The Punch Tavern

After a morning visit to Tate Modern, we stumbled across this establishment — a gin bar! (The English are wonderful.) They have the largest selection of gin I’ve ever seen and once our server realized we were gin connoisseurs, he brought over all kinds of bottles to show us. We tried amazing gins and the food was fantastic to boot. My goat cheese and leek tart was fantastic as was the banofee pie.
During our visit, there was a parade outside for the Queen’s birthday. Our server said «Tourists! There’s a parade outside for the Queen’s birthday! Don’t you want to take pictures?» We replied «No, we have gin.»
Sadly, we were only in London for two days and didn’t have time for a return visit. On our next passage through, we will be sure and make a stop here (maybe plan an entire day). And then hit up an AA meeting.

Amazing service, great cheap cocktails, good London craft and mind-​blowing brownies and puddings in this historical pub. Go for their Christmas menu: they have plenty of choice and amazing options.

This was a great spot! Skip the beer and drink the Gin! Order an English Rose or a premium Gin and tonic. The first night we had a pie. It was great! Very non traditional for an American, but the food and Gin brought us in for another meal. Tried a mushroom tart. Yummy! This would be on a list of places I would come back to if I return to London.

Super friendly and attentive servers. Try one of their delicious gin cocktails. Beers are also good.
Food was delicious and very fairly priced. If I lived in the area, this would be a place I’d frequent.

Damn good fish and chips here. Sizable portions but didn’t leave me feeling like I had a bowling ball in my stomach (a common aftereffect of eating British F&C, I’ve found). They include some peas and pickle slices so you can at least pretend it’s healthy. And best of all, the F&C is on lunch special a few times a week so it runs only GBP 6.50.
The innards of this old place, which used to be the favored haunt of the editors and writers of the old British satire mag Punch, has a great olde Victorian vibe and is festooned with classic cartoons from the magazine’s heyday (though not, blessedly, any of the racist ones comparing Irish people to monkeys).
Is it touristy? I don’t know what this means. It’s in the City of London so you’re going to get some tourist traffic inevitably, but I saw mostly office worker types on their lunch break. It definitely doesn’t have the hokey generic vibe of the places with huge «AUTHENTIC BRITISH PUB» signs right outside their doors. So yeah, I dig it.

I really like the Punch Tavern! My first visit was for the Unilocal pub quiz, and I’ve returned a few times since. It’s now my go-​to for meetings over drinks or post-​dinner G&Ts.
Pros: Gin palace! They have an enormous list of gins and frequently have special gins that aren’t on the menu. The list is broken down by notes, and really helps newbies work out what sorts of gins they’re into. The pies are also very tasty — they do a range of pub classics and they do them well.
Cons: None yet.
Vibe: Cosy. Lots of dark wood panelling with fairy lights all around. I’ve never seen it too busy to sit down, and there’s a huge seating area around the back that helps matters. On the Friday night I went by, they had board games out for people to play, too. The bar staff is quite friendly and while some are less skilled than others (they’ve got some new hires in), they do have some very knowledgable people there.
Pricing — you can get a G&T for anywhere from £6−10 depending on which gin you choose. The £6 gins are still very good, so you’re not going to be disappointed if you’re working to a tighter budget.
This is great for a post-​work drink or a quiet night with friends.

Nice little boozer, the bar staff were all welcoming and were quick to take our orders as we wanted food.
The atmosphere was pretty good for a Sunday afternoon, especially for a city pub. Don’t expect a cheap pint but it’s certainly no more than any of the other pubs in the area.
We all had pies as they seemed to be the speciality. I went for a shepherds pie, but I was left a little disappointed. The portion was decent but it was mostly mash with a slither of mince in the bottom… It also looked like it had spent a bit longer under a heat lamp than required. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their options though.

Fun pub quiz night, but not sure if it would be destination in the future. It’s a nice enough pub, friendly bar staff and good priced food menu, with daily offers. I had a quite disappointing dish of ‘Sweet Potato wedges’ with basil and parmesan, which was essentially a sweet potato cut into large quarters, with a small drizzle of pesto and a tiny sprinkling of parmesan.
We did have a selection of small food snacks as part of the quiz, which included a mini burger and fish and chips, which was better.
Nothing much to lure me back, but if I fancied going to pub in that location, I would probably pop in for a drink.

Came along to a Trivia Night here and had a great time. While it was a bit crowded, the Doom Bar went down very well and the Fish there was fantastic! I could easily sit around a few hours socialising in the corner over some Pints and the Bar Manager and Staff were very friendly.

The Punch Tavern is a good venue and tried a few starters — all of which were lovely (from the limited few dishes I did try). Would come back if I was in the area.

A classic old school London pub. You like that? You’re going to be quite happy here. You want somewhere a little hipper or chicer, it’s a good area for it, so I’d keep looking.
But I mean it when I say that if you want a classic pint in a comfortable setting, it’s a good spot. It’s right in the middle of three major tube stations, so it can be a little touristy heavy, but not so bad that it takes away. And if you’re near one of those stations and want a place to drink, well there you go. The setting is very old world — candles, giant mirrors, dark wooden tables, the likes.
I’ve been here once for pints with friends and it was just what I wanted. The service is good, the queues move quick, I got my drinks. I was also just here for the bar’s birthday party, so tried a little of the nibbles. Got an excellent bowl of fries, hot, not too small or too thick, a little mayo and ketchup and they were damn near perfect. Also tried a punch cocktail they made called The Punch on the Beach. A little too sweet, even for punch, but damn did it knock me cold.
But I wouldn’t come here for the cocktails. Not really. I’d come here for a beer, some nibbles and good times with friends. Do that and you’re night will be grand.

Mrs. B and I are very glad that we selected the Punch Tavern for our lunch in Blackfriars. I had a nice, cool glass of cider and she had a very tasty ale. The bangers and mash were very nicely seasoned, and the shepherd’s pie is creamy and delicious. The waitresses were also very patient with us as we made our way through the menu, since we Americans don’t always know exactly what we’re asking for! We thought the Punch Tavern was what we sought in a London pub.

Avoid. Tourist trap, mediocre food.

What a great place. Outstanding food, drink & dessert, plus they even have a ping pong table (i.e. table tennis) in the back!
I’ll be back.

Was here in August. Friendly staff — great lunch after St Pauls. Great food — way better than Cheshire Cheese Pub.

Nice interior, cold Stella on tap, and the meal had a nice local flavor without feeling touristy… we’d come back…
The discount for checking in on Unilocal was nice as well (25% off)
Also — London is expensive — and the tavern’s in a nice part of town, adjust your pricing expectations accordingly.

Met a some old GS colleagues here after they left work.
Even while not having a previous reservation, the wait staff was very helpful in securing me a table for me and my friends. While waiting, I decided to try the £5 meal of the day which happened to be the fish and chips! Service was quick and the meal was delicious. Fish was a generous portion of cod and salty enough to the point that all it needed was a little ketchup and vinegar. The tartar sauce they provided was also pretty darn good. In addition the chips were hot, cripsy and delicious. The drinks were also pretty reasonable at £3−4 for a wide selection of beers. My friends arrived and were promptly served with beers of their own and a mixed platter of various bar food that they seemed to have enjoyed. Also ordered the £2 dessert that came with the special (it was an apple crumb that came out hot, gooey and yummy). They charged me full price for it instead of £2 (my fault, should have had them change it).
Verdict: Good décor, great food, and good for groups (we had a group of 5 people in the end who were easily accommodated on a busy Friday afternoon/​evening). All in all a very solid experience and I would come eat/​drink here again alone or with a group of friends.

I went here for a function, so we were in the back room. But when we did get out to buy our drinks, I felt like this was a really decent pub. Not too crowded or noisy, friendly servers, not stinky, and in general just a good vibe kind of place. I would highly suggest it if you need a room for a small happy hour. The couple of nibbles I munched on where nothing to write home about, so just enjoy the drinks and some crisps to play it safe.

Nice authentic pub without too many alterations. Food was good and the real ale well kept.
Not impressed by the manager oredering the staff about LOUDLY when we were trying to enjoy our lunch.

Gorgeous listed building with a nice interior, strangely (we’ll come to that in a minute) set up as though it’s a restaurant rather than a pub.
Which it clearly is. Victorian. Pub. Not filled with tat. only 2 ales, but Tribute and Hobgoblin (someone went to Cornwall?)
Then they’ve got food. There’s some sort of special which is a fiver each night from 5 – 10 or so. Last night? Fish & chips, Which looked at least decent. I’d go back for that.
My mate got the «British Empire list-​of-​adjectives Platter». Which may or may not come with two glasses of wine. Ours didn’t, but there was some confusion about that. Everything on the platter (£9???) came from a frozen bag o’ things. Samosas. Spring rolls. Chicken tikka. Mini sausages. It was like a bad joke someone came up with while stoned. It was actually pretty terrible. But, as my friend said, «at least it’s fried».
Then, there were the tables. They weren’t proper pubby tables at all– more resto tables.
But we were clearly in a pub. Or at least a tavern.
Not to pricey. Clean bathrooms. Just don’t get the food. Or don’t expect much from it. Or maybe get the fish and chips (if it’s on offer). It looked good.