"So, this place (right now is a complete and utter train wreck. It seems that it is going through some re-branding or something and during that time, they are actually staying open. This was the bar 'Swanky Bubbles ' which was featured in an episode of Bar Rescue, featuring that angry guy who looks like a Dark Crystal muppet creature and goes around screaming and threatening people. It didn 't take long for that iteration to close ... it re-opened about a year ago as a British Pub called The Victoria Freehouse. First of all, this might be one of the worst physical locations in history for a bar. At night, it looks like The Five Points from Gangs of New York. This is not an area you want to be walking around in past dark. During the day, the street next to it is filled with tourists and should be called 'Cheesesteak Rowe ' because there are so many sandwich shoppes. I actually passed by the bar twice while looking for it, as did a stranger who also was looking for it. (she walked in and walked right back out, FYI Finally, we found the door and we couldn 't figure out if the bar was open or not because the windows looked dark and it looked like the outside hadn 't been cleaned or washed in years. Upon walking in, I was told that they were out of nearly all their British beers, the UK-style cask system was not working (despite being featured in recent Instagram posts and a few of their menu items were unavailable, which also were featured in social media posts. Off to a bad start. To make matters worse, the prices of beer was shocking here. $10 per pint ... in fairness, it 's a proper 20 ounce British pint ... but still. That 's a lot for this grungy area! The bar itself feels about 20% of what a British Pub should feel like. I spent a lot of time in London and despite a tin ceiling and some British beer signs (ironic, given that they were out of most it just doesn 't feel like a proper pub. It feels 80% like a bar from the late 2000 's with rose coloured walls and dark wood bar and stools that were being used during the George W. Bush administration. It smells like stale beer and the area behind the bar was a filthy mess of pens, pads of papers, wires and just looked unkempt. (Now I sound like John Taffer! The staff was nice enough, although it seemed they were pushing the drinks pretty hard. Overall there was a bit of a sense of embarrassment from the staff ... mixed with a sense of desperation. This was a bar without an identity and is clearly going through changes. During such a re-brand, it would be smart to close completely ... or at least take Instagram down showing a British Pub. Based on other recent reviews, others seem to agree. I hate to give a bad review to a struggling business, but I feel like I was ripped off here ... $20+ for two beers and not even the ones I wanted. The beer tasted a bit stale and was served warm ... the closest thing to an actual British pub that I felt vibes-wise ... but likely unintentional. Stay away from here until they figure out the rebranding ... I 'd be happy to update my review once they re-open but as of now, I feel like they are selling a bill of goods they can 't deliver on. Not sure that I 'd ever eat anything that came out of a place in this sort of disrepair. The fellow next to me seemed to be enjoying his Irish breakfast ... but just looking at it triggered my gag reflex. Sorry, but hard no on this place until it fixes itself."
Vegetable Curry
