The Rye Hotel

I'm not normally a fan of so-called 'Gastro Pubs' with their flouncy and ridiculously over-stated menus. Too many of these places seem to think diners will be fooled into thinking their food is something special just because they have sunblushed tomatoes, rocket and parmesan salads and pan-fried this that or the other on their menus. 99% of these places are pretentious and charge way over the odds for their very average to poor dishes. However, I’m pleased to say as a regular visitor to this pub that the quality of the food is consistently very good whether you go for a chicken and mushroom pie or a Thai curry. They may overstate their menu from time to time (I once sampled “Fillet of John Dory in a Japanese crumb with a pea and mint puree and chunky chips”), but as it was one of the nicest plates of fish and chips I’ve ever had then I can excuse them!
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Miranda - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Monday, April 20, 2009

For the people who have moaned about the service charge - this is optional so if you were not happy you could have refused to pay it and explained your case rather than moan about it after the event.

I am a regular at the peckham rye and I feel the food is a fair price considering what you pay in the East Dulwich area. The pub is not a wetherspoons so you will not get 2 beers and 2 burgers for a £10. But I feel you do get a quality meal - the thai curry is particularly good.

There is a nice beer garden and in the summer this is a treat. In the winter it is a nice cosy place to settle into. The only complaint I'd have is that if you get a drink at last orders you will literally be kicked out while drinking it. They shut up shop straight after the bell.

This is a nice pub and I have found that staff to be friendly - don't let people put you off it - it's worth a try to see for yourself!
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Eorann Kavanagh
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Sunday, March 01, 2009

I am surprised by the bad reviews on here too. I have been going to the Rye since it opened and love it. The food is excellent, it is also served until 3pm which is a great plus for me as I'm often sneaking back from work at that time and can pop in and have a quick lunch.

The serving staff have always been polite and helpful in my experience. I wouldn't go when it is going to be busy (Sat & Sun lunchtime) as they are bound to be stretched at such at that time.

It was a brave venture opening up where it is just south of Peckham and its popularity has spawned a few other local gastro-pub enterprises in the area, all in competition with The Rye, therefore, I do hope the bad reviewers have another go back and if they aren't satisfied, speak to the Manager, he owns the pub and it's in his own interests to listen to complaints.
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Jonathan
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, January 07, 2009

i have to admit from all the times i have been there which is now quite a few the food has always been brilliant and i have to contradict the reviews below where they say the staff are rude because i've only ever found them polite and extremely friendly.

if you do order from the bar you don't end up with the service charge but from the service i've always recieved i've never minded paying it.
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nigel newton
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, December 19, 2008

Whenever I go to the Rye I leave feeling like I've been robbed! The staff try and add on extra's like service charge, when they dont even offer table service to take your order. Ok, so they bring the food from the kitchen to your table, but how else is it supposed to arrive! I dont believe this requires a seperate service charge of 12.5% on top of the already ridiclously priced £10 burger. I was also charged a service charge on a glass of wine, because the Manageress offered to pass the drink from the bar to my table which was right next to the bar and she was already standing on my side of the bar! I thought perhaps that would be part of providing good customer service, so was shocked to see I had paid for this, I would happily have got up from my chair and leaned the 50cm distance to the bar to collect my drink!!

The food is over priced, the alcohol is extortionate, and the staff are rude.

Give it a miss unless you have a liking for snotty ex-pubs that seem to have mistaken their location for Central London, and thus charge accordingly!
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Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Third time i've been and second time for food. First time I had roast pork, which was nice, when they eventually got it right- but it was only nice and certainly not worth £12. The service was awful- there were only two of us in at 12pm on a sunday- and they forgot one of the meals- when they brought the second one they'd forgotten to put two of the three vegetables on the plate, and when i pointed it out the girl looked at me like it was my fault.

I thought i'd give it another shot, assuming that everyone has an off day, so went for lunch today with two friends- I had fish pie which was bland and burnt round the edges- the other two had roast chicken which was dry, and they couldn't cut the yorkshire puddings as they were rock hard. (since when does roast chicken come with yorkshire pudding anyway?)...if you're gonna charge £12 for a sunday roast in a pub, it should be pretty good.

Although this time the service was friendly- it was way too over attentive- 3 different people came up and asked if we were ready to order within 3 minutes of us sitting down. One waitress in particular was utterly annoying- shouting greetings, orders and everything else- seemed to love the sound of her own voice.

All this, coupled with the over loud and intrusive music, and the fact that when we got in at opening time- 12pm- all the tables were reserved (meaning we were rushed) make this pub an unpleasant experience for sunday lunch, and i couldn't recommend it less. Oh, and they automatically add a service charge to your bill- they have a looooooong way to go before they're good enough to do that.
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jamie
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Sunday, November 23, 2008

This is one of my favourite pubs ever! My boyfriend and I have spent many a cosy Sunday in the winter here. I also went with some friends for a birthday dinner there and the food was delicious and the staff were delightful. Go on the Rye!!
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, June 18, 2008

I can truly say that is my favourite place at the moment.. I am shocked to read any bad review of the place at all.. Service, food, ambience, price are all fantastic.. Bit of a funny location but I love it...

We will continute to come back again and again..

the Clarks..
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Wednesday, April 09, 2008

This pub is not very good at all!

The least welcoming pub I have EVER been. On a sunday we had to wait 2 and a half hours for a roast and about an hour for some olives and bread - RIDICULOUS! But what is even more ridiculous is that we didn't get an apology. Any attempts of a complaint were met with a scowl and I would go as far to say that me and my fiends were scared of the manager who was just really rude.

I went back for a drink more recently - it was really quiet and two people were behind the bar - seemingly pottering around. They didn't acknowledge I was there and made me wait 5 minutes. A very silly place indeed.
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Hannah
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 5
Saturday, March 01, 2008

I love the Rye Hotel, the atmosphere is great, it's reasonably priced and I've never had a bad meal (of which I've had quite a few!). The bar snacks are lovely (spring rolls!), as are the roast dinners ... I had the veggie roast, which is delicious and my friend had the roast chicken, which for about £11 for half a chicken was pretty good value. The saturday brunches are also great, the food's lovely and the portions are really big. Oh, and I had the chocolate orange pudding after dinner the other day, definitely worth a try, it's so good!

When I've been the staff have always been extremely helpful and friendly.

Although it's in a random part of Peckham, it's well worth a visit.
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Emma
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Monday, February 04, 2008