The Volunteer

It is a nice pub.
I have been there twice, as it is just next to my flat.
Once i ordered mulled wine and fish and chips.
The mulled wine was nice… quite strong but lovely. It was not so full of cinnamon and there was a little piece of orange (you have to know that i love mullex wine, i start drinking it in italy in november untill march, and i know the recipe to make it).
Fish and chips was nice but nothing special. It is fried, i know, but i ate fish and chips more «lighty» in the sens that this time it took me two days to digest it .
Furthermore the place is a little dark and sometimes music is too high.
On saturday me and my housemates tried to get ther for a beer and the music was too laud to make us talk
Anyhow it is a nice place to spend one hour of your time if you are around!

Perfect for a drink after some time at Regent’s Park. During spring & summer evenings you’ll see people who have just played softball (like me) or cricket. Definitely a favourite of the local business school. There is a decent selection of beers, good drinks, complimentary water with cucumber and a small outside space. It can get crowded but the staff are able to handle it. Food is decent for a pub.

Our go to for a nice, easy Sunday lunch; mainly as it’s just around the corner from us. Never a disappointment, good standard food, but nothing outstanding which is the reason for the rating.
The staff are super friendly. The place is nicely laid out but can get busy pretty quickly.

Stopped in here for lunch after walking around Regents park for a much needed meal and drink. I got the fish and chips which were delicious and other items on the menu looked great as well. The bar tender was incredibly friendly and helped us with out meal selection. Great pub!

It’s a pretty huge pub, once you’re inside! Catching a seat can be tough after work, but in general there is a big seating area, downstairs as well as upstairs with nice little couches.
I’m quiet impressed by the variety of international beers they have on tap as well as in bottles. Loooved the Delirium from Belgium!
Other than that: Very nice staff, great atmosphere, i’ll be back!

I am a regular at this pub, which has a distinctly different look and feel to it based on season. More casual in summer with open french doors and outdoor seating options and more intimate table seating inside in dark winter weather. The beers are also seasonal and they change every month. Good finger food and friendly service, plus an unbeatable location makes this a great hangout.

Happened to stumble upon the re-​launch and they were handing out free drinks and nibbles. What’s not to like about free drink?
Even though it was pretty busy we got served quickly and there was just enough room to stand around and talk to the people I was with. That was another plus point as even though there was music playing it wasn’t too loud and conversation was quite easy to talk.
A great venue with friendly staff and tasty food. Look forward to returning on a less crazy night.

Ok service. Had to flag down the waiter 4 times before he came by to ask for our check. My husband loved the pork roast that he ordered. I ordered the chicken roast however and thought it was bland. They were out of several items on the menu which was disappointing. They also did not have take away boxes which I was unaware of and ended up trashing half my meal. Portions were huge!

Just what a Swiss guy in the UK expects from a nice pub:
— Great crowd
— Delicious pub food (some of the best fries I recently had)
— Great selection of beers
— Friendly and quick staff
I’ll be back of I ever get the chance

The Volunteer is close to my work so a good option for post work drinks — but not my favourite. I prefer the Larrick as a post work drink option, then the Chapel. Maybe then the Volunteer. I’ve not tried the food, but the range of beers are good and the wine was nice, so the 3 star seems farest. If I ever try the food I’ll update

A quick pint is all you need in Baker Str. Or a good old mulled wine, season permitting.
Gathered around a shaky table that took four napkins to stabilise, I had a glass of mulled wine to celebrate my friend’s birthday.
She treated us with food as well, so I went for the gniocchi with spinach, pumpkin and beans. Fortunately, the staff was kind enough to take care of the beans. The dish was well cooked, thoughtfully portioned and well-​seasoned.
The birthday girl got a sun-​dried tomato and ricotta risotto. Absolutely tasty and the portion was enough for two people to dine.
The third friend got chips to go with her mulled wine. Decent and well-​portioned. Vinegar and ketchup on the side.
*That would be a four star review, if the following wouldn’t have happened.*
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Right after we finished our meal, the waitress came to ask if we needed anything else. We answered no, however one of us was still drinking her mulled wine.
Less than a minute later, the bill in a thank you pouch landed on the table. We had not asked for that yet.
Absolutely disrespectful and rude.
It is common sense that you have to pay when occupying a table at a restaurant/​pub/​bar. However, one of us not having finished her drink was still ‘paying’ for it.
We had no intention to sit there for another forty minutes and no drinks. And we know that staff hovers over your table asking you every five minutes if you’re all-​right or need anything else if they spot your glass empty. This is logical, caring and they have to do their job, earning from their ‘tables’.
However, such behaviour is unacceptable and marks one of the worst customer services I’ve experienced. The fact that they took care of the beans from my dish was about to give ‘em their five stars. But, the unexpected bill landing was out of the line.
UP:
— Taking care of a dietary requirement while cooking my dish. No beans with pasta, please. Done!
— Mulled wine was well spiced and not too sweet. Kudos for that!
DOWN:
— Extremely shaky table.
— Bill is thrown to you the moment you put your glass and fork down. Rude.
VERDICT:
Give it a go only if «The Globe» opposite of the Baker Str. tube is closed!

Have you been looking for a bar that is nice inside but makes you feel slightly crazy? One that does not maximize its table space by keeping bar patrons from sitting there in hopes that someone will turn up and eat food? A place where it feels like Lewis and Clark’s expedition anytime you need to navigate the crowd to get another round or go to the loo? Then this place is for you, my friend!
Pints of Aspalls were cheap, and for that I would return if I were in the area. There aren’t many better options in the general vicinity. It gets rammed with people pretty early in the evening. If you sit at a table, you have to eat food. When we were there, most of the tables were empty. This sort of thing drives me insane. I can understand it, I guess. It just… grates.

The pub was nice but nothing special. Although our food was great, the service was moderate at most. I did not like the attitude and the good menu is definitely not going to keep me here.

The Volunteer happens to be around the corner from my new flat. In my quest to get to know my neighborhood, seeing the quirky funny signs and it always being packed with smartly dressed folk, I decided it should be among my first stops.
This past Sunday afternoon, the boy and I went for brunch; we were advised that though it wasn’t being served, we could have lunch. The menu options were just the right amount of comfort, a dash of excitement and a side of deliciousness! After about five minutes of studying the menu, I could only cut it down to four! (Trust me, everything sounds good!) With that, I did what any lusting (and perhaps trusting) patron should do– I asked our server, David! He told me about each of my choices (which all continued to sound good), but then waxed poetic about the pork chorizo burger with caramelized onions. His enthusiasm was infectious and totally warranted! When the burger arrived it looked big and juicy! Bread, lettuce, tomatoes and a juicy porky patty were visible. What wasn’t seen was a mix of condiments and the onions– those oh so amazing onions! The first bite was MAGIC!!! You know when you eat a good burger and it’s so good that you don’t mind that the juices from the burger and the condiments blend together are all over your face and drip down your fingers? Well that’s how good this was! While I loved the burger, I think what made it was the caramelized onions! Never have I ever fallen so deeply in love with onions, especially while on a date! Seriously, sooo sooo sooo good!
Speaking of my date– he ordered the beef roast. The cuts of beef were thick and looked amazing. I had a bite, so I could confirm. The peas were also really good (random I know, but really, they were delish!!). He cleaned his plate so I assume he shared my enthusiasm!
All in all, I loved this place and am sooooo delighted that this is my ‘local’. Needless to say I will be back!

I think The Volunteer should re-​name itself as the London Business School bar, because majority of the people who you see there are the students from this top notch neighboring school. I have obviously been there courtesy my friend who is a student in LBS (yeah that’s what the kool kats call it!).
It is a very chilled out, casual bar with a good selection of beers and spirits and food as well (Never had the food here though, not the biggest fan of pub food). There is nothing extraordinary about this place worth talking about besides the crowd — the cool business school grad crowd (if you are into that kind of thing). I believe this place could be very good for networking as I have heard that some of the top professors of London hang out here. I did sit here and work one day so which means they have free wi-​fi (I am such a sucker for free wi-​fi). It is not a very overpriced place either which is not very surprising because this place mainly caters to the students.
Volunteer is situated very close to Baker Street station so if you are waiting for a friend at baker street who did not turn up on time (happens to me all the time, hate being overtly punctual) then you definitely could pop in for a drink.
Verdict: A decent London bar close to Baker Street tube station!

Sometimes we need a concise review, you know?
+ Location: great spot right near Baker Street station and the Sherlock Holmes museum
+ Burgers: mmmm…
+ Beer: including a nice selection of wheat beers for us cultured folk
+ Seating: a table service area and a standing bar area – meeting everyone’s needs!
— Smell: there was some strange smell… maybe it’s the old wooden floor?
— Security: not sure if it was the football match, but two burly guys on a Saturday morning seems a bit much
Other than that, it’s a pretty standard pub, nice enough for a pint but nothing to particularly write home about.

You can’t beat the location — right next to Baker St tube and Regents Park. If you’re in the area, it’s a decent option.
The food is a bit hit and miss, but really quite good when they get it right. It’s usually very relaxed in here — youngish office workers grabbing post-​work drinks, mixed with sports teams from the park during the warmer months.
Their beer and cider selection is good too — I always enjoy a Red Stripe or Symonds cider here.
They do what they can with their limited outside space, which the definitely need in the summer.

An alright, upscale pub on the edge of Regents Park. They have four casks and a rather eclectic array of mostly uninteresting kegs. They do have Sierra Pale Ale on tap, in addition to a number of other slightly less common beers and ciders. The place has a nice vibe and was pretty busy when I visited on a Sunday afternoon. (I didn’t have any food on my visit.) They have a full menu and it seemed like a number of people there were getting food. Sunday roast, that kind of thing. Prices are a bit more expensive than a traditional pub (a pint of cask ale pushes four quid) but not absurd. There’s a small sidewalk patio that I’m sure is nice when the weather allows. Not a destination pub by any means, but one of the better options for this area of London, I would say.

My friends and I stopped by the Volunteer twice in my trip to London. The first time was late on a Friday, and the pub was closing and we were booted. The second time, we sat and chatted for a while on a Tuesday evening. The place was really near our hotel, so perhaps I am biased, but I liked the location.
Otherwise, I’m pretty indifferent about the place. It had a decent crowd on both occasions, and there was comfortable seating and easy access to the bar. The place did seem kind of run-​down and unattended, though, with gross leftovers and sticky liquids on many of the tables.
I suppose, though, that if you just want a pub with a little atmosphere to grab a drink on a weekday night, the Volunteer is there to take the position.

Hard to decide how I feel about this place. It is obviously popular as when walking in there was a wall of noise coming from the swathes of international bright young things.
I prefer my pubs a bit less riotous than this barnyard, but my eyes lit up at a good ale selection, including the best pint of tribute that I have sunk in a while.
The toilets are so far apart that a minor essay is required on the wall, high in the air between here and there, to divert the fellas away from the ladies. The seating is a mixture of low comfy tables and high tables

Wir haben dieses Pub durch Zufall nach einem langen Spaziergang gefunden. So einladend wie es von außen (Tische und Bänke auch draußen) war, so gemütlich war es dann auch von innen. Schöné, gemütliche Sofas, Sessel und rustikale Holztische sowie altmodische Oma-​Lampen geben dem Pub eine wirklich urgemütliche Atmosphäre.
Die Auswahl an Bieren war ordentlich, das Pint Guinness 3 Pfund 20. Außerdem noch einige Cider, diverse soft drinks (wie leckere feel good Fruchtsaftmixe) und Illy Kaffee (Cappuccino 1 Pfund 30) im Angebot.
Die Speisekarte konnte sich sehen lassen. Sonntags jedoch — als wir da waren — war leider nur eine limitierte Auswahl, so werden wir die Calamri mit Anchovis-​Mayo das nächste mal probieren und gaben uns mit den etwas bescheideneren Kartoffel Wedges mit sour cream und Hummus mit Gemüse und Fladenbrot zufrieden. Die Wedges waren sehr lecker, aber das Gemüse etwas lasch und alt (Karotten und Sellerie). Schade, denn Hummus und Brot waren lecker.
Sehr verlockend hörten sich die 5 Pfund (inklusive Getränk und Toast!) Frühstücke an. Ein typisches englisches, das andere vegetarisch. Auch das also beim nächsten Mal.
Insgesamt hat mir The Volunteer sehr zugesagt! Ein gemütliches Pub für ein nettes Bier in Marylebone und keine 50 Meter entfernt von der Baker Street Tube Station.