Bars & Clubs, Ethnic Markets, Restaurants, Brew Pubs, Gift Shops, Stationery Stores, English Restaurants
After Work, $, Family-Friendly Dining, Fireplace, Lunch Spot
The internationally known British Pub and Restaurant has flourished through several expansions. The restaurant serves daily specials like Sunday roasts, fish-and-chips, burgers, bangers and more, inside a comfortable and casual setting. The Pub is traditional with its own social life. Its popularity for a "pint-stop" is almost legendary. People come from all over for happy hour, soccer games, Trivia Night, karaoke and of course, the warm comfortable atmosphere that is second to none. The British tradition continues next door with Ye Olde King's Head Gift Shoppe, offering PG Tips, Cadburys chocolate, Heinz baked beans, Jewelry, fine wines, cheeses and other wonderful gifts.
While in Santa Monica I stopped by Ye Olde Kings Head since I heard it was good. I sat at a table for about 15 minutes before anyone took my order. Finally I was able to flag the waitress down. She said oh I forgot about you. I ordered my fish and chips and got it about 10 minutes later. The food was very good. I waited another 15 minutes after I was done eating to ask for a box and to get my bill. While I was waiting I heard the wait staff telling other customers that their credit card machine was down. It was down for about 45 minutes then I was able to pay and leave. I wasn't even apologized too not alone offered a discount for the trouble. So overall the food was good but I probably won't go back back because of the service.
Posted 01/15/09 | Report Abuse
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This little store is fun to visit, and as an ex pat I really enjoy being able to find my favourite childhood eats and drinks - even Ribena! It's predictably expensive - but I haven't found another with the product variety or anywhere close to it.
Posted 12/17/08 | Report Abuse
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Though I'm not English, I enjoy browsing this store - and there is so much to see. Tea cups, tea, greeting cards and so much more. Staff are attentive and friendly. If you're looking for a unique gift - this is the place.
Posted 05/03/08 | Report Abuse
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I like to shop here at Christmastime and around my husband's birthday. He's English and loves a Lion Bar (proper English Chocolate bar) or a good 'ol Plum Pudding. I am fond of the soft serve ice cream machine they have now. You get a choc/vanilla swirl with a Flake Bar sticking out of it. It's yummy. Don't forget to get your tea and crumpets here as well.
Posted 05/02/08 | Report Abuse
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I pass by ye Old King's Head Shoppe all the time and finally one day I decided to go in. People always seem to enjoy themselves there. I liked the chill atmosphere. Also their teas and flowers were fabulous at a good price!
Posted 02/25/08 | Report Abuse
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The restaurant offers great English food. Loved the chicken curry. The service was excellent and the price very reasonable for the quality of food served.
Posted 10/09/07 | Report Abuse
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The food here is classic English pub food, its ok, and overpriced -- It was about $12 for fish and chips. Their kids menu is a good deal thou-- $5 for a kids fish and fries which is equitable to a more the more expensive single piece of fish and fries on the adult menu.
Posted 11/09/05 | Report Abuse
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I have a weird fetish with candy bars outside the United States. Nothing is more delightful than having candy from England, and Ye Olde Kings Head has over 50-60 selections.
The store also has little pots and pans, but I really do not pay much attention to that.
It was made infamous when the Ozzy Osborne came and bought $700 bucks worth of candy from the store.
You need to check it out.
PROS: The Best Selection of British Candy this side of the Pacific
CONS: Store is extremely small and cramped
Posted 11/04/05 | Report Abuse
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Here's a funny story...not funny "ha, ha" but you know what I mean. I was in Santa Monica entertaining friends from the UK who felt a bit home sick - so we went to the famous or should I say infamous Ye Olde Kings Head pub for a pint.
We were coldly greeted by the hostess and told her that we'd like a table to drink at and perhaps nosh on some snacks. We were promptly seated at a nice cozy booth.
Then it went downhill fast. After we ordered the first round of ale, the waitress asked if we were eating - and we said that perhaps we will later after we chit-chat and drink a few cold ones. She got mad that we weren't ordering food and told us (didn't ask us) to leave the table and go the bar. So we asked for a manager. He was just as unfriendly, but at least asked us politely to move to the bar, which we did.
Because of location change, she gave us our bill and transferred us to a new waitress. We paid with a credit card and when we got our check - the 20% tip was already included. Given the fact that she was so rude, we found it ridiculous that she would add a tip to our beer tab. Again after talking to an uncooperative manager, he took the tip off and gave us a new check. We paid in cash minus the tip and decided to leave. Fortunately my UK friend (who's VISA card we were using first) has this service that whenever there is a charge on his card, he gets an instant message. Well - Ye Olde Kings Head decided to add another $50 to their total having our credit card info on file. We went back and literally almost had a fist fight with the manager.
Nobody apologized or treated us politely. I would avoid this place like a plague. They're rude, unprofessional, dishonest and the place is a total UK knockoff anyway with a limited seleciton of beers.
Stay away from this place and don't use your credit card.
Posted 03/19/05 | Report Abuse
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manchester city
by paul welsh
manchester citys games are all important!!
Posted 08/30/09
Poor Service and Over Priced
by TempusNunc
I went to the pier for my birthday and thought I would splurge at this place.
I ordered the Queen's Fish and Chips, which consists of one piece of fish and fries and tartar sauce. The price $13.99. A little bit steap for no side!! My companion ordered Chicken Cordon Blue, which came with Mashed Potatoes, a spot of Gravy and Brocolli and Carrots, for $14.99, which I thought was a better value.
We dined inside. A woman with a British accent took my order. Brought the order and never once checked to see I we needed anything. I was tempted not to leave a tip, except that the busboy did ask if we wanted anything and filled our water glasses.
The food, at least the fish and chips were alright, but not worth the $13.99. I would not go back becaues of the price and the total lack of service!!!!
Pros: Food was OK
Cons: Poor Service
Posted 07/24/09
Definitely check it out
by sheridanm1
I had the pleasure of trying Ye Olde King's Head for the first time last night. The Shrimp Marie Rose (appetizer) was a little bland. The Vegetable Samosa more than made up for it. YUM!! For dinner, I had the Chicken Mushroom Pie?to die for. We wrapped up our scrumptious meal with a Pear Triffle and some soothing teas. I couldn?t have asked for a better dinner or a more relaxing atmosphere. I will definitely be back.
Pros: food, atmosphere
Cons: service was a little slow
Posted 11/14/08
Food worth the bad service?
by SK1985
The food is great here, especially the fish and chips or the curry, but the service is absolutely horrible. They do not really make an effort of coming to your table. After you order, the customer has to be the one to call them over. The bus boys tend to be much more polite and helpful than the waitresses, in my experience the smallest thing will offend the waitress and she'll be short with you for the rest of your time there. Despite this, my friends and I absolutely cannot resist coming here for their food. As long as you do not expect the best customer service, I'm sure you will have a good time. I should also add that they have a "rule" on their menus, which do not allow you to share fish and chips with anyone at your table and if you do, they charge you extra. I do not know if this is even allowed in the first place.
Pros: Food, Location
Cons: Customer Service
Posted 10/17/08
Not what it used to be
by BrianfromGlendora
Haven't been to Ye Olde King's Head in a few years. Since I was in Santa Monica last weekend, I thought I'd give the othe old place a try for dinner. Rude service, very slow to be served my meal and the quality had certainly gone down the tubes, friend ordered the fish and chips, and I had a steak and kidney pie. The fish was overbattered and overcooked, chips were certainly not freshly cut and fried, tasted more like a frozen variety. My pie was below exopectations, mostly a tasteless gravy and not much in the way of steak or kidneys. I found out the ownership had changed a few years ago, that could explain the decline in qualtiy at this old standard. Gave the shop next door a try for some tea, way overpriced........I'm going to one of the other shops in Santa Monica, on Wilshire Blvd next time I need my tea fix.
Posted 05/20/08
Terrible and rude service
by flimsypaperdoll
Terrible service. I came here with a friend early one night, at 5. We were seated all the way in the back room, and the hostess seemed cold and dismissive. So did the waitress. We ordered one king sized fish and chips to split, 1 DISH!!! We ended up waiting more than an hour. All the while, other people were seated, a party of 8 was seated, a party of 4, and they all ordered many dishes. They all got their food within 15 minutes, even those that ordered fish and chips, while we waited an hour for our one dish which we ordered at least half an hour before all of them. Our water glasses were never refilled. With no apologies or explanations, (it would have been nice if our waitress came over and explained to us why we were being ignored), when our food finally came, I told her that we had been waiting for more than an hour for our one dish and wanted to know what happened. She merely chuckled in a patronizing way, and said "i don't think it was an hour". I said yes, it was, we came in at 5, and now it was 6:10. She said it was a slow day. I told her everyone in the room had gotten their food within 20 minutes after being seated after us. She said in a horribly condescending tone "Well I don't know what you want me to say". I was flabbergasted.
RUDE. RUDE. RUDE. avoid the fat lady with the belly.
Pros: fish and chips, or so i thought
Cons: rude staff, untimely and irresponsible
Posted 11/26/07
Don't eat here
by jm9999
It amazes me this place gets such high reviews. When we ate there it was terrible.
1) Service was extremely slow (waited 20 minutes for our first drinks)
2) They don't know how to cook a steak. I ordered a medium steak and it overdone.
3) Fish and chips were dry and inedible
4) They screwed up french fries. How do you screw up french fries?
This place is, at best, marginal bar food. If you want to hang out in a smoky, noisy pub and eat mediocre fried food then you might like this place. If you want a good meal in Santa Monica look elsewhere.
Pros: Black and Tan was good
Cons: Food, atmosphere, service
Posted 08/13/07
Maybe it was a slow week for treacle pudding?
by calibrit
I'm a British Expat feeling the need for some old fashioned fish and chips and a pint of draught cider. They had a wide selection of draught beers and the menu was full of great British fayre. The person on the table next to me had a steak and kidney pie that smelt lovely. Although his veggies looked overdone.
Food: The chips were not traditional British chips, just the regular frozen variety found in markets everywhere. It was topped with a huge piece of battered cod. The cod turned out to be a small piece of cod encased in a batter that was solid and over an inch thick. Sawing through caused it to crumble into little pieces. The cod wasn't able to hold it's shape, it crumbled too. It was accompanied by a lovely tartare sauce that tasted home made. No vegetables, traditional peas or even a small salad, just a sprig of parsley.
Dessert was rice pudding, tinned but warm and a treacle pudding with custard. The rice pudding came out in a glass trifle dish on a glass plate, it tasted ok. The treacle pudding was served on a dinner plate with a strange pattern around the edge. It looked as though they had been to a garage sale for their settings. The plate allowed the custard to develop a skin and get cold very quickly. And the treacle pudding was a dry, stale, square with a slightly sticky crust. It was so stale it had the the same aftertaste you would find in a soggy, stale cookie. I can't imagine what they were thinking serving something that had clearly lain around for quite some time.
Service: This was slow and tired despite the patio having just four parties. Glasses of water arrived after dinner. I also noticed that, despite the fact that most of the tables were empty, she made a party of three move over to share one small table suitable for only two diners, then pulled the tables apart to allow a couple to use the other table. Made no sense at all.
All in all it was a very disappointing meal.
Pros: Wide selection of British Draught Beers
Cons: Food, disappointing and tired
Posted 05/12/07
Fun place to play darts!
by dmenkes
I came here one Friday night with a bunch of buddies and had a blast! Their beer selection is excellent and they have darts which are fun. Their bathrooms could afford to be tidied up a bit.
Posted 11/23/06
the best british pub...
by bmickp
All the people that work at YOKH is actually from England. This place knows whats going on. Good beer.
Posted 10/24/06
The fish and chips are deeeeeeeeeeelicious!!!
by malmed
Wow, I'm blown away by the fish and chips here...they've also got the best rhubarb pie.
Service is absolutely wonderful. Watched a bunch of the world cup soccer games here. Really crowded but the servers seemed in on all the fun and they kept the food and drinks all flowing. Good food, fun atmosphere.
Pros: Guinness on tap, best fish and chips!
Posted 09/07/06
A Friday night review.
by rachel1215
Every bar has its days; this review is only a reflection on Friday, since that's the only day I've been:
The crowd was a lot older (I'm 22), but interestingly mixed. We knew this Brit pub was legit when I heard Brit/Aussie guys talking. The crowd was friendly and seemed like they all knew each other. A whole bunch were playing a round of darts. The white Russians I had were ok-strong. I'd like to come back happy hour and try the food. Overall, just an average Friday night.
Pros: friendly crowd and bartenders, local feel
Cons: horrible music, older crowd
Posted 08/09/06
Love the fish and chips!
by lambthelamb
I had the queen size fish and chips, and it was great. Nothing pretentious like what other restaurants are trying to make the dish into (no Japanese fusion please), just traditional British fish and chips. It's almost as good as the one I've had in Bath UK, a hole in the wall place where all the locals go to. I am going there again today to watch the world cup series.
Pros: Fish and Chips!
Cons: Parking is confusing, don't park right across street, super expensive.
Posted 06/25/06
A jolly good time!
by gjrjones
This place was fantastic! I had my birthday dinner here last weekend with about 12 people, and they were more than accomodating. Our table was set up for us before we arrived, and we were sat immediately. My girlfriend brought a cake, and they even served it with candles, sang, and gave me a souvenir card with a polaroid! Our waitress, Deb, was excellent. She was very nice, attentive, and made sure we were all having a good time throughout the entire night. The food is great! A very traditional British menu- the fish & chips were the best I've had outside of London! The atmosphere is very cool - you feel like you could step outside and see Big Ben... very authentic.
All in all, it was a great time and I will definitely go back!
Pros: Food, Atmosphere, Beer selection
Cons: Nothing
Posted 05/18/06
Taste of Britain, more than you'd budget?
by runner0382
Having lived in London for a year and just having returned for the third time, it's nice to know that the King's Head is so close. The pub food is generally good (just as it is in the UK) and will give you a sense of what that food is like (filling!). Everyone is always friendly - you may be invited to join in a game of darts or chatted up by a true Brit. Beer is a pretty good selection but PRICEY - 5.50 a pint to be exact, and there isn't anything you can't find if you look for it elsewhere. Go for the hospitality, the friendly people, good food if you eat it, and the nice beer variety, but don't expect a normal bar tab at the end of the night! Great spot, a vital part of the touristy section of Santa Monica, nevertheless. Cheers!
Posted 05/24/05
User review by nancy689
by nancy689
Try the King's head burger..it's beyond juicy; one of the best burgers I've ever had!
Posted 03/15/05
Fish and Chips!
by chains007
The English aren't necessarily know for their food - but for the few things they are known for - this is the best place on the westside to experience them. The fish and chips are a must - served with perfect tartar sauce and vinegar - and the portions are huge. Of course, a great selection of beers from across the UK. The crowd is a little older, which gives this place a little character.
Posted 03/07/05
English breakfast
by zouri
I loved the decor and atmosphere here. They make a great English breakfast, but I'm afraid that'sa once-a-year meal for me because it's absolutely swimming in grease. That's the style though, and it's authentic and lovely.
Pros: Nice atmosphere, Good food
Posted 12/07/04
Great!!
by wakuria
For those who grew up on fish, chips, sausages and the like, this is an excellent spot. Try the bangers and mash or just the banger sandwich- heaven. They also make great liver.
Love the food and when DJ Danny is spinning the music is superb! Wish it had a bigger dance floor and more Danny nights though.
Pros: Food, Atmosphere, Nostalgic
Cons: None
Posted 07/13/03
British food IS good!
by mea
Friendly service and comfort-style cooking is what you can expect at King's Head. Everyone in our restaurant tried a little of everything else what someone ordered. The pub appetizers are just that, food to tide you over while you have a beer, it's not an indication of the restaurant food to come.
Dessert was tasty, too. For those American Harry Potter fans, you can finally find out what treacle is. There is another Harry Potter dessert, though not named as such in the menu, you can order with spotted dick (bread pudding with raisins).
Pros: Great atmosphere, Good beer choices
Cons: Pay for parking
Posted 11/27/02
Loved the Hig Tea
by valeraxy
Went to the afternoon tea -- endless pots of tea and a three tier tray with the best sweet & salty finger food you can get. It doesn;t look very much, but it adds up -- nobody left hungry! The service was excellent and very accomodating for our group of twelve, and the atmosphere is just fabulous. With tax & tip it's $17 per person, which is not very much. The only thing I didn't like were the plastic seats -- they make you feel sweaty.
Pros: Authentic, good value, very friendly service
Cons: Plastic seats
Posted 11/18/02
Yummy!
by eyeliner1
The reason I love this place so much is that not only is it geared toward the older crowd with the Pub but it is great for families also. I love to take my kids there with a group of my friends and eat fish and chips and drink a Shanty and get the mashed potatoes for the kids! I can't afford to go to England myself so I love to go to The Kings Head and at least get a little taste of it.
Posted 11/01/02
EXCELLENT!
by bfpierce_99
This is a great place to go and have a kick back relaxing meal. After eating fish and chips in London, this place could teach the Brits a thin or too.
Pros: Relaxing, Great service, Great British fare
Posted 10/17/02
Yummy Fish & Chips
by pamster
We were referred to Ye Olde King's Head by some Brits - they said it was the best Fish & Chips around - and it was the best we've ever had!!! Wonderful moist, flakey, lightly battered hunks of fish.
Pros: parking across street
Posted 10/03/02
Bloody Good Time
by skadip
This is a great place for fish 'n' chips, a good beer, and a "true" Brittish feel.
Posted 08/29/02
Cheers!
by Kayotae
Sample some genuine English pub food and wash it down with a pint of some real ale! Every time I'm in Santa Monica, the King's Head calls to me, and I've yet to be disappointed by answering.
Great service, excellent food, and beer better than the watery swill you'll find in most places. Now if only parking in Santa Monica was as good...
Posted 08/16/02
Taste a Pasty
by Thefoxchaser
Out standing food and the Cornish Pasty is GREAT. I'd make a day-trip from San Diego just to eat here.
Pros: Great Food, Comfortable, Nice crowd
Posted 08/07/02
A nice pint . . .
by Stewboss
There are quite a few British Pubs in Santa Monica but I'd rate this one the best. I can't think of a better place to get a pint. The food on the bar side is ok, nothing fancy but certainly palatable. A nice side of chips will help your Boddington's or Carling to go down just a bit better.
Posted 07/09/02
English Pub
by JJones
There are two parts to this place. There is the sit down restaurant where you can get all of your favorite English dishes. And then there is the pub. Two distinctly different atmospheres, but neither out of place.
You can go straight from your nice relaxing dinner right into the pub to hoist a few pints and sing your favorite songs with the regulars.
Pros: Ambience, Beer Selection
Posted 06/20/02
Cornish Pastie OK
by DavidStansbury
The British expats who came to L.A. decades ago, must have thought Santa Monica was as close to Brighton as they were going to get. How else to explain the scattering of pubs, tea shops and traditional English restaurants that dot the blocks between Ocean and the Promenade. This is the real thing: Cornish Pasties, Steak and Kidney Pie, Bangers and Mash. English food is more than an acquired taste--it's an acquired sensibility. But there's warmth and friendliness and excellent beer with a game of darts in the pub after lunch.
Posted 05/20/02
