The Pembroke

Squirrelpot

07 Mar 2026

A few access difficulties need to be ironed out

3

3

Date of visit: March 2026

I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: accessing toilets and moving around.

I use or have experience of: disabled toilet

Overall Rating

Average

Enjoyable for a drink or meal on the ground floor, but a couple of access difficulties rather spoilt the experience

Disabled Access In and Around

Poor

There is a significant step at the entrance requiring a ramp. The doorbell for requesting assistance was broken. It took me a long time to make staff aware of my presence at the door, with help from a random stranger and much shouting - very annoying that they can't keep the doorbell in working order. The "ramp" provided is actually just two steep rubber wedges. These are not adequate for safe entry and exit of the bar, and I did not feel safe using them. I felt that I could have tipped over backwards or been thrown out of my powerchair on exiting. These rubber wedges are an accident waiting to happen. They need to be replaced by a proper metal ramp which is fit for purpose and has a safe gradient. The ground floor bar is accessible and mostly easy to navigate in a wheelchair, but there is no step-free access to the upstairs area or the roof garden.

Accessible Toilets

Poor

The toilet cubicle at the front area of the ground floor bar is laid out as a fairly standard accessible toilet. A rubbish bin was in the wheelchair transfer area, blocking it, making the sideways transfer from wheelchair to toilet impossible. Worst of all, the "accessible" toilet was not accessible because there was a big tall table, with stools, blocking the path to it. Whilst the barman promptly moved these obstructions, they should not have been there in the first place.

Facilities: Accessible toilet

Staff

Good

The one barman I dealt with was helpful and friendly. The management, however, have not given accessibility the priority it requires. The doorbell is shabby, broken and obviously not regularly tested. The layout of furniture in front of, and blocking the path to, the "accessible" (!) toilet is absurd and should be redesigned.