from a 'regular'. firstly, everyone, let's remember: this place is not necessarily styled on your typical restaurant. it is styled on a typical pub. as someone who spent twelve years in england and has thus frequented many a pub meal, i can tell you that pubs are more laid back. you would typically go to them for a lazy evening or weekend meal while you have drinks with friends or family. of course, you're still entitled to good service, but just bear this in mind. :)
my trips to the londoner are usually fueled by a wish to hang out with friends, with drinks, food and a game of pool, and i've always had a relaxing time. the atmosphere is laid-back, casual and fun. food has always been good (apart from my very first visit, where i had a very unfortunate run-in with an admiral's pie that has since thankfully gone from the menu), hot and ample-portioned. though i don't drink, it seems and i've been told that the variety of beers and ale is pretty good.
in terms of authenticity, of course you can't beat a real british pub since it doesn't have age behind it, but they do really well and you can tell they're gathering their decor and settling in. the food gets fairly close (apart from the sticky toffee pudding - which is still good), and i encourage everyone to try the loaded cheese fries and shepherd's pie, and the salsa for thechipsand salsa is fantastic. i've also had the smoked salmon, caper and cream cheese omelet which was pretty good. for the record yes, they do offer hot tea. :)
for those interested: pool has been around $6-$8 an hour and on occasion some of the cues and balls can be a little worse for wear, but granted, this isn't a pool hall - there are four tables upstairs along with two dart boards, a jukebox, fusball table and table shuffleboard. there are spots to sit outside and a balcony and additional bar upstairs (to bear in mind if you order food upstairs - the order has to be taken and has to come from downstairs!). brunch on sundays 10:30-3!