Porterhouse is a lovely venue with a great selection of beers from around the World.

I had a deliciously HUGE steak which was absolutely delightful.

Only complaint I have was that the service was not great, they need to hire more staff and teach them how to work the bar more efficiently. The other gripe I had about the place was the stupid seating arrangements upstairs. Completely impractical and rather cramped

Other than that, I really enjoyed the vibe of the place, lively and friendly. If you are into good looking down-to-Earth blokes then this is the place to find them. I met some lovely chaps there. Also guys, gorgeous unpretentious women too. Let’s keep it that way.

You first come upon a garden patio (smokers paradise) preceding the fancy pants double-door entrance. The doors lead straight through to a dramatically vast interior and the immense wooden bar. It’s like stepping inside a massive old wooden ship that a group of flamboyant, beer-loving pirates invaded and decorated. To the left is the basement level where TVs and entertainment are the focus. To the bar’s left, a wide stairway leads to a quite foyer nook halfway up the stairs. The top level provides you a more spacious seating area. Extensive (and expensive) wood and brass-trimmed brewery-related piping and plating run throughout the pub. Even the hanging light fixtures are brass-trimmed. A very cool brass clock hangs over the upstairs balcony and can be viewed from any place in the top 2 floors. The wall nooks and windows are lined with Porterhouse beer bottles and knick knacks. It seems a bit cluttered. I’m trying to spy the taps but all the little doodads catch my eyes, forcing me again to concentrate on the task at hand…deciding on which beer to try next.Hang out near the bar on simple wooden stools, or relax upon cushioned leather armchairs and/or coach-style benches, or just stand around gawking, beer in hand. Choice is yours. Enjoy your surroundings before the after work crowd arrives…unless you prefer mob scenes. In that case, arrive at 7pm (1900) on a Friday night. Most Porterhouse beers are served on tap. There are always a couple of “Real” ales and bottled beers from around the world to try along with a solid selection of wines and mixed drinks for the people not very interested this review. The food menu is fairly extensive. A mix of pizza, burgers, fish & chips, standard Irish and pub food is available. The downside? My wife felt a little uncomfortable going to the lady’s room because a group of guys were hanging out by the door. That set up should be corrected. I’d place The Porterhouse on your ‘Should’ visit London Pub list. Cheers!

Me and my boyfriend visited the Porterhouse for the first time a few days ago. The night didn't begin on a good note and only got worse. Just as we were entering the Porterhouse, the bouncer stuck his arm out straight across me, pointing and said extremely rudely 'how old are you' and proceeded to demand to see my identification, which I have no problems with showing, given they ask me in a polite manner. Once we had finally got in, I was pleasantly surprised by how beautiful the place was. It looked amazing and I loved how they still kept the authentic feel throughout. I also couldn't believe how big it was and would have happily explored the place and getting lost in the process for hours! It was a Friday evening and was therefore becoming quite busy quickly. We went down to the bottom floor as this was quieter. My boyfriend asked for two ales from the menu, the barman who served us was actually one of the rudest people I have ever had the misfortune of meeting. He was constantly looking down his nose at us, and patronizingly told us that we could not pay on card unless it was a bill of over £5, we did not have any cash on us so decided to order some garlic bread in order to be able to pay with our card. Like I said, it was extremely busy and at the time we didn't have a table. Because we didn't have a table but wanted to order food, the barman made us feel like we were committing a serious crime! He rudely told us to move over to the end of the bar and stand in the corner if we wanted to eat. I couldn't believe he had the nerve to talk to people like this, but we let it go because it was busy and I thought he may just be stressed. However, upon ordering a second round of drinks (by this time we had got a table) the beers my boyfriend and his fried asked for, the same barman told us there was nothing left on draught and only had 4 out of the 8 choices of beer in the fridge. Baring in mind, it was only 8:30pm and they had already run out of the draught ales I thoug

Waited 20 mins to get served. Asked rowan the server why he was serving everyone else before me and my friend. He abruptly replied , he is moving down the bar? The guy he tried to serve before me advised him we had been waiting and to serve me first. He replied he didnt care? Absolutely flabbergasted! Was enough to make me never ever spend money in Porterhouse again. If the owners/management read this. They need to sack that guy.

First time at this bar as don't normally frequent the Covent Garden area. Was pleasantly surprised by the layout and character of the bar, thought it was very tastefully done. Liked the selection of unknown beers, all tasted good and were interesting. Staff were OK, not overly nice but did nothing bad. The missus had cocktails but they were extremely sweet, so weren't overly impressed with them. Overall a good experience and would go back .

First time at this bar as don't normally frequent the Covent Garden area. Was pleasantly surprised by the layout and character of the bar, thought it was very tastefully done. Liked the selection of unknown beers, all tasted good and were interesting. Staff were OK, not overly nice but did nothing bad. The missus had cocktails but they were extremely sweet, so weren't overly impressed with them. Overall a good experience and would go back .

I have been to the Porterhouse many times and enjoyed myself inspite of considerable crowds and expensive drinks. My most recent visit however was somewhat disturbing. I was with two friends (I recommended we pop in for a drink there) and we ordered three beers, 2 of one kind and 1 of another. It was the middle of the day and very few people we in the bar. When we were served we got three of the same kind of beer, not a major issue, I said to the barmaid (who I suspect may have even been a manager or supervisor) that we actually wanted 1 different "would it be possible to change one" to which she loudly huffed and said "would have been nice to have been told that at the start!" she snatches the beer away and dumps another in front of us quite heavy handedly spilling a large portion. Incredible! We left soon after. With all this said I will likely return as the incompetence of one individual sound not completely taint an entire venue.

I love Porterhouse! I come to Porterhouse quite a lot, mostly in the evenings. It does get very busy but there is always such a buzz about the place, with the bar staff rushed off their feet, serving several customers all at once. Their draught beer is fantastic, in particular the Plain and Oyster Stouts, which I believe have won several brewing awards. The selection of bottled beers is also great, in particular the range from Belgium and Germany. The last time I was at Porterhouse was during the Six Nations match between Italy and Ireland. There was a queue outside, I was lucky enough to get in and the atmosphere was fantastic in the basement bar, where there are several plasma tvs and a big screen. Me and my friends all had food that day, decent burgers and pizzas which helped soak up the beer! All in all a great place!

Not quite sure what the attraction of this place is, it was overcrowded, overpriced and understaffed. It is a vast space, with lots of bars, not all of which were open and those that were had about half the staff they needed. As an observation, more staff would mean selling more drinks which would mean more profit - I am no Alan Sugar but seriously 4 deep at the bar and 15 minutes to get served is not the way to get repeat customers. Finally, I also found it too hot and too loud throughout, although both improved the higher up we went. On the plus side, a good range of uncommon beers were available, hence the one star, otherwise a big fat zero from me.

Another great night spent in the Porterhouse. I now bring all my friends to the Porterhouse which is one of the cheapest pubs in Covent Garden. We also watched all the 6 Nation's rugby games
and just loved the athmosphere. Service was great, totally recommend this pub. Robbie

Porterhouse was always a nice place to go for a drink, food etc., and we have always chosen Porterhouse compare to other places in Covent Garden, until recently, when we have experienced an unusual customer service.

First of full the barmen has been absolutely rude and for some reason not a very happy person, who has served my boyfriend by letting him know that he's just hates the job and don't want to be there at all, which obviously not really our problem, but then when my boyfriend replied as why he is being so rude, instead the barmen has just called security and with no reason we have been asked to leave.

It was very unexpected as taking into account that I do not drink alcohol at all and quietly having a conversation by the table with my friends I had to be embarrassed by Porterhouse staff making me and my friends leaving the pub...Well at least I have noticed that other people who were sitting next to our table weren't happy by the behavior of staff and had to leave too, so next time if anyone fancies to go to Porterhouse be prepared of bad customer service and disrespect to customers!!!!

The Porterhouse is a good place to go if you dont mind resembling a sardine - that is on a friday night. The beers are crazy but it is a good place you can get lost in and explore its seemingly neverending rooms.

if you go give chiller a try

A nice pub in a very central area. I've been here a few times, and at it's worst, it was so very busy it was very hard to get served. At its best, it was a fun pub with good beers (frulli was available on tap, which is a particular favourite!) but not the cheapest around. Pretty good overall.

Second time I've been here. Went here for my flatmates 27th birthday on a Thursday. It was raining and I didn't expect much but it was actually really good. There were about 30 of us and surprisingly the pub was already pretty busy with a young crowd of young professionals. Very different looking bar with lots of brass pipes if my hazy beer memory serves. Do it!

In fact, all in a pretty good night and almost incident free. Hey Franklin....

We have just spent the entire Rugby World Cup in the Porterhouse and have had a great time. Good service,beer and a great atmosphere during all the games plus live music in the evenings. This in now our regular stop in the west end. Cannot fault this pub in any way. Great for Rugby, looking forward to the 6nations and St. Patricks Day. Keep up the good work.

The Porterhouse is was one of my favorite memories when I visited London for the first time in 2005. We had a great time tasting as many pints as possible. We even tried drinking one pint or bottle from every country.


We had a blast, the band was great, the people were not friendly to Americans until we started a conversation with them and then a great time was had by all. I will be back at The Porterhouse.

The Porterhouse is a typical, unfriendly pub and the loud music kills the conversation. The band that were playing at the Porterhouse last time I was there killed the songs they were trying to play. Beer's OK if you dont like proper ale.

I went to The Porterhouse one lunchtime to check it out. It was quiet but I had lunch there, and that was well nice and pretty cheap.

There are hundreds of different lagers, bitters and stouts to try and the staff were very helpful, so we decided to go there on a Saturday night for a warm up. There were a lot of people there and even a live band.

After seeing The Porterhouse twice I will go back many more times without a doubt.

The Porterhouse is a great place after work.

I can't believe people have said bad things about The Porterhouse. Whenever I go at the weekend there's an Irish band playing lifting traditional music, the staff are friendly as are the customers. The decor is wonderfully unusual and their range of beer is fantastic. The Porterhouse is a wonderful pub.

I don't know what the other reviewers are on about! The beer here is fantastic. The Porterhouse is a great pub. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I actually cannot believe that you gave this bar 5 out of 5...When did you go there, a Monday lunchtime? The bar is full of loud obnoxious 21 year olds who couldn't get into the Walkabout across the road. The service is ok. But the clientele verge on horrendous.

Any real ale buffs drawn to the Porterhouse by glowing testaments should beware.
They may brew their own stuff, but it tastes like any old standard creamflow to me.
Myself and my 3 companions tried one each, and we sampled each other's, and they all just tasted like Guinness.
Don't get me wrong, if ale isn't your thing, then this is probably a great place. If you're after proper cask beer however - avoid.