BITE user comments - Beerwulf
Comments by Beerwulf
As ever a cut well above your average 'Spoons especially on the beer range and condition. The staff too are well trained and seem more numerous than in some JDW establishments. Sampled several beers in our group, all in very good condition, and in response to Florida (below) the Dark Start beers are back on the rear bar, and last night's range included 'Darkness' and Sambrook's Powerhouse Porter.
18 Dec 2013 20:47
The Old Poet's Corner, Ashover
Top notch. Very good service even under pressure, and excellent beer and food. Well done to the management and staff
8 Apr 2013 11:19
Have been here twice recently, once with a group, and although it was busy both times the service was very efficient, quick, and friendly. I was very impressed on both occasions. The small range of about three cask beers were all well kept and tasty so no complaints there either. makes a change to come across a place where the staff are well trained and know how to do a good job, even under pressure.
8 Apr 2013 11:14
Well, don't forget that Slerpy didn't see a 'thug' or a 'bouncer' on the door either, he's just recycling someone else's nonsense as he appears to have a grudge against the pub. as someone who uses the pub regularly as opposed to once a year, I would say that beer quality is nearly always between very good and excellent.
As for opening up Pub of the Year voting to the whole membership, I suggest Slepry that now you're in a very deep hole of puerility you stop digging: this would mean allowing the 99.5%+ of voters who have never set foot in any given pub to exercise their prejudice/ignorance and add it to yours, and come up with a totally meaningless result! I think maybe it's you that needs that nursing home you're fantasising about? Meanwhile, why bother coming across from Croydon to sample the warm beer even once a year? I doubt you'll be missed, frankly!
4 Jan 2013 17:37
Slerpy, your comments are absurd; they would hardly stand up in a primary school playground. Not being a regular user of the pub you have no idea what you're talking about. Everyone except you realises that Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are two days in the year when pubs get busy; many pubs have a ticket-only policy, and usually paid-for tickets. as a regular user of the Hope I know that (i) The pub is very small and (ii) It often gets very busy, because it's a good pub.
Neither I nor other pub goers enjoy being squashed like sardines in a pub just because a lot of people who don't support pubs during the rest of the year feel like turning up to the ones that haven't shut down for want of custom in the intervening 360 days.
On this issue I think that the management at the Hope has come up with the best way I can think of to deal with the the problem. If this means that there's more likelihood that locals and regulars get a ticket for these days, that's exactly how I think it should be. If I go there on these nights I don't want to share it with peripatetic drunks and find my own friends squeezed out: they have made the pub what it is; why shouldn't they be prioritised? As it is, anyone from outside Carshalton who likes the pub and wants to go there can do: just be there beforehand and ask for a free ticket!
As for 'Loyal01' and his comments about 'thugs', Fosters and comparing the Hope to the joints in Sutton, this is so barking it's beneath contempt.
4 Jan 2013 10:26
The Rosemary Branch, Islington
Cycling past, looked in, as it looked as if it had a good vibe- but offhand service, £4 a pint for poor quality Seafarers, and no acknowledgment on departure, so I won't be returning in a hurry.
25 Nov 2012 18:26
The Greenwich Union, Greenwich
The biggest thing to hit you is the bill - frankly even I really loved their beers the prices are a total rip-off. As it is, I had the London Pale, which in bottle I find quite a decent drink. here it was so cold i couldn't really taste anything apart from the bitterness of being asked to part with far too much cash. If anything the Old Brewery in town is even worse - they wanted over six quid a pint for the 4.8% Oktoberfest!! Where are these price hikes going to end?
19 Oct 2012 19:55
The Craft Beer Co, City of London
Very good beer range and well-kept; but not a place I really enjoy, as it's just a rectangle crammed with people and I don't find it has any of the pubby atmosphere which I look for. The same problem as the Bree Louise in Euston. Like one or two others I haven't found the staff very accommodating, and on one occasion rather brusque.
1 Oct 2012 15:37
The Park Tavern, Kingston Upon Thames
Went in here recently doing a recce, and in a position to put a bit of business their way, as it was always a pub I wanted to like- but when I handed over �4 for a pint of Hog's Back TEA and waited for my change, I was informed that it was �4 a pint!! In Kingston!
Well, they have lost my business for good...if more people voted withn their feet when being ripped off perhaps we would get saner prices. "If you let them do it to you, you've got yourself to blame" as the Who once sang...
1 Oct 2012 15:27
Externally still a fine building with good brickwork looking more like the Midlands than South London. Inside it's steadily and slowly losing that attractive slightly shabby character that I thought worked well for a working-class, market pub. It hasn't lost all its character yet but given Youngs appalling track record in recent years I fear the worst.
Older patrons will remember that the service here used to be very good, but the woman who served me the other day looked about as cheery as the grim reaper, certainly ill-suited to the pub and its history.
I note that RINO below suggest Youngs take a 'good hard look' at the pub. I would rather they sold it to a more sensitive operator or into the free trade.
19 Sep 2012 19:36
Well I finally plucked up the coutage to look in after the refit, much as I expected. Like many of Youngs recent jobs the result is hardly something you could call a pub,which is why (in answer to 'airofmystery' below , whose geography is seriously deficient), people like me are not raving about the place. It's more like a plush annexe to their new hotel next door, with an attempt to reposition the clientele accordingly. The heritage interest inside has been compromised, notably the public bar swept away and little snug in the former salon which has been opened out. Most irritatingly all the tables are laid out for dining which is clearly what the place is interested in now.
My late father used the public bar here for forty odd years since the late 1960s..I remember it as wonderful meeting place for all classes and ages, sadly neglected in later years. I'm just glad he didnt see the place like it is now--certainly as a mere beer drinker he wouldn't have been particularly welcome anyway... :-(
19 Sep 2012 19:22
Agree with earlydrinker (below) that this must be about the last pub in Youngs estate which they haven't yet wrecked. Lovely external appearance with quality brickwork and proper windows, and inside, although sadly all knocked through, the front area still feels like a proper public bar, like all Youngs pubs had 20-25 years ago. Beer prices very high, but then they have to fund all those bonuses and refurbs, don't they!?
18 Sep 2012 20:37
Very good. Landlady is a star, and keeps fine beers, notably the Oakleaf IPA. We were sent up the road to the Tunction Tavern nearby (not listed on this site) which was having a beer festival, and which I would also recommend. Ask landlady or regulars at the Queens for directions.
24 Aug 2012 21:25
Ales in very decent condition, only handicapped by usual IOW problem of few micro brewery offerings from across the water. Food was quite superb, both quality and quantity.
24 Aug 2012 21:22
This pub is the epitome of what has gone with with Youngs - now its a Thatcherite property company whose only driving mission is to make money. No interest in history and heritage, the customers who put them where they are or in providing value for money. They have already trashed 80% of the internal character from the once-wonderful Olde Room restaurant to the characterful back bar and the great old public bar on the car park side. Now there are rumours that they are about to ruin the Swan Bar with wide screen TVs and turn the rest of the place into a gastro joint. Youngs should be charged with heritage crimes. The best thing that could happen to the pub before it's wrecked any further is for this awful, awful company to sell this place, and the Duke's Head which they are planning to wreck as well, and the rest of their estate, to someone who cares about the best traditions of the British pub.
3 Nov 2011 17:58
The Land of Liberty, Peace and Plenty, Heronsgate
Excellent. A proper, unpretentious beer pub with obliging service and first rate ales. A very rare straight ten from me...
3 Nov 2011 17:45
Have to say that overall I was a bit disappointed given the long-standing GBG status. To be fair the beer I tasted was absolutely fine, and the food (a baguette) was also very acceptable. Like the last reviewer I felt that the young staff could do with a bit more training in social skills like thanking us for our custom on departure (isn't it amazing how few pubs seem to do this, it doesn't cost anything but engenders so much goodwill). the building was too far upmarket for my taste and the abusive sign on the door about muddy boots promising further abuse for offenders was hardly welcoming (and certainly not funny if that is the intent). Amusingly a group of blue-rinse Daily-Mail middle aged women were discussing the Euro crisis over their wine: "That Papandreou should be shot...."......
3 Nov 2011 17:42
The King and Queen, East Malling
Well, I've no complaints about the beer quality (although rather pricey): the Westerham Prince of ales was very nice. But for a pub that obviously fancies itself as a bit of a food joint ("will you be eating, sir?" ; and the cutlery already on many of the tables etc), it was a bitter disaapoitment. the 'Ploughmans lunch' came with a soft spongy white baguette which I assume came from one of those cheap Lidl or similar freezer packs: very poor. No butter , but a squirt of marge in a fancy pattern (pretty inedible but went well with the baguette I suppose); and a pretty indifferent piece of cheap n' cheerless cheddar. NOT a good �7 worth...
29 Oct 2011 19:42
I find this is now my first port of call when in Ambleside because they have a good range of generally well-kept local beers which kick the s**t out of Robinsons or Theakstons. being a southerner i do get irritated by the 90% 'pints' I get served and the not always co-operative response to top-up requests but the QH is not alone in this criticism...
26 Oct 2011 00:36
Proper traditional pub; these days let down by the beer which is mediocre at best. I'm not sure whether Robinsons beer always tasted this bad or whether it's just that the new micros are just so much better at their game.
26 Oct 2011 00:33
Came in on the strength of "CAMRA's Lake District pub walks".
Good range of beer and excellent garden as the book says. However, and I don't blame the author of the book (!) we were a bit hacked off, as a group, that the tables in the main bar were occupied by a family consisting of about four small children (aged under ten) who had a large chair each and a pair of tables to themselves forcing us outside. Parents, needless to say, seemed not a jot embarrassed let alone apologetic. Pubs have to decide if they are catering for paying adults or acting as creches!
26 Oct 2011 00:30
Hawkshead Brewery Beer Hall, Staveley
Very good beer. Try the bakery next door for food...
25 Oct 2011 21:28
Tweedies Bar at Dale Lodge Hotel, Grasmere
Beer is fine but food is seriously over-priced. I paid nearly fourteen quid for a tiny curry that didnt even have any rice with it. No wonder they said (to my surprise) 'anything else'? when i ordered it!
25 Oct 2011 21:27
Called in here recently, it was quiet but was impressed with the pub and the attractive wee garden outside, offering fine views across the Brede levels. Only tried one ber (Harveys Hadlow) but it was well-kept, actually I thougth in better condition than what i had in the two (good) pubs in Icklesham on the same day.
3 Oct 2011 13:55
The 'rumours' about changes coming up are more than rumours- the planning application has gone in some time ago- with no consultation they plan to open up the whole place, trash the public bar, and turn it into a gastro eatery. Once the staunch defender of the public bar and traditional ale, Youngs are now the epitome of the 80s style 'Chicago Boy' capitalism.
And just when you thought the Greyhound up the road couldn't get any worse, there are plans afoot there to destroy the amosphere of the Swan Bar...
1 Aug 2011 15:25
My first visit since Youngs takeover was not a pleasant experience. The ordinary Bitter was poor and the service was terrible. As usual Youngs are nudging their pubs towards the gastro eatery set with the beers very much an inconvenient sideline, it seems...
1 Aug 2011 15:16
Totally agree with tone of recent comments: the CAMRA award for this outstanding Wetherspoons is well-deserved and a tribute to the excellent manager and his staff. The beer range is tremendous and the selection will satisfy the most demanding palate. Great to see that Thornbridge Kipling is appearing frequently at the George: IMO the best beer that Thornbridge offer. I doubt if there are many, if any, better JDW pubs for the real ale enthusiast in the land...
10 Jul 2011 20:56
Have to say I agree with a lot of the other comments on here that the place isn't as good as the (former) hype. I too have found the beers on gravity to be below par more than once, and I don't like the interior layout which lacks any intimacy whatever. The prices are pretty stratospheric- its not even in central London don't forget-the CAMRA discount if you can get it simply brings the costs down to 'pricey' rather than outrageous. In contrast i was pleasantly surprised at the competitive prices at the newly opened Euston tap nearby- will be interesting to see if the latter maintains them once it's established...
6 Dec 2010 18:33
Was impressed with the beer range and quality- cn't complain that the place was very busy, but yes the prices are very steep, which will deter me from more frequent visits.
6 Dec 2010 18:21
Rat Race Ale House, Hartlepool
Interesting gaff, and very welcome addition to the real ale options in a town not noted for them. The beer in this tiny but convivial conversion was in very good form, and it seems to attract the more discerning drinkers to judge from the conversations we had.
6 Dec 2010 18:16
Trafalgar Freehouse, South Wimbledon
Mmm, beer quality has been distinctly iffy on my last few visits- too warm, off flavours, etc. The other problem is that although the music sesions can bring punters in they can also be an unwelcome surprise if one turns up midweek and finds it impossible to sit down and have a quiet pint..
9 Aug 2010 00:13
Nice building, well kept ales, pleasant garden. The one thing that nearly always disappoints here is the service: I always seem to have to wait ages to get any. The older woman who I assume is the guvnor's wife seems more interestried in faffing about with paperwork or slicing lemons than serving non regulars. Today I actually gave up after several minutes and went back to my meal before it got too cold.
9 Aug 2010 00:09
First visit: lovely exterior, and inside not overly tarty, hope they resist any further opening out and gentrification. Good choice of beers and mine was in good condition.
10 Jun 2010 22:21
The Black Bull Hotel, Coniston
I came on here to say something about the prices only to find that several others have beaten me to it! �3.50 for the stout, and over �3 for the bitter!! Outrageous! I'm a Londoner and I have NEVER paid �3.50 before, and I wouldn't have here if I knew beforehand they were going to charge that. I have to say in fairness that the stout was excellent but for a beer brewed up the road with no transport costs this is a rip-off, pure and simple. i commented to the woman behind the bar and she said- 'it's not expensive for the quality of our beer'. Sorry madam, wrong. But as pete Townshend remarked: 'If you let them do it to you, you got yourself to blame'...
10 Jun 2010 22:17
My first visit and it was a brief one. I was impressed: attentive service, excellent beer quality. Guv'nor thanked me for my custom on leaving, which is appreciated and noticed by discerning drinkers. Pricey but where isn't in central London these days?
8 Jun 2010 21:32
Mmm, have to say I have some reservations like other reviewers about the real ale quality- it's good to see an interesting and wide range of ales on, but on our last visit the Cotleigh Buzzard was very flat- it was changed without a gripe but left on when it should have been removed from sale pronto. The other beers were not quite there either. Landlord offers good service but some of his staff need a bit more training, especially IMHO in the real ales. Contrast the young barman in the Hope nearby who is very knowledgable about the beers and even tailors his advice to the different customers.
I was also disappointed to read about the frosty welcome extended to younger visitors. Although I'm certainly not young and don't have any offspring likely to be affected a good pub should offer welcome to all (legal) ages and be self policing. It's the best advert for the next generation of drinkers to acquire a good role model of social drinking.
8 Jun 2010 21:29
I'd echo much of what has already been said by recent reviewers: a welcome and on the whole pretty sensitive restoration of this fine old building-the loss of the two separate bars is compensated for by the good use made of the space and the retention of some compartmentalisation. The (real) beers have been good- among the five on offer at the weekend was Rudgate Ruby Mild and Dark Star APA- very nice too! and the food- well, my Sunday nut roast was far and away the best I have ever eaten anywhere- and I've had a lot. Quite superb, and for nine quid, cracking value. Yes, you can keep Wimbledon village with its pretentious plastic ripoff pubs and precious overpaid w******s. I can't think of a better beer drinkers destination in all the london suburbs than Carshalton at the moment.
Finally, If the management is reading, I hope they retain the proper urinals in the gents- all you need to do is replace the tatty copper piping!
30 Nov 2009 21:11
The Sun finally re-opened tonight after a very expensive and lengthy makeover. Gone upmarket, decent range of ales from five handpumps, a few mildly interesting fizzy drinks, fairly tasteful decor. They have retained the bar back but knocked the pub through into one space albeit with distinct areas. If the new owners read this, in the short time I was there two people came in for a look but left without buying a drink because of the musak.
I'll give it time to bed in before re-rating it but a promising start and reinforces Carshalton as one of the top cask ale destinations in Greater London.
13 Nov 2009 00:43
Just gets better in here ticking all the boxes for a great urban pub despite the short time it's been here. Well-run with attentive, efficient and polite young staff; plenty going on in the upstairs function area to appeal to all ages (and the fact that young and old mix here is a great asset to the place). Good value food, top notch beer (the Hophead last week was subliminally good and I was tempted to award my first ever straight 5 on the beer scoring Richter scale). 15% off the already reasonable prices with CAMRA membership.
7 Nov 2009 00:37
The Great Western, Wolverhampton
One of the very best pubs in the country in my humble opinion; not only is the beer excellent (the Holdens bitter was stunning on my my last visit) but the service is top notch- you never have tyo wait long- anyone who has had to endure sloppy slovenly service will appeciate a place where staff know what they are doing and are always attentive.
30 Aug 2009 22:55
The Hope continues to improve with perhaps the best combination of beer range and quality for miles around. I think the beer here is better than at theTrafalgar (Merton, the current CAMRA London pub of the Year) and certainly keeps Carshalton right out in front as a real ale destination in South london and Surrey. If you haven't been, try it soon.
30 Aug 2009 22:47
A must visit pub in Kirkcaldy for its wonderful interior where tiles dominate, but the bar back with built-in old publican's office are also quite superb. Top notch gents too with the old Doulton glass sided water cistern, with etched writing: "Doulton, sanitary engineers, London, Paisley & Paris"
Oh and by the way, beer not bad either with Deuchars, Inveralmond Ossian and a BrewDog guest on my visit. No food anymore though..
17 May 2009 22:59
Very impressed with the welcome and the range of ales on offer. The little off sales bar and the fittings in the public bar are further reasons to visit
17 May 2009 22:51
I would recommend a visit primarily for the wide range of ales (with Fyne Avalanche, one of my Scottish favourites, seemingly a regular visitor at the moment). A large transient trade means that the rather offhand service is largely unnoticed, together with staff who act as if they have no idea what a full pint is. Architecturally worth a look too, together of course with the Cafe Royal next door.
16 May 2009 16:38
Pretty good; for beer quality, in my top five Edinburgh pubs, I would say.Very interesting site, extremely handy for Waverley.
13 May 2009 23:02
Finally got down to the Dagda after four of my six months in Edinburgh, and after the Oxford it has quickly gone close to the top of my favourites list. Nice pubby atmosphere, so far the beer (Kelburn Misty Law) very good, remains to be seen if the quality is consistent.
13 May 2009 22:47
The Cask and Barrel, Edinburgh
I Like the ambience inside but for a pub that has such a wide range of cask ales they really need to employ some staff who have some enthusiasm for and knowledge of them. On my last vist this weekend the middle aged bloke on duty looked with disdain at my ordering two half pints, and offered no help at all when I asked for some info about one or two obscure ales. They might be better off keeping fewer beers in better condition, and marketing them with a bit of gusto. Disappointing.
Also, curious name- I thought a cask WAS a barrel?! Some marketing kid's ignorance i assume..?
4 Feb 2009 00:20
After a month living here in Edinburgh nothing has changed my pre-existing opinion that this is my favourite pub in the city. A good basic drinking shop with excellent cask ales and almost always somewhere to sit. My only complaint is that they don't seem to be on top of the cellar management inasmuch as the Trade Winds/Ossian seems to go off whenever I arrive and they don't have another cask to go on straightaway... :-(
4 Feb 2009 00:13
A real gem in an area where most of the pubs are depressingly poor. Here the place is simply furnished, unfrilly and pubby. Mercifully there is no intrusion from machines or tv sets. Conversation rules and long may that continue. The ale is very well kept too.
28 Sep 2008 00:25
An impressive building from the exterior, it has had all the interior character ripped out of it by the usual insensitive tarting up. In that respect it matches the neighbourhood which is inhabited by and large by rich tasteless 4x4 drivers. The real ales are nearly always disappointing and it feelsmore like a restaurant then a pub. If you live in Chigwell and want a proper pub I suggest you move.
28 Sep 2008 00:20
Tremendous unspoilt art deco estate pub. On my visit the beer was in very good form, the localswere friendly and the staff pleasant. I shall go back.
28 Sep 2008 00:14
In response to Aleking, the Deuchars IPA was �3.15 a pint and I for one won't be ordering anymore of it at that price no matter how good it might be. I also agree with other recent posts about the decline of the ambience, service and lamenatbel closure of the Swan Bar. It epitomises the decline of Youngs itself into a greedy pubco run by sharp suited property developers.
2 Sep 2008 07:32
At last after years and years of mediocrity this pub is looking up with civilised new management (who have banished the pondlife) and decent real beer. Go and support it!
28 Jun 2008 23:57
Popped in yesterday- what a fantastic job Sam Smiths have done in here- quality fittings lovingly matched to the original and creating a splendid atmosphere with about seven separate drinking areas. The glasswork, mosaic flooring and excellent woodwork as well as a renewed ceiling all made an excellent impression. As Rattus says what a contrast with Young's (asset strippers) Ltd who are busy closing and selling off their portfolio of traditional pubs- the latest candidate being the Tamworth in Croydon. Well done Sam Smith's!
6 Jan 2008 12:51
Surprised at the poor ratings altohugh agree that as often in JDW the service elaves something to be desired. The beer (real ale I mean) quality and range though is very good, arguably the best in any Wetherspoons in the Croydon-Sutton area, always well kept although yes I agree a tad too cold. the Arran Dark this week in beer festival was superb. Give the place credit for what it does well, and don't blame it for the quality of some of Wallington's inhabitants.
6 Nov 2007 22:04
No. The Harveys was really very poor on our visit- flat and lifeless. Didn't help that the place was empty and they had awful piped musak. Frankly amazed on this outing that the place is in the Good Beer Guide given the competition in the area.
31 Oct 2007 20:05
A bit disappointed; my meal (the 'Apricot Nut Roast') was all chutney and apricot with nothing resembling a nut roast anywhere to be seen, let alone the puff pastry that was meant to encircle it. my friends and I were surprised by the tinned(?) runner beans and the rice which looked like Uncle Ben's stuff, esp in view of the other comments baout the food here. The bloke behind the bar was almost surly, so not a great experience- nowhere near as good as the Six Bells at Chiddingly.
31 Oct 2007 20:02
A straight ten for this place- on my first visit this week. A top rate pub where the beer, the food (range inc veggie options) and prices; the atmosphere and ambience; and the welcome, were as good a sone could expect. Why it isnt in the Good Beer Guide when far inferior places are is a mystery to me. Impportyantly it is still a pub first and foremost- the food hasn't taken over and turned the place into some sort of restaurant as so many pubs have become.
31 Oct 2007 19:58
Still an atmospheric interior, and good quality Copper Dragon beers. Recommended.
29 Oct 2007 20:21
Trafalgar Freehouse, South Wimbledon
Top notch- excellent beers, good service, great community pub. Highly recommended.
29 Oct 2007 20:18
The 'tartan' carpet in the Swan plunges new depths of poor taste, closely followed by some of the chavvy tiling and kitsch tables in the kiddies area. A building with the gravitas of the Greyhound deserves better. New guv'nor very defensive and curt towards the old regulars.
Prices ridiculous. Bring back John & Judy!
Beer quality is sound however and deserves its place in Good Beer Guide still..
29 Oct 2007 20:16
Went in there last week - it's got new people in. I was appalled by the shocking sloppy and inefficient service. Not only did we wait over three quarters of an hour for a chip butty (in a very quiet pub) when the woman came out to ask if we had ordered chips, she proceeded to give us a litany of excuses about their system breaking down rather than offer an apology. The barman couldnt apologise either, and didnt even mange eye contact. We were dismayed by the landlord's phone manner to a potential residential guest too. An altogether depressing experience. To be fair, the beers, from nrew micro Copper Dragon, were well kept.
29 Oct 2007 09:42
I notice that 'Blartman' in another post lamented the lack of Stella in another pub. 'Nuff said, I think, with regard to his post here. I think sympathy is more appropriate than contempt...
4 Jul 2007 00:49
A real rising star on the Croydon real ale scene. The landlord is making a stakhonovite effort to promote good beer, and has not only had all sorts of great offerings on, but is doing regular promotions with different brewers- Westerham next. Well done.
1 Apr 2007 14:26
The Coach and Horses, Carshalton
Not very community friendly. New regime kicked out the Carshalton Chess club at a few days notice. there are better pubs in Carshalton. The potential is there but has been unrealised for many many years..
1 Apr 2007 14:20
Making a real effort to improve the beer range- some very interesting micro brewery beers have appeared- usually two on alongside Greede King and Courage. Becoming a Carshalton destination for the beer drinker- if only they would stop sticking theose irritating RERSERVED signs on the tables when they think foodies might come in..
31 Mar 2007 23:54
The Tamworth is now under threat of demolition (Oct 2006) in favour of another dismal block to line the pockets of a greedy property developer. Write to the Croydon press, and above all to Croydon planning department, protesting. The planning case officer is Nicola Townsend
17 Oct 2006 17:56
Very good boozer with nice ales. Only criticism is that it gets too busy!
9 Jul 2005 13:45
I dont think it's the place it was. The Horsham set in their flashy cars seem to have moved in so the place is frequently awash with parked limos outside. ther food prices have been hiked up - nearly a fiver for the smallest baguette I have ever eaten. the building is very nice and the beer well kept, however.
9 Jul 2005 13:43
The Barley Mow Inn, Kirk Ireton
Splendid. Well kept beer, simple but good value food. Great building treated with respect. Landlady is rather taciturn but knows how to look after her beer so I forgive her that. How a proper pub should be.
9 Jul 2005 13:39
The Fox and Hounds, Carshalton
Mr Molyneux is sadly spot on. I have stopped going in as its run by their kids, who have no idea what they are doing. Full of the aggressive types who inhabit this once pleasant suburb in too lareg numbers. Asfor the Cask Marque....ha, ha!
9 Jul 2005 13:32
Appalling. Sadly a typical Surrey pub. Only interested in shifting shedlaods of indifferent mass produced food and ripping people off. I have never forgiven them for closing the nice little public bar at the eastern end of the building several years ago. It was a small amnd pleasnt little adult drinking environment where one could escape from the loud families with their irritating kids.
9 Jul 2005 13:28
The Abinger Hatch, Abinger Common
This once good pub is now a metaphor for just about everything that is wrong with this country as far as pubs are concerned. The latest refurbishment has trashed the atmosphere and turned it into a well nigh 100% restaurant where the concept of a casual pint is an alien one. Most of the clientele are too rich to realise they are being ripped off- we arrived there by bike last week and one of my friends paid �4.75 fora watery bowl of soup, and...wait for it...�1.55 for an 'extra bread portion' which amounted to three thin slices cut from a cheap baguette. Unbelieveable!
Add to this the 'service' already mentioned, and the fact that at weekefdns you have the uncontrolled kids of the aforementioned customers running around screeching, and you have all the ingredients of a crap pub wher emaking money is the only concern of the management. I now loathe the place and shan't be going back in a hurry.
9 Jul 2005 13:24
Selborne Arms, Selborne
The Selborne Arms is a pub that serves food, rather than a restaurant that sells beer. That's why people like me value it and make a beeline for it whenever I visit Selborne. if people want to bring their kids and dogs out with them for a meal then there are plenty of places they can go instead. I hope the management realise that beer drinkers who value old fashioned pubs that havent been tarted up or 'gastrophied' are valued by many of us even if we don't always take to cyberspace to say so!
29 Jan 2014 22:10