The Grapes

Like many of the Shepherd Market pubs, this place has a restaurant upstairs. When I went up there, I immediately left England and felt like I was sitting in one of the one million Asian restaurants in San Francisco. Apparently it was one of the many British pubs that also offered Thai food. The food was OK, the service was average London service which equates to crappy in the States but average among its competitors. I waited a very long time to get a drink which surprised me since its not just bad service, it’s bad business. If I ever go back, I’ll stay in the pub downstairs.

After a couple of festive drinks at The Dorchester, we decided to down scale a bit (and mainly because we’d just spent a lot of cash on two rounds at The Dorchester).
The plus about this pub is the staff were really nice and they had a fire going. Perfect for a winters day. It wasn’t too busy, but this was on a Saturday and this area is usually busier weekdays (have passed by many times during the week and this pub is overflowing).
Drinks were reasonably priced and one of our friends commented on the good selection of ales.
The minus points, it was quite bright in here and they had on the TVs even though no one was watching them. Please turne the TVs off when there is no reason to have them on (it was on the news not something you want to see in a pub).

Not the place you will take a girl if you try to impress her but actually it is not bad at all, really simple though and normal prices.

Quite nice little pub, tucked away off Piccadilly.
Drinks OK prices, friendly bar staff.
Menu has some pub classics and also a load of Thai dishes, randomly.
As a cider drinker I can report they only had Bulmers, but three flavours of it so that wasn’t bad.

‘Ye Grapes’ Sounding like the exclamation of an middle English baron with a particularly bad case of ‘roids the pub is an altogether more charming vision!
But after finding myself herded into the restricted outside area, under the eye of security with a pint of Marstons Vinegar (oh wait Marston Pedigree you say? Tastes more like my first guess) I was back to unpleasant thoughts. Almost made it through half of my pint, almost. Pub too busy to attempt to take it back.

This pub is quite old inside and feels a bit tired, but is alright for a pint or two. The Thai food is quite tasty. But there are definitely better places very nearby

This is a good old ‘traditional’ pub. It’s not hugely spacious, but it’s certainly not small either, and everyone seems to squeeze in amiably enough. There’s a reasonable selection of quite palatable ales, and service is fast and efficient (although possibly somewhat disengaged).
Drinks prices are a bit steep (£3.50 for a pint of real ale?), but not quite extortionate.
If you’re looking for a decent pint in Mayfair, you could do much worse than here.

Mayfair is one of the most exclusive and expensive area’s in London. On that basis it should have some of the nicest pubs? I worked in Mayfair for ten years and found very few pubs that I would call «nice». Now I am not saying that this one is nice but I did tend to go there quite a lot.
Dark, dirty feeling, old and need of a good clean /​tidy up with unhelpful bar staff is what I would say about this place. It does however seem to be the meeting point for all the workers in the area after work and especially on a Friday night. Maybe I am right in saying that that there are very few pubs in the area that are good and this for some strange reason is the pub of choice. Being in Mayfair it is expensive, if you have reason to be there, then maybe you will be attracted by whatever power it has. If you have no reason to be there, go somewhere else.

This pub feels very traditional inside, and is well suited to the quaint surroundings of Shepherd’s Market. Signs advertise the serving of Thai food, which always strikes me as an oddity in pubs in which you would expect to find more traditional fare.
The service I experienced was friendly and fast, with tea being brought over to the table with a smile. A large glass of wine was not up to much, and came in just over £5.
This may be a good pub to show-​off to foreign visitors, as it is quite quintessentially English.

A traditional pub which could be great but is let down by poor service. Yes, it does get busy, but the staff have often seemed disinterested even when I’ve been only one of two people waiting to be served. Shepherd Market really comes into its own during good weather when people spill out onto the pavement, drink in hand, and the area has a really buzzy atmosphere. My advice is, if you’re drinking here get your most patient or conspicuous-​looking mate to go in for the drinks, failing that go to one of the other pubs in the area for friendlier more efficient service and the same outdoor experience.

If Shepherd Market is like a little village nestled within Mayfair, then Ye Grapes is the village pub. It’s got dark green walls, lots of stuffed deer heads and birds of prey, and a selection of ales.
Some of the tables are in little nooks, or separated by half-​walls, so you can seclude yourself away from the larger crowd if you want. It can be a bit gloomy, though. And the prices aren’t cheap. Stop by if you’re in the area and it’s a nice day, but not worth a special trip.

Nice dark atmospheric pub in the heart of Mayfair’s Shepherds Market, well known for its history as London’s centre for prostitution in victorian times. Shepherd’s Market offers a different type of relief these days as a secluded part of Mayfair full of boutique shops and quality restaurants.
The pub has recently gone through a refurbishment, although has kept all the character from its past. High ceilings, cosy little drinking corners, dark wood panelled walls and quite a few stuffed animals and angry looking trouts in glass cases.
There’s a good selection of drinks available. The best time to go is during a good summers day, where people gravitate outside making it feel like a trendy village of sorts. It’s also one of the only places in Mayfair to open its door on the weekend.
It can get very busy here so the staff can seem a little unfriendly as they get rushed off their feet!
A good cosy winter drink indoors or a vibrant summer drinking hole. It’s one of those places that you’ll either love or hate.