Came by for dinner and it was a different experience. The pub was mainly focused on patrons that wanted a beer and to stand and smoke outside. Grabbed a table in the dining area and ordered the fish and chips. The fried fish was huge, although it wasn't cod. It was lightly and freshly fried although it was extremely bland. There was salt, pepper, vinegar, mayonnaise and ketchup available but no tartar sauce... The chips were huge, freshly fried, and again super bland... Same with the mushy peas ...I guess I'm not too familiar with British pub food as it was all bland? £14.5 for dinner read more

The Old Red Cow - Fish & Chips - £14.5 - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

We went upstairs to have dinner and it was fully occupied. The waitress immediately came over and told us she could fit us in if we didn't mind a small table in the corner. She could have just told us to wait but she managed to find us a perfect spot. She was the only server at the time and extremely busy but she managed to make every customer feel taken care of. The food was delicious and the price was very reasonable . Recommend highly. read more

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good prices and excellent service by a lovely young women with amazing pink hair. had a amazing time:)

I had a Sunday Roast. The food and service were excellent. I highly recommend this pub. read more

The Old Red Cow - Sunday roast - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

Very friendly service! The fellow with the big red beard made a point of finding a drink my daughter would enjoy. Great food!, steak n ale pie was full of flavor. Small corner two story pub with plenty of character right next to tube drop off. A great find. read more

We were visiting from America and this was the first place we ate. Stan was amazing. He took time to explain things to us, was patient with our kids, and let us know about cask ale. The food was amazing and we came back to make this our last stop. So glad we stumbled across this pub! read more

I've been here for a beer on a few occasions, and finally got around to trying the food yesterday. Firstly the beer - this is one of the best selections in the area with loads of locally brewed craft beer from breweries like Beavertown, Kernel and Fourpure on with several on keg and a few more from the cask. They also usually have some good quality cider like Orchard Pig. I had heard they did a good burger, and finally got around to try it yesterday. It's a bone marrow burger, and I asked it to be cooked as little as they were allowed. It came out perfectly medium rare. It was a very tasty burger, although a little pricy at £13 plain or £15 with bacon and cheese. Having said that it did come with chips, that were probably some of the best chips I've had in London - crispy and coated in nice big bits of salt and a bit of rosemary. I was left very satisfied. It's probably one of the best pub burgers I've had in London. The only minor issue with this place is that it's tiny, and so difficult to find space downstairs, and the restaurant upstairs is often booked out. They do have a small space outside for standing in the summer. Overall, probably my favourite pub in the Farringdon area at the moment. read more

The Old Red Cow - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

No way. While they have a good selection of beers this place is really small and the bartenders seem to be a bit clueless. They have a whole wall of spirits but apparently no mixers so forget having a cocktail. Also while we were there some guy asked to borrow a hammer, went upstairs, and began hammering repeatedly which was incredibly loud. My husband said he was hammering the nail in the coffin and we left immediately. Definitely will not be back. read more

What can I say. After a week of food disappointments in London finally something to positively YELP about! This place lived up to all the hype and more. My starter was the chili squid - this was a great starter for what was about to come. We had the Lamb Shoulder roast with Yorkshire Pudding roast veggies and a outstanding gravy. Just to top things of they also provided a side condiment of home made mint paste. Outstanding from the first to the very last bite. A Sunday roast just like your grandmother use to make it!!! When in London be sure to visit the guys and girls at this fine eating and drinking establishment - Old Red Cow. read more

The Old Red Cow - The best London roast lamb lunch - ever! - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

This place has the best Sunday roast ever. I've dreamt about the roast pork belly for 2 weeks now. I'm in heaven while I'm here. Staff is so sweet, food is wonderful. Can't get batter. read more

The Old Red Cow - Wonderful craft beef selection - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

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Excellent selection of beers, but thoroughly mediocre food. The burgers, at least, are dreadful. If I had just gone for beers, it would have gotten 5 stars; if I had only gone for food, it would have been 1 star. I guess 3 stars is a decent average... NB. The fries are bloody good though... read more

Free jukebox! If you reallllly need more reasons to come here, I guess you can keep reading. They do their food from locally-sourced ingredients, and the munchies we ordered (and the sight of the mains that some other people ordered around us, cause you know, we're nosy like that) were quite good. They've got games downstairs you can grab and play with your friends, though we did turn some heads when the Jenga tower came crashing down and echoed from the wooden table and floors (hey, that's the point of Jenga!!). The people around us got used to it though and didn't really seem to mind once they realized that we weren't just breaking things. The bar itself has got great wooden details and cozy lighting, it's a great place to meet up for drinks and did you read the bit about the free jukebox?? It's actually got some good music on it too! The entrance is on Long Ln, but poke your head around the alleyway in back, maybe it's just me, but it looks really quaint at night. An excellent neighborhood pub! read more

This is one of the few bars I miss from Islington... The ORC has...wait for it..Jenga. JENGA. Now, I know most of you are like...Sarah, what are you on? it's just a game from the 90s that no one plays anymore. Well, friends...you are wrong. Ever played a game of drunk Jenga? You have not lived. I personally think this could be a Yelp event topic. ORC actually has several different games to be played from the comfort of the couches on the bottom floor. Jukebox upstairs is indeed free, unless the bartenders have a hold of it and play techno all night. The food is very very good, this past winter I had an amazing bread pudding. Highly recommended!!! read more

Stumbled upon this place while looking for a place to watch football and get a bite to eat. The pub has a single TV screen and isn't really set up to be a big 'football' pub but it suited us perfectly. We were able to watch the match, have a friendly chat with the barman and get a decent pint in a relatively quiet environment. The food menu was decent and we both enjoyed our choices. Overall a quality place that deserves more visitors. read more

Swung by on a random Sunday with a friend who was visiting from out of town. Was a little sad that the kitchen had closed so early (we were there at 6pm!), but decided to continue on our liquid diets and stuck to beer, beer and more beer. Now if you're looking for good beer, this place is great! Wide range to choose from and the bar staff were helpful in selecting what to drink. Pretty small place - but that's no surprise being in London. I'm not normally in this area so won't be popping in too often, but when I am I'll probably stop by. read more

This pub is slightly smaller than a VW Camper van and whenever there are more than about 7 people in it, it feels crowded. However, as the 2nd pub in the small Pubs of Distinction chain, it has an immense range of beers on tap..... 20ish!!!!! And they are not ordinary beers either! If you can get a seat somewhere this is an OK place to stop for a quick pint or two, but basically it's just too small. When it was first built hundreds of years ago you would only have been allowed to drink here if you were known to the landlord... It was a good approach. I'll come back again to see if I can score a seat upstairs, but really this place is too small to be as cool as it is. read more

The Old Red Cow combines great food, an excellent range of beer on tap and in bottles and service akin to the revered Powder Key Diplomacy. The beer range is impressive, even if in London's growing range of craft beerhouses, the quality is not up there with the very best. Think London Fields, Camden, Grain, Brooklyn and a few others. Certainly respectable, but I would argue not enough to consistently tantalise the tastebuds of a seasoned craft beer fan. The service though is fantastic, taking a leaf from the book of Powder Keg Diplomacy: when I told the bar tenders I was in the mood for a dark beer, they immediately gave me samples of the three dark beers on tap for me to try. That kind of approach, entirely unprompted, is definitely the best way to ensure the customer is satisfied with their eventual purchase. I also tried the food, a bone marrow-infused burger with skinny fries. Plenty of London craft beerhouses now offer burgers alongside their beer (e.g. the Craft Beer Company, BrewDog), but the one I had at the Old Red Cow was definitely the best: soft, flavoursome, and not overcooked. In fact, I reckon it easily trumps the burgers at some of the chains who have started to embrace craft beer such as Byron and GBK. I've also heard that the Sunday roast is legendary - my girlfriend and I once turned up around 6pm, and were disappointed to find it had already gone. One small downside is the lack of space on the ground floor. That may not entirely be fair considering the rather more spacious upstairs I understand they have, but things did feel a little cramped where we were. Overall though, certainly worth dropping by for either the craft beer or the food. There aren't many pubs in London that one can comfortably say that of. read more

The good news: -Lots of different beers, many of which are on tap. -Popular place, good vibe. -Good food. -Really nice toilets. The bad news: -Small. -Standing room outside under a covered walkway, however, no heaters:( -Hard to get to the bar to order a beer due to it being at max capacity. Made the mistake of heading to the Old Red Cow at 6pm on a Thursday with a large group (6-7). We had no chance of getting a table much less standing inside so we took up residency outside under the covered walkway. It wasn't too bad but after standing in said covered walkway for 3 hours, it got a little cold (at least it wasn't raining!). The earliest opportunity we had to actually stand inside and not be separated was at 9:30pm when the bar started to clear out a little bit. It was at that point when we ordered the meat/cheese platter and it was delicious. Definitely recommend. I really wanted to give 5 stars to the Old Red Cow but I had to deduct one star for the lack of heaters outside, the extremely small space, and the two-day hangover the Old Red Cow caused. Watch out for that Pale Ale! It'll sneak up on you. Consider yourself warned! read more

If I'd spent more time in here, managed to nab a table and got some food in me, I reckon this pub would sneak up to four stars. But I have a habit of comparing pubs in Farringdon, and this one isn't nearly as good as some of it's neighbours. But it's not bad, not bad it all. I liked my red wine (expensive as it was) and I'd be happy to come back again. I'm just not sure that it's a destination pub. More a pub that you'll pop in to if everywhere else around this side of town is a bit full. It's not a bad pub, it's not a great pub. It's a cosy little place though, and I'd be happy enough if I found myself here again. I just wouldn't be the one who suggested it with the Fox & Anchor up the road. read more

Great Sunday roast. It definitely lived up to the hype given how many lists it's featured on. It was hard to get a reservation, but they were accommodating despite the fact that I ended up getting the date wrong... But it was worth it! Such tender meat and nicely done potatoes and veggies to go with it, washed down with beer and Yorkshire pudding. Nice portion size that left me feeling full, but not painfully so. I could've probably gone in for seconds. We went on a rainy Sunday, and it was the perfect comfort food. The setting is nice here, too. No frills but clean, pub decor in the middle of a relatively quiet street in Farringdon. Nice location; close to multiple forms of public transportation and easy to get to. read more

Sian says: "I just wouldn't be the one who suggested it with the Fox & Anchor up the road." Well, as the one who did suggest it, I'll say why ;) I visit The Old Red Cow at least once a week as I work down the road from it. It's cosy and friendly with exposed original features, some art deco pieces and fairy lights draped over everything. Downstairs there are seats and a (generally unoccupied) leather sofa. Upstairs there's an additional bar and seating. During the day it's quiet, with a decent food menu and friendly bar staff. In the evening it does get busier but, as Alex mentioned, the music's always really good and falls slightly to the left of middle. For me, it's the perfect weekday lunchtime venue, or somewhere to curl up with a book for an afternoon. They do decent lattes, too. read more

A very decent beer bar in the Smithfield area. I was surprised to stumble across this place as I have never heard it mentioned by anyone in London. The Old Red Cow has about four cask pumps and c. 12 keg taps. You'll find stuff from the likes of BrewDog, Camden, Kernel, Harviestoun, etc. There is also a large bottle list, though most of the stuff on it is fairly pedestrian.The bar has two floors and the first floor is pretty small. I didn't visit the second floor, but I gather they have music there sometimes. Bartender was very pleasant. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the area. read more

I absolutely loved this pub. We had a horrible experience at Ye Olde Cheshire pub right before ending up here. Talk about night and day. Food was great, good beers, amazing service. Highly recommend! read more

I wanted to give this place a higher score as after the refurbishment it's really nice inside and is the place I now use as my escape from the office but the food has been a bit hit and miss and the drinks, while being a interesting selection, are a bit more than I'd like to pay when dropping by during lunchtime. read more

From the US. We stayed in the neighborhood and this became our local. Loved the atmosphere and the selection. Old Engine Oil became a personal favorite. Great place, younger crowd, cool vibe. read more

For a beer drinker in London who can't stand another pint of Heineken this is your place. Less than a ten minute walk from St. Paul's and Moorgate its revolving selection of beers is a welcome change. The list includes imports from all over the world as well as a great selection of higher quality small batch British brews. Its a great place to sit down with a quality beer and enjoy yourself. No oppressive music or groups of City traders doing Jaeger bombs. Just barstaff who know the difference between top and bottom fermentation and some great examples of both on tap. read more

I've come here a few times now and considering it's not definitely in my neighbourhood for weekends, there must be a reason! Well: food is great, beer selection is always refreshing and the staff is always very polite. Keep up the good work! read more

i like the musich here. and decoration is really fine. it s a pub with a modern flair read more

The Old Red Cow - nice lightening! - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

A little pricey, but worth it--we stopped by about noon on a Sunday for their "Sunday roast" after reading some positive (but a bit old) reviews on Yelp! We couldn't have made a better choice. The roast shoulder of lamb fell apart under the fork and the roast beef was medium and delicious. But the best part was the sides: Yorkshire puddings, tall, crisp and savory, roast potatoes with a delicious crunch on the outside and fluffy wonderfulness on the inside, and sweet carrots and savory greens. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Try it! For what it's worth, there was no hammering at all while we were there. read more

Had my birthday here and seeing there was a few of us ordered the suckling pig. Absolutely amazing! and came with loads of sides that were equally delicious. The staff were so helpful and patient (considering two of our party were very unfashionably late), pub is pretty small though was nice and cosy especially when it was miserable outside. Highly recommend, especially the pig! read more

Another classic Smithfield Market Boozer. The pub itself is tiny and has a slightly larger upstairs room where you can get a very tasty lunch. I had a very good cottage pie for £13.50 just this week, and the fish and chips at £14.00 was damn fine last time I had it. They have a really good selection of craft beers, dozens of em, from all over the world...starting around £5. Lovely people in this pub! read more

Best roast! Seriously blown away by how good it was. I had the pork belly, while my friends had the sirloin. (I tried the sirloin and thought it was better, but both were great!) I can't speak to any of the other food options or the drink selection, but I would 100% come back here for the roast alone. The staff were very nice and accommodating as well. read more

I visited this place with a friend last Sunday, as we were eager to have a roast but wanted to try something new (he is a regular at Pig & Butcher). I suggested Old Red Cow, as I had heard good things, but somehow never made it over despite its convenient location in the City. I've actually never even been for drinks! We were seated on the ground floor at a table with high stools, and the space was not very big, but there seemed to be an upstairs part as well. I ordered the lamb and my friend ordered the beef, and it was a solid roast, except the only thing I thought was odd was that they had us share a pitcher of gravy when they were different meats, and also there was then not enough to go around. But because it was quiet when we were there around 1 PM, we had great service and it was a nice place to talk and actually be able to hear the other person. I'd probably come here out of convenience, but it's not a roast experience worth trekking out of your way for. read more

Farringdon in general is an ace place to plan a day or night out -- and the Old Red Cow is one of the best establishments in this neighborhood for a pint. The selection of local craft beer is truly impressive. If you're an American craft beer aficionado, chances are you'll be frustrated by London's largely malt-based offerings. The Old Red Cow goes beyond this and has a number of very hop-heavy brews that were altogether unfamiliar to me - and exciting. The big negative is that the space here is too tiny for its popularity. There's a small seating area when you enter the pub, and a more airy room and separate bar upstairs, but it's probably not enough to accommodate the busy restaurant/bar/nightlife revelers in Farringdon. On the upside, I found the bartender to be an absolute patient delight with all of our questions. On Sundays they have a lovely roast menu, but get there early because they sell out quick! read more

Sweetie and I came here for a Sunday roast on a London visit. We didn't have a booking and got there about 12:15. We got the next to last beef. (Our recommendation: if you want beef for Sunday roast, book! if you want to arrive any later than just after noon, book!). Sweetie was pleased with the beer selection, which is varied and interesting. We shared the Sunday roast for two, which is a thick cut bone in maybe-rib-eye (there were some extra bones in there, and I am not a butcher, so I am not sure) and comes with a charcouterie starter, roast potatoes, yorkshire pudding, cauliflower cheese, runner beans, and the hands down best gravy either of us has ever had. Really lovely lunch. read more

Just got back to the states from London and this was our favorite pub of all. Although small (there is seating upstairs), atmosphere was just what we wanted. We were there on a Sat night ~8:30 and there was plenty of space. A crowd came in ~9..i suspect after a Barbican event. The craft beer and cider selection was outstanding. Food was excellent (well, ok, we didn't finish the Blood sausage from the sausage plate, but can you blame us?). The young man tending bar with the Sideshow Bob haircut was very accommodating to us Yanks and our two boys. Great service. read more

We had a great lunch here recently for a friends birthday. We booked a large table upstairs and the staff couldn't have been more helpful and friendly. Good choice of beers and the food was tasty- especially the large chocolate brownie cake they made served with chocolate sauce, ice cream and decorated with a birthday message! Thank you Old Red Cow for a great time! read more