May 21, 2012
Thoroughly enjoyable visit on Saturday 19th May. This is a traditional, proper pub, with a fair range of well-kept ales from micros to regionals. Very friendly staff and regulars made for pleasant conversation throughout. For me it was one of those "I just went in for one and the rest is history" sessions. Please be warned, you have to be in the mood for crowds to enjoy at it’s busiest times, but your perseverence is well rewarded. I had Dark Star APA, Windsor & Eton Kohinoor, and Gadd’s Modern Mild all of which were in as good a condition as you will get in London’s best pubs. I might speak in isolation, but I loved it.

May 8, 2012
amazing place if we think that the harp is just in heart of the busy covent garden!! dark star and sambrooks always there .. very good staff with good knowledge about what their are selling to.. i enjoied the sausages that is the only food available..

May 5, 2012
The Harp’s a very small pub located in a prime tourist location between Charing Cross and Trafalger Square. The inside’s tiny indeed - there’s barely any room to squeze past the long bar into the back section of the pub. I recommend pushing past the other punters and enjoying your pint in the alley out the back door. The selection of cask offerings isn’t big, but of good quality. Harvey’s is always on, plus a rotating list of interesting micros. On my last visit, I enjoyed offerings from Crouch Vale and Sambrook’s (boo!). The ambiance isn’t great - it’s often too stuffy and full of bearded types. The Harp works best as a stop on a crawl. It’s a place on the journey, not the destination.

March 29, 2012
How do pubs this small, manage to survive in London? I asked myself as I found this bar (using no map and only a CAMRA Good Beer Guide). On entering I realised. It was heaving with humanity, all talking and drinking like men possesed. Most had been drinking for some time, you can tell can’t you? There must have been 50 or so people in the place. They were all over each other, trying to let people pass or get to the bar, all good natured and obviously normal for The Harp. On a quieter day, it is wide enough for two to pass each other along the bar area and past that it widens out a little, but it can’t hold more than 20 people without it spilling into the street, which I have done on numerous occassions since I have discovered this place. That first visit however was great fun, as everyother one has also. There is an upstairs area too, but I’ve never ventured up there. Beer choice and service are not an issue here, both top notch; this is a serious beer drinking pub which is well run and a joy to have in this part of tourist London.

March 27, 2012
Very traditional feeling central London boozer. Pretty atmospheric, but could maybe do with being a little bit less popular. In fact, quite a bit less popular as it was rammed. Didn’t really have anything knockout, but at least they have a few casks. Can’t ever imagine staying here that long due to how crowded it was, and this was pretty late on a Thursday. Glad I tried it, but probably won’t be rushing back.

December 30, 2011
OK CAMRA, what is the fuss about? Pub of the year? Would be interested in seeing the criteria, as I know two of the other finalists and regionals finalists, and they beat this place hands down. The Harp is a small, standing room only pub off Covent Garden. My pint of Over the Moon was excellent, but the place was SO disappointing. I want to enjoy my pint, not neck it because standing up and drinking is the ’thing to do’. Maybe if your 18-21 in Yates’ it is....but here? Service was ok, place was rammed, so it was pretty business like. Beer well kept, and the selection was good, but not outstanding (w.r.t. other pubs in the City). However, this place lacked soul and ambiance. I had a pint, left, and don’t feel the need to go back unless I’m spitting feathers at that end of town and can’t be arsed to walk or tube somewhere more pleasant. CAMRA POY committee, for shame...

December 30, 2011
Crowded hateful little pub. CAMRA pub of the year? Why? Just why? OK, the pint I had was decent and there is a good selection, so nothing wrong with that. However the whole place is way too crowded to be enjoyed. The only pub I’ve ever been in where idiots deliberately obstruct you on the way through the throng. Vile little dive of a pub ... don’t bother, London has much more to offer and many finer pubs with better beer and greater comfort.

December 5, 2011
Small traditional English pub not far from Trafalgar Square. Very popular. Customers are often out on the sidewalk and back of the alley. Some prefer drinking in the living room on the 1st floor. Good selection of cask ales. Good service. Sausages on the menu. Can a man desire more?

November 4, 2011
Too crowded for comfort when I visited in the evening. Only the English like to drink in such conditions! The usual mix of microbrewery beers with silly names which, when you find one you like, will have been taken out of the rotation next time you visit. The fact that this place won CAMRA’s pub of the Year award says more about CAMRA than it does about the pub

October 14, 2011
Classic little pub dominated by dark wood panels. Crowded, which results in good rotation and good condition on the beer. Small but interesting beer selection of high quality.