The Monkey Puzzle

Lovely little pub for an after work drink or casual pint out. The prices are super reasonable for London at 4 pounds a pint and there’s plenty of seating inside and outside. I would really recommend this place if you’re in the area.

Bartenders are very attentive and so is the owner. I have traveled through the area 5 times and the last visit the bartender even remembered my credit card because she like the fountain pen on it.
The beers are all good proper pours and are reasonably priced.
The pies are what keep bringing me back in. The special is sometimes chicken and leek which is by far my favorite and when that is out for the day I go with the mushroom and beef which is good also.
I like this place the most in the area because it does not seem to capture all the Paddington travelers and seems so much more relaxed and welcoming. They do a great job and that keeps me coming back for more…

It’s clear that the Monkey Puzzle has a strong local following, and as a Londoner I’m not looking for a tourist trap. However, having heard good things about this pub I was disappointed — the drinks were fine, there is a large outside area and the service was good, but the place is sadly lacking in character. Perhaps this was partly due to us being seated in the dining area for just drinks, but it just didn’t have the cosy atmosphere we were looking for. It wasn’t a «bad» pub per se, but I wouldn’t rush back.

Saw the reviews on Unilocal,decided to give it a try. Had their butternut squash dish with goat cheese and chestnuts and it was exactly what I needed after a 6 – 7 hours flight from JFK. Gary (I believe he may be the owner or manager) made me feel welcome with engaging banter and giving me a nice port. He is a great host and the staff is quick to take your order. The place itself is homey, cozy, and vacillates between bustling cacophony with little elbow room and quieter moments where you can hear yourself think a bit. I highly recommend this place, I haven’t tried their beers or their meat dishes but if their vegetarian dish is any indication, I would think their meat dishes would be just as good. Their burgers certainly looked impressive! May have to come back here while I’m in town!

Awesome welcoming staff. Great bartenders and wonderful owner Gary who greeted us at our table. Service, ordering at the bar, was A +.
Food outstanding as well. We had hummus, cheeseburgers (kids) and fish and chips, Chocolate brownies and a great selection of brews, ales and ciders.
Our somewhat early night wrapped up with more conversation with Gary. His genuine enthusiasm, willingness to share and customer service was stellar. This pub was as welcoming and friendly as any I’ve ever visited.
Thank you Gary and staff for a great night.

I’ve only been here twice both on sunny days. They have a nice outside area to have a drink although next to a busy road. The choice of beers is limited but fine to quench your thirst.

Favorite neighbourhood pub. Best beer garden in paddington, nicest owner and free wifi on top

Awesome place for a quality hangout with friends we had a great time when we were here last weekend. Our waitress had the most amazing attitude, she was dressed properly and was very communicative which set the mood for the night.

Excellent after work location with very spacious indoor and outdoor venues. Very friendly staff and cheap drinks! Unlike most pubs close to Paddington this one is not packed with tourists.

What a fun welcoming pub for our first night in London.
We were traveling to London, and we came across this while walking around. The staff are friendly and we had excellent service. They have a variety of food, some typical British food and fish & chips, etc. but also hummus, veggie plates, and the like.
My sister ordered a beer, and I was happy to find some cider here. The location was great, and they have indoor & outdoor seating.

Reasons I like this place:
(1) There’s a large outdoor seating area which catches the light perfectly in the afternoon/​evening.
(2) Not many people know about it.
Which leads me to:
(3) It’s fantastic for after work drinks on sunny days.
Staff are polite and friendly, and the portions of chips are huge. Also, it’s not a Fullers pub as most pubs in London tend to be, it’s Hall and Woodhouse so they serve Tanglefoot and Badger.

The Monkey Puzzle is definitely a pub for the discerning primate. Warm welcome, cool beer, hot food. All served with a smile by the Irish landlord with a sense of humour to brighten up your day. Check it out.

My friends and I were pleasantly surprised with this typical British pub. If you come to London as a tourist and want to enjoy dinner and drinks in a true English atmosphere, this is the perfect place. We were the only foreigners in the pub, yet we were nicely welcomed and not looked upon at all. We enjoyed the place a lot, it was really nice to be in place designed for locals and not for exclusively touristic purpose. Slightly out of the center but not to far either, it is close to a serie of hotels, a couple of minutes from the Susssex Garden bus stop.
The pub is quite spacious, with two large wooden rooms decorated in a cosy and retro way, and a yard in the front with tables you can sit at when the weather allows it. The staff is very nice and service is as fast as it can be.
The food was delicious and quite unexpensive. We went there on a Saturday night, there was a barbecue in the front yard. I had chicken and vegetables kebab served with a pita bread and salad. Meat and veggies were grilled directly on the barbecue. Quality was excellent, quantity was way sufficient; it was not your usual kebab with two peppers and a half and three pieces of meat, it was two long kebabs of various fresh vegetable and perfectly grilled chicken with a nicely spicy dressing. My friends had cheeseburgers and were very satisfied as well. The pub serves fish and chips during the week, but not during the week end, so they said.
There was a good variety of beer and ale, as well as several stronger alcohols and wine. We had three glasses of ale for 4 pounds and a half, which is quite unexpensive for London.
All in all, I recommend this pub for dinner and drinks before going out to a club, as we spent a very nice evening, and will certainly come back next time we are in London.

Although situated in a modern building (unprepossessing, as ahunter says), this Badgers pub is much cosier inside than it looks from the street and is well known for its impressive summer barbecues. The interior has lots of wooden furniture, and feels more like an old-​fashioned local. (One wall has a large map of 18^th century London on it).
The clientele are, in fact, mostly locals and are a friendly and down to earth bunch, as are the staff. Nice Dorset real ales, including Badger Best and Tanglefoot.