BITE user comments - Ullage
Comments by Ullage
The Uxbridge Arms, Notting Hill
Love this pub to bits, but horrified to discover that Pride is now �3.85 a pint?! "It's West london love" the barmaid said cheerfully and apologetically. "I know" I said "I live here". The following day in a swanky gastropub in Putney it was only �3.55 ...
27 Feb 2012 22:44
It's a pub trying to cover a number of bases and is indeed split into three areas - a large wood furnished area for general bar hubbub and sport on the telly, a cosier carpeted little bar for the old uns (me!) and a wine-bar-ey area round the back for posher grub and DJs. The advantage of this is that you can generally get a seat but disadvantage is that it is large and anonymous. The bar staff are generally hulking Aussie/South African blokes who are entirely charmless though just about functional. The beer is OK. It's usefulness is its location and the ability usually to find a seat. I use it for a couple of pints before climbing the hill to the eateries in Wimbledon village ...
15 Jun 2009 12:11
Brecknock Arms, Bells Yew Green
Nipped in on the way to nearby Scotney Castle for a spot of lunch. Didn't have any beer but the Steak and Ale pie was terrific - really tender meat in a lovely rich gravy with mashed swede as well as mashed spud and veg. very good. Never been there before but it looks like the refurb has kept it very much as a traditional place.
18 May 2009 12:47
The Hand In Hand, Wimbledon Common
Very much like this pub and am very loyal to Andrew the manager who used to run the Ladbroke Arms in Kensington when I regularly drank there some years ago, but when I went on Sunday there were, slightly bizarrely, a large number of dogs in the pub, of the labrador type size, one of which was being held and cuddled by its owner to stop it running round the pub. My understanding is that dogs are not allowed in establishments where food is served? Can turn a blind eye to one but when about four or five are on the premises it makes it rather different ...
5 May 2009 14:03
I totally agree with the review beneath by Mr Rattus. I reviewed this pub several years ago and not much has changed really. It has been updated a tad but has the same feel to it - perfectly acceptable and off the beaten track enough to be comfortable and spacious, and it's still essentially traditional. They've re-done the furnishings which basically follows the current trend of having a hodge-podge of seating types thrown together in the same space, which actually makes it quite hard to find somewhere reasonable to sit - there was a nice spot by the sunny window but there were ludicrously high bar/breakfast type stools at that particular table which were not very comfortable, so we sat round a somewhat over-large formal table. Never understood this current interior design trend for "chuck a load of ill-matching furnishings together and called it Relaxed Bo-ho". Pub also now a tad gloomy - better lighting required. But all in all fine though as the gent below states, 7.8 is rather an excessive score.
2 Apr 2009 13:50
The Dulwich Woodhouse, Sydenham
I've not been to the Woodhouse for years mainly because I live in West London, but was considering going there tomorrow night. I'm very sorry to read the recent comments and reviews and can only say this seems to be typical of Youngs policy in the last couple of years. Two Youngs pubs in my area - the Britannia in Kensingtonand the Cumberland in Parsons Green have similarly been refurbed, the Britannia with particularly disastrous results. Youngs seem intent on ruining and banishing from London life the very essence of our city's social culture - the traditional and characterful London pub. The Britannia is like a hotel lobby with as much charm as one. I'm not against re-furbing and modernising but the important thing is to keep the characteristics and the spirit and the charm of a venue. We now have this international, vapid, could-be-anywhere standard of blandness and anonymity in our social spaces.
20 Feb 2009 16:54
Yes I was in last night Jan 7th - its last night - and it was crammed. It's terrible such a great, honest traditional pub is closing. It's one thing if a pub is struggling, but to close such a busy pub in such a vibrant area is a desperate shame. The landlord had got a local photo studio to take some excellent black and white photos of his regulars which adorned all the walls of the pub, which I thought was a wonderful idea. Not just because the resulting photos are now published in a book and sold for charity, but wonderful to mark the pub's closing by saluting in such a noble way the people who frequented it and contributed to its ebb and flow and life. Farewell. We repaired to the Globe nearby afterwards, whose sullen staff and lacklustre atmosphere were a pointed contrast ...
8 Jan 2009 12:24
Reasonable place with some comely barmaids. Only two real ales on though - London Pride and Whychewood (sp?). The former was well kept and tasty but ran out after an hour so switched to a pint of the latter - horrible. Not necessarily badly kept but just tasted like tar. Main objection to the place was the gents lavatory where the floor was swimming with water and someone had messily thrown up in the cubicled karzi. OK not their fault that someone does that but they should check the toilets regularly.
3 Oct 2008 13:42
Can't help but agree with other comments. It's a disappointing pub. It's certainly geared to diners and in particular diners with children it seems - both of which for me, curmudgeounly git that I am, should be largely absent from boozers. At least the dining area is demarcated away from the drinking areas. The pub has a problem with identity though - it's a big space, surely something more imaginative could be done with it? They have not made a virtue of its size and merely bunged in loads of dining tables and thought - oooooh, space for food. I don't mean gastro-fy it further (heaven forbid) but keep its authentic British pub feel and as another reviewer said, make it into a quality music venue perhaps. It's just so bland at the moment - and no doubt the diners resent the drinkers and the drinkers the diners. On the day I visited recently both the Pride and the Chiswick were lacklustre and flavourless .. maybe just a bad day as on other occasions it has been fine. If you go to the Churchill in Notting Hill (another Fullers pub), although i think it is personally overrated at least you feel the place has a sense of identity and verve. Maybe it just takes a good manager, someone with ideas and imagination.
1 Oct 2008 12:45
I was in on Friday night on spec with pals hoping to see some good music. It turned out that it cost �12 to see an indifferent T rex tribute band. As they charmlessly thrashed through the wafer thin material I looked at the walls which had posters for innumerable other tribute bands playing there. Live music is thriving? What with - pastiche? Nostalgia? No risks taken at the Half Moon Putney anymore. Adjourned to the public bar and surveyed the featureless refurb, also devoid of charm. Left after a further 20 mins.
15 Sep 2008 11:59
The Elephant and Castle, Kensington
I was in last night and the bar staff were excellent - fast, attentive and polite. I believe the landlord can be a grumpy b*gger however and about a year ago I had a spat with him when he served people out of order. When I politely objected he said "I haven't got eyes in the back of my head" and when I then pointed out that the his customer care skills could do with a tad of brushing up he informed me that if I didn't like it I could clear out of his pub. Apart from being a charmless nerk he's obviously never heard of the "cycle of virtue" and how good manners breed good manners (the opposite also being true) ...
29 Aug 2008 11:12
Been going back to this pub after an absence of 10 years due to having started to play badminton again at the local sports centre. I get the feeling the management has changed since the most recent comments since it is comfortable and the bar staff genial. They have a couple of good bitters on, rotating one of them and keeping them at �3 a pint. The food however is somewhat un-imaginative and rather over-priced - and very stodgy ... having just played badminton I'd like something like a baked potato or something healthy (-ish) but the menu is very meat and two veg, and heavy.
21 Apr 2008 13:11
It's alright but no decent bitters and when I ordered a glass of wine a massive glass arrived full almsot to the brim as if it was coca cola. Next round I ordered a small glass of wine .. "we don't serve small glasses of wine, only large" came the reply, which I think is irresponsible. A day or so later the issue of serving oversize alcohol measures came up on the news, for health reasons, and a rep from the licensing trade defended serving large glasses by saying it was all about "choice" .. I fail to see how only serving one massive serving of wine is somehow "choice" ..?!
14 Apr 2008 11:17
Unremarkable. Other comments sum it up. Good meeting point for a couple of pints on the way to somewhere else. One good thing is that there is plenty of space.
1 Apr 2008 11:02
Visited again on saturday. the place remains a mystery to me. First thing to say is that the staff are great, very cheery and personable. But the barman's jolly, joking comment when I ordered another two pints of Winter Warmer that "damn, I'm not getting any practice making cocktails!" kind of says it all. A big sign outside advertises the pink cocktails to which he alluded, but the bar area of the pub was largely empty, and the dining area packed. It just re-inforces the point - it's not a pub, it's a restaurant. It's a venue with an indentity crisis. It's not surprising - the decor has had all hint of personality and authenticity airbrushed out of it - a kind of bland, international, hotel lounge anonymity. If they want the bar side of it to work they have to look at how the space and the ambience can work to provide an authentic English atmosphere, and not be rueful if people ask for pints of beer rather than cocktails. Otherwise might just as well turn the space over to tables and make it fully a restaurant - they'd make more money per square foot probably.
10 Mar 2008 10:49
I must admit I do like this pub as I mentioned before, partly for its old fashioned charm and partly becuase you can usually get a seat. Got to admit though that the real ale choices are dreadful, well choice is too strong a word as its basically Courage Best or IPA, both of which are highly indifferent to my palate. would that they ahd pride, or Bombadier, or Spitfire, or Broadside .. alas I am looking for alternative venues in the area just because it is so boring drinking this stuff. The house wine is a bit dodgy as well, and as far as I recall, only comes in one size.
11 Feb 2008 10:50
Good pub. First time in the place last night. Well kept Fullers - had a couple of pints of tasty London Pride and the house red wine was pleasant too. I don't understand a previous reviewer's comments about not being able to choose the music - so what? The fact that they play stuff you are not expecting is surely part of the pleasure, the serendipity of hearing stuff at random. My only complaint about the music would be the awful tinny nature of the sound system, I'm not sure if they are playing CDs or these are amplified MP3s, judging by the sound quality probably the latter. Everything came out sounding distorted and harsh, but fairly loud - not very pleasant. Don't mind it being loud, but do object to strangulated, tinny sound - it's so easy getting a decent system and so much improves the experience. Anyway, liked the pub a lot - diverse crowd, pleasant staff, agreeable traditional furnishings. Will be back
5 Feb 2008 12:26
I must say the Maltsters is now a great improvement on the dive it used to be. I usually like keeping pubs the way they were but the old Maltsters was full of drunken/druggy no-hopers and often Chelsea fans which created an intimidating atmoshpere. Its been refurbed well with carpeted areas and music at a very sensible level and proper banquette seats instead of datf sofas - it really is a good update on a traditional pub - well done to all concerned. Enjoyed a pleasant couple of pints on a saturday night - London pride was fine and nice big bowl of assorted nuts. Only downside perhaps was the food on the menu was absurdly priced (�10 for sausage and mash I think), but all in all a very welcome change. Good to know there is a good watering hole in teh centre of Fulham
18 Dec 2007 11:06
Not a pub. A "bar brasserie". We were informed this by the snippy waitress as she moved us from sofa to sofa one saturday night explaining they had been reserved. As we'd just bought a �25 bottle of wine this was a bit galling and particularly as there was a dining area. I'm not aware that you can usually book tables in pubs but this is explained by it being a "bar brasserie". When we perched on the window sill and I said sarcastically as she walked past "is this reserved to?!" she went "oooooooooooooh very good". Customer care and charm personified! Full of a lot of braying young toffs. Its good if you like this kind of thing. This place is run by the same geezer as the Britannia in Kensington.
13 Dec 2007 15:46
Indifferent sort of place when I visited on a warm saturday afternoon. The decor and seating is bizarre however - every possible type of chair and table have just all been thrown together, complete mish-mash of styles. Gives a feeling of incoherence and lack of nerve - i.e. rather than plump for a certain style they just chuck a whole load of things together as if to cover all bases.
27 Aug 2007 12:26
Terrific place. Visited on a warm sunny evening, post smoking ban so there were hordes of customers outdoors in the large area to the rear of the boozer. The place is evrything a pub should be - traditional, welcoming, polite speedy service, cosy and with well kept beers. The place has great character - you enter a space like this and you could only be in England. My only complaint was the music being braodcast over a cheap tinny PA system - it was hip-hop when I went in followed bizarrely by the Rubettes Greatest Hits, more hip-hop, then Led Zeppelin 4. Most of this was highly jarring to the senses and out of place given the atmosphere of the pub - the clientele didn't look the sort to enjoy rap for instance. When will landlords understand that any old noise doesn't create atmosphere?! Anyway this aside, a fine place
13 Jul 2007 11:48
The Rising Sun, Tottenham Court Road
Agree with last comment by NWLondon_girl - it's a quite OK place, nothing special, just a bar really, useful for a pint or two on the way to somewhere else and handily positioned. Good range of ales - Deuchars, Brakspears, Pride, Spitfire and another I can't remember but 3 of them were off being "conditioned". The Pride and Brakspears were unexceptionally kept but reasonable.
12 Jul 2007 17:03
A splendid boozeria .. no music just the sound of happy chatter from the varied locals - some aimiable older locals, some studenty sloaney college types, and some tourists (some of whom studied the blackboard menu as if it was the Rosetta stone, then ordered what seemed to be six pints of water) .. An old fashioned un-gastrified interior, the place feels authentic and real ... winsome barmaids who flutter around efficiently and seem keen to please .. an excellent pint of Spitfire too ... great place
11 Jul 2007 12:56
Slightly strange but agreeable place. The feel is a little out of place for the area - old fashioned (though nothing wrong with that!) 1930s interior with an oddly massive bar area. The space occupied by the bar is almost as big as the seating area, you could get a pool table behind there. In fact there is already one on the punter's side of the bar. Comfortable interior though the clientele was strangely polarised between ancient but venerable old soldiers from teh Royal Hospital a spit away and the uber-young hooray henrys who looked like they were bunking off sixth form college. They all looked and sounded like Prince William and Harry.. I'm sure I sat next to Roddy Binkerton-Twitte and his girlfriend Sohpie Fluff-Crumpette.. Anyway, the boozer was marked by a fantastic pint of Spitfire - delicious, tasty and vibrant .. a bit like the aformentioned Sophie ..
11 Jul 2007 12:50
The least authentic, least real, least charming pub in the area. Had a horrible gassy pint of Bulmers draft which made me feel ill (the London Pride was off). Was able to get a seat, only plus point.
5 Jun 2007 10:39
Excellent pub. Agree with all the comments. Simple, unfussy, convivial, social. Everything a pub should be. Light early summer evening and the pub wonderfully benefiting from its surprisingly light aspect (as it is in a cramped sidestreet). Only drawback as already mentioned by others was the smokiness, but as also mentioned, that will soon change.
1 Jun 2007 15:00
The Lord Moon Of The Mall, Whitehall
I quite like this pub, the service is usually competent and the beers wide-ranging and good. And it's cheap, natch. My main bugbear with it is the highly curious seating arrangments. They now have sofas in there which are dwarfed by the scale of the building. I've never been a fan of sofas in pubs - you're too far away from your pals sitting opposite and it feels silly if there's just two of you sitting next to each other. Sofas offer no versatility, you can't move them round in different situations or move them like chairs or stools. And in this pub the space isn't intimate enough for sofas to work. Also diners using the sofas have to sit like horses chomping at a trough, bent double over their grub, as the tables are too low. Alongside the sofas are two rows of tables and chairs set out like a school classroom, and then next to them high counter type tables with high stools. So you get these weird tiers of seating all at different heights. I suggest they employ the services of an interior designer and/or someone with a bit of common sense to use the fine scale of the building (an old bank it seems) more ergonomically and with better use of space and comfort. It ain't difficult this sort of stuff.
31 May 2007 17:12
Call me a curmudgeounly old personage but I failed to see the attraction of this place. It's basically a large window with some seats in it (as you can tell from the picture on this website). True, I visited on a saturday night when the charm quotient was likely to be at its lowest and the body count at its highest, but its appeal was lost on me. It's basically too contrived, too knowing - you feel like you are too obviously being manipulated. "We've built a big window so you can see the river and we're going to charge you �3.50 a pint for the privelege." Also the much vaunted drop-dead gorgeous frippet behind the bar seemed sadly absent. The pub that charm forgot.
29 May 2007 15:48
Mixed feelings about the place. Large and spacious which is good but oppressive purple decor. A relaxed atmosphere though. Went in Sunday lunchtime and it was heaving. Harrassed and glum looking bar staff were not very welcoming or friendly and did not alert us that food was taking an hour. I do think if pubs are gearing themselves up for Sunday lunch crowds they need to resource their kitchen appropriately and/or offer a 10% discount (or more) for waits of longer than half an hour. If pubs purport to be pseudo restaurants like this one, they need to perform at the resturtamt level too - you wouldn't wait an hour in a restaurant for food .. so why in a pub?
8 May 2007 10:41
Wonderful. It's so pleasing to find a pub that is still run and maintained in the way a pub should be. It's verys small, more like a bar in some ways, but thoroughly traditional. Had an excellent couple of pints Tribute. A joy to be in.
15 Jan 2007 10:05
I liked this pub, having moved on up here one night after vsiting the estimable Goldon Eagle down the road. A very different place from the Eagle but shows how a pub can be refurbed fairly decently. i never saw it before but it was convivial and comfortable. teh barman really knew how to mix a bloody mary and did so excellently. My only reservation are the daft sofas - the space is too small for them to be effective. There's a couple of them near the bar and the difference in height of the people sitting at the bar compared with the people on the sofa was really quite amusing. It almost looked as if they were sitting on the floor. Sofas look well in big spaces not small spaces - the interior designers have not given consideration to scale. Nonetheless a very useful find.
12 Jan 2007 13:50
The Hillgate, Notting Hill Gate
I think I commented on this boozer awhile ago. I was in there again recently after a long while. I must say this is a rare occasion when a refurb has made a pub actually much better than it was before. The intervening dividing sections have been removed making one big room which is carpetted. The original large 1930s(?) window area is now fully visible and makes a very nice, classic natural environment, very much like a historic pub, but comfortable and spacious. Big bar in the centre makes a good focal point. It's not overly loud thanks to the carpet and sensibly muted music (though on footy nights that might be different). Had several good pints of Broadside. My only reservation is that the graceless landlord is still there who observes the necessry perfunctory manners but otherwise seems to have had a charm bypass.
28 Dec 2006 12:40
The Hand In Hand, Wimbledon Common
Agree with Zeitlin. I remember Andrew from when he ran the Ladbroke Arms some years ago in Notting Hill, which he turned from a fairly dull boozer into a warm welcoming very human place place. (When he left it was gastrified in a ghastly way and now lacks any charm). Andrew is now bringing his management skills and human touch to the Hand in Hand - a great traditional pub, lots of little alcoves and nooks (not some vast rectangular knocked-through room as is now the wont) with the bar in the middle. Well kept Youngs. The only sound is the sound of many happy people enjoying a good night out laughing and talking, no piped music, no dreadful acoustics (caused by the aforementioned knocking through into one space) - the Hand in hand is a warm welcoming human place, what pubs should be. What Youngs did to the Britannia in Kensington High Street is a crime - they should take note of this place. Long may it thrive.
15 Oct 2006 10:49
The Freemasons Arms, Hampstead
As someone pointed out, not a pub for those people who like pubs. When will pub designers (is that an oxymoron?!) learn that SOFAS AND LOW SOFT EASY CHAIRS CHAIRS DON'T WORK IN PUBS. I went in here with a companion and was forced to lean forward constantly as I was so far away from my her and so low down that we could not hear each other. We were then in an absurd physical position for when the light snack arrived (�9 for some negligible anti-pasti for two). For the hour and a half I was there I had to be a contortionist - no other type of seating was available, unless you wanted a formal meal in the restuarant area.
This pub is designed by someone who thinks that looks are more important than practicality or comfort.
A charm and comfort free zone.
3 Oct 2006 13:44
Agree totally with Dave the Dog - the classic Sam Smith's conundrum - great boozer, fab decor (see also Citie of Yorke, Princess Louise, Earl of Lonsdale, Sir John Snow etc) but horrible booze and no choice to drink anything else .. one of the great mystreies of our time (as is the apparent willingness of most customers to drink the bloody stuff)
13 Jun 2006 14:38
Went in here again last night (a thursday). Desperate stuff. Smoky and getting slightly tatty (despite being refurbed recently). They had a pub quiz (on a thursday?!) which saw more people come in and walk straight out again than it actually attracted - what was the point? They had the footie on as well on the various screens. Every time the quizmaster asked a question, they turned the sound down, then turned it back up immediatley afterwards, so that the sound was continually going up and down. the worst of all worlds. It feels like the boozer could be a nice little characterful place but has hoplessly lost its way and doesn't know what it wants to be. I've popped in to this pub on and off for years and the toilets ALWAYS smell of sewage ...
21 Apr 2006 11:24
It's turned into a restaurant. Recent reviews here applaud its virtues as a restaurant serving beer. Fair enough, but that don't make it a pub. Admittedly the old Brit needed a dusting over, but the new Brit is a soulless, vapid environment uprooted from its traditional incarnation as a pub into somewhere that could be in any city in the world, a kind of world class standard of anonymity and blandness. They do it well. So what. People come to the UK to visit pubs, not restaurants that could be in their own countries. As a Londoner I mourn the death of traditional boozers (of all standards and desirability) to this corporate, global standard of vacuousness.
13 Mar 2006 13:36
The Duke Of Wellington, Portobello Road
Was in this pub last night for a leaving do and I go in every now and then. It's really picked up I think - good pint of Youngs and still very much a traditional boozer - nice interior fittings, and it's spacious. As so many other pubs in the area have not only gone gastro but also lost their identity as pubs, it's good to see they've got it right with this pub. (The same can't be said for another Young's pub in Kensington - the Britannia - which they have managed to destroy and divest of anything that might remotely remind the visitor that it was once that great British institution - a pub). Bar staff in the Wellie were also highly polite and courteous too. Will be dropping in more. (I remember yonks ago when it used to be Finch's ..)
10 Feb 2006 10:39
The Britannia is dead. Killed by Youngs. It's an anonymous, gastrified nightmare. Dark matt purples and grey - Ikea lampshades - polite but glassy-eyed waiters bringing drinks to your table, looking through you with a blank corporate gaze. All history, atmosphere, integrity, comfort, genuineness obliterated. You could be in New York, or Madrid, or Melbourne, that's to say, nowhere. The roots of what makes a part of English culture so vivid and unique destroyed in a vapid, hollow, banal makeover. Nothing here is genuine anymore, nothing preserved, everything surface, but with no meaning. An empty shell. Well done Youngs and your "winning formula" as you describe it ....
14 Dec 2005 16:40
Great pub as everyone says, very traditional. But the beer is APPALLING!! Sam Smith's really is dreadful - and it's all keg stuff, they don't do draught. I had a couple of pints and after about 20 mins each pint turned into a sweet medecinal, slightly metallic nightmare. Wot is it with Sam Smith's pubs? they usually fantastic buildings, like this one, and the Cittie of York, and the Princess Louise, but the beer is undrinkable ....
25 Oct 2005 13:55
Bishop Out Of Residence, Kingston Upon Thames
Great location, good beer, boring pub. Sat outside and had to listen to horrible piped music from within which was quite loud. You're sitting by the river, it's a warm summer evening, people are rowing boats on the river ..... and you're forced to listen to muzak. How do they think this helps and adds to the experience and the ambience? It doesn't. It's the common mistake in pubs that music in some ways creates atmosphere - but it's just aural pollution.
3 Aug 2005 16:58
Go in here regularly after band practices on a Friday night. Good traditional place. Excellent music - landlord has a good CD selection which he has on rotation. Perfect way to unwind with a pint after rehearsing.
31 May 2005 15:58
Of the gastro-pub conversions certainly one of the better ones. For me it's let down as mentioned by a few other comments by the braying rugby types and hooray henries (there are a few young Jacintas and Tarquins running about outside in summer). Being essentially a cavernous wood structure with no soft furnishings it gets very loud very easily, but nonetheless on a good night a very good pub.
31 May 2005 15:46
The Prince of Wales, Wimbledon
This pub could be so much better than it actually is. The fabric of the building is good and the interior atmospheric, but you kind of lose your spirt after being in there for about 10 minutes. It can't find its identity, it has no soul. A bleak looking clientele. The grub was expensive too - though i didn't sample it. Lasagne, chips and peas (that well know Italian dish) was about �7.50 ..... �7.50?!!
31 May 2005 15:26
I have a perverse liking for this pub. It's a bit tatty round the edges but basically comfy, spacious and agreeable. Beer is usually good too. Not had any of the grub but it seems to do a good reasonably priced spread. Good for few pints before sampling the many delights of the nearby "street of a thousand resturants" - Westbourne Grove.
26 May 2005 17:17
Strange pub. A bit anonymous. Can be convivial at times. Gets very smoky though and when they have footie on, not good.
6 Apr 2005 16:54
Agree with all these recent comments. The Sam Smith's is certainly cheap but also horrible. I could stand two pints then had to go to another pub. The thing is you think "Well I'll have a pint of something decent like Guinness instead". Except ALL the alcohol on sale seems to be Sam Smith's versions of well-loved favourites, but nothing like as good. It's quite difficult getting something worth drinking in a Sam Smith's pub I always find. I've resorted to Bloody Marys on quite a few occasions
6 Apr 2005 16:28
The Prince Albert, Notting Hill
Awful. I went in here with an old mate and we thought, it can't REALLY be as bad as it seems. It was. Loud blaring music, no soft furnishings so all sound doubly amplified as well including the shouted conversation of the clientele ... harrassed looking bloke cooking the food in the trendy but pointless open kitchen area (I don't want to watch the chef looking harrassed and pissed off as he cooks my grub) ... groups of girls in tight tee-shirts doing shoulder massages for a �5. Obviously mainly blokes were taking this up. We left and went to the Uxbridge instead.
16 Feb 2005 16:56
The Ladbroke Arms, Notting Hill
Oh dear oh dear oh dear. Don't want to sound like an old fogey but I used to drink here regularly when it was an old fashioned boozer like the Uxbridge nearby - big horseshoe bar, comfy seats, great beer. Then it was gastrified. Actually it was one of the first in the area. They did silly things like move the front door to the middle of the frontage so in cold weather cold blasts of air routinely fill the whole pub instead of beoing contained at the side. A triumph of style over common sense. And an idiotic layout of table and chairs so that it only takes about two people to block off about 8 other seats. Expensive though apparently good food (but do you go to a pub for haute cuisine?!). Awful braying young professionals. I went in there at about 5.00 recently and some people were actually having a business meeting, rabbitting on about profit margins and the potential market for something or other in Russia or something. Classic yuppie pub now, very upper class. Good place for a date but not for social drinking with chums.
16 Feb 2005 16:39
A very good pub. Large and spacious and generally free from music and blaring telly. It's got more touristy - there are routinely squads of well-heeled punters from the Copthorne Tara and other local hotels. They're fine though - the pub is big enough to accommodate them without upsetting the balance and feel of the place. It seems to suffer from a string of charmless landlords though. The rest of the staff are usually fine.
16 Feb 2005 16:27
The Hillgate, Notting Hill Gate
I usually have an unhappy time in this place. The beer is good but the landlord and the atmosphere charmless. I was in there recently where a huge Doberman was lying blocking the bar area and route to the bogs. Its owner made no attempt to move it and squads of punters had to negotiate round it. Football blares out. Uxbridge is a much better bet just down the road.
16 Feb 2005 16:15
The Churchill Arms, Kensington
Agree totally with Watcher's comments. I used to drink here regularly before the Thai food arrived and it was fab. In the last 10 years however it is perpetually crowded and the clientele is an unhappy mix of locals, yelling yuppies, tourists and people like me who venture in occasionally continually hoping it has regained some of its former charm and character. In vain alas. It would be good if it managed to find a focus for itself, but the joyless experience of the Thai restaurant antics seemed to have scuppered that, and as the Thai food is so popular, it probably feels it doesn't need to change, whilst the money keeps coming in.
Famously it has nothing to do with Winston Churchill (though the acres of Churchillian memorabilia would lead to think otherwise). There used to be a church up the road. Which is a hill. Hence Churchill...
16 Feb 2005 16:09
The Uxbridge Arms, Notting Hill
More or less my local (though I live about a mile away). Great boozer. All the above comments are true. Not a good idea to get the wrong side of the landlady. I've seen her on two different occasions bellowing at truculent customes to "Eff off out of my pub!!!" at the top of her voice. Except she used the full Anglo-Saxon. I only go in the evening but I have never knowingly known them to do food apart from the usual crisps so be warned, but there are some excellent eateries nearby most notably two fine fish and chip restaurants (Geales and Costas)
16 Feb 2005 15:53
The Southwark Tavern, London Bridge
Agree with John's comments - there are far better pubs in the immediate vicinity.
14 Jan 2005 11:31
After having tried the very full and fairly anonymous Southwark Tavern nearby we happened upon this place. Well worth it - great traditional old fashioned boozer. Very cosy and highly efficient bar staff - it's quite small but they had foor people serving - excellent.
14 Jan 2005 11:22
Chandos, Honor Park
This is a magnificent building - large and chracterful. You could do a lot with a space like this. As it is, when I went in on a Saturday night about 8.30, it had a bout 10 people in it, indifferent service and complete lack of atmosphere. Clientele was mostly men who looked like beaten spirits. One of my pals really liked it (a great typical blokes boozer), my other pal and I found it very dispiriting. I'd hate it to be blanded and airbrushed into anonymous gastro-land but it really needs a bit of imagination and energy to turn this into a great pub. We left here and then went to the Blythe Hill Tavern. A very similar boozer in many ways though a lot smaller but same kind of decor. The place was full of character though and busy with many locals. So it can be done. Chandos - you need to up your game.
28 Apr 2013 17:56