got excited because it meant more cocktails but they referenced one in Richmond that has turned out to be absolutely banging! Great staff, amazing cocktails and awesome tunes - shout out to Lee the owner, gave me a Mr lover lover - banging to say the least 👊

In a nut shell... - Service is extremely slow - The food does not come as described on the menu - The food quality is extremely poor and does not match the Google reviews - I feel sorry for the bar staff/waitresses at this place because they have to take the brunt of the SLT being cheap and offering little to no quality. The whole review is as followed:1 We attended on the 5th of April for a booking of 4. We arrived and were not on the booking list. This is despite me booking around 2 hours prior. Not a massive problem as was taken to a table and sat promptly. We ordered a round of alcoholic drinks which came pretty quickly. We ordered one sharing plate of nachos as a starter (We asked for them as a starter and not as a main). We alsobordered 3x portions of ribs and 1x corn burger and also ordered three more drinks. 35 minutes past before our drinks arrived. The waitress and barman could be seen talking about our drinks at the 30 minute mark, so clearly we were forgotten about. At around the 1 hour mark we had to ask where our nacho starter was. 30 seconds after asking it arrived on our table. It was cold and not as described on your menu. Ingredients were missing and quite clearly not cooked as described. 2 minutes after our starter arrived, our mains arrived. Further cementing that our poorly described starter had infact been forgotten about. The corn burger was three bits of small corn circles in a dried bun. No salad or extras and little effort had been made with this burger, especially for the price. I ordered a rack of ribs. 10% of the rack was meat. The other 90% was nothing but fat. My other two friends ribs were likely 30% meat and 70% fat. I'd also argue that you are putting two different half racks of ribs together to make a full rack. So the consistency and size is not the same. We found this place purely by walking past and hearing the jazz being played on the stairs. The menu on the fence looked really good so I did some research. I checked the reviews on Google and saw that you had 4.5 stars out of 5. The food reviews were extremely positive. However, the music once you get inside the venue was not the same. The food quality and service is utter crap. The owner/manager is setting up these poor waiters/waitresses to fail due to their incompetence to run a business and the poor quality that goes with it. You also have waitresses openly talking to each other about how slow the food service was too. I've eaten at hundreds of restaurants and never experienced anything as has as this rubbish.

Sunday lunch was amazing and staff were cheerful and helpful. Thought it was value for money for Richmond and we could take our dogs which is always a positive. Coming back next time when I can get through the cocktail list. Hidden gem for Richmond

We booked a mixology masterclass for a reunion of three old friends. Lee proved to be a Nigella Lawson of cocktail making, making us feel free to learn about making cocktail in an open and fun environment. Lots of fun, would recommend!

Me and my wife came for a bottomless brunch for our anniversary. We were greeted with an amazing welcome from the staff, the food was amazing and really decent sized portions, very attentive with the drink pouring and prompted us for more drinks before we were even empty. A great looking place with a great atmosphere, would definitely recommend and come back

Absolutely awful We were for a roast for 2. £64 or something 2 potatoes Cold peas, 1 small Yorkshire, left over 2 bits of cold beef, watered gravy a hard carrot and parsnip. Absolutely avoid And to top it off music blasting so you can’t even have a conversation

I took some ribs for my main and only course. It took about 30 min for the food to come out, the ribs were lukewarm at best. Additionally, the ribs were very spicy, which isn't mentioned on the menu. I guess if you are into spicy food you should try the ribs. They were otherwise quite mediocre. Portion was generous enough. Very hard to get waiter's attention, they don't look around when moving between tables. Ended up going to the bar to get my bill. I used to go to this place occasionally before the new ownership, specifically for the sweet and sour ribs. Even under the new ownership, in early 2024, I enjoyed some bbq ribs. They were not at all spicy. Will not return until either variety of the old, non spicy ribs are back.

Worst cocktail I’ve ever tasted and cost £13 each

Sadly the kitchens had broken down on the evening we arrived so no food was available, however the bar staff were absolutely awesome. We were allowed to order in pizzas to enjoy with our cocktails and had a fantastic evening. Great live band and such a cool space.

Maybe not their best day. Ordered the Irish coffee, not sure what came but it was luke warm and quite a poor version, not as described on the menu. Ordered a Woodford Reserve, they were out. Ordered a hot chocolate (it WAS on the menu), they said they weren't sure if they could do that, and then never mentioned it again (one never came). Happy hour prices Not applied for Meantime beer, this place just couldn't get it right. Not really sure what we missed about this place - the atmosphere was otherwise fine.

Genuinely the worst cocktails I’ve ever been served. Undrinkable and consequently left after one drink.

We waited at the bar a bit long to get our drinks but cocktails were good and bartenders were so kind.

Don’t drink cocktails. Ridiculous

Booked a table, waitress took our order, we waited 30 mins and were then told that they didn’t have our order. Appalling service

Loved it...hidden gem...great retro music, great vibe and cocktails

The drinks and roast were spot on. Friendly staff. I will be visiting again soon.

Good food, service & atmosphere but what dragged the rating down is that the cocktails aren’t strong at all and a little too sweet; tastes like juice.

A lovely basement venue with a cosy atmosphere and interesting theming. However, the few times we've tried it, the service has been slow and confused - once we were able to be served at the bar, once we were told to sit down and have table service. Both times, service was very slow and staff seemed quite cold. I won't be in a rush to come back as the cost of the drinks doesn't match the quality of the service.

Super place, The Bootlegger Vault, in Downtown Richmond is a Cellar Bar, born in the prohibition era with all the other Speakeasies. A most welcoming cellar bar, great staff and decor. Gentle yet extreme... A few keg ales and any cocktail you may desire, wines also. A most hospitable venue. Thumbs up, thanks for the visit.

While the staff were really friendly, the cocktails were not great. Second time we’ve been here since it changed hands and, unfortunately, the cocktails have been really bad both times. Such a shame because it used to be one of our favourite places.

Service was lovely but the cocktails were definitely very average. The espresso martini’s came out with no head and tasted like sugar syrup. This is the second visit here since the venue changed hands and we were all very disappointed. Maybe drop in for a beer, but find somewhere else for a cocktail

Great negronis, good atmosphere and happy hour. Worth a visit!

Very disappointed two times. First time I walk in, they found me seat and when finally someone came after 20 minutes to take my order, food was not available anymore. I understand busy time and everything. But customer supposed to be informed as soon as you walk in to don't loose time. The second time I make booking in advance. When I get there I ordered food and drinks. I've been waiting one hour for my food. when I ask stuff how long I have to wait then it turned out that they forgot to pass my order to kitchen. So food wasn't even preparing. I will not going to give any more chances. Very nice place with amazing drinks, but need someone who can manage properly.

best pastrami sandwich ever ! you must try !

Had an issue with menu availability last minute but paul delt with it immediately great service and food great cocktails .will definetly visit again when we visit richmond again.

Nice place for a drink, service a bit slow .

Best chicken and waffles I've ever had & my partner's pastrami sandwich was also pretty poppin'! Was loving the happy hour 2-for-1 cocktails, the drinks were tasty and the menu was full of fun stuff. If they had an extensive whisky/bourbon menu it on top of that it would have been even cooler for the kinda prohbition thing they're going for. Good atmosphere, music was loudish but didn't push into the realm of "too loud, get me out of here". If they'd had just turned the bass down I'd have no complaints at all. Really friendly staff, though forgot to bring our cutlery and were hard to flag down from our sitting position. Whatever... give these guys business because I want them to stick around so I can go back whenever I want.. okay?!

Long wait and poorly managed as ran out of ingredients after 25 minute wait. Super disappointed.

Matt and Dylan were amazing staff. Really appreciate their help. Will be definitely looking into booking the mamma Mia brunch!

Dylan and Matt were lovely. Very nice vibe. Definitely would come back.

Amazing service! Love it here! Wonderful! 10/10

Matt and Dylan smashed it. Made our Halloween night !

I stumbled upon The Bootlegger Vault after hearing the music drifting from outside, and I’m so glad I went in! The atmosphere is fantastic—great music, a cool speakeasy vibe, and a welcoming crowd. The staff were incredibly friendly and attentive, making the experience even better. What really stood out to me were the amazing non-alcoholic options they had, which were just as thoughtfully crafted as their cocktails. The food was delicious too, perfect for pairing with drinks and enjoying a chill evening. Whether you’re there for a night out or just to relax with friends, this bar has it all. I’ll definitely be back!

Came back here after the change in ownership and what a massive improvement. Great drinks selection and the cocktails tasted fantastic. The decor and the ambiance is spot on. Looking forward to coming for one of their live music nights

Fantastic food, amazing Sunday roast and incredible service! Cocktails are great and huge selection. Don’t miss out on this hidden gem.

Such a good roast, I am guilty of having eyes bigger than my stomach but thankfully the waitress warned me and the roast was the perfect amount, absolutely hit the spot. Really lovely staff! Smashed it!

Great fun! Came here for birthday cocktails and a dance and it didn’t disappoint. The prohibition style suits this basement bar and it’s done very tastefully. The cocktails are delicious & strong, staff fast & efficient and the live swing band just added that touch of magic ✨

Sunday 5pm.no beef or lamb roast.waitress never informed us beforehand.

Enjoyed some delicious drinks during happy hour. Our favorites were the Yellow Cab and the Hampton Court Cream Tea. A wonderful spot to stop in for a drink if you're in Richmond.

Brilliant atmosphere and amazing service. The food was divine and the service from Bruce was amazing. Highly recommend and will defo be coming back

Their beef burger is excellent as well as their wheat beer. Friendly staff and a pretty nice place for a quiet dinner after a walk around Richmond.

Well this is a big improvement on the previous incarnation for this venue. Really friendly and helpful staff, HUGE cocktail menu and some very tasty food. Just one recommendation... Keep the music volume very low. 1920's swing is not to everyone's taste 😁

This is quite new restaurant in the heart of Richmond. It is modelled on a speakeasy and has a lovely atmosphere. Apparently on Friday and Saturday they have live jazz too. The food was so delicious. I thoroughly recommend the pastrami sandwich but I will definitely be trying other dishes too. They have a Sunday lunch menu and, looking at the other tables that ordered it was quite substantial and appetising. We will definitely be returning

Not the craft beer temple that some people suggested. But I like the one I tried.. Nothing strong in stock though. Left too early due to a party booked where I choose to sit.. Nonetheless staff did their best to accommodate my hipster self!

Well well well what an absolute gem of a find here in Richmond, the vibe the venue is unreal The quality of drinks the food was first class. Customer service was unreal Richmond you are so lucky

Worth the trip to Richmond! Great service and excellent food.

A perfect spot for a roast - the lamb was delicious as well as a the cauliflower cheese. Service was great too!

BEST roast in London, and the owner is an absolute legend, good pints aswell, but the Sunday roast is awesome and well priced too!

Class bar, class staff. Make sure you visit if you’re in town. Bruce and Lee top blokes very accommodating👍🏼

Eric wines and dine me all night, one of the best bartender in London. I highly recommend coming to bootlegger for their jazz and delicious cocktails.

Came across this place by chance and the owner/manager was very welcoming,good ambience,first impression,Food and drinks were delicious although not healthy but just what we fancied,Pizza knocks the socks off any competition,only bad point was the service,the lady who bought our bill and took our order was just not in line with the place,she was just quite dismissive and not welcoming almost like she didn’t want to be there,this place has the potential to do so well but the service needs to be in line with the ambience and atmosphere of the place almost like the scene from pulp fiction.

Awesome venue. Very cool decor, great range of cocktails, and the food was amazing!! Really friendly atmosphere, loving the Bootlegger vibe; great addition to Richmond’s night life!

Very friendly and hospitable staff and yummy Sunday roasts. Thanks !

What an amazing little find underground gem so beautiful in the decor and the staff, drinks and food match the ambience. I cannot wait to come back and taste the extensive list of cocktails 😋 thank you for a wonderful afternoon

Service was really slow. We were left waiting for ages in between drinks. We were going to stay all evening but we had to leave. Very disappointed. Food was ok the overall experience was poor

We were early eating lunch so I don't blame them for the atmosphere. It got better as others came in

Excellent service. Staff are brilliant. Definitely recommend. Nice decor and ambience.

Delicious English cuisine, large portions and an interesting appearance of the restaurant

Outstanding. Food excellent and service fantastic. Definitely worth a visit.

Very good place, with a wonderful ambience, good music, the light is wonderful. We went looking for a dessert and drinks, and was so tasty and the service was beautiful, we sat in at the bar and Erik, the barman was so kind with us, and helped us choosing the drinks and they were delicious. We’ll certainly come back soon.

Amazing food and a really great team (please try the ribs). Pity that we could not tip our wonderful server more as there’s no allocation system for extra tips - please sort this!

I tried the Sunday roast for the first time at this restaurant, and I was blown away by how much I loved it. The place itself is lovely, with a great atmosphere. When I returned to organize a leaving party for a colleague, the staff went above and beyond to accommodate my needs, helping with decorations and seating arrangements. The food was absolutely delicious! On Friday nights, there's even live music to enjoy while you dine. It's definitely one of the best gastro pubs in Richmond, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fantastic dining experience.

My favourite place to drink in Richmond. Lovely staff and great drinks. Thr food is also very tasty.

Cool underground place. Service was great and the food was delicious. I had the vault burger which was great but upon seeing the ribs I realised my mistake. If I get an opportunity to return, I know what to have. The waiter tripped on a step and sent ketchup flying but he was incredibly apologetic. Slightly amusing that my friend ended up with some ketchup on his nose.

My husband booked this place for Mother's day and We had a lovely time ❤️💐 Service was wonderful and atmosphere also. We enjoyed our starter the most and cocktails were awesome! Thank you ❤️ @silviadeegon

Amazing venue. First time and will def be back. A couple from our group have already booked to go back the following weekend. I had the lamb roast which was a huge portion which I demolished. Wine was flowing and our waiter was a diamond. Service was speedy and efficient and decor was tastefully decorated.

A bit confusing this place. Is it a beer hall? Is it a Middle Eastern restaurant? Is it a pub? Not quite sure. £22 for a juicy chicken with a Middle Eastern vibe with…McCain chips. The atmosphere can be very loud and noisy as everyone is packed next to each other. Good beers and wine though. As a said. Confusing

Pretty mediocre food whilst being fairly expensive- £8 for a pint, £12 for two tiny pieces of bruschetta - fine service and venue but wouldn't bother returning.

tender and delicious roast lamb but only two halves of a potato each? and couldn't believe my eyes to see they charged £8.25 for one bottle of cider.

Fabulous bar with some great beers, food and vibe.

Met up with friends for Sunday roast. The pub can be missed on the street as it’s in the basement so you need to look out for the sign board. It’s cosy and gives a warm feel. Food was very good. Yorkshire puds we’re large and crispy, roast vegetables cooked just right. The beef was a tad chewy. My friend had the rack of ribs which were very large and tasty. The apple and pear crumble with custard (2 tablespoon) could do with more crumble as it seemed like biscuit crumbs sprinkled on top and needed more custard which they were happy to provide. Service in general is slow.

Very friendly spot with tasty food. Service was perfect!

Superb venue and service with exceptional food!

Great atmosphere, good food and my wife tells me great cocktails. All in all a great spot for a casual drink and dinner

Amazing cocktails in Richmond, which it’s not easy to find around this area. Highly recommended! Food is delicious too! Service is impeccable!

Fantastic, knowledgeable service. wide range of tasty dishes. Raasonably priced, be prepared for a wait but its totally worth it. highly recommended! Thank you Armand for a great hospitality

A friend recommended this place and I had to visit. Amazing food , friendly service and chill atmosphere. Well done Richmond

Nowhere near as good as a traditional pub. Can't comment on food to be fair as we did not eat - only drink.

Non existent service. We came in for a drink and some food around 1pm on a Saturday. Waitress was cold and generally uninterested. The bar man was nice, provided good service and good drinks. We waited around 15 minutes to even have a glimpse of ‘service’ and order some food. The waitress looked over at the two of us several times but decided to tend to a larger table that came in long after us instead. In the end we just opted to walk out and go elsewhere. It’s not hard to provide some decent service, let alone take someone’s order. The only reason this isn’t 1 star is because of the bar staff.

Had my 40th here. Food, staff and drinks were all amazing. Had the most wonderful time. Will be back and would recommend.

Prime location in Richmond to meet with friends for a drink or meal. Great atmosphere on Friday nights as there is live music.

Really slow service at the bar which is pretty unforgivable on s Saturday night. It wasn't even that busy.

Superb food, ambience and staff. Will definitely be going back more often!

Quick google search made me choose the Vault because the reviews were high! I didn’t actually read any! Had I of actually read reviews then we would have been spared an awful experience this evening. First of all, on arrival we were greeted in a very, frosty, unwelcoming manner. The waitress was so miserable, didn’t crack a smile once! She exclaimed that I booked downstairs and that she would seat us upstairs because of our pushchair, this was said with her back turned looking at a computer screen. My 5 year old ordered the kids fish fingers which albeit looked homemade had visible fish skin on which personally didn’t seem child friendly so she refused to eat that and her chips seemed like they were fried in a dirty fryer as they tasted stale. I ordered rosemary chips which tasted the same but with a dash of rosemary sprinkled on top. My son ordered an adult pepperoni pizza which was very oily but he ate most of it none the less. Husband ordered chicken burger which he said was okay. My main was butternut chilli - this was served luke warm and wasn’t pleasant to eat so I had a few spoonfuls and that was enough for me. Waitress did do a check back and I said was ok at the time but I was probably visibly annoyed and I think she picked up on this. I didn’t confront her about my food at the time because I didn’t want to cause a scene in front of my children. We did mention about the chips when the bill arrived and said that we were not happy to pay the service charge that was automatically added to our bill. Lastly, I would not call this place a gastropub, I’ve eaten in many and the food today didn’t come close to any of my experiences else where. Left disappointed but happy to get out of there, ended up getting a food box from whole foods which was 10x nicer. Probably a great hangout for drinks but wouldn’t recommend the food and service was shocking so on that basis we wont be returning.

Quite nice,fairly compact and a good choice of drinks. No food eaten on this occasion.Clean and well ordered.

The atmosphere itself was fun, I really enjoyed the music. My family and I arrived at the restaurant at 12:30 in the afternoon and spent more than an hour waiting for our food. The starters were very good, I ate the Halloumi Cubes, Boneless Chicken, Calamari and the Caesar Salad. I ordered the Deli Pizza which was sadly disappointing, the sauce was too sweet and there wasn’t balance in tastes. My family ordered both the Chicken and Vegetarian Roasts and really enjoyed it, the gravy was excellent balanced, as well as the chicken, whose taste was a bit dry but yummy. The kebab and cod were quite delicious. As much as the restaurant was fun, the service was slow and the waitress seemed impatient. I recommend that you go there if you are prepared to wait for the food for more than an hour.

Nice Sunday roasts, friendly staff. Well recommended

Very friendly and attentive staff, the service is fast, and the atmosphere is very positive and fun. The Sunday roast beef and bbq ribs are delicious and a must to try. I definitely recommend the place

I really like the place and the food is great. I ordered lamp shank with some cocktails and i definitely recommend it

We had an 8 person 3pm Sunday booking. Informed after arriving that they had run out of potatoes so no roast available. Proceeded to see customers next to us order the roast 🤷 We then ordered of the mains. Food came at 1.5hrs after we ordered, and across the span of 25 minutes so we all ate separately. I had the lamb shank, a skerrick of mash, some kale, and a raw onion (!) Staff could not care less, unapologetic and rude. On the up side they had the common sense not to include service charge. Plenty of nicer places for both food and service in Richmond.

Waited 1hr for food and got this.. raw onion, smudge of mash and a bit of kale with the lamb. The lamb was well cooked but the sides terrible. Considering the wait, was not a good experience.

Very disappointing. Had a 3pm Sunday booking and were told there were no roasts. The mains took 1.5 hours to come, and no updates or apologies from the staff. When the food came, it felt unfinished: a leg of lamb with one spoonful of mashed potato, a little boiled kale and a raw onion… The gnocchi was quite nice.

Handy location and good food. I wasn't drinking so can't comment on the bar offerings but the rack of ribs was lovely. Will return again.

Great selection of drinks, great staff and atmosphere. A little pricey, like most things in London.

Finally found a place with a good selection of draft beer We liked everything, the interior, the kitchen, the service, The waiter Kingsley was very attentive to us and friendly We will definitely come back again