Disappointed. Having picked up a free London guide from a railway station this morning that included a review of the French House, I thought I'd pop in after work and have a look.

On entering, the place looked as though it might be interesting, but was so cramped and crowded that there was no chance of taking a look around.

As for the 'ladies' behind the bar ... uncharming, unwelcoming and decidedly lacking in customer service skills.

Probably won't visit again.

The bar staff almost immediately took a dislike to us, I suspect because our group did not fit their preferred clientele profile. i.e. pretentious and Caucasian. They were very rude almost from the outset and one female member of staff was particularly set on making us most unwelcome. Although the doorman was stood approximately 2 metres away and paid us no mind, the aforementioned female member of bar staff (who was at least twice the distance away) started shouting at us to "shush" across the noisy bar room in a very aggressive manner. She was particularly picking out my Chinese girlfriend as the source of the entire din in the bar. On two occasions my girlfriend wasn't actually speaking at the time when she was ordered to shush and when she does speak she is softly spoken. A couple who sat near us protested her innocence as they saw she wasn't actually speaking at the time. We were a group of 4 (one Iraqi, one Chinese and 2 English) and we were not making more noise than anyone else and we certainly were not being rowdy, she just didn't like us. People do talk in bars but not this one, not unless you want to be confronted by a growling barmaid and thrown out. A second female member of staff followed us out and started shouting at my girlfriend in an attempt to escalate the situation on the street. The place is staffed by unprofessional, aggressive, vacuous, pretentious, wannabees (with the exception of the doorman who was professional and polite throughout). This is the first bar I have ever been in where the bar staff try to start fights. All style, no substance and certainly not the place to go if talking to friends or having a good time is your thing!

Went to the French House last night with a friend. Absolutely fantastic place - very lively, very friendly, great atmosphere, and loads of interesting drawings/photographs all over the walls. It's a very small place, but somehow this "smallness" actually makes for a better venue!

There was live music in the corner - a couple of guys dressed in 18th century attire, singing "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells" whilst playing a keyboard. Everyone was joining in with the singing. Tremendous fun.

One of the best pubs I've ever been to.