The John Snow – Sam Smith’s Quest Round 11

The John Snow pub located on Broadwick Street in London’s Soho area was the lasted Sam Smith boozer which I visited as part of my Quest!

From outside the John Snow looks like your typical old school kinda boozer. Choices…choices, choices, there were three doors leading inside to the sanctuary of pub which stirred up a hornets nest among London’s LGBT community when the manger dared to throw out a kissing gay couple who were going at it last April! There was the saloon, public bar or the snug… the snug sounded nice and cosy so in I went…

The inside of pub was as I expected, lots of brown – dark wood panelling, brown walls and linoleum on the floor. Just how an old boozer should look and feel. The three separate areas of the pub were all seperated by open doorways, one of which you had to be 3 feet tall to walk under! There was an upstairs lounge which I never bothered to visit…

The John Snow was fairly quiet. There were only a handful of people enjoying a few Sunday afternoon drinks! Like you do… because I’m a nice guy, I walked the 6 feet through to the saloon to wait for the blondie bar tender who looked like he had enough brains to fill a smartie to finish serving the only other person at the bar! It doesn’t take much customer service skills to notice I’m next… it isn’t exactly rocket science to know that once he has finished serving the guy his two pints of lager, that the only other person standing at the bar is next to be served! Is that not how it works?

Just as the bar tender is pressing the buttons on the till to give the guy his change in walks a group of three guys and one girl who head through to the saloon bar. Three of them grab a table and some seats, one guy heads to the bar. Blondie bar tender with the bad skin then proceeds to serve the other guy. My mouth was actually open to ask for a pint of Old Brewery… which quickly changed to does it not look like I want to be served or something! Blondie pretended he didn’t hear me! Depending on my mood I have been known to voice my opinion quiet strongly on such occasions and then storm out, but I need to complete my Quest! I really hate blatantly poor customer service.

Sam Smiths could learn a thing or two from the Southampton Arms pub which knows how to treat it’s customers! I guess that’s why the John Snow was fairly empty and the Southampton Arms was out the door with people when I visited at a similar time on a Sunday! And the beer was better at the Southampton Arms… Old Brewery just isn’t that great a pint of ale, it is okay, nothing more!

The John Snow is a decent enough Sam Smith’s London boozer, which I would gladly pop into for a drink again if I was passing by the area and I was dying of  thirst, but only  if every other pub was shut! Incidentally the pub is named after Dr John Snow (1813-1858) who was a famous physician, widely recognised as a leading pioneer in the development of anaesthesia in Britain, as well as one of the founding fathers of epidemiology.

The John Snow, 39 Broadwick Street, Soho, London, W1F 9QJ

Related posts:

1. The Ordnance – Sam Smith’s Quest Round 7
2. On No Not More Snow Time At Hampstead Heath Pictures
3. Snow Covered Hampstead Brings Joy To Hundreds of Londoners
4. Live At Abbey Road Crossing On A Snowy Day
5. Southampton Arms Pub – A to Z of Things to do & Places to Visit in London