The Understudy in Lambeth - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Great food options and delicious beer!

Let me book a table, didn’t tell me the main bar was closed at the time. Pathetic, treat customers better.

Ate before The Real Thing. I like the choice of food at the Understudy- the concept of 3 outlets in one. I had the East Asian noodles which I enjoyed. But the noise is bad; difficult to hear one another; uncomfortable tables and chairs.

Good relaxing place on the afternoon.

Really good burger and chips, so tasty. Good service

Only popped in for a quick drink while waiting for the train but the bar maid host made it a really nice drink. She greeted us nicely which isn't common in a lot of bars and was offering suggestions ect. Wasted in a bar like that hidden away

Atmosphere is nice but food mediocre

Mediocre burger that took ages and ages to be served. I wish I had the ramen, that looked nice.

No better place to venture after work than the understudy

During the summer months it's open until 1.00am on Friday and Saturday. The staff are relaxed and it's a nice crowd who can sit outside as well as inside. Only downside is unisex toilets which I dislike.

Nice outdoor space. Good music and reasonable drink selection. Didn't try the food

Easy chill vibe place to grab a drink. They normally have music . Great in Summer

Love this tiny food market. 3 different food stalls plus a bar (or food trucks outside) order from your phone and collect when ready. Great food, reasonably priced and quick service. A gem

Dropped in for some drinks. Very good spot in good weather. Does get busy.

Worst meal I've ever had in London. Not recommended in terms of taste. 2 people eat 20 minutes apart from each other... Service?

Really nice venue until 7pm when they increase the volume of speakers to aggressively loud, seriously unpleasant having to shout having a conversation. (Sitting outside)

Great place with some beautiful views

Prosecco was flat but told them and they replaced with a new one from new bottle 10/10

I recently enjoyed a pint of KERB Lager at The Understudy in Southbank, London, situated right under the National Theatre block. As a white beer lover, I was thoroughly impressed with this lager. The beer had a crisp and refreshing profile, with a smooth, slightly hoppy finish that was perfect for a warm afternoon. The subtle citrus notes added a pleasant zest, making each sip more enjoyable than the last. The ambiance at The Understudy was relaxed and inviting, providing the ideal backdrop for savoring this delicious brew. Highly recommend for beer enthusiasts visiting Southbank!

Different as I was unaware it was there. Only had a drink.

Good place to drink beers and watch the sun go down (when it's sunny lol)

I recommend the fries and brisket

Love this place. Get selection on tap, great atmosphere, right by the Thames. Staff also lovely. We came for drinks but decided to get some food too, also great!

Was here for a friend's birthday drinks, the beer was nice and the staff friendly, however they had moved the table reservation and not updated the system so spent a while looking for it (the staff and us). The food was so disappointing, £11 for the tiniest bowl of uninspiring noodles!

Something of a tourist trap but a really nice bar with good food and plenty of room. Location is excellent if in the Waterloo area - Guinness good but usual Southbank pricing. We will visit again.

I am giving 5 starts for the security on the 11th July 2024. He was amazing. His personality is so comforting. His presence attended such security to the venue in Waterloo.

Great starting place for the 007 shadow of the spectre game. We sat and had a drink before we set off travelling around London following clues.

Enjoyed a handful of beers in this pub in a great location along the south bank. Really good beers on tap too. Only ate some crisps so unable to comment on the food. Maybe next time.

Only had drinks, but we love the location

Nice location to enjoy an evening beer by the Thames in the sunshine. There's a nice sized outdoors seating area. Good drinks and friendly staff.

Nice place to sit outside, catch some rays and enjoy a beer. Food is a little basic and you need to order and pick up from inside.

Good location in concrete settings - popular with summer outdoor sitting although drawback on toilets queuing!!

I am not sure why they have good reviews but don’t even believe the reviews. If you want to taste good food please got to WAHACA near by. Food here was not good at all so unless you love tasteless food. Cost versus quality and quantity. Very small portion but it doesn’t matter since taste is not justified. Don’t recommend any beers either. Anyway so if you are foody then don’t even come here. We are here in London on food tour so I can assume you that I am very crazy about food and service. Atmosphere is good but food is not. I like Guinness but even I see it was flat and bartender told me Guinness supposed be o be taste like that 😀. I told him that’s what I drink often so I know my beers. Good luck to whoever wants to try but don’t spend too much and regret later about taste. Try small things and may be a beer before ordering for group. I don’t recommend this place if you are foody.

Great place to visit on the river, great vibe, great music, drinks were good value for money.

Very good location and energizing place

Great place along the river to sit and have a drink. The bar snacks are varied and good.

Sunny South Bank Friday feeling Why not spend £10 on a plastic cup of rose!!

Nice cozy place for gathering with few freinds to few crowd. Brilliant view of Thames and Central London Iconic landmarks. Freindly helpful staff. Ample room with many tables and benches for gatherings. So many entertaining around the place.

Great experience in the sun by the river with friends and colleagues

Really vibrant, though the music is too loud.

What a wonderful place 😍 riverside vibes and great beer. The food is fantastic and even when we had a food delivery issue due to a technical issue Nessie and her team were amazing and we appreciated the support and 💯 will be back here! 😍

Nessie and her crew provided the best customer service after a food order mess up! Great venue and wonderful service, will come back again!

Very bad organized game... Not gonna visit again...

This bar is part of a larger network of restaurants and cafes and if you walk a bit further inside you’re met with the best museum gift shop. The atmosphere was cozy and quiet when I was there mid afternoon on a week day.

The location was lovely and the vegetarian burger was great. I liked the sofas for seating but some people had high tables that did not look too comfortable. The food was nice as well.

Lovely place in central London on South bank with some interesting interior and craft beers 🍻

Good place to have a long stay with cold one and some appetiser

Great spot if the weather is nice enough to sit outside.

Overpriced bad food and drinks. Ordered Udon and received undercooked noodles narrower than spaghetti. Tiny bowl of gyoza all stuck together for £7.50. Nice staff it should be noted. Limited spots with nice views of the river which we were fortunate to get but in general the inside is ugly. Good toilets relatively speaking.

Food is very basic but the atmosphere is great with fantastic views to the river

Good options for drinks, clean bathrooms, good seating though it gets busy

Great place ! Can get very busy as it's right on the river but this is what also makes the atmosphere even better.

One of my favourite places to stop for a drink on a sunny day. Plenty of outdoor seating to sit by the river and watch the world go by. Really good beers on tap and a great location.

This was the starting point of an organised hunt through the city. The staff were very involved and we enjoyed our visit.

An amazing eve by Thames.Cannot gorget our girls day out.

Absolutely love the vibe of this place!

Brill place for embracing spring evening

The food is very good. Everything is very expensive but I guess that’s London. Very busy at peak times too. On a sunny day there can’t be many better places to stand outside with a pint.

The sun had warmed London for days, heat pounding down, absorbed by concrete and community, driving those thirsty for friends and refreshment to the drinking holes. Thursday is the new Friday, they said. Let’s grab another. Shall we get some food? Eatings cheating. £7.50 a pint? That’s not bad for London to be fair. The sun is setting but the warmth of humanity remains.

The so-called pizza was mainly tasteless hot dough. The vegan burger was alright. Counter staff were pleasant but the area was grubby and those present were assaulted by most unpleasant, unmusical noises from the sound system Overall, a slightly generous Poor

Lovely bit of business this. Banging in the sunshine I imagine.

We have eaten here previously and found the food excellent, so as we were seeing another performance at the NT we came again. Unfortunately I was served a disgusting reheated cheeseburger within a couple of minutes of ordering and more than ten minutes before my husband’s pizza. The manager agreed to replace immediately, but it was still greasy and not pleasant. I ate because we hadn’t eaten all day, but sadly I’ve had better at a football match.

Great place for an after work drinks with friends. Nice atmosphere. Decent food.

Although the wings could do with a bit of work, I had the lovely pleasure of being served by some amazing staff such as Zain Alice and veera. They made the entire place feel so welcoming despite how late it was.

This place used to sell one of the best fried chicken sandwiches in London but for whatever reason they’ve changed their offering to some really lacklustre burgers. I got the chips with beef brisket and was so disappointed. The brisket was cold, soggy and tasteless. Very disappointed and probably not gonna come back RIP

I went in late night, Alice, Zain and Veera were amazing. They were so helpful, they are so kind and give amazing service!!!

I'm not sure because it was a Sunday evening, but being almost hassled by security to drink up at 9.30pm and thrusting plastic glasses at us just felt unpleasant. Great location and drinks were good. I just felt rushed and could not wait to get rid of us.

Noisy and buzzy. Bookable tables. Good place to meet friends, but not a relaxing venue. Enlivened by Michael Sheen dropping in after his show.

We went here as a large group after my niece had run the Marathon… bar service was fantastic , food was ordered via a QR code, good choice of burgers, pizzas and sides … good value for the location too … great for a group

Had a lovely evening of drinks with friends on a quiet night. Not too loud, big table. Great service.

Booked table for convenience for pre show food and drinks. Ordered 1 pizza and 1 chicken burger on the app at 6.30. Pizza took 15 mins but chicken burger took 45 mins, so had to stuff it down before getting upstairs for the show. Staff didn't care. Pizza was basically a thick focaccia with a light pizza topping and burnt at the edges.

Great restaurant, excellent food and really helpful staff

Brilliant pub! Always a great atmosphere. Occasionally spot a famous face. And they regularly have Small Beer on tap which is a rare find. Food provided by Kerb and is very good!

Blah blah... Nice place to have a drink with a view of the Thames, but the people are not very friendly...

Nice but busy. If you can get a table it’s great.

Great pub in an amazing location

Great to go for a drink and perhaps something to eat after the theatre.

Bar staff can't pull a pint, so only go here if you like flat beer.

Now Strada. One page menu with a good range of choices. Quick service. Ideal for pre theatre dinner.

Decent food overall with an OK price, although you’ll definitely do much better going to the market outside. The service was fine overall- there just isn’t much of it: you order at the bar and collect the food yourself. What absolutely killed it, in my opinion, was the utterly abominable atmosphere. Disgusting music was blasting to the point that it was impossible to have any shred of conversation, and the tables were weird and uncomfortable. Quite a poor experience overall.

Very bad, terrible service, prejudiced

Not great food... to put it mildly. Book if you want to sit down before a performance as it is rammed then. Expensive considering the quality of the food. Better to eat and drink elsewhere. Not kid friendly.

Love this place. A nice stop during a walk along the Thames. I love the outdoor seating, especially in summer.

I was sitting with drinks at a free table for more than an hour and the bartender came up to me and said your table has just been booked and a minute later a woman came up and demanded that I leave because she had reserved this table. There was no signs of a reservation on the table (like on the other tables) and he only brought the reservation sign when he approached me. Of course, the pub was full at that time and I didn’t even have a place to sit after that.

First visit to the National and loved the whole experience. The building has lots of nooks & crannies & it was easy to find somewhere to sit before the play started. Staff were very helpful & loved the book/gift shop on site. The production of Till the stars come down was fantastic & I loved that it was so affordable and accessible, especially for younger theatre goers.

Good meeting up place at Southbank.

Good atmosphere, good view of river and helpful bar staff, but food (and paper plates) somewhat underwhelming.

OK for a snack and a drink or 2

I went again yesterday and I had something different. It was much Better than the Burger I had previously I have to say.

I've been before for pretheatre food and drinks but visited today for quick lunch as was half term. Choice of 3 different food menus to choose from suited us - 2 of us went for burger and fries and me the flatbread and falafel. My husband said was one of best burgers he'd had in a long time. The chips were very good, huge portions too. I really enjoyed my falafel flatbread - came topped with loads of fresh herbs and was very tasty. It wasn't too busy which was perfect for us and had a chilled vibe. The girl serving couldn't have been friendlier and was super helpful. Some of the reviews saying poor service does not reflect our visit at all. Will definitely be back

Staff are friendly, atmosphere is great, let down by yapping dogs. Why?

Very nice (didn’t eat) but good looked good. Nice place for a Friday night bevvy or snack. Great views and river walk.

Laid back, urban vibe. Good food and atmosphere. Loaded fries were great.

Stopped for a quick drink, great atmosphere. Bumped into the ladies from the Small Beer Brew Co outside and got to sample the beers. Great place good beer and wine.

Simply Awful . I can accept the order by phone at table system. It helps if you have some tips at the table to help guide you on how to order. If you order from different menus then don’t expect the food to arrive at the Same time. The pizza was simply awful. I don’t even understand how you stuff up a margarita pizza. The version they serve is on a think bread base and is tasteless.

Was here just after opening, a nice space with a good selection of food and drinks. Friendly staff. Expect to pay average for on the Southbank.

Good value food. Always lively and generally speedy service.Love the toasties and the thali.

At the side of the National Theatre complex, this moderate sized, industrial style bar was a nice find on a cold night. The service was fine but not overwhelming, and the prices were as you’d expect for the location, but the atmosphere was lovely. There seemed to be a good mix of nice people having a pleasant time, and there were some lovely dogs! The only real drawback were the unisex toilets - there are other ways to make spaces safe and inclusive for everyone, although the lady cleaning the toilets was doing a good job.

Inbghe national theatre complex. Goodrange of trendy beer but very expensive.

Nice place, good vibe. Staff aren't great. Made us wait over 25 minutes while they hooked up a keg to a tap that was empty, said they would bring it over, didn't, had to go and ask and they said they had run out and were hooking up a different beer - why didn't they immediately come and tell us? Then charged full price for another beer we had to collect and wait for due to queue. Just a bad experience of bad customer service.