The Anchor & Hope in Lambeth

Relaxed atmosphere, food was amazing

An absolute gem of a place. If you’re ever in the area and feeling a tad or more hungry, The Anchor and Hope is the place to be. Fabulous and I’ll be back with the family soon.

Pleasant place to wine and dine fully filled with vibes and memorable moments

Nice friendly restaurant lovely food great place will be back again

Great experience. Lovely customer service. Will surely visit next time.

Really great service the waiters gave a really walk welcome… food was gawjus highly recommend this place

Great food, great customer service

Great pun and atmosphere friendly stuff and service was excellent

This place is amazing, nice stay ,nice service, all round amazing place

Great restaurant, brilliant service and great atmosphere

Absolutely loved our experience at Anchor and Hope. The atmosphere is relaxed and authentic, with that classic British gastropub charm. The food was exceptional—seasonal, bold, and full of flavour. We had slow-cooked lamb and seafood stew and it was cooked to perfection. Staff were attentive, knowledgeable, and genuinely welcoming. Great selection of drinks too. A must-visit if you’re in the area and appreciate honest, top-quality food. We’ll definitely be back!

I love the vibe of the hotel and it's totally worth the money.

Amazing place! Will be visiting soon again.

Very good food , good ambiance , friendly staff. Enjoyed very much . Highly recommended.

I had such a wonderful time with my friends here! The staff went above and beyond with their kindness and hospitality, making us feel truly welcome. The food was absolutely fantastic — every dish was bursting with flavor. One highlight was a dessert I can’t quite remember the name of, but it was a cake made with rhubarb, and it was unforgettable. Perfectly balanced, not too sweet, and wonderfully unique. If you have the chance to visit, I highly recommend giving it a try!

My wife and I, came a couple of days ago. We where welcomed by a member of staff when we entered, they where very polite and professional. The food was very nice with a pleasant service. Would definitely come again. Thank you.

Popped in to this popular restaurant while staying locally. We had a very nice shared Lamb shoulder, cooked for 7 hours, obviously very tender and full of flavour. 10/10

Awesome service Awesome location Awesome food Will definitely be back Great drinks too 😀😀😀😀 Brilliant to sit outside on a warm day Highly recommend the lamb

We had a great meal before theatre at the Old Vic.

Simple but really good food. The chocolate mousse is absolutely delicious. Nice experience

Best restaurant on the Cut and broader Waterloo estate. Constantly revolving menu with seasonal produce. Great variety including vegetarian. Great value as well considering portion size. We visit regularly pre-theatre (for Young and Old Vics) and are always in at 6pm and out around 7pm. Attentive but unfussy service. Always a pleasure.

Just perfect as always - the team are amazing x

Had a really nice meal here the waiting staff were lovely and it's a nice atmosphere. The variety of the menu was exciting and food was tasty. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars rather than 5 was the price. While it was a lovely meal everything felt a bit expensive. I've had cheaper Michelin star fine dining meals. I think maybe the menu would benefit from being slightly shorter allowing the team to buy ingredients in a larger scale hopefully lowering the price a little bit.

Nice place to grab drinks with a group. Been here a few times and it’s never been over crowded so a nice feel. Good service, good prices. Haven’t tried the food yet.

Fortunately we got there at a perfect time. Found this place online and it has good reviews that lived up to them. The wait staff was great, Nelly was very gracious with her time in helping us choose a great meal and we were VERY happy with the choices we made. Menu is made every day, so what we had may not be available all the time, but would recommend trying out this gem.

Extremely enjoyable pre theatre meal..a full house and excellent service. Thanks!

Came here after an online search for Sunday lunch in the area. On the pricier side of things but I was pleasantly surprised by quite how high calibre the place was, both in terms of quality and service. I'm already looking forward to our next visit!

I've been meaning to come here for years and now wish I had come earlier. Great meal. Always love a rabbit!

A fish restaurant. Ambiance is great, even outside, as everything is protected. The coffee was very tasty. The price-performance is very good. What stood out was the friendliness and warm-heartedness of the waiter. Even though we only had a drink, we felt warmly welcomed. Thank you very much for that ☺️👍🏻

Friendly pub with good service and accommodating menu (I'm a vegan)

Friendly pub with a good vibe to it. The food we had was quite average, a solid 3.

Our second visit to this convivial place with exceptional service, imaginatively prepared dishes, expertly cooked and presented. Thank you to The Anchor & Hope Team for giving your guests a great time!

Got food poisoning from the chicken liver paté. Watch out.

Robust Rustic food cooked to perfection, the atmosphere is much buzzier at night.

There is a strong case for this being the best food pub in London. Like a well-run Parisian bistro meets British country pub (excellent ales, strong wines), the menu is full of temptations- ever-changing, fresh, technically executed small and large plates. French - British - Mediterranean. All excellent. Lamb and hummus, triple cheese soufflé, best-in-class taramasalata with kalamata olives. Great options on dessert menu (hard to see past the sticky toffee with crystallised ginger ice-cream but the champagne-soaked-rhubarb eton mess gave it a go!) Cocktails good: blood orange negroni and other creative twists on standards. Staff all engaged, knowledgable and with a sense of humour - even when they’re super busy. Which they deserve to be! This should be showing as a 4.9 imho.

Greeted with a warm welcome the attentive waiters went out of their way to make our night a memorable one. A compact and varied menu offered an appetising selection of modern British dishes with Italian and French influences. The cuttlefish starter was rich in flavour and slow cooked enough to be cut with just a fork. A generous and expertly cooked chicken pie looked fantastic and the Porcetta and chickpea was delicious. Wonderful wine menu topped off a perfect meal. Excellent, we’ll come again!

It's absolutely disgusting that smoking is allowed in the outdoor seating area. Considering the high prices, non-smoking customers should be able to enjoy their food and drinks without inconvenience! I do not recommend this place

Good food, fair price, try desserts!

Nice place with own kinda unique style. Dishes are not categorized so you have to assume based on price which is a starter and which is the main. The only downside is that there are only a few mains and the starters are way too pricy. Now you leave the restaurant either broke or hungry.

Good but expensive- too expensive I’d say. Vat and service seemed to be charged also from memory.

Very good restaurant with a nice mix of traditional and modern dishes. Cozy atmosphere in an up-and-coming neighborhood. Prices however relatively high.

Great food, great staff! One of the best brunches I had in London. Thanks, Bella, for the awesome service!

Booked as a solo dinner on a work trip. Everything was amazing, service was prompt and very professional, the food (starter main and dessert) was flavourful and well made and the products used are all high quality. Nice selection of wines (French, Italian...) too. The atmosphere was lovely too, no loud music blasting in your ears and whilst the pub was fully booked I was never made to feel rushed. I'll certainly be back

Delicious food (though worth noting it’s more of a restaurant vs a true gastropub), good service and nice ambiance - the mussels, the sand soles and the beef were all very good albeit a bit expensive (the bread with good butter was also good, though would’ve been better if the bread had been warm). Our servers were very attentive and friendly (though it took a long time to get the bill, and once we had the bill, for someone to come with the card machine). Overall a good albeit expensive meal.

We had an amazing time! Food and drinks were fabulous! Staff so friendly and knowledgeable and made us feel welcome and looked after even though it was a very busy day! Thank you so much!

Had a wonderful birthday lunch. Every plate of food was delicious, the service was great and the wine sublime.

Great food, great service, great atmosphere

Not cheap but, you get what you pay for. Excellent food and service. Thoroughly enjoyed my meal and will be returning.

Wow. Not your average pub, just like canton arms in spirit but more elevated dishes. Really amazing food & menu 👌

Delicious food, great service and vibrant, cosy atmosphere. Modern European, British food with lots of flavour and some interesting menu options. Super friendly and attentive staff, good wine options… highly recommended.

They have a restaurant section separated from the pub but the menu is less substantial than what you would find in most pubs. Mainly light starters which are nevertheless priced as mains. The price isn't the problem though, it is the disappointment as you can't really have a proper meal there despite thinking you are in a 'gastropub'.

A good pub. Good atmosphere. Food is seasonal & was very nice. We shared the lamb shoulder for two. Very decent portion sizes. Lovely wines. Service & team very friendly. It gets busy here so book. Feels more restaurant than pub. Worth going to!

Almost the original gastropub in London (yes, love you too, 'The Eagle'...). Been many times and never disappoints. Could do with a few more craft beers, NEIPAs, hazys and the rest.

Third time here. All plates are so well prepared with sophisticated flavours and it’s a down to earth, rustic place to eat. Great options for vegetarians. Delicious beetroot ginger beer homemade spritz so even alcohol free options were more special than the ordinary. Good to book in but they managed our walk in of 2.

It’s a popular place on a Sunday afternoon and sitting outside on a warm day it’s clear to see why. The staff are fantastic - super attentive, knowledgeable and helpful plus friendly too. There’s a good range of drinks offered with everything served quickly. The food menu is a little more difficult to understand - with descriptions lacking everything seemed like strange combinations. But the food didn’t disappoint when it arrived - portion sizes were good and while there was no ‘faff’ with the presentation everything was very tasty and cooked perfectly. It’s far from a cheap place, but with the quality of service and setting felt justified - I’d recommend.

Came here for Sunday lunch. The staff was remarkably friendly and welcoming. We were travelling to the train after lunch so we carried with us our suitcases. Struggling to get inside, one of the staff members came rushing to the door and took all of our suitcases out of our hands and guided us to the bar for a drink. Great start. We had skate wing with green peppercorn sauce for main and it was the best meal of our weekend - such simplicity. Next time we’ll return with a bit more of an empty stomach to enjoy more jewels from the menu!

Terrible terrible service, really poor food, and we had to wait an hour in between first and main courses (they graciously told us we could stay beyond the time we had putatively booked for). But although that happened twice, it was two to three years ago and not long after the lockdowns ended. I'm inclined to fork out and see if it is as good as it used to be.

Very disappointing for the price. £50 each for lunch with a non-alcoholic drink. We all had venison haunch which sounded like a great big lump of roast meat. It was a mediocre stew with a couple of small lumps of deer that was over as soon as it started. The bread was average, sides were ok. But when you charge £30 for a main, you're signalling it's exceptional. The waiter stank and made going through allergens very complex, rather than just having a clear menu. Plus service charge too.

Had a lovely afternoon with friends. Nice atmosphere. Great service from bar staff with helpful recommendations on wine list. Didn't eat this time but might next time.

Heard good things about the restaurant and decided to come here to try. Food was solid but they got 2 of our 4 dishes wrong. The server repeated the order right but somehow still entered it wrong? Didn’t bother to correct them as we only had 2 hr for the table before the next group comes in. Hopefully they’ll get our order right next time…

Fantastic evening with fabulous food - basically a wonderful experience which I’d thoroughly recommend. And a special mention for Lucy who looked after our busy table as she was a real credit to the establishment - as were the chefs involved. Thank you.

A delicious meal at the Anchor & Hope. A party of four who had the Cassoulet and steak pie to share. Both were excellent and accompanied by this really lovely red. Five stars.

Great service but my anchovy sauce had very little flavour which is the whole point of anchovy.

Great menu, fabulous wine. Lovely treat lunch:

We came her for a pre theatre meal for the Old Vic. Definitely worth booking in advance as it gets quite busy. Service was excellent and we were guided by our server to ensure we had enough time to get to our show. The pheasant and pork mains were well cooked and very tasty. It would be nice to see a larger selection of mains. The tiramisu and the meringue were lovely desserts as well.

We had a wonderful experience; the staff were overly friendly and helpful, and the food delicious!

It initially makes a good impression from the outside and inside. But if you write here that the food could be overpriced, then that is very trivialized. The food is just way too expensive and is not of good or normal quality at all. So there were five of us eating and after ordering it only took 4 minutes for the dishes to be on the table. For a starter, one person didn't want a main course, and four main courses and 1 coke, the asking price was a staggering £173 - a farce for the quantity, taste and preparation.

Dropped into this busy pub for a pint and cocktails. All good

My friends and I had a lovely lunch last Saturday. Quality of food and service were very good. I would however like a wider range of meat dishes for the main course. Choice of wines was good albeit expensive.

We had a lovely pre theatre meal here with family. The food was absolutely delicious, service attentive and professional but not overbearing, environment - cozy. We ordered a lot of things to share. There were lots of delicious veggie options which was a pleasant surprise. We had an apple tart Tatin for desert which we thought was plenty to share between 4. Would recommend.

Absolutely unbelievable food, incredible service and beautiful natural wine. Called in for an intimate dinner with a friend and everything was just perfect. Wouldn’t hesitate to return.

Only stopped for drinks, nice cosy atmosphere on a rainy day, food passing by looked delicious.

Decent pub. Popped in for a pre dinner drink. Good atmosphere.

Charming place. Highly recommended 👌

Anchor & Hope is a firm favourite. Never disappoints!

We went for a birthday celebration mid week. It’s a busy place but service was attentive and speedy. Food was tasty and a good selection of beers and wine. Definitely worth a visit

This British-style pub is within walking distance of Waterloo Station or Southwark Underground Station. The overall atmosphere is very "local" or down-to-earth, and it seems to be perfectly integrated into the nearby neighborhood. This quite local bar is very popular among the locals. It starts to gain popularity just after 5pm on weekdays. It is observed that many of them are regular local customers. As expected, the popularity of this local bar is so high. There's a reason for that: delicious food. During this visit, I didn’t have any idea of ​​what the store’s specialty dishes were, so I simply asked the enthusiastic and friendly server to recommend it. The recommended appetizer of potted shrimp, toast, cucumber, etc. together form an interesting and charming flavor. The main dish is It’s amazing. The accompanying side dishes such as tomato fries are just there. The main character’s stew has a surprising and amazing taste when you eat it. The aroma, the taste... It’s really amazing. It’s really a bite. After taking a sip of praise, I think this is probably one of the most delicious stews I have ever eaten in my life. Regardless of other things, I think this stew alone deserves full marks. I really like the friendly yet delicious dishes provided by Anchor and Hope (the name is also interesting) in a friendly atmosphere. I recommend it without reservation. Ps. During this visit, I saw a kind old couple at a nearby table who looked like local residents. It was quite a sight to see them carrying a calm and relaxed demeanor and enjoying the food in front of them!

Had the worst octopus of my life here. Why was it the texture of rubber. Overpriced …

Food overated but tasty. The prices are horrendous . I went there 10 months ago and the lamb for 2 people was £60, now £72. Booked a table for 7:45 and we were it late and two fish in the menu had gone . Wine is almost all on tap. All horrible. How can you eat good food with horrible wine? Won’t go back .

In London you can get away with a lot of things. There are expensive restaurants full of bored people idling away the months and years before they expire who seem happy to hand over money for average food in smart surroundings. The Anchor & Hope could milk such people if it chose to but clearly aspires to do far more than the minimum required to get the well-heeled living dead to wave a card over a machine. We ate on a Tuesday night and the atmosphere was lively and convivial. The food was good. That’s not damning with faint praise. It was good. We each had a brace of Dover soles, lobster beurre blanc and chips. Fish was perfect, chips were great. I had the muscat crème caramel. I’d happily try to recreate that at home, possibly in a bucket. Large puddings always taste better right? But somehow it was the service that stood out. The staff were confident, knowledgeable, affable, available and seemed keen to help when needed and didn’t pester when not. If I need a go-to for dinner around Waterloo this will be it.

We asked the waiter for recommendations and he recommended the Chicken Pie Delicious, tender and very well crafted.

Imaginative menus and the food lives up to high expectations. Definitely a good place to go!

The grouse lasagna had a small bone like a fish bone in each of the 3 bites which I had. It put me off eating any more. I was told grouse had a lot of small bones, something which I have not come across but in any event should be warned to the customer. However, customer enjoyment does not seem to be a focus. I would have preferred the steak pie but by 6 pm I was told that there were no more specials. This is a pity when the standard menu does not change and the choice is very limited. The cheese soufflé at £23 is underwhelming. The food is overpriced especially the vegetarian options. The glasses of wine and small. It was very noisy and I found it difficult to hear what my companion was saying. I will not be returning. I am amazed at the recent reviews.

Very efficient friendly bar staff and reasonable food except I ordered a dish with a lot of sauce and nothing to mop it up so I asked for some bread. It was a long time coming - stale bread toasted on one side served with margarine. And they charged me £5 for it!

Even though we had booked, they had sold out of many dishes on the menu when we arrived. However, in the little that was left we ate an excellent steak pie. High prices for the type of cuisine. Pleasant atmosphere of an old tavern.

I had grouse lasagna absolutely delicious. And the Queen of Puddings was well named too. A royal feast. Plus our server was lovely too.

The food was outstanding but even more the service. Very attentive waiters, checked in with us as our table arrived in stages, took time to explain all dishes and managed to get a little leftover cuttlefish Venetian style when there was not enough left for a full order. My mom used to make it when I was younger and yours went straight to my heart. Thank you. It was a lovely night, I look forward to coming back.

Super friendly, great service, great beers and amazing food.

We enjoyed a fantastic dinner with drinks here last week. It's like a cozy Dinner-Pub with farm to table classic cooking. Flavourful and thoughtfully paired, the menu is just the right size. The service was excellent - down to earth and very welcoming. Reserve a table and ask for one by a window would be my tip!

Had a lovely evening with friends. The menu is full of delightful new things and items to try and for your taste buds to enjoy. Wine served in small carafe as well as by the glass or bottle. I had a wonderful 3 cheese and hazelnut soufflé. We also had some tender stem broccoli, the ingredients having been adapted to accommodate an allergy. Thoroughly recommend.

We came on a whim and are so glad we did. The bread and butter were wonderful. The shared John Dory fish was delicious. Excellent service too. Happy tummies.

The steak pie was excellent. Thank you for a lovely meal. The staff were all friendly, helpful and provided a wonderful experience. Will definitely return and try more dishes.

Really lovely little gem in Waterloo. Great fresh food, lovely cocktails, warm service and cosy ambience with 'good vibes'! I took my friend here for his birthday and we had a fab meal. Fresh Dover Sole and buttered greens! Washed down with the best margaritas!

Stepping into this pub feels like being welcomed into a home where every dish is crafted with love and passion. The homemade food here is simply outstanding, but it’s the lamb shank that truly steals the show. Cooked to perfection, for 7 hours, each tender bite bursts with rich, hearty flavours that linger on the palate, creating a symphony of taste. The combination of succulent meat and expertly balanced seasonings makes this dish a must-try. Beyond the incredible food, the staff’s attentiveness elevates the entire dining experience. They greet you with warm smiles, anticipate your needs, and ensure you feel like the most important guest in the room. Whether you’re here for a casual meal or a special occasion, this pub offers not only fantastic homemade food but also a level of service that makes every visit memorable. An absolute gem that I can't recommend enough!

A true Gem. Nice hearty food, friendly community atmosphere and experienced guenuine service. Would eat here every month if I lived in London. So nice to see that these places still exist.

I love the Anchor and Hope and bring everyone who visits me there. The food is sensational and the service is even better. Just a brilliant all round place.

The worst service I have ever received. Our waiter (Craig) aggressively confronted me - physically blocked my way, got in my face (I am a 5f 5 female) and told me “I couldn’t go to the bar,” - when I went to ask to try the house wine available on tap (after he said he didn’t have time to get it himself). The manager did not take the incident seriously when we reported it and made no apology for his staff. The other staff, however, were very professional and helpful, in particular Daisy who was excellent.

Enjoyed everything about my visit. wonderful service and great cocktail

Been here several times. Dishes are thoughtfully put together with top ingredients and the cooking is always spot on. The wine and cocktail lists are extensive and it is too tempting not to come back to them at each course. Service, like the food is consistently excellent. Highly recommended.

Phenomenal lunch today in what must be the best pub restaurant in London. Equally fantastic service from Chris. All in all, one of the best meals I've had in London in the last 5 years. Highly recommended.