BITE user comments - Phantom_Power
Comments by Phantom_Power
I agree totally with what jandix below said.
Beer was pretty good, food was abysmal.
A shining example of the muck that all too often passes for "decent pub grub" in the UK. It's seemingly popular, which unfortunately goes to show that far too many people are happy to spend their hard earned money on microwaved crap.
Stay for a pint and go elsewhere for your dinner.
25 May 2010 17:56
Unassuming from the outside but on my visit a busy bar with further seating and a restaurant section in the extension. Decent, honest, homemade food, reasonably priced. Bar staff were very friendly. Decent real ales- had a couple of cracking pints of Doom Bar. Clearly hard working owners doing their bit to serve the local community and raise the bar ('scuse the pun) a bit at the same time. Worthy of support!
4 May 2010 21:05
Quiet pub with very well kept beers - worthy of its local CAMRA award winning status. Decent and reasonably priced grub. It's a bit of a well kept secret it would seem. Not a particularly young or hip place - perhaps the opposite to an extent. There are at least another couple of decent pubs very close by if you want a slightly more lively place, but the Cups is well worth a visit for a quiet place to sit and chat over a pint or two.
4 May 2010 20:45
The phrase "friendly local" is a trite one - oft employed and seldom true. But Bonhommes is an exceptionally friendly little place.
It's a little tucked away but not too far from the sea front. Like the Tardis, it's not much to look at from the outside, but don't be put off and do venture inside
As soon as we walked in there was a beaming, friendly greeting from the barman, followed immediately by an enthusiastic and affectionate description of the real ales on offer, together of course with samples to taste.
What's more, the bar posse sat in front of the bar were as friendly as the barman - I suppose having one of the brewers of the fine real ales I was sampling ensures that there is a certain degree of quality control!
Well worth seeking out and definitely worth stopping in for a pint or two. Oh and I'm not a local or the owner or anything (you can see my other review if you like), just someone who thinks credit should be given where it's due.
4 May 2010 20:38
The Bell Hotel and Inn, Woburn
Awful. Just awful. Woburn is a picturesque, nay upmarket sort of place and whilst this inn may look the part it certainly doesn't measure up when it comes to the quality.
Food was abysmal. For example, the salmon special was a ropey piece of fish no bigger than a deck of playing cards, served with (count 'em) 4 new potatoes the size of golf balls.
The vegetable chilli came out as a curry. Does chef know the difference or is it just because they're all spicy so nobody cares.
The rib eye steak - asked for rare - came out so well done you could have nailed it to the bottom of your shoes and taken a turn round Woburn safari park in it without it reducing by a millimetre. When it was rejected they should have asked the surly waitress to just stare daggers at it to grill the replacement sufficiently.
There are plenty of other alternatives in Woburn so do yourself a favour and steer clear of this one.
4 May 2010 19:09
Not, despite the self aggrandising nature of its own press, the best pub in Bedford, but not the worst either. Homogenised modern pub decor, with a large open lounge and bar and sizeable garden area.
Decent selection of the usual ales from the Charles Wells brewery plus, on our visit, some guests left over from a recent beer festival. It's neat, tidy and the staff are friendly enough but on my visit the pub seemed to be slightly lacking in atmosphere -perhaps the presence of several, highly inebriated individuals contributed to that.
Didn't try the food so can't comment on that, but looks to be standard pub grub at reasonable prices.
It's a bit out of the way from the town centre and I personally won't be in a hurry to rush back there.
24 Jun 2009 17:51
High quality Charles Wells establishment run by the former landlord and landlady of The Ship. Decor is homogenised modern pub style but don't let that put you off. Good, very friendly atmosphere even on a sleepy Tuesday evening (not so sleepy actually, as there were quite a few people inside and out). Reasonably sized back patio and cafe style seating out front make this a pub befitting of the "posher" end of Bedford. Beer is kept very, very well and the food was of a very good standard and reasonably priced. The pub still features the Ents Shed which is a small music and comedy venue. A little way out of the main town centre and roadside parking can be tough to find but this pub is very well worth a visit.
24 Jun 2009 17:43
Stop for a drink, don't stay for the food.
A large pub matching in exterior beauty its picturesque setting, this pub shows signs of having received a healthy dose of investment in its modern pub interior. Its website boasts "real ale, freshly cooked food and friendly service". On the evidence of tonight's visit, only one of those claims is true. The beer was passable.
The lacklustre but efficient service for our drinks was adequate. Deciding to stop for a bite to eat (tempted by the website's claims of locally sourced good food) we were advised to find a table and a member of waiting staff would be over to take our order. So we sat, selected our choices and waited. And waited. Eventually we saw another of the dozen customers in this large pub go to the bar to order, and overheard the staff member saying that there was no table service in the bar area. Not something that had been communicated to us when I had asked. I followed the other customer's lead and ordered at the bar, so as not to overly disturb what was clearly an important private chat between the otherwise unoccupied waiting staff.
After ordering, we noticed that the freshly cooked food was coming out rather quickly, and with little delay we were served our mains. My wife's steak, whilst cooked properly, was tasteless save for the overpowering charcoal bitterness from an inadequately cleaned (if at all) grill. My "homemade" pie was slightly better, but still suffered from being fatty and rather short of meat underneath its puff pastry lid, whilst the side vegetables were dry and undercooked. Clearly the product of a microwave, which "chef" seemed as unable to operate as he was incapable of cleaning his grill.
According to previous reviewers, this used to be a Brewers Fayre pub. It seems to have faired no better since The Man chalked this one up to experience and left it to go it alone. I'd have understood this poor dining experience had it remained a chain pub, but assuming someone has put their hard earned money into this as an investment they would do well either to retrain the staff to learn how to look after customers (especially when customer/staff ratios are as low as they were tonight) or look to substitute the incumbents from the growing ranks of those looking for work in this day and age. The chef needs to go to catering college, or at least learn where the kitchen's bucket and scrubbing brush are and the pub's website should be reported to trading standards.
A real wasted opportunity.
21 Apr 2009 20:45
The Rose and Crown, Marston Moretaine
Now an Indian restaurant, no longer a pub! Haven't visited it since it changed use.
16 Apr 2009 11:51
Still a great pub and the change of management has made no difference to the quality. If it ain't broke don't fix it eh? The ales remain fantastic: is there a better pint of Abbot to be found in the town? Food still plentiful, decent quality and very reasonably priced.
If anything the pub has become even more popular in the last six months or so: visit a few pubs in the town during the week and see how empty they are and then compare it with the Ship which seems to have a constant buzz of people. That must say something in these times.
Not the cheapest pub around but at �3 for a pint of Abbot not totally unacceptable. Quality is worth paying a little more for. Still the best pub in Bedford town
1 Mar 2009 00:01
Due to reopen in March 2009 since its takeover by the small Peach pub group at the end of 2008. If the group's other pubs are anything to go by expect high quality food, a modern sophisticated interior and drinks at the upper end of acceptable pub prices. This is no bad thing considering that the only pub on the Embankment had taken a distinct turn for the worse prior to its takeover; the location of the pub and the traditional exterior deserve a high quality establishment and it is to be hoped that Peach can deliver.
Prior to closing for refurbishment we visited for a Christmas meal. The food was of a good standard and the price for a set menu Christmas meal whilst not the cheapest was very acceptable - whether those prices will stay at that level remains to be seen, but with a fussy French chef in place one can only hope. Worth keeping a close eye on as a possible rising star....
28 Feb 2009 23:48
Hemlockstone and Dragon, Wollaton
Modern, youthful pub that has pretensions of being a gastropub but unfortunately misses the mark. Tasteful decor and a British classics menu clearly appeal to its sophisticated clientele: a spit and sawdust bar this is not.
A decent selection of real ales sit alongside the trendier drinks, but for a pub clearly given over to the culinary side of things it was a shame that the food was substandard: I watched as one of our party's steak sat on the pass for over ten minutes whilst waiting for the rest of the five dishes to be finished. Unsurprisingly, it was stone cold by the time the plates were brought to the table, and was sent back only to be microwaved as though that were some form of acceptable resolution.
The positives? Staff were friendly and for the most part efficient and the beers were well kept. On the other occasion I ate there the food was of a very good standard, so maybe the experience outlined above was a one off: somehow I don't think so though.
Overall, good, but not great
28 Feb 2009 23:37
Wow, what a choice of beers! Narrow, long pub, with the rare sight (these days) of a dartboard at one end. Lots of old bottles and beer pump handle labels adorn the walls. Very similar in decor and feel to the Wellington Arms in Bedford - also a B&T pub. Good for the traditional ale drinker, worth a visit for sure.
28 Feb 2009 23:25
Decent pint in a traditional old setting but the loud,obnoxious chavvy locals on our visit were a bit offputting. It's a small three roomed pub and not really sure of its identity: is it a traditional old English inn? Is it a live venue? Is it a locals' place? The answer is all of the above, so make of that what you will. Decent enough pint mind.
28 Feb 2009 23:19
A total gem of a pub and well worth seeking out. Very friendly service, this is a small village pub given more to food than the drinking though there was a choice of two real ales on my visit (one of which was Greene King IPA which I can't stand, but each to their own).
It is a compact little place but given that nearly all the tables were reserved when we arrived a little after 6:30 says a lot. There is a beer garden but they only serve sandwiches out there - maybe a problem with people taking off without paying? I'm purely speculating. Why you would want to do that in this delightful little place is beyond me.
Anyway, food-wise the pub is justifiably proud that most dishes on the menu are locally sourced and farmed. From what I could tell, everything was freshly made. For the reasonable prices (around �9-10 for a main course) the portion sizes are huge! Go with an empty belly and an open mind and you'll leave more than happy. I had a steak and ale pie followed by home made cheesecake. Both were huge and I really shouldn't have opted for the dessert but couldn't resist. My wife opted for grilled pork steaks the flavour of which was truly superb. Great ingredients simply cooked.
We'll definitely be going again next time we're in North Norfolk!
27 Jun 2008 10:06
As the name betrays, the pub is located a pebbles throw from the courts, near the Cathedral and on our luncthime visit was busy with a mixture of locals and lawyers.
A choice of five real ales when I visited most of which are local brews.
A special mention has to go to the food. Locally sourced where possible and home made, I opted for a club sandwich and received a monstrous Scooby snack
A steak, onion and Dijon mustard club sandwich, served in toasted fresh, hand cut bread with about 4 potatoes worth of chips and a fresh salad. It�s no exaggeration that these three slices of bread and meat, cut in half and stacked together before being skewered to hold it together, were taller than my pint glass. At under �7 this was value in extremis.
A superb pub and a superb �snack�. Just be sure you haven�t eaten too much before you order the club sandwich. Starving yourself for three days beforehand should do the trick.
Highly recommended and will be going again next time I'm in the area.
27 Jun 2008 09:56
Quality little pub. Like the last reviewer we stayed at Kelling Heath and walked down to the pub following a scenic route through woodlands. Only took 30 minutes.
Food is locally sourced and fresh. Fish dishes are the speciality. We had excellent pan fried sea bass. Prices reasonable too - average main course is about �10.
Beer was slightly less favourable. Of the 3 hand pumps only one was on during our visit - the Woodforde's Wherry, which is personally not a favourite (though I drank it anyway!) I think we were just unlucky though - it looks like generally three real ales are always on.
A pub well worth seeking out if you're in the area.
27 Jun 2008 09:51
Pretty much standard Wetherspoons pub branded as a Lloyds so TV screens and music played inappropriately loudly given the relatively few punters in there on the Monday that I visited. My pint of Pedigree was awful but a friend's guest ale was reported to be ok. Staff member didn't know what she was doing and seemed to have the attention span of a goldfish but she had only just started so some leniency due. However, the attitude of the duty manager left much to be desired - when the aforementioned inexperienced staff member approached him to ask what to do with a glove that she had found in the pub his response was "throw it in the bin". What a wonderful approach to lost property!
8 Mar 2008 16:38
The Carpenters Arms, Cranfield
I've had to log in again as I lost my old password (previous reviews under "PhantomPower".
What a superb pub! Friendly staff and fantastic food. A recently revamped menu sees excellent home cooked food. I had rabbit stew on a bed of parsnip mash - very few places would serve such brilliant traditional food these days.
Portion sizes were HUGE. If you've ever eaten in Ireland then expect similar size portions. Very filling, superb value (under �7 for enough to feed me for the whole day). It's amazing that the place wasn't totally packed. Not many real ales on - Directors and Eagle when I went, but the Directors was kept excellently in this CAMRA rated pub.
A REAL GEM. The folks of Cranfield don't know what they're missing. Get in there and support this wonderful little local.
8 Mar 2008 16:31
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Cross Keys, Milton Keynes
This is how pubs used to be. Great selection of 20, yes 20 real ales and ciders, albeit that on our visit they were in the midst of a beer festival. Otherwise it's Charles Wells beers, which are fine. The pub appears to hold regular beer festivals once a quarter, next one around the Summer solstice.
In the days of frozen, prepared and homogenised chain-pub "food" it was refreshing to see a good selection of pub grub favourites, home cooked by a very friendly chef who came out to check if we wanted cheese and/or salad in the burger, and whether we wanted extra gravy for the (delicious) steak pie. Nice touch, sadly missing from the overwhelming majority of pubs these days. Food prices were modest too, burger costing under �6 and pie under �7. Decent pub grub all in all, definitely something of a rarity in a town dominated by dull chain pubs /restaurants
Beer was kept well and I loved the fact that you can take away in a free of charge container.
The pub itself is easy to reach off the main Childs Way road into central Milton Keynes. Credit to the landlord/landlady for posting signs along the main roads advertising the beer festival. Plenty of evidence of attempts to make the pub a proper community hub too, which isn't the easiest thing to do in Milton Keynes.
In summary, a fine traditional pub and I will certainly be back!
26 Mar 2011 13:22