Overview

I'm deeply impressed with this pub. It's spacious, fully wheelchair accessible, and the food is delicious. Staff are lovely, and there's a mainly excellent accessible toilet. Strongly recommended!

Transport & Parking

Herne Hill Station is fully step-free. Speak to staff before you travel as they will have to deploy manual boarding ramps. The station is not always fully staffed after 6pm, which is disappointing and strange as it can mean that wheelchair users are not able to use the station after 6pm. Many bus routes serve the area.

Access

The main entrance, at the corner of the pub, is step-free and most wheelchairs and powerchairs will fit through just one of the double doors at that entrance. The whole pub is gigantic and very spacious for manoeuvring.

Toilets

The accessible toilet is very good but there were two serious flaws: 1) The red emergency had been twisted in a complex way round a grabrail. This is silly and dangerous. This red cord must hang freely all the way to the floor all the time, so that it can be reached by anyone who falls over and needs to call for assistance. It is *not* too long, it does not need to be tidied away or tucked away or twisted around any grabrail. It is the length it is for a good reason. See my photos below. 2) There was a huge bin, along with eight or so folded yellow plastic 'wet floor' signs, just to the left of the doorway. These objects make it very difficult to turn a wheelchair in the toilet. The reason accessible toilets are so spacious is precisely because wheelchairs need a lot of room for manoeuvre. As things are currently laid out in this toilet, it is too difficult for a wheelchair user to turn around and park next to the toilet in the wheelchair transfer area. This means that in practice, it is impossible for most wheelchair users to use the toilet at all. The large bin and the wet floor sign need to be moved away, and a smaller bin installed elsewhere in the cubicle (though *not* in the wheelchair transfer area of course).

Staff

All the many staff we encountered were adorably helpful, friendly, courteous and professional. Top marks!

Anything else you wish to tell us?

Both the exterior and the interior of this old Victorian pub are of breathtaking grandeur and splendour. It has been recently restored and looks stunning. The food is really outstanding. My Eton Mess was what my grandmother used to call 'a poem' - her highest praise for any food. If the two problems with the toilet can be resolved, then this will become a perfect five-star review. I hope to visit this wonderful pub many more times in future, for the food, for the friendly atmosphere, and for the glorious décor.

Photos