Founders Arms, SE1 9JH

Drinks

Young's Special, Ordinary, seasonal (Winter Warmer / Waggledance)

Food

Food is on offer

Service and Ambience

Pub is quite light, with plate glass windows facing the Thames

Layout

A single floor, parts of this are on raised platforms. The overall shape of the pub is square, at 45° to the river.

There is also a terrace outside on the river bank.

Facilities

Lavatories are on either side of the bar - gents to the left, ladies to the right. The gents bogs are clean and well lit. The whole pub is accessible in a wheelchair. There is no function room, although it may be possible to book a few tables in the bar.

Other Reviews

Personal Reviews

Young’s house, great riverbank location near the Tate Modern, tables outside, mostly very pleasant bar staff. Manager truculent, aggressive, and best avoided.

Don't go here any more if you have children! I have visited this pub occasionally; but for the last four years have also make an annual visit on or around the 6th/7th June. A friend and I have one of these days each as a birthday, and a group of us meet (some with children in tow) for a few drinks, and food later on. This year (2004) my friend arrived first, bought 3 bottles of wine, took a table outside. Myself, my wife and daughter (age 12) arrived, and my friend light-heartedly offered my daughter my wife's glass of wine, and a humourless staff-member pounced. I was on my way to get my daughter a coke at the time. Other friends arrived - total 13 adults, 5 children (4 under 5 yrs but well-behaved, not screeching ones). At some point the manager decided he wasn't going to serve us. He wouldn't explain why, beyond saying we were having a children's birthday party, that a minor was drinking alcohol, and that there was a rule that children were not allowed in the bar unless they were eating. It was mine and my friend's 40th birthday: we were planning to eat; we were on the patio, next to the Thames (not in the bar) - but would he listen? Last year we spent about �20 a head; this year we sat at the table finishing the drinks we already had and talking on afterwards (total time approx. 3 hours, 2 hours unserved, but determined not to have the afternoon fully spoiled). And we will not be going back.

The manager seems to want rapid turnover: fine, but he couldn't think far enough and turned down about �360.00 on one table & some chairs, for about 4 hours a year.

Another personal review

So the previous reviewer was with someone who wanted the publican to break the law. Well gosh, no wonder the staff got a bit upset! The pub stands to lose its licence if patrons do that. The pub *does* tolerate children, provided that their guardians are sensible. This guy had a bad experience here not because of the pub, but because he went drinking with an idiot. As someone who loves this pub, I'm glad he's not going back. Perhaps he should go to The Anchor at Bankside, which the owners have wrecked and I'd love to see closed down just to spite them.

I have been here many times, and have never found any of the staff to be anything other than courteous and *never* aggressive. Service can be a little slow at peak times, but is still acceptable.

This pub is particularly fine in the summer, when there are cooling breezes from the river, and a fine view of the City and of cute tourists going too and from the Tate Modern!

(Latitude: 51.507677 Longitude: -0.100273)
Last edited 2005-12-10 15:02:19 (version 11; diff). List all versions.