BITE user comments - StudioM
Comments by StudioM
Old Wainhouse Inn, Wainhouse Corner
Called in on a cold wet day with friends for a couple of drinks. Nice characterful locals' pub, warm and welcoming, great beer - all that a good pub should be. I strongly recommend a visit if you are in the area.
14 May 2016 18:16
The Ravensbourne Arms, Lewisham
This pub looks a barn of a place from the outside and the area it's in is not great but don't let that fool you. It is in fact a lovely pub which serves top class beer really well. The bar staff are friendly and the food is really superb - all hand cooked, not reheated or served out of a packet. The bonus is that there is a large beer garden out the back - with a table tennis area. If I'm being fussy they could smarten this up a bit more but it was perfectly comfortable with decent tables and big umbrellas etc.
22 Aug 2013 12:39
Carpenters Arms, Bethnal Green
Great little pub tucked away on a side street in the East End. Service was fast and welcoming and I had a lovely pint of Adnams Fat Sprat. Prices were reasonable - and the icing on the cake is that there was a truly beautiful barmaid in attendance (not sure I like that term - but don't know what the modern equivalent is).
19 Jul 2013 19:22
The Railway Hotel, Southend on Sea
We called in here for a few drinks on Friday afternoon, 24 May - and we stepped back in time: 1970s music played using records, eclectic decor making good use of the wonderful Art Nouveau features in the pub, friendly clientele, excellent quality beer (I had Adnams) served in full pints by friendly and efficient bar staff - and all at reasonable prices. Fantastic - it's hard to imagine a better pub.
28 May 2013 09:47
This is a cracking pub. Good choice of beer: the pint I had was excellent and properly filled: not served as a 3/4 pint with massive head on top - and the price was reasonable. The service was prompt and friendly, the food was excellent and cheap. It's a pity the pub is where it is and of course there is no beer garden but I can't mark it down for that. It looks like it's had a recent refurbishment so earlier remarks by others on this site don't do the pub justice. To be fair we called in on a Wednesday lunchtime so it was fairly quiet apart from a couple of noisy toddlers who, thankfully, were in the process of departing with their embarrassed parents.
26 Apr 2013 16:22
Watch out! I think this place has changed management. It's gone from OK to terrible.
I went along with a couple of friends for a lunch and drink (Friday lunchtime). My food was OK but the key issue was the 45 minute wait for it to turn up - even then only after prompting. One of my friends did not get her meal at all. After 54 minutes she went up to the bar to get her money back which begrudgingly and rudely the bar staff gave. There was no sign of an apology or compensation.
My other colleague was ripped off on the food: a dry and unappetising plain veggie burger plus about seven chips for £10 served on a wooden plate which looked to me like it had not been properly washed.
In all we suffered utterly appalling service which I find totally unacceptable. I will never be using this pub again. Our lunchtime was ruined. We complained to Taylor Walker, the owners of this pub.
My advice is give this place a miss.
26 Apr 2013 15:11
The Knights Templar, Chancery Lane
One of the best Wetherspoons pubs around. I think the manager runs a tight ship and it shows in the quality of the offering in terms of service and cleanliness. The beer is excellent and the service is good in what is a large and often a very busy pub. The food is standard Wetherspoons fare and is OK. The building it is in used to be an old NatWest bank so the interior is very gothic with the addition of some bright orange!
12 Apr 2013 13:22
The Lord Moon Of The Mall, Whitehall
A big and busy Wetherspoons pub. It is quite smart, there is a good selection of beers and the service is very good. The food is OK. It's a good place to meet friends for a quick drink and meal but you wouldn't want to spend the evening there.
12 Apr 2013 13:15
Romford's 'Spoons' serves good cheap(ish) beer and OK food. The place is looking a little tired these days and the service is not what it was. It's a pity no local beers are offered
12 Apr 2013 13:12
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Fleet Street
YOCC has terrific character, especially the front bar. The only blemish as far as the building is concerned is the characterless and dark modern back bar. The service has always been consistently good except foreign bar staff often don't understand that pints of beer must be served in a full pint glass. However they will happily top up your glass. The food is good and is good value. The Sam Smiths beer is very cheap but actually not that good as it's not real ale.
12 Apr 2013 12:54
This is an excellent pub. The food was about the best I have found in any pub in London or the country for that matter. The service was brilliant and the beer in top class condition. Prices were a bit on the high side but it was well worth paying a little bit extra for such great all round quality.
11 Apr 2013 15:08
The Hoop and Grapes, City Of London
Turned up here for a friend's leaving do recently. He had booked the upstairs room. We arrived to find someone else had booked it (Deloittes) So the Hoop and Grapes double-booked us and, worse than that denied ever getting the booking. So my friend's plans for the evening were wrecked. I'll never visit this dump again. My advice is don't ever book anything here: they can't be trusted to deal with any booking professionally and indeed I suspect they deliberately booked in Deloittes instead of us.
7 Apr 2013 11:12
Nice characterful old pub with friendly bar staff. The food and beer and consistently good. We had a Christmas meal in here last week and I was impressed with the quality of the food and the timing of its being served.
16 Dec 2012 18:38
The Witness Box, City of London
RIP Witness Box as was. Now it's a Jamie's Wine Bar dump. No real ale on tap at all and bottled beer incredibly expensive: £5.25 for a bottle of Doombar - ridiculous. I'll never visit this place again, unless it turns back into a half decent pub.
16 Dec 2012 18:33
The Hoop and Grapes, City Of London
Very good food, really nice upstairs bar and outside seating area which really makes the place. I've never had a draught beer here: theselection of bottled beers is limited. Service has been good the last 2 or 3 times I've been. Ground floor is a bit dismal though.
20 Aug 2012 13:35
The Lord John Russell, Russell Square
Friendly local in the heart of London: the range of beers is actually very good for a pub this size. I had Deuchars and Bombardier, both of which were in excellent condition and served nice and cool (but not too cold) on what was a boiling hot day. The staff were friendly and efficient. There is a pleasant covered outside seating area. The food was good value - good pub fayre but not up to restaurant standard. I definitely recommend this pub.
20 Aug 2012 10:29
On a recent visit we boosted the number of clientele from 2 to 13. The landlady was friendly, the beer was excellent and the food good and cheap: I was impressed with the way the pub dealt with all 11 of us wanting food without having pre-booked. It was well worth the chug up the hill to get to.
16 Jul 2012 11:04
Excellent, friendly local pub with a good selection of well-kept ales at reasonable prices
3 Jul 2012 10:20
I was one of a group of 11 middle-aged men enjoying our annual day out touring the Brighton pubs. This place refused to serve us - at around 2pm on a Saturday! We were not a bunch of drunken yobs. I've never had such rude and appalling treatment in a pub. This dump is off our list forever. They can kiss goodbye to a lot of future business. There are plenty of excellent pubs in Brighton so avoid this one!
18 Sep 2011 18:01
Had lunch in here with a couple of friends yesterday. The food was good. I was driving so not drinking but I'm told the beer was fine. The service was very polite and friendly but a bit slow. The pub was comfortable and clean, except for the stinking toilets which I'm afraid marks it down quite a bit.
22 Mar 2011 13:13
An OK pub with OK beer, scruffy outside area. Very dark inside - probably nice in winter but not on a summer's day. All round a bit average really
23 Aug 2010 09:41
Top class pub - probably the best in the world. Great beer, great service, friendly clientele, reasonable prices, pleasant surroundings.
23 Aug 2010 09:39
Worth toiling up the hill for the view. Beer was very good. It was very quiet when we turned up so no problems with service. The 'beer garden' is pretty spartan: the pub owner could make a lot more of this given the sea views. And I was alarmed at the outside electric heater being so close to the uPVC bathroom window. This had a bad scorch mark on it. Surely the heater could be moved or disconnected (maybe it has been - let's hope so). Hope the place is still there next year and not a smoking ruin!
23 Aug 2010 09:37
Between 16 and 21 August the Heart and Hand must have had a change of bar staff. The barmaid who served us was charming. The beer was excellent and served promptly. The food (when it eventually arrived) was also very good and good value: interestingly it seemed to have been prepared by some other establishment down the street somewhere. I liked what seemed like genuine Art Nouveau touches to the pub decor. The juke box had some ancient tunes on it and I think the speaker must have been facing the wall at the back. In all, an eccentric and characterful place.
23 Aug 2010 09:27
The Basketmakers Arms, Brighton
Cosy and popular pub - service prompt - beer good but not excellent. Interesting wall decorations consisting of numerous bits of smoking memorabilia.
23 Aug 2010 09:16
Williamson's Tavern, Mansion House
I was in here with a friend recently when we saw a mouse run across the floor. When we told the bar staff they seemed totally unconcerned. I'm sure my cat would have loved the rodent in question but we didn't. Moral of the story - DON'T EAT ANY FOOD IN THIS PLACE! But the beer was OK though. The place is very dark and dingy
2 Aug 2010 13:12
Have been in this pub on quite a few occasions and always found the bar staff to be friendly and efficient. The beer is generally well kept: haven't had a bad pint here. Food is OK but not great. Downstairs bar is fine - the ground floor one looks very uninviting.
2 Aug 2010 13:08
The Punch Tavern, Fleet Street
The owners of this pub need to wake up and realise that this prime retail location deserves far better. Service is mediocre, the beer is mediocre (and expensive), and the toilets stink of damp (and other things). The only good thing about the place is the free Bombay mix which is on offer - but this is far from enough to attract m back I'm afraid!
2 Aug 2010 12:59
Seriously expensive average beer in very average pub surroundings. I won't be returning
27 Jul 2010 22:41
Top quality beer on offer - wish I could remember the name of the beer I had - it was excellent. The pub has plenty of character. Very good service but it was a very quiet Saturday afternoon when we called in. There aren't many seats so wouldn't like to visit when the pub gets crowded (I must be getting old!).
26 Jul 2010 12:00
This place is horrendous. On my visit, the service was terrible (i.e. very slow), there was loud music blaring out and the whole soulless place smelt of vomit. The only plus point was that the beer was cheap and quite reasonable but I'd rather pay more and get better service and surroundings. Such a prime location deserves a far beer pub than this. I will never return!
26 Jul 2010 09:32
The Gordon House Hotel, Kirkcudbright
No real ale on tap but bottles of Sulwarth available. Service OK although not may were in the pub. Loutish behaviour seemed to be tolerated in the beer garden which we did not apprciate. We were going to eat here but we left quickly. The bar area was weirdly laid out. We had to step over tables to get to the back bar and the beer garden. The place is in severe need of a makeover
24 Jun 2010 10:53
Selkirk Arms Hotel, Kirkcudbright
Prompt and efficient service and good but not great food. Local Sulwarth beer from the rival town, Castle Douglas, on tap which was a real plus point. But that carpet - yuk! Get rid of it please! Huge and quite pretty beer garden
24 Jun 2010 10:50
The Masonic Arms, Kirkcudbright
A haven of real ale in Kirkcudbright. The Scottish Ale, despite the unimaginative name, was great. Good atmosphere, friendly locals, although they were a little wary of us on the first night. I didn't like the London prices though.
24 Jun 2010 10:46
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Fleet Street
Lots of atmosphere in the older parts of the building. The pub used to have an old Victorian lean-to at the back which unfortunately was replaced by some dire characterless modern construction. The beer is cheap but not very good and don't go near Sam Smiths own brand cola - yuk! Food is good but expensive. The toilets urgently need a make-over: cleaning them would be a good start
24 Dec 2009 11:20
Good choice of beer for a smallish pub. Deuchers is excellent and other beers are also well-kept. Service is friendly and quick despite the pub often being very busy. Lots of atmosphere in what is a very old building. Food prices are reasonable and the food I've had here has always been very good by pub standards.
Nicholsons (the owners) need to do something about the lack of heating in the Fleet Street facing bit of the pub. This detracts from what is otherwise a very good offering and must surely put some people off stayign on a cold winter's day.
24 Dec 2009 11:17
The Founders Arms is a fairly regular haunt. Yesterday about 37 of us went there for our Christmas meal. The service was excellent and the food, while not top restaurant standards (we didn't expect it to be) was very good and, above all, piping hot and served more or less simultaneously to all - a feat rarely achieved elsewhere when dealing with a large party. The beers are always in top class condition and there is a good choice of beer and wines. The views over the city are about the best in London and there is a much improved outside seating area with heaters and blankets. Two minor downsides though: some drinks are a bit expensive and roll-out awnings over the outside seating area would be good to have when it rains.
16 Dec 2009 09:13
Ideal place to start a Brigthon pub crawl, as I have done with friends quite a few times. Beer well served and a good choice of unusual brews. Service is very good, friendly and prompt. The place has a quite an entertaining bohemian atmosphere. The only criticism is that the outside seating area is a bit spartan and scruffy: it could be made to look a lot more inviting with better seating, some plants etc.
13 Jul 2009 13:14
If there are pubs in heaven they must be like this one. We visited early on a Saturday afternoon when it was quiet. The service was very friendly and prompt, full pints of excellently kept beer were served and the place had a comfortable old world charm about it, as though we were cut off from the rat race of the modern world. Excellent pub in every detail - a memorable experience.
13 Jul 2009 13:06
Members of my camera club and I enjoyed an excellent Christmas meal recently at the Silver Cross. The fod was great and, above all, the service was the best I have ever encoutered in any restaurant or pub in the UK. It was the top of top class - for which many thanks to Kim, our main server that evening. In all she and the other staff helped to make this a memorable evening. The meal was provided with all the trimmings in very festive surroundings. The pub looked as though it had recently been refurbished. There was fairly good selection of beers on offer, probably better than one could expect in the heart of touristland in London. In all - a superb pub - a model for others to look to.
12 Dec 2008 12:12
The Rose and Crown, Southwark
Since I last visited this pub about 2 years ago it seems to have had a makeover, and probably changed ownership, including the astro-turfing of the beer garden. They never used to do food but now they do and while basic pub grub, it is extremely good. The beer is as great as ever: I had Whitstable bay which is a nice and not too strong 'session beer'. Above all, the service was absolutely superb - up to and beyond New Zealand standards even - which is just as well as we had New Zealand visitors with us. Can't wait to go back - a great pub.
26 Aug 2016 13:38