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Bridge Lounge and Dining Room, Tower Bridge

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user reviews of the Bridge Lounge and Dining Room, Tower Bridge

please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.

A group of us from work came here for our Christmas dinner. It was one of the worst Christmas dinners we'd ever experienced.

It is cold December 2012 and we're sat in a large dining room on the 1st floor with inadequate heating. The plates arrived and they're frozen. We mention this to the manager and he says for health and safety reasons, they cannot warm the plates!

The main meal arrives and the roast potatoes look great from the outside but are as solid as rock on the inside and greasy. The rest of the meal arrives, the veg (carrots and parsnips) are burnt, extremely greasy and luke warm! We tell the manager about the potatoes and he takes them away, leaving the rest of the meal to sit on the table for at least 20 mins.

When the potatoes come back, the rest of the meal is cold. To prepare the potatoes, The Bridge Lounge & Bar had simply put them in a deep fat fryer after only partially roasting them in the oven previously. I don't know if anyone has ever experienced this but it was horrific!!! At this point, I made an official complaint on behalf of the group about the poor quality of the meal and the catalogue of errors that were making matters worse.

I was fobbed off and told that I could only make my complaint to the owner. The manager seemed rather young to be in a position of such responsibility. He was also quite rude and left me feeling concerned about the food we'd received. I also felt like giving him to tissue to blow his nose because as he was speaking to us it was continually running!

I decided that I would take this up with the owner as he is ultimately responsible. Whenever I tried to call the owner, he was never available. On one occasion, I called and stood outside the bar and was told that the manager wasn't there even though I could see him behind the bar, standing next to the person who I was speaking to.

I never did speak to the manager, or get my refund but thought I'd leave this review instead. I think you should seriously consider going here because The Bridge Lounge & Bar does not care about your custom, or about the poor quality of the food they throw at you, JUST YOUR CASH !!!

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sw11x2 - 28 Feb 2013 23:37

We had our wedding party here and we couldn't have been happier. The upstairs room is big and welcoming - with a view of Tower Bridge thrown in. The staff were friendly and attentive and many of our guests said how much they liked the venue. Food and drink supplied were of excellent quality and reasonably priced. A number of our guests were from Germany where they know their beer and they were more than happy with the beer on offer.

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DrYatt - 26 Feb 2013 10:43

I have spent several evenings over the past three months in this pub planning my wedding, which took place on Saturday in The Bridge Lounge. So I can speak with experience of their excellent food. Their sausages are to die for. As for the wedding reception, I could not be more pleased with the friendiness, efficiency and service of the team who work here.

Our 70 guests were delighted with the food (and the chef made a special dish for our coeliac guest). Their wide range of beers, wines and spirits ensured everyone had their tipple of choice.
It's a great pub for function, party or just having a quiet pint in.

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Brenmar - 19 Nov 2012 14:33

went here a year or so ago and was impressed with the sausage and mash offer and the friwndly staff, how things can change in a year. On visiting the pub tonight and sitting down at an apparently empty table i was told by the bar man you cant sit there soneone is sitting there who is about to wat. i replied saying i also would like to eat with my friens. I was then promptly told the kitchen was closed! Talk about rubbish service.

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AlieStreetcrusader - 1 Oct 2012 21:36

had a big food evening in here with some mates - great sausage range. Could have done with a little more mash per portion but was OK. Range of ale was boggo, IPA and something else which I ordered but a pint of San Miguel arrived instead...the website is nicer than the pub, but for some afterwork beers and feeding, very good.

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mally_drinker - 19 Sep 2011 14:38

My partner and I took advantage last night of the �5 'bangers and mash' deal. Before that, we had a few drinks. Good selection of ales and they have cider on draught. Drinks were reasonably priced. I found the staff extremely friendly and attentive. After ordering, we were served our food within 15 minutes - very impressive. The quality was fantastic too. Would not hesitate in recommending this pub to anyone.

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djfunnyboi79 - 10 May 2011 07:03

Nice location. I went here in the day time and the upstairs was empty. I planned to have a drink and get down to some work but was made to feel very unwelcome for having a power nap. Won't have my business again.

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londonmedic - 11 Nov 2010 15:19

Have been to the Bridge Lounge a few times and have always been impressed with the service. The staff are all really friendly and the drinks reasonable for the area. The bar itself could do with a bit more atmosphere.

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sarahT - 28 Oct 2010 20:04

Poor food and extremely rude staff including the Manager. Drinks are surprisingly expensive - �4.15 for a glass of Rose

I went there for lunch with a group of friends. We were told of the specials including a "Slow Roast Pork" which sounded great. 3 of us got it. We were waiting quite a long while for the food to arrive, when it did I got an undercooked piece of pork. You gotta have a nice bit of crackling but it just came with soft chewy skin - rather unappetising. When trying to point out what was wrong with the dish I was met with contempt from one of the staff - "Sorry, they all came from the same batch" I was a bit confused by the response so was a bit lost for words. The lady then suggested she could put it back in the oven for me which I agreed to. After 15 minutes it came back totally burned so I said I didn't want it. Again I was made to feel rubbish by the staff for complaining. Another lady came out to talk to me (who I assumed was the manager) - she asked me why I didn't want the food.

Me: It's burnt
Mananger: Well, I disagree
Me - IT'S BLACK!

I was then asked to explain the whole situation. I found her to be totally rude, and I was so embarrassed in front of my friends. What happened to the Customer is always right?

Needless to say I won't be going there again.

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jembert_rules - 4 Sep 2010 13:56

Don't bother with the food - worse Sunday lunch had in a longtime.

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janeyt - 15 Mar 2010 16:24

Reasonable selection of beers, including 2 ales. Very attentive girl behind the bar who consistently remembered the drinks in the round. Worth a look if you're in the area.

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EAGON - 5 Feb 2010 13:24

The island bar in this place takes up most of the pub making it a bit of a squeeze if a few people are in. From previous reviews it sounds like there may be some more seating upstairs, but I didn�t check. Adnams and Bread of Heaven were the ale choices along with some standard and premium lagers.

It took a while to get the attention of one of the barmaids, but she served a good pint of BoH when she finally got around to me.

I didn�t really like it in here and I doubt that I will go back.

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Strongers - 15 Apr 2009 07:52

well kept beers, good value food and no bloody TV's hurrah !

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moclips2002 - 7 Jul 2008 17:40

Modernised bar, with friendly and efficient service and a very decent pint of Bath Ales Barnstormer.

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rpadam - 14 May 2008 21:55

Fantastic food and a very tempting �5 Sausage'n'Mash deal on a monday night. I never popped into the Camel so cannot compare but The Bridge is a fine bar with friendly and efficient staff, surprisingly reasonable prices on the beer (for the area) and an upstairs with a cracking view across to the Thames and Tower Bridge. Music never seems too loud and no screens for those who may wish to avoid the sports crowds.
Quite a few pubs in these parts but offers both a more relaxed and classy atmosphere if you find yourself between bridges.

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Seb - 7 Mar 2008 19:58

No longer an Elusive Camel, but now called the Bridge Lounge. All TV screens have gone and it's much improved overall.

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cardamom - 23 Jul 2006 14:38

Righty - I've been here a few times and I've had mixed expirences, however I heard that the pub has been sold and will be going through some changes. So I popped over yesterday and found that they have a new menu, thank god, and it's really quite cool and reasonably priced. I only just got in before the kitchen closed for lunch, but the girl serving us (they do table service!) said they will soon have a full dinner menu aswell. My burger was good and my friends Caesar Salad looked even better. I'll be back for dinner sometime soon! I'll give it a 7/10 for now, I hope it keeps on improving!

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Ricco84 - 26 May 2006 20:56

Okay pub. Probably wouldn't go back though. Quite quiet for the location and staff weren't very friendly.

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dembo - 20 May 2006 10:13

I quite like the place.

The foods good. The bar staff are very nice and friendly. They also have Hoegaarden on tap, and know how to serve perfectly!

If you've been upstairs there's a wonderful view of Tower Bridge!

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pollie85 - 7 May 2006 23:10

Deeply disappointing - always. Go in here every few months, hoping it will have improved on the last attempt. It never does. Service is beyond awful, it's stupidly expensive, and, well, it's an Elusive Camel and everything you come to expect from such a dire chain. It could be great; it isn't. Avoid.
Go to the King's Arms 200yds further on.

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cardamom - 5 May 2006 00:10

Just been in the Elusive Camel this afternoon. We were an away team going there for post match teas.
We waited an hour and a half, had a couple of beers and there was never any sign of teas.
We asked once and were told it was being cooked, we asked again and we were told the kitchen was busy and food was on its way.
We gave up asking, no effort was made to keep us happy although staff obviously knew we were waiting for food. Waiting isn't the end of the world if you're kept informed and the staff really didn't make any effort at all, in fact, it just felt like we were putting them out.

The home team ordered burgers and chips that came out fairly promptly, they obviously knew more than we did. The team apologised to us before we left but we weren't waiting any longer.
Nice looking pub, good Guinness (�3.10!), great location and the location clearly means they don't have to concentrate on keeping every customer happy - and that's poor. Shame

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anonymous - 11 Feb 2006 17:41

I visit the Camel after work or at lunchtimes quite regularly and I have to say it's one of my favourite bars in the area. Admitedly that's not saying much as the rest of the bars around London Bridge are pretty dire, but the Camel's a welcome acception.

The staff are friendly, the food's good, they've got big screen TV for the sport and the Guinness is bang on. What more could a boy want?

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shakytumbleweed - 23 Sep 2005 12:38

i keep popping in here on the way home from work and i want to like it but i just cant give it the praise its location deserves. yes the staff are friendly but ultimitely they just want to get you out of the way and start chatting to each other again, sorry to inconvenience you guys. the other thing that really niggles is the prices. you dont need to charge that much for a pint it smacks of ideas above your station. try harder.

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sillytim - 27 Jul 2005 00:20

Nice pub atmosphere. TV for sports if you like that ;) Nice menu but unfortunatley the kitchen closes at 9:00 so never got to try the food.

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yvonatron - 15 Feb 2005 19:55

Hi - we held a function upstairs at The Camel - it has been renamed, and I cannot praise the staff enough! Fantastic service, great food and we all had a really great night. Highly recommend the cocktails and we are looking to book another event there in the near future.

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happychappy - 13 Jan 2005 18:10

a cosey little pub with a great view of tower bridge, reasonable driks prices as well as a cocktail menu for the non beer drinker, staff are friendly and efiiciant.

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anthony keats - 16 Mar 2004 17:25

Geat place for afterwork drinks always a nice atmosphere and friendly helpful staff, can't beat sitting upstairs on the nice comfy sofas and looking at those amazing views of Tower Bridge. Like the other two camels great drinks specials especially Tues and Thurs.

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Richy - 12 Mar 2004 15:36

Expensive lager, noisy, sports-oriented, no decent beer and frequently heaving with a mixture of Antipodean jocks and local suits - it's the bar of choice for our sales team, which figures. Staff friendly and competent, and as the bar is in the round it's not difficult to get served if you can belly up. Upstairs is a bit better - you get a great view of Tower Bridge and some nice stuffed sofas to sit on - but it's frequently booked for parties and the upstairs bar is rarely manned. If you fancy real ale at half the price, there are plenty of local alternatives. I liked it better when it was the King of Belgium, to be honest, but it's bearable for a quick thirstquencher on the way home. More a bar than a boozer: make of that what you will.

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rupertg - 12 Dec 2003 00:32

Great place to watch rugby -- all ages and nationalities

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Robyn - 31 Oct 2003 20:14

Like the other 2 Camel's, great drink offers - �1 Beam & Bundy everyday - can't beat that!! Always great music, nice plasma screens to watch all sports - and better than your normal pub grub!!Always friendly staff - gernerally loads of nice chicks too!!

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Regan Burnett - 8 Jul 2003 19:56

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