Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    The Heron

    3.9 (45 reviews)
    ModeratePubs, Thai
    Open 12:00 pm - 3:00 PM, 6:00 PM - 10:30 PM

    The Heron Photos

    THE HERON ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - The Heron

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Drunken Noodles, ordered "off menu"
    Ian K.

    I was a little iffy about eating at a Thai restaurant in an English pub, but I have no regrets! The actual restaurant is downstairs in a cozy basement that looks to seat about 30. The menu is quite varied, with lots of options, however I didn't see much favorite dish: "drunken noodles." After describing it to the waitress, she asked the chef and he knew exactly what I was looking for and said he could make it! The noodle dish came out looking perfect and was just as delicious. The amount of spice was also perfect; just enough heat to make me a little sniffly, but not so much so that I don't taste anything else. After my noodles, I had some ice cream for dessert. The Thai iced tea ice cream was phenomenal and the durian ice cream, if you're a fan of durian, was also quite good. I was a little sad they didn't have my goto dessert, Mango sticky rice, but ice cream was quite good. Overall, I'd highly recommend giving this Thai-restaurant-in-a-pub a go!

    Delicious
    T E.

    Blimey - the most authentic Thai dinner in London turns out to be in a pub basement! You'd never know from on the street that The Heron is something so special, so take my word from it and try it out. This restaurant not only serves some of London's best Thai food but the whole experience is straight out of suburban Bangkok. The dishes are flavoured, spiced and look exactly like they would at a Bangkok night market. Even the fading 90s-nightclub style is just the same as thousands of cafes in Thailand. The cocktails list is typically Thai, with Coke and Chivas Regal listed well-up the top (Thailand's love of bad whisky has always amused me). You'll not be surprised to hear that at 8pm the whole joint starts doing Thai karaoke as well. If this isn't your thing then come a little earlier. The song book is positively encyclopedic though and worth a browse. Considering how hidden the Heron is, how rough the upstairs pub is and how cheesy the dining room looks - it's actually incredibly popular, especially with Thais. You'll need to book one to get your hands on a few of the 20 or so seats. We were there on a Friday night and many unsuspecting diners were turned away having not booked. Quick description of our dinner - we had two of the house specials, the rich and wonderful orange curry (a sour and spicy soup with prawns and citrus flavours) and the fried sea-bass done EXACTLY like in Thailand with irresistible crispy skin and a side-dish of spicy sauce. As well as these two we also took one of their som tums (papaya salads) of which there are many options. Som Tum is Thailand's real favourite dish and usually comes incredibly spicy. We went for Som Tum with grilled pork neck and it was just perfect, blowing away all other som tums I've had in London (and I've had quite a few). So the Heron, just a scruffy pub behind thousands of Lebanese restaurants? No. A new best for Thai food in London? Quite probably.

    Fried catfish salad
    Avadhut P.

    When you're surrounded by Thai people, you know that the Thai food in the restaurant will be good. The Thai restaurant at the Heron is no exception to this rule. Hidden in the basement at the Heron pub, this place had no name, the menu makes no sense to those not in the know, and the seating capacity is smaller than my small London living room. But the food makes it worth every bit. I think this is one of London's best kept culinary secrets. The first thing that strikes you about the menu is the lack of western Thai favourites like green curry, red curry, etc. Instead you're greeted with things that'd be right at home in one of Andrew Zimmerman's shows: century eggs, chicken feet curry, pork neck, etc. But don't be afraid, every thing tastes amazing. Go for one of the raw papaya salads. We had the ones with salted crab and fried catfish. Also good is the spicy duck curry and the jasmine rice. The larb dishes go well with the tube too. We had the one with minced pork. And to finish it all off, we had the chef's special steamed squid. The ice creams are good too. This is the first place where I've had green tea ice cream that I've actually liked. And the other flavours worth trying are coconut and taro root. The banana fritters go well with the chilled deserts. Nice find and overall a very nice place to have a wonderful lunch.

    Menu
    Siobhan K.

    Oh my god - how authentically delish is this place??!!!! I went here having read the reviews on yelp & I am so glad I did! This has to be the best Thai food this side of Thailand! There was not a green/red curry or Pad Thai to be seen. The menu - which is written first in Thai with English underneath - is full of Thai delights! Heaps of Papaya salads, dishes with Duck Tongue, pork neck, pig intestines, pigs trotters, century egg etc as well as seafood, fish, chicken etc. We asked for our food spicy - thinking of how they make it in most UK Thai places- well, the food was authentically spicy! Blew the head off us! But still so tasty! It's cheap too, each dish around £6 - £10. The staff are really nice, the place is downstairs in a pub - the pub is nothing special, I would never have thought the downstairs could have such a hidden gem of a place! You must check it out if you like Thai/SE Asian food!

    Chicken pad Thai at the pub!

    See all

    Photo of Lynn S.
    18
    20
    7

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    5 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    The Thai food is the bomb. Amazing downstairs. The pub upstairs Is so British, sometimes live music .

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of A X.
    2
    115
    6

    3 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Ian K.
    8
    11
    2

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of T E.
    434
    965
    327

    14 years ago

    Helpful 7
    Thanks 0
    Love this 6
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Very authentic Thai food and great service! We love the ambience and relaxed feel of the pub.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Curt W.
    0
    112
    5

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    14 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 0
    Love this 5
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    10 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Zoe Z.
    175
    29
    29

    8 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    13 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    13 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    9 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    14 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    14 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Rudy W.
    52
    382
    50

    10 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Yemi ..
    0
    129
    14

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of S L.
    1
    63
    0

    16 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Pk D.
    0
    20
    0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    8 years ago

    Very authentic!! Great flavours but I wish the ambience was slightly better so I could bring friends around

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of R J.
    0
    2
    0

    12 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Vick J.
    6
    27
    18

    11 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    15 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    14 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    14 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 2

    The Heron Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - The Heron

    The restaurant is located in the basement of the Heron Pub.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Verify this business for free

    People searched for Pubs 8,052 times last month within 10 miles of this business.

    Verify this business

    Devonshire Arms - Exterior building

    Devonshire Arms

    4.0(25 reviews)
    1.4 miSoho
    ££

    Such a cute, old fashioned place. Really really loved this location- only went for pints and little…read moresnacks but area is gorgeous as well pub is very cute. Overall really enjoyable experience. Was rather packed and service is quick but able to snag seat. Recommend

    Flew in on a Sunday and arrived at my hotel around noon. Immediately went to the concierge to see…read moreif he could secure me a spot since I had zero luck trying to get a reservation on line for two weeks prior. Remarkable, he scored and I literally walked around the corner and saw the long line to get into the pub first. I was seated immediately, however, and proceeded to enjoy a traditional Sunday Roast. Room was very pleasant (there are so many I got lost returning to my table from a bio brake. Roast was very good ( but no Lawry's) and the sides excellent. Could not decide if my favorite was the roast potatoes (crispy outside soft inside) or the glazed carrots. Yorkshire pudding was good but again, I am to used to the Lawry's and this is a different style. Peas were, well, peas, but very fresh. The sticky toffee cake was excellent and the Guinness fresh, creamy and a proper pour. Good thing because the selection of winners by the glass and half bottles of wine were both a little thin. Overall wine list was good but I was alone and not up for drinking a full bottle by myself. Overall, very enjoyable and to judge by the crowd and difficulty in getting a reservation, one of the more popular in town.

    Photos
    Devonshire Arms
    Devonshire Arms
    Devonshire Arms - Iberico Pork ribsSome of the nicest things I have put in my mouth.

    See all

    Iberico Pork ribsSome of the nicest things I have put in my mouth.

    Lamb & Flag - Steak and ale pie

    Lamb & Flag

    4.2(194 reviews)
    1.8 miCovent Garden
    ££

    Stopped by The Lamb & Flag while walking around Covent Garden and immediately understood why people…read morelove this place. The history alone makes it worth visiting, and the location is perfect if you're exploring the area. It feels very classic London in the best way. We stopped in for a pint and honestly... the whole after-work beer culture over there is something I really need to bring back with me to the States. The beer was great, the atmosphere was lively without feeling overwhelming, and it just felt like one of those places where people naturally gather and stay awhile. Definitely worth stopping into if you're in the area.

    Historic London pub that I visited for lunch, at opening time. The bar actually opens before food…read moreis served so I grabbed a drink. Reservations recommended. Two story space - the ground floor feature the bar and handles walk in lunch; the upstairs is a dining room for those with reservations. Fun fact, as part of the history, the pub used to be the host of bare knuckle fights and had regulars like Charles Dickens. Wildfarmed sourdough - served with whipped salted butter and Guinness butter. Well toasted bread and the butters with salt were well made. Fuller's London Pride marinated steak and ale pie - served with seasonal veggies and red wine gravy, as well as either mash potatoes or triple cooked chips. If there is one dish London does really well, it's their pies. It was beautifully made and loaded with steak. The red wine gravy was decadent and added a perfect amount of moisture to the pie. Triple cooked chips were perfectly crispy but fluffy on the inside. Corn fed chicken breast - served with garlic and sage butter, mash potato, cavolo nero, and crispy onions. Only took a bite of this as it was my partner's dish but the bite of chicken I had was very juicy and well seasoned.

    Photos
    Lamb & Flag - This is from 2003. Behind the bar with Owner and friends of his.

    This is from 2003. Behind the bar with Owner and friends of his.

    Lamb & Flag
    Lamb & Flag - Front of pub

    See all

    Front of pub

    The Heron - pubs - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...