BITE user comments - Max1905
Comments by Max1905
As Oliver Hylton has commented, this is a decent little boozer with a friendly after work crowd. A Shepherd Neame pub so the beer is more than adequate if a little unspectacular.
1 Apr 2011 14:28
This pub always serves good ale and its good to see a pub supporting the local brewery at Tring. The food is generally good too, although their pricing can sometimes detract from the overall quality of what is being served.
But at times the locals really give off a very negative vibe to anyone they don't recognise! Hence my mark of 6.
11 Mar 2011 11:02
Another easy Sunday lunchtime drink. Beer is excellent. friendly atmosphere, well worth the drive out of Berkhamsted to catch up with a good mate who lives in Aston Clinton.
Let's hope the new landlord takes his cellarmanship and runs another Oak beer festival this summer.
1 Mar 2011 15:08
If this is supposed to be one the country's oldest pubs then someone needs to save it before it closes through disinterest.
Care and attention is what this pub needs. It benefits from a great location but few reasons to visit it. Beer and food are ordinary at best. The overall cleanliness of this pub is also lacking, tables especially seem to only be cleared by customers and the tables are rarely wiped, making eating a little haphazard. The best bet with this pub is to go when its warm and sit outside!
3 Feb 2011 12:39
First let me state, I have a real problem with Greene King beer, not sure why but there is nothing inspiring about Abbott and GK IPA is not an IPA in the real sense. These two seem to be the stock house ale, so everything was down to the guest beer - Yorkshire Terrier from the York Brewery, thank the lord that this malty bitter was well kept.
That said I'd worry if the guest ale wasn't good!
So what makes this pub worth visiting? Its the food, not so much the quality as this is no Gastro Pub but the quantity and sheer good value. This probably makes this pub a super meeting point in the evening for the community of Birchanger and a favourite with travellers using Stansted Airport looking for a decent meal before departure.
Good friendly welcome, very helpful bar staff. Not much wrong with this pub that a few more real ales might sort out!
3 Feb 2011 09:24
A great venture by the Vale Brewery to show-case their own real ales as well as offering support to many other small independent breweries. A real oasis in the cocrete jungle of Aylesbury.
26 Jan 2011 16:47
A good looking pub that fails on so many levels! Average but expensive beer, average and expensive food.
13 Jan 2011 15:45
The Scarsdale Tavern, Kensington
Can only comment on this pub at lunchtime as I have never visited in the evening.
Well managed Fullers pub that balances food, service and beer well. Never been disappointed with any aspect of this pleasant and friendly pub.
10 Jan 2011 13:54
Tom Wood's 'Hop & Glory' is probably the best way to start this review because this pub over the last 3-4 years has been very ordinary at best with its beer offering.
The Oak is a beautiful pub that in the right hands could still be the location pub it always was, with a cracking beer festival every year, well tended cellar and good cooking coming out of the kitchen. For some reason though Fullers had struggled for a few years to find the right people to manage this pub, until now. For the past month or two reports from the area have suggested the new people are the right people.
Yesterday I am happy to announce saw a friendly welcome from the bar, really well-looked after beer and looking into the 'lounge bar', where the majority of the diners were situated, some happy appetites being fulfilled.
Had a pint of Gales Seafarer which was fine but well done for whoever selected the Hop & Glory, it was excellent at �3.20.
10 Jan 2011 12:14
Weird one this pub.
Found myself yesterday in Blackwater for a meeting and needed somewhere for lunch beforehand and standing in Lidl's car park I thought I'd much rather starve. My colleagues thought otherwise and after much deliberation about very little choice, we ended up in Mr Bumble.
From the outside, especially in winter, you'd probably be minded to give this a miss, it suffers from being too close to a main road and looks dirty/rough but as they say looks can be misleading.
Its a very spacious pub and as Alicr mentions above it is so friendly. The guy serving, who we believe was the landlord, couldn't do enough for us. The food was nothing fancy, just good and hearty and the Mr Bumble Best Bitter (supplied and budged by Ushers) was a clean and refreshing pint.
Don't be put off by first impressions.
7 Jan 2011 10:14
Affectionately known by many as the Pink Pub but only as because of its exterior colour. In fact its a hardcore ale pub and the ale is generally of high quality; I always remember Oakham Asylum in particular.
There are usually 5 real ales to choose from however there have been the odd time when that choice has lacked variety - a lot of mid 4% bitters but no IPA or Golden Ale. This doesn't happen that often but can be a little disappointing when it does, especially if, like me, you don't live in Tring.
The kitchen is very much about good home-cooking and their curries are great value.
Ohh and the landlord looks like Bill Oddie.
29 Dec 2010 16:51
Always felt that this is an underrated pub in St. Albans or at least a best kept secret for the locals. At best I only visit it once or twice a year with former work colleagues and with every visit it gets better.
A warm welcome last time was met with a good range of ales including JHB from Oakham. The secret is working well.
29 Dec 2010 16:36
The Cock and Dragon, Cockfosters
An established Thai/Pub. Food is good value for money and the service means its a good location for a quick business lunch.
Real ale choices can be variable, sometimes its poor usually leading with a Greene King beer and not much else, other times it can be quite exceptional with Woodforde's Wherry available on draft.
The question though with many of these types of establishments is would you go there for a beer in the evening?
29 Dec 2010 11:23
I would genuinely like to get really excited about this pub because it does little wrong. The beer is well looked after, the food is generally good and the staff are always helpful but it still lacks something to make me want to go back time and again.
If you visit this pub I doubt you'll be disappointed but equally you may not be overwhelmed either. It might be just one of those pubs that fairs better in the summer than the winter - its does have a nice garden area, making it one of the few pubs in the area to comfortably drink outside on warm days and nights.
29 Dec 2010 11:16
Henners and Mark007 - I think there are many people who would love to see this pub come back up to the standards of a year ago but in my mind it is treading water at best. I went in there earlier this week and the only real ale on was London Pride, so nothing particularly compelling about a beer you can pretty much get in most West London pubs.
I'd love to see someone get hold of the cellar and start providing a consistent variety of real ales but talk to the staff and there is a real sense of inertia towards the management.
24 Dec 2010 11:44
Its great to find a pub in the middle of London that still wants, and is determined, to be a bloody good boozer of the old school.
Fantastic selection of beer and as a lover of all Dark Star ales there is usually a fine choice. One comment I would make is that they don't always let you know the full extent of the ciders they have on, which are generally in minipins in the fridges behind the bar.
No wonder this pub is so high on Camra's radar.
24 Dec 2010 10:42
The Three Horseshoes, Bourne End
Really sad what has happened to this quaint old pub. A few years ago it was a perfect pub, fire blazing, conservative menu done well and good beer.
Now it has sadly joined the boil-in-the-bag brigade of restaurant pubs.
13 Dec 2010 16:28
The White Horse, Parsons Green
Upgraded on the basis of the superb old ale festival.
Brilliantly executed, much enjoyed.
29 Nov 2010 09:28
The George and Dragon, Northchurch
Really should use this pub more often, its only down the road!
Good, solid local with absolutely no pretensions of trying to be anything but a decent local. The beer is well looked after and the food is plentiful in the way pub food always used to be - ham, egg and chips a staple dish, which in today's 'is it a pub or is it a restaurant' world is refreshing to see.
I will be interested to see how Punch Taverns plan to refurbish this good old boozer.
25 Nov 2010 13:45
Ship Inn, Tynygongl, Pentraeth
6 or 7 years ago this would have been worth an 8 with an additional point for its location on red wharf bay.
Now this fine old pub, a place I've know for over 30 years needs some attention. Too much emphasis is being given to overly clever food for which the prices are far too high and the pleasant bar, where once you could get a decent pint, is now more a holding area for diners.
Someone here should visit the Black Boy in Caernarfon to remind themselves how to run a successful food and ale pub.
18 Nov 2010 12:19
Fabulous pub! Check out the ales from Purple Moose of Porthmadog, Snowdonia was my favourite, nice and hoppy but there wasn't much wrong with the Madog's either - well I had to try everything!
Food and service was very good, excellent choice of local produce well prepared. The kids loved it too. Huge helpings and fairly priced.
It was just a shame I wasn't there for the evening session too!
18 Nov 2010 12:12
The Grand Junction Arms, Bulbourne
The last few months has seen a significant transformation of this pleasant canalside pub near Tring.
The refurb gives this pub a much more ambient atmosphere and the whole place appears much lighter in tone, service and quality.
A seat at the bar affords great views both north and south along the grand union canal and the landlord's London Pride is pretty good too.
The food appears to be plentiful and good. My 4 year old made short work of the local ham and chips while I can recommend the home-made beef burger.
All-in-all its great to see a pub regenerate itself when so many are struggling.
18 Nov 2010 10:28
Nigel, the landlord has worked wonders turning this pub into the best boozer in Berkhamsted. By definition of a great boozer I mean a great place to drink. Always the real ale is looked after and the variety means a constantly changing array of dark ales, milds, IPAs etc.
Then if you want cider or perry then there is even more and with recognition in the Good Beer Guide, the Riser is well and truly on the map.
18 Nov 2010 07:41
The White Horse, Parsons Green
Best pub in West London by miles. Sadly though I only ever get to use it on a Friday lunchtime, that said I'm loathed to miss a lunchtime.
I challenge anybody to come up with a better pub in the vicinity. Yes they have great beers and loads of them but what makes this pub so special is the way the staff maintain a great knowledge of the 7 to 8 british real ales on tap, plus the numerous craft beers from around the world, so if you're ever unsure what to drink just ask them.
Ohh and the food is pretty good too.
18 Nov 2010 07:37
Since Toby left, and more recently his cellarman, Matt, this pub is now sadly in decline. The beer is now very safe, so gone are the days when you'd look forward to Meantime London Pale Ale being on draught. So given that its ordinary beer isn't cheap there has to be another reason for going in, it used to be the food but this too has become very ordinary and the 'spanish' influence which was so prevalent has all but gone.
Its a shame but someone should go and get Toby (and Matt) back!
18 Nov 2010 07:30
The Goat, Berkhamsted
I would really like this pub to be considered a decent boozer but it really struggles to be one thing or another. If it wants to be a music venue then so be it, but its struggling to be a pub anymore.
17 Jan 2012 16:46