The Porterhouse

Great beer selection

What a big pub. Great to meet up after work. On about 14 floors I think. Has a great selection of European beers. Plus can stand outside on those hot evenings.

Sports too

You can watch the sports tv if you wish in here. Its an oversized pub and gets busy, but then thats covent garden for you, it spills out onto the front and is nice on summer evenings.

Good vibe

There is always a great vibe in here and whilst it is busy its on three floors with a nice sized courtyard out the front, which isnt always taken up by the smokers. Its relaxed in here yet funky. We stay all night usually when we come in here, just go upstairs for a different scene if you're bored.

Fruity beers

The porterhouse has a great range of beers aspecially the fruit flavoured ones. They do a lovely pint of Fruli and the cherry beer is pretty tasty. This pub is massive but does get packed after work so can be difficult to get a seat. Great central location.

Get lost

I agree with some of the reviews above - everytime i go here i get lost. if i pop to the loo i could spend valuable drinkig time finding my way back to the bar. A decent spot to watch football in, if you like to stand amongst the corwds.

Is busy good?!

This is one of those pubs that is difficult to review, 'cos it can get REALLY busy. And sometimes busy is good = atmosphere, fun, fit blokes etc. And sometimes busy is bad = can't get served for hours, hot, nowhere to stand, lots of elbows. I would recommend trying it if you've not been, particularly if you can start early doors - like 4pm-5pmish and find a good spot.

Nautical but nice...

The Porterhouse is an absolute monster of a pub, that makes you feel like you're in some kind of psychedelic submarine after a few drinks with it's nautical themed interior...

The range of beers is pretty impressive, but is gets SO busy post 6ish that it becomes a bit much and a real endurance test to get served at the bar!

The downstairs area is pretty cool, and they play some decent old indie tunes, but the place isn't what it used to be a few years ago...

Best range of beer in London, live music and distinctive decor

If like me you're a connoisseur of fine beers and ales from around the globe then there is no better destination in London than the Porterhouse. They have literally hundreds of brews from every corner of the planet.

Some of my favourites are the draught Oyster Stout and Porterhouse Red and in bottles the superb Coopers Sparkling ale from Australia. On top of that there are the obligatory Belgium trappist beers and German weissbiers to name but a very few. A full beer menu will help you decide which specialities to take on.

I have had good food here in the past including an unusual but very tasty 'fusion' dish called the Thai Irish Stew. Great stuff.

I will have to concur with other reviewers that it does get very busy in here on most evenings and especially at weekends. If you like a busy party atmosphere with live music (on the lower ground floor) you will love it but if you prefer a quieter pint then it's probably best to visit during the day or at the beginning of the week.

Whatever you do though make sure you visit the Porterhouse at some point and try a beer you've never had before.

Packed Pub

Love this place, its got loads of character and lots of interesting drinks. The only thing I don’t like is how packed it gets…its really popular and gets totally rammed. I have been here lots of times for after work drinks and reserved an area for my birthday a couple of times, which works really well and everyone loves it. They often have live bands that are always good. Just don’t get lost as its all on different levels, its confusing!

Busy busy!

This is a large, very popular Covent Garden venue. It gets manic and on the sub-terranean levels it's pretty much impossible to get a signal on your phone, which is irritating when trying to locate friends in there. But if you can handle pushing past people all night to get to the bar and then back to your spot (which is a given with London pubs of this scale) it'll be OK. A good move is to hire out a booth if you are going with a group (it doesn't cost anything to do this). An interesting feature for me was the positioning of the live band that started playing halfway through the evening when I was last there, they were stuck up on a tiny stage suspended behind the bar!

a pub maze

This place is massive. Every time I go there I seem to be finding new floors, bars, tables etc. It’s got a great atmosphere but can get really busy on the weekend so better go there during the week. They have an amazing choice of beer so the perfect place for any beer lovers!

Busy busy

When I first entered The Porterhouse I was in awe as to how truly big it is. Has three huge floors and is definitely a popular destination towards the end of the week. Rustic interior unique to the local area, it is very proud of the impressive array of world beers it stocks, as shown by its displays. Does its own beers on tap, and the strawberry beer needs to be tried, even if it is not to everyone's taste. I recall taking on the formidable 15% Beelzebub lager from France a couple of years ago, that took some work to finish! Given the size of the venue and how hard it can be to find people in there its a shame mobiles don't work inside.

Good atmosphere, even though it can get a bit too busy at times. Worth a visit I think, a nice place for some progressive drinking.

Beer and elbows

The Porterhouse is a labyrinthine pub with multiple levels and a decent selection of beer. But it gets rammed Thursday to Saturday with the most spatially unaware people on the planet. Which is annoying. It also gets quite hot, so is definitely a winter drinking hole rather than a summer drinking spot.

My advice: start there for a few beers and when you've had enough of the elbows and handbags smacking you, pop across the street to La Perla and order an espresso martini or tequila and savour your escape!

Huge.

This is possibly the largest 'pub' I have ever been to! At first glance it's fairly impressive - interesting style and always hugely busy. But there's something missing...

Maybe because of its size, or because the bar staff are not particularly personable, I feel it lacks personality. And I feel that there are plenty more characterful places to go to in Covent Garden.

However if you're stuck for a place to take a large gang of people, you could do worse.

The Porterhouse

The Porterhouse is located in Covent Garden, just off the main piazza. The pub is set back slightly from the street, and is always rammed with patrons on a Thursday and Friday evening.

The pub is huge, with a number of levels, which can become a bit confusing after a few pints of the lager brewed in the on-site micro-brewery, and if you're arranging to meet people there you may want to meet them outside if you don't have a usual meeting spot.

Although I can't vouch for the 'real' beer, the lager is pretty good, and there's quite a wide selection of different home brews to choose from.

The pub itself isn't too bad a place to be - it can be difficult to get a seat unless you get there early but the atmosphere is decent and it's usually friendly enough. That said, it's nothing special, especially given the plethora of drinking establishments close by.

It's worth stopping by to sample the brews, but as for being *the* place to be? Probably not.

Decent Pub in Covent Garden

This pub is pretty big with three floors and a little court yard at the front. The beers are pretty good, (no tasteless wash) and there's a huge selection, including the Special Brew beating ~14% Santa Claus Brew. I like sitting downstairs, because the lighting is pretty low, the atmosphere is relaxed so you can just forget that it's still day on the outside. Another reason why I prefer downstairs is because the decor down there shifts away from that of the rest of the pub (where the same styling is ubiquitous throughout), so it doesn't have such a chain pub feel to it like that of the upper two floors. The music is probably to the tastes of the average Radio One listener, and it's not loud or obtrusive. There lots of comfy seating, and there's plenty of table areas for big groups too. And although I haven't tried their food yet, I will based on the fact the chips are big and fat and look really tasty. Not bad for such a huge tavern.

live music

theres live music in the evenings which is the best thing about this pub. the atmosphere is great, along with the delicious pub food. i do get a feeling that this place is understaffed and also i found the bouncers at the door not welcoming at all and seemed particular rude and questioned me about my id.

Busy but Lively Covent Garden Pub

Just round the back of covent garden, the porterhouse is a good pub to go to. I've been several times with friends on a friday night and have enjoyed it. The drink prices aren't too bad for central london and generally you can get served pretty quickly. It is very busy pretty much all the time but there are two floors so you should be able to satnd somewhere without being pushed around and enjoy the atmosphere. The interior is pretty good, it has that 'old' feeling about it even though it's probably not been around that long. Definately worth a try.