The Windsor Castle in City of London, Westminster

Can only bring myself to write about our experience now that I have calmed down and processed what happened... Booked a family meal for 12, we were commemorating the 1st anniversary of my father's death in a nearby church, the Windsor seemed like a nice place to raise a glass to him. Booked a week in advance. Was contacted 4 days before our Sunday 1230 booking to confirm menu choices for the day... all confirmed. Arrived on the day right on time following church service and the bar was completely empty, got our drinks order in and sat down at our reserved table with some nibbles, agreed woth bar staff that our food should follow shortly (10mins). It all went wrong from here... Waiited for food for first plates of food for approx 50mins. A kids portion roast. Nothing came out for a further 25mins. Then 2 plates of roast chicken (cold) and after another 20 mins 2 plates of roast beef. Complaining to the manager after the first hour, apparently it wasn't the usual chef... i would question if there was any chef. Our orders were simply a single roast dinner course per person. Bog standard carvery operation that any pub with a kitchen should be able to churn out, especially when we are pretty much the only customers in the pub. We eventually left nearly 2 hours after arrival and only 5 of the party had been fed. Manager charged for all plates that were served and comp'ed a round of drinks. Only two of us were drinking so wasn't an expensive round. I still ended paying £187.50 for 5 roast dinners and a few drinks and had to stop off for food on the way home. Such a shame as the pub has great potential, but I don't know whether to be angry or sad about the experience. Angry as I feel like I was politely robbed and sad because it was supposed to be a day where we remembered my dear Dad but were instead left in such an awkward situation for me and my guests. Overall though, I think I'm still in shock to be honest that there are places running such a woeful operation and they can get away with it.

The restaurant is very beautiful. We ordered some beers ( I recommend black Guinness with black currant) and the meal, and then the waitress said us that the kitchen was very busy because there was an event with 40 people and it may take 40 min. to prepare our meal. After 1 hour, we asked for the meal and they said it wasn’t ready yet. We ordered just sandwiches. Very disappointing.

Excellent venue, friendly staff, very accommodating. Will be back!

Great vibe, very accommodating service!

Lovely sam smith, beautiful back room with a fire. Beautiful oak panelling, friendly staff and clientele. Upstairs function room which hosts debates. Generally a lovely analog experience.

Sam Smith's pubs can be generally quite dour but that is a little unfair, given some of their locations. This one was vibrant on a Thursday evening and takes card payments. Good to see they keep up the tech ban on phones/tablets, however.

Lovely pub, bad experience. Overall, this pub has lovely decor, a great range on tap and is friendly and warm. Several of the seated areas are very comfy and certain aspects of decor/architecture are wonderful. A true English pub. However, staff and other patrons is what let's this place down. We came in on a very quiet Friday afternoon. There were no more than 3 tables of patrons. The woman manning the bar had a 'it's just a job' attitude. I.e no smile, no engaging conversation. Just a 'what can I get you?' And that's it. Didn't tell us the total of our drinks order, just a card machine trust at us without acknowledgement. Other patrons were on their phones, loudly. When my partner got out her phone to show me a video that was sent to her, the bar woman rudely shouted 'no phones'. My partner embarrassed put it away. We understand the rule, other pubs have it. We didn't see a sign saying no phones. However, this wouldn't have affected our rating, if there wasn't a man on a video call loudly shouting to the person to the other side of the call, and two women showing each other videos at the other table. My partner being singled out, and the hypocrisy is what gave this pub a lower rating. Either one rule for all, or no rules. Sadly left a bad taste and we won't be back. The lovely decor and nice range on tap means it's worth coming back to, when staff are better trained.

Great old fashioned pub in Victoria off the main strip. Buzzy atmosphere nice place for a drink and to chat no loud music

Wouldn't think you are in central London, good atmosphere.

Very bad attention from the waitress, it was as if she felt bad that some Spaniards were going to her "domains", the place is nice, with a lot of noise from the customers, but being a place for natives of the area we were looked at strangely.

Victorian style pub, I pretended to be a fancy 1850s drunk here...

Increíble almuerzo asado y postres, ambiente encantador y servicio. Lo recomendaría 100% a amigos y familiares para visitar

Went on a Friday night as part of a couple. The bar to order drinks was busy. There was one staff member. She said the weekends are usually dead as it’s a pub that services office workers during the week. I loved the location. London has so many amazing places just off the busy streets. The pub is big and very pretty. I wasn’t enamoured with the selection of white wine, but they had a great selection of beers and ciders. Lots of rooms and alcoves of seating. We enjoyed it very much.

Properly traditional pub - awesome interior, as pubs used to be.

Very good, prisca excellent staff member

Fantastic pub in a great part of London

It's a very charming place. The food is excellent.

This place was great. A lovely spot. Great beers from Samuel Smith (an old brewery in Yorkshire). Nice food too! Lovely fires in winter and very obliging service.

For me this is what a pub should be. It's got character from a bygone age and is what I imagine a Victorian pub would be like. Staff are friendly and welcoming and the selection of beers and ales is good. Traditional Sam Smiths finest from a well kept cellar jostle for position with the latest in vogue drinks from the likes of Brewdog. Needless to say the Sam Smiths is superb. Visited at its midday opening and by 1pm the pub was filling with diners including a works Christmas party who gave the whole place a great Festive feel - my day being made when I was lucky enough to get a Christmas hug from a very attractive lady. I throughly recommend The Windsor Castle but don't expect to receive hugs LOL

Possibly the worst bar I’ve been in for service. Extremely rude staff, I was told they were too busy to take an order for drinks (I was with a friend having some beers) with poor work ethics and bad training. We stayed for one and then left. Would not recommend plenty of nicer bars around

By far and away my favourite pub in London. Prisca is an absolute legend and always warm, welcoming and so very kind. Every single visit is an absolute pleasure.

De lejos mi pub favorito en Londres. Prisca es una leyenda absoluta y siempre cálido, acogedor y muy amable. Cada visita es un placer absoluto. Comida siempre excelente, oportuna y con una gran relación calidad-precio.

Quiet lunchtime pint at this lovely Victorian Sam Smith's pub. Good selection on draught (although London prices are always a shock!). Food sounds interesting but I didn't have time to sample unfortunately. Close to Victoria for those looking for a stopover between trains & buses.

Verdaderamente horrible comida congelada aparte del pastel promedio. Toma una copa ya que la comida está muy por debajo de la media. Sin duda no recomendaría en absoluto.

Beautiful pub but couldn't get served. Only one server on duty. Went elsewhere

A special and beautiful place ❤️

Bit dark....but very friendly pub. Decent meal

Fine pub, tucked away behind Westminster Cathedral. John Smith's house. Tadcaster style. All your fave JS beers. Quite big with several rooms and an upstairs dining room. Similar in style to the much better known Princess Louise, with wood, etched glass and a real fire. Recommended.

Today my friends & I went to celebrate his birthday at this pub. Overall, it was an extremely slow service with rude & unfriendly bar staff. The bar would often be left empty leaving us waiting by the side. Almost took 10 minutes for us to get a drink the pub wasn’t busy at all as well. Also the kitchen hours are unclear on website so by the time we arrived to the kitchen (at 8:45pm) the kitchen was closed. This needs to be labelled clearer on the website to prevent future. Will not be visiting this pub again.

Prisca was an amazing host and fantastic fire warden!

I love a good Sam Smiths pub. Super places to explore. Great building. Good beer. Ok staff. Nice fireplace. Bloody noisy when busy - hard to have a conversation. But a hidden gem and a great place to hang out anyway. Would recommend.

I went in and there was an angelic presence also know as Morgan behind the bar. She was great and had a well rounded knowledge of the pub and products. Will be coming back

Fabulous, as a Londoner it's always nice to find a genuine old London pub, no music, no pool table,no slot machines, no kids. Beer is good service excellent, food great. Open fire, warm and comfortable and we could hear each other talk without any loud groups or music. Shall definitely be going back.

Wow! SJ and Tilda were the most amazing team to have serve me today. The drinks were brilliant, and they were the friendliest bar presence. 10/10 would come back!

SJ and Tilda - amazing bar staff. Thanks for looking after us all evening. Super friendly.

Tilda and SJ the best people I have ever met give a kidney to them

Tilda & SJ are legends. Prisca is amazing!!!

Excellence all round. I've been here for drink before but never food. On a Sunday I tried a beetroot wellington, fabulous. Homecooked. Highly recommended, magnificent historic pub and far away from the busier pubs closer to Victoria. Very chilled out.

Excelencia en general. He estado aquí para beber antes pero nunca para comer. Un domingo probé un wellington de remolacha, fabuloso. Cocinado en casa. Muy recomendable, magnífico pub histórico y muy lejos de los pubs más concurridos más cerca de Victoria. Generalmente muy relajado, lástima que la experiencia se vio ligeramente empañada por 4 jóvenes estadounidenses gritando, gritando durante todo el tiempo.

Vine de Surrey para organizar una reunión de grupo de apoyo para personas que comparten el mismo origen que yo. No nos conocíamos antes, pero todos encontramos que el ambiente era propicio para la charla íntima y relajada. La comida era genial. Me gustó la cerveza. El nuevo gerente del bar, Greg, fue muy acogedor y se presentó cuando dije que vengo al pub regularmente. Así que gracias Greg y su equipo y buena suerte

Un pequeño pub muy agradable que sirve un menú completo de comida. Sin embargo, no tiene mucho por cierto de cerveza, ya que es un pub Samuel Smith. Así que hay Old Brewery Bitter y eso es todo. No importa, OBB no es malo. El diseño es victoriano/eduardiano original y es muy similar a la princesa Luisa en Holborn. La comida era buena, el ambiente era bueno.

Good place overall. Delicious food, tasty snd well cooked. Good beer variaty, no IPAs but other options. We were there Saturday noon, almost empty. Good option not far from Buckingham Palace.

Dropped in for a pint on westminster walkabout. Sam Smiths pub so beer is limited to theirs, ok but not Fullers. Grwat building, food menu looked for than ok.

Note, this pub only sells their own brewery's products...no other lagers, beers or ciders...so you better like Sam Smiths beers (I didn't particularly) Having taken the trouble to book a table for four for food and drink, we were given the only table ( a large wobbly one!) in the middle of the entrance to a large hall with seating all round the edges, so it felt like we were sat on the concourse at Kings Cross Station with everyone jostling past us....it was that bad and echoey that we drank up and left as quickly as possible without ordering any food! Probably the worst pub set up I've been too...the staff were nice but whoever thought of just plonking us in the middle of a large hall right in the path of everyone, has no concept of hospitality.

Prisca was amazing! She made it such a lovely experience to drink here. Will be back for sure!

It’s a cosy pub hidden in a nice and quiet neighbourhood. Food (sausages with mash and gravy + korean fried chicken burger) was great and service was good. The only minor thing is that I developed this feeling that service was a little cool. Maybe it was because of our (obvious) tourist appearance or maybe it was because of stress due to the party in the back. In any case, it wasn’t that big of a deal.

After wandering around Westminster Cathedral (not to be confused with its more famous counterpart of Westminster Abbey) we stopped in at the Windsor Castle for some refreshment. It's an atmospheric place and the staff behind the bar was very knowledgeable about the history of the place. The beer was good too. The day we visited, it was not at all busy.

Excellent service 👏 The place is historic and great for meeting with friends and family

A nice friendly pub, good decor.

Went there after a very long day out with family from abroad. We were thirsty and hungry, looked it up on trip advisor which gave a good food rating, but on getting to the pub it was dark and pokey, noisy and the Kitchen was closed. Not good..🤷👎☹️🙄👹

No TVs during a game makes this a chill vibe. Sam Smith beer good too

Quite at lunch time limited staff. No booking need it for the lunch period. But for the evening meal recommended to book before as it get busy towards the evening.

Prisca was very hospitable and vet informative

Fantastic old original type of pub

Really nice pub, good selection of beers and ales! Staff were really nice and friendly

Went on Sunday for a birthday celebration. No atmosphere as it was totally empty of any person. Although the young bar lady was very nice, we were told that there was no roast chicken available! And would have to wait till 5.0 in order to have more of a varied menu. When eventually, after long wait, the ordered food arrived- all different plates of food for six of us was absolutely awful- worst ever meal agreed by all of us. Mine was cold with soggy chips and more batter than any visible fish! and the beef roast looked and tasted like the leather sole of an old boot! Hamburger- dreadful! All in all would NOT recommend, except the interior and exterior was good original Victorian decor.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Windsor Castle pub and was fortunate enough to be served by Prisca. Her warmth and professionalism made the entire experience memorable. Prisca's friendly demeanor, attentive service, and genuine care for her costumers truly set her apart although, she thinks we are lightweights. She went above and beyond to ensure we had everything we needed, offering excellent recommendations and maintaining a delightful atmosphere throughout our visit. The Windsor Castle is lucky to have such a dedicated and charming individual on their team. Highly recommended!

We just wanted to thank Prisca for such a friendly welcome. She's a real asset to this pub. We'll be back!

Nice quiet pub with friendly staff and great service

It's usually a great place to visit, but we went in on Friday after work and were confronted with a single member of staff who was clearly overwhelmed and sticky tables. We wanted to be served for over 20 mins then went somewhere else.

Went here for dinner with my daughter, and it was awful. It wasn't cheap, and the food was awful, no flavour what so ever, no wonder tourists take the mickey out of us for our terrible food!

Knew it under it's previous name but never been before. It's a bit like a rabbit warren inside which is rather quirky!

Very good friendly bartender Presca! She recommended some good drinks, I highly recommend the organic brew. We had the chicken burger and the fish & chips was really good

Just a quick pint on the way to Twickenham, cracking welcome, lovely stout! Thank you presca!

Stopped of at this pub for a cheeky little drink and absolutely loved the warm welcome by Prista. It was great fun

Prista was a fabulous host. She looked after us wonderfully and was jovial all the time. Highly recommend to anyone popping past to have a pit stop and have a pint!!

Prisca was amazing bartender friendly and informative

I went for brunch I had a chicken roast it was delicious! Staff are lovely special mention to Laura and Prisca omg I am definitely coming back for the the both of them

Small, olde English period cuisine. Food tasty but serving small. One guy doing a great job table waiting, serving drinks, collecting glasses, etc. Everything. Going like clockwork, though. I assume there was someone else cooking. Well patronised.

Amazing service from Prisca, Jake and Tilda! Will be coming back soon

Prices and Laura were amazing so helpful and kind!

Priska and Lora the manager thank you so much for today we had such a great time in windsor castle

Absolutely delicious food, authentic ambience, everything you want on vacation to England.

Omg we love Prisca she is so amazing,Jake and the manager she is so amazingly great everything n everyone was so great!!!

Prisca was superb, excellent service, bar advice and vibes. Fire was well stocked and excellent communication skills, problem solving and curls

Prisca made this night the best I've had in Londinum. Once the the best bartenders I've met by a long shot! Get your self here and enjoy the drinks and fantastic staff!

Our first time in this pub, we met a lady called Prisca she was amazing and we'll definitely come back for the service she's such an amazing person best service ever :3

Booked the "Captain Kidd dining room". Showed up and were curtly told the kitchen is closed and we have no reservation, we can have drinks. I got 2 emails after asking for a review so here it is: no food, no service, no good.

Beautiful building, nice n peaceful, away from the noise of Victoria

All the glasses were dirty with dregs coffee and when I pointed out to the barista she confirmed: ' parts of the coffee machine has been washed in the same dishwasher'.

Nice pub, didn't eat but the organic beer is decent, staff friendly, atmosphere good. Nice mix of small snugs and a large room and an I between section... and a fire. Lovely.

Very crowded at first and very noisy even when people had left. Not sure whether it was the acoustics or just clientele who like shouting. Beer is expensive

The atmosphere is very loud, with few customers in sight, and unfortunately, their service leans more towards a self-service approach.

Lovely traditional pub, lots of space, roaring fireplaces

A cracking pub, with fantastic staff and beautiful decor. One of the best in the area

I very much liked the ambience, decor and food at this pub. It is well located and the staff are friendly and efficient too. If you can grab one of the sofas do for the most comfortable experience as you could end up spending a long time at this haunt. The only flaw I would say is that the menu was limited when it came to healthy options

Nice setting, not bad beers, but you shouldn't eat there

Beautiful pub. A little gem. Very nice guy behind the bar.

Sam Smith beer in an authentic setting, can't ask for more.

Pints were priced well, good variety on tap or bottled, but the Sunday roast was possibly the saddest meal I had during my time in London. Not joking when I said that the meat was flavourless. Yorkie the main redeeming factor. Would come here again, just not for the food.

Very enjoyable evening here. Lovely old school pub. Great atmosphere and surroundings.

Another great Sam Smith's pub. Quaint, original with a lovely fire in the hearth. Fantastic to warm up with. Staff helpful and cheerful. I'd recommend Sam Smith's pubs for those who use hearing aids and can't stand being in noisy places because the hearing aids overdo it. (My Dad has this issue). If you're a bit of a Harry Potter fan the some of these pubs are the closest you'd ever get to the Leaky Cauldron IRL. Just don't expect a butter beer! A Tech free detox as well. This pub is tucked away but only about 10-15min walk from Victoria. I'd recommend their Sunday roast. Fantastic Yorkshire pud and beef and not that expensive for London at all! The acces is pretty level, but the toilets are downstairs. I didn't see if they had a disabled loo at ground level unfortunately.

Fantastic old fashioned pub in Victoria! I must admit I never really went to Victoria much but since visiting this for the first time in September, I must admit I have become a regular! Great team and decent beer! Definitely worth a visit!

We booked the upstairs function room for a family dinner. The lovely young manager, Laura, led us all to the room and attended to us along with other friendly, cheerful and helpful staff all evening. The food served was very good, and we all enjoyed a variety of the Samuel Smith brewed alcoholic beverages. (I, myself, really liked the Pure Brewed Organic Lager and the Raspberry Fruit Beer). The interior decor of the pub was really nice and traditional, and the downstairs area had some partly-partitioned-off sections, which, (we were reliably informed), were originally designed so that 'important' people could have confidential meetings without being overheard or secret trysts without being spied upon! Nowadays they're probably just nice and cosy seating areas for groups of friends. We'll definitely be back again.

Decent place for a beer. Traditional pub with good beer

Amazing and beautiful Victorian pub hidden behind a cathedral. Great and friendly staff. Beer selection good and food also very good for a reasonable price.

The beer was OK, its a Sam Smith pub so that's what you get. Prices are OK, decor is brilliant. Food on the other hand was awful, slow, poor quality and not tasty and made you feel sick afterwards. Definitely a place for a drink not for food.

Opción para tomar algo típico e Londres

A pub that is a pub. Is it my type of pub, not really, but it did it say what is says on the tin, yes

It's a decent pub. The venue is quite pretty. Service-wise, I found it average. Price-wise, the drinks were definitely on the expensive side. Also, it lacked sufficient seating around the bar. The spacing on either side of the bar is quite odd, so there aren't a lot of tables and seats.