Shop looks nice and is well laid out. Its big for UK sporting shop standards. Quadruple the size of your standard Orvis shop.

Location gets a 5 due to accessibility of the shop by Tube (its very near Picadilly Circus) but if I were evaluating it on parking grounds, it would score lower.

Stock availability is ok. Sometimes they have stuff in the shop that is listed as 'out of stock' on the sportfish site. Fly tying materials section normally has what I need. Good hook selection. They don't seem to carry as many rods in shop anymore.

Friendliness and service are not good - unless you are wearing a 3 piece suit. I normally get ignored. Sometimes I have to stand by the till for quite some time waiting to make my purchases.

Value - not great. But then neither is Sportfiish. I don't think the prices are much higher than Sportfish, if at all, which is to their credit given the London location.

The best thing about this shop is that you can go in and look at or handle a piece of kit in person without getting harrassed by staff (because they probably won't help you) and then go buy somewhere else where its cheaper. Its a shame that it works out this way, as I'd like to support a shop with staff as opposed to a faceless website, but the customer service side of Farlows really lets itself down.

---------- Post added at 09:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:35 AM ----------

ratings submitted

The staff are very knowledgeable, and I think that must make the rest of us seem like complete dorks. There seems on occasion a bit of "in chat" which I just ignore I must say.

Occasionally I pretend I'm up for a complete salmon outfit and get fawned on, while being able to analyse later their advice. I preferred it when there was Farlow, Sportfish & Hardy all in Pal Mal.

Hardy made a huge mistake in my opinion closing that branch, though it seemed to be a bit lost on the few occasions I ventured in.

Obviously Farlows has pitched itself at the "keynty, ite of the hise" set. Stock - yes they have what you need - not always (often in my case) what you want, but that is modern business. Just my own fair opinion.

Firstly I have to declare an interest here having been Chairman of Farlows Group for a number of years and still have a close relationship with the Board etc.

Farlows (and Sportfish for that matter) has undergone a lot of change in the last 18 months under the stewardship of Grant Harris and there is much more emphasis on staff training both in how to treat a customer and also in product knowledge. There is also more focus on fishing rather than clothing than in the past. After all they do have the Royal Warrant for fishing tackle!

The relationship with Sportfish is a huge bonus as it does help to ensure stock is available in most cases and if not can often be posted to you for next day delivery. Also prices are the same as in the mail order catalogue.

They have also just launched a new ecommerce website at Farlows

So my view is it is well worth a visit and I am sure you will find the staff welcoming and well informed.

Richard

I only know four tackle shops in Central London, Farlow is certainly the largest.

I would like to see such a large store become an emporium of retail excellence where one might buy anything connected with fly fishing.

At the moment one couldn't buy alll the materials to tie a Jock Scott there. I realise the argument is "there isn't the demand" but such a store ought to have the presence to lead the market and create interest/demand.

Dressing Jock Scotts is a rarity these days ,like all stores it has limited stocks,but I usually can find much of what I am after.
The staff are much more aproachable than the rather stuffy lot that were in the arcade,and thats these days when I dont wear suits !

I think the key to that situation was mentioned in an above post ... a change in direction. After sportsfish threw Hardy's and they're aquired staff from Farlows on the mall ( the brilliant Brian and Robin etc). 'She' who was running the store decided to focus more on the label and clothing side, and get rid of all but the essential and more profitable lines of tackle.
However 'she' has moved on and thankfully some one realises that fishermen come to browse and occasionaly just buy feathers and fluff. Will also come back and buy more expensive items esp before trips. And develop loyalty to 'their' store I think you willl see farlows/ sportsfish stocking more and more.

As for snobbishness, I have never found it like that.... ever. And I am an outdoor worker one scruffy b*st*rd.

I was in there yesterday for the first time in a while (maybe 3 months) buying some tying bits and bobs and two staff asked me if I was OK or needed help. So that's a welcome change and it impressed me enough to come back and add this update.

I'm in and out of London a lot so Farlows is a good place for me to drop by. It's in a great location from both Green Park and Charing Cross tube stations.

The shop looks great and is nice to be in. The staff have always been helpful to me, although there does seem to be a tad of the 'in-chat' banter that someone mentioned previously, but that doesn't really bother me. If you need their help, they're great.

I mainly pop in for things like flies, nylon and fly lines and other little bits and bobs. Value is alright but some things are quite expensive.

They've got a good selection of flies so there shouldn't be any trouble finding what you need.

I just wish their clothing department was more inclusive. It seems that all the clothes they sell are very traditional tweed jackets and ties. If you're looking for functional fishing clothing, they don't have much of a range.

This was the first flyshop I went to when I started FF about 17 years ago. I lived then in London as I do now, and I find its location convenient if I need to pop in during work hours, though I find I use the online website more and more.
Brian was an extremely knowledgeable, helpful and patient man to me, a rank beginner (and completely unassuming, and unchanged in all that time) and I really appreciated that. I never felt patronised or that his interest was feigned. I often think of what he thought of my (and all the other gushing newcomers to the sport) ramblings of the horrible stockies caught in the previous trip! I always enjoy a little chat with him at the till as I pay for my bits and pieces. Maybe ONE day before I grow too old I'll actually make one of those Russia or Cuba trips that he hosts every year! Of course there was the odd stuffy or arrogant assistant, but then you get that in any type of store or location.
I've always found the prices, stock levels and variety of goods were good for the sorts of things I wanted or needed - lines, tippet materials, fishing luggage or clothing. Not the cheapest, but not the most expensive - they are not a bargain basement internet only shop, for which we must be grateful. Reels and rods (production) I'll now never buy at any shop in the UK, but I do confess to buying one little Abel-0 Ported from here at not too bad a price.