Pullens

This place looks lovely from the outside but the inside and the food sadly doesn't live up to it. I've been here about five times and the food has always been a big disappointment. I'm giving up.
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Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, August 11, 2008

Living locally my wife and I would love Pullens to be a great restaurant. It is in a superb location and is a lovely spot to sit, eat and watch the world go by.

Sadly the level of service is dire. When asked if it was possible to swap scrambled eggs for a mushroom on the cooked breakfast, not a massive ask, I was told that no substitutions were possible. Fair enough, but then the waitress added, somewhat inanely, that substitutions would not be possible, "especially on Mother's day". There were about 4 other people in the restaurant.

The service built up momentum, faster downhill, to the point where the waitress walked away while we were still talking and so did not hear our full order. Finally when coming to pay the bill, I had to go inside, was handed the card machine and the waitress curtly told me to follow the instructions and walked off again. No pleasantries whatsoever, not even a goodbye.

While the food is passable, if nothing particularly special, the level of service taints the whole experience. Having eaten there in the evening a couple of times the menu has tendency to be overly complicated and include at least one ingredient in each dish which inspires Marmite-like love/hate. Making it a little bit of pot luck whether or not there is something that really appeals.

Such a shame that a spot with so much potential delivers a really rather unpleasant eating experience. Will not recommend, very sad.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Sunday, March 02, 2008

Thursday 10th January 2007. Long, chatty dinner for two with two bottles just over sixty quid. Cornish mussels excellent, as was venison. Day special of cassoulet somewhat disappointing: mis-described by house staff, a bit dry, and cannnelini beans bit tough - overall tasty but unimpressive. Risotto on rocket OK. But the great things about Pullens are cumulative: no musak, friendly if not expert service, reasonably priced house wine (13.95 for a very decent Cote du Rhone), tasty food, no hassle. It's a very pleasant place for a quiet dinner - local feel, good quality ingredients.
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Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Friday, January 11, 2008

I had lunch at Pullens on December 3rd and can safely say I will never darken the door of this place again!

The interior of the restaurant is a good deal less welcoming than the exterior leads you to believe (maybe they are doing their bit to alieviate global warming? It's certainly the most charitable explanation for why the place is dingy and dark) and the food is nothing short of dreadful. My friend and I both ordered beef burgers which were largely inedibile. The meat tasted as though it had seen better days and I had to leave a lot of it as it was so full of gristle - as did my friend. When the waitress came to collect our plates she didn't even bother to ask us if we had enjoyed the meal which, given the fact that we had both left half our burgers, seemed a sensible question to ask, not to mention good manners!

We couldn't wait to get the bill and leave.

With many places to eat in the Herne Hill now you'd have to be desperate to go to Pullens - I strongly advise you not to.
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Hannah Williams
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, December 04, 2007

I have to agree with the other poster below.

Herne Hill is becoming more of a nappy valley and has reached a critical mass where people think it is acceptable to let their tots run riot in restaurants / treat them as creches.

i love children but these people display a selfish attitude to the quiet enjoyment of a nice restaurant to others.

i'm all for the signs which say "well behaved children and dogs welcome"

if i was naughty / disruptive in a restaurant when i was a kid (and i'm only mid 30's not some old stick in the mud) i was taken out straight away or threatened with a "good hiding" which soon shut me up. Why don't parents today do the same?
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james
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 7
Friday, November 16, 2007

I've been into Pullens a few times now as I'm staying in the area and I can't say I've been impressed. It looks lovely from the outside but....

The first time, I met my sister for lunch. The waitress simply couldn't be bothered with us (it was empty except for a rather irritating group of people who were letting their kids run amok ). The plastic table cloth was very dirty; so I asked for a cloth to wipe it. Which was brought to me (also grubby). I wiped the table and took it back. I don't think it would have been too much for the waitress to do it.

My sister ordered chicken liver paté which was absolutely delicious. I ordered baba ganoush. I was given a warm plate of aubergines stewed with red and yellow peppers ( a vegetable I absolutely hate). I assumed that a mistake had been made so I sent it back. The disinterested waitress told me this was how they prepared baba ganoush - I have NEVER seen a recipe including peppers and more to the point what I was given was a stew, not a dip.

The second time we went, we booked a table for Sunday lunch, only to arrive and be told (by the same disinterested waitress) that they'd already sold out of the Sunday roast. There was nothing much else on the menu, and the place was full of pushchairs so we went across the road to the excellent Commercial and had a great lunch.

I've been to Pullens in the evening for drinks and its like a different place - lively, fun - great atmosphere. I haven't eaten myself at dinner but have been with people who have and the food seems much better.

During the day, I'd say Pullens is a bit up itself. Also as someone without children, the constant presence of shrieking tots is an irritant - however Herne Hill really is the new nappy valley so its not surprising and the staff do seem well-intentioned towards children.

I'm not a huge fan. And the chairs are uncomfortable too.
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Tisiphone - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, October 31, 2007

I agree with Jo, we too moved to the area recently, again, wanting to make Pullens a local as it does look lovely, however we ate there for breakfast and i just cant bring myself to go back there again.

The scrambled eggs have obviously been moulded into a bowl or something before serving which makes one think they have not been freshly cooked and the potatoes served look like left overs from the previous day/night. I always cringe when i see other diners tucking in to a big breakfast!

The homemade museli also tastes mysteriously like Alpen.

A real shame.
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Chantelle
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 2
Friday, August 17, 2007

I can't believe some of the reviews on here. I had a meal there and it was by far one of the best I have eaten. The service was second to none and the staff were courteous and very capable to meet any requests I made of them. The owner was one of the most down to earth and approachable people I have had the pleasure of meeting. I highly recommend this establishment for its friendly, fun and family orientated atmosphere. I was glad I decided to take a gamble and go for a meal there. I was born and raised in the area and I was walking from the station and wondered if the old cinema was still there. I noticed Pullens and decided to go for a bite to eat. I will undoubtedly return there on my next visit to the area. Nice to find an unpretentious restaurant especially when I wasn't looking. I look forward to my next visit. In summary, its a great value, great atmosphere, friendly and warm place.
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Daz
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Having just moved to the area, I was looking forward to making Pullens my new local, but from the 2 visits I have made so far I would say that inconsistency in quality of food and slow service are real problems for this place. On our first visit for dinner on a Friday evening we got a good first impression. The waiters were friendly - if slightly harrassed - the place looked lovely with white table clothes and candles and the warm granary bread and oil we were served went down a treat. My boyfriend's springbok steak (an exotic choice!) was well cooked, though the sauce was a tad salty. My cod was very tasty, though slightly drowning in butter and I could have done without the tiny rubbery crevettes that came with it, which detracted rather than adding anything to the dish. For dessert the mature cheese plate was great but the serving of sorbet in a tiny metal dish looked like something you might expect from a school dinner. Overall though it was a pretty successful first trip.

Our second visit at lunchtime was less of a success. When we arrived we ordered coffee and a croissant, followed by omelette and Greek salad. The croissant arrived straight away, but we had to wait 20 minutes (sadly I did time it) for our coffees. The food took another 15 mins to come. To be fair the omlette was fine and a generous portion but the TINY Greek salad came in a shallow soup bowl with no olive oil / dressing at all and the bread on the side (charged at 90p extra) was a flacid, snowflake white roll which looked like it had been defrosted in a microwave. Being a French restaurant I would like to see Pullens doing proper, generous and tasty salads (nicoise, Greek, norvege etc) as you can get in cafes across France, where they don't see ordering salad as an excuse for ripping people off with second rate food. And the bread should surely be a fresh baguette?! There are two great bakeries in the area so no excuse!

Sorry Pullens, I want to be enthusiastic but I was really disappointed at this pretty appalling effort.
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Jo
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Two weeks ago we got some visitors from abroad, and decided to take them out for a real english stake. We headed to a different restaurant accross the road, when noticed the Pullens and decided to give a try. Before we stepped in to the restaurant, we were warmly welcomed by a chef (turned out he is the headchef) who was taking a breath of fresh air. After we checked out the menu and realised that there was no steak on the menu, we were ready to leave the place, when a friendly waiter stopped us and asked what the problem is. He arranged us the steaks - most delicious we ever had, wine was faboulous, and the bread with olive oil for strater - we could not get enough. Our guests were extremely pleased and we are also planning to visit soon. Thanks you Pullens for a great experience.
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Hanna
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, May 24, 2007