BITE user comments - markos
Comments by markos
Visit the place when they had their beerfestival. Landlord was chatty, beer was fine. Prices were ok.
My mate remembered me I visited the place 30 years ago, could't remember it all.
18 Feb 2013 00:00
Ale was off, complained to the barstaff and they told me thats the taste of the beer and walked to the other side...
Would say to management, get your acto togheter or walk off.
17 Feb 2013 23:55
With signs everywhere to book a toble I have the impression they have capacity problems.
When I visited the place, several tables had reserved on it. Not seen this before in spoons.
I like the place and with 7 real ales in good condition its very good.
But to sort out the capacity they should have added a second floor.
17 Feb 2013 23:52
Ship Centurion Arminius, Whitstable
What do they say,JDW Spoons kills pubs? Well not this one, was extremely busy when I visited the place. Nice pint of "old dairy"with 3 other real ales on.
17 Feb 2013 23:44
Nearly a year after my last review.
Some things have changed, the prices went up. A pint of real ale was now £2.40 for a Gadds seasider.
Only 2 real ales now.
Whe we entered the place was very filthy with garbage on the ground, filthy tables, glasses and plates on the tables.
We even found a cloth and spray on one of the chairs so it was a bit like "clean your own table".
Carpets in the pub are really dirty and needed to replaced.
I won't mention the toilets, I think they only clean them once a week...
Two weeks ago a mate of mine said there was huge hole in one of the sinks and showed me this on photo as I couldn't believe.
On my visit all sinks were replaced by stainless steel sinks.
17 Feb 2013 23:31
They have a nice selection of real ales and the landlord is very friendly. It missed atmosphere though didn't feel like I was in a pub.
With the surrounding pubs not doing real ale they are actually in a niche market and first stop place when arriving at Ramsgate station.
17 Feb 2013 23:17
Had a nice Gadds nr 5 in here its a bit small but its ok.
Toilets were clean so was the black dog behind the bar I guess.
17 Feb 2013 23:12
The best Harveys sussex I had in East Sussex, excellent condition of the beer. Very friendly barstaff.
Unfortunatly their foodmenu is too much based on deepfried stuff.
Would like to see the menu changed into local and seasonal food such as dressed crab/ mullet/ local plaice etc.
3 Oct 2012 01:01
Very expensive to eat in here. I had a prawn and mayo salad at �10.45 with not much prawns.
The beer was ok.
Staff wasn't that cheerfull.
3 Oct 2012 00:55
The Royal Sovereign, Eastbourne
Only Doom bar on.
Some dodgy looking people at the bar.
The pub has a pooltable but after hearing Elvis Presley for a hour we decided to go somewhere else.
2 Oct 2012 22:18
Vistited the pub on a Friday and it was very busy mainly with officestaff.
Expensive beer but in a good condition. Food is maily sausages and pies from all the over the UK.
2 Oct 2012 21:55
Friendly barman who lets us try some of the ales.
Beer was good so was the atmospere.
Very nice building from the outside.
The very big downpoint were the toilets. The toilets were infested by mould.
Renovate the toilets and the pub would be a star in Eastbourne...
2 Oct 2012 21:52
The Filo (First In Last Out), Hastings
Good choice of real ales but wasn't to happy afterall.
My beer was warm.
We aren't in the 80's anymore and ales should be drinkable. I don't want my beer icecold but this one was roomtempature...
2 Oct 2012 21:31
Second visit , beer was good again.
Very good choice of ales.
For me the best pub in Hastings so far.
2 Oct 2012 21:28
Had a pint of Harveys Armada which was very near her sell by date.
Its a big pub and could do better.
Get a good chef in and lift the foodmenu to a higher ground.
2 Oct 2012 21:21
The John Logie Baird, Hastings
A good choice of real ales but service was very slow at the bar.
Then again it was on a Saturday.
Food was crap as it was cold when served after waiting for just one hour. The people serving the food din't have clue where the tables were.
Don't know what went wrong but they were asking most people if they ordered food then it went back to the kitchen to return back to the tables.
2 Oct 2012 20:58
When entering the pub there was a smell of ammonia. Thought it was because someone just cleaned the toilets and it should have gone away.
So I ordered a Harveys bitter and my mates thought they would be smarter and ordered a Neptune Winter warmer.
My bitter was fine but theirs was hardly drinkable.
We wanted to get something to eat and as there seemed to a nice menu the smell of the ammonia was still present.
I couldn't understand that none of the staff reacted on the smell.
They could have washed it down or opened the frontdoor on that lovely Springday.
29 Mar 2012 23:42
A really nice Spoons, gave me a feeling of the 1930's with the lighting.
Had a nice choice of real ales too and cheaper than Canterbury, �1.99 a pint of festivale ale .
Very cheap for Whitstable.
This place and the Opera house in Tunbridge Wells are my favourites so far regarding interior.
29 Mar 2012 23:33
Hi,
Had a nice beer in there.
They just began to serve food in here since December last year but with a shorter menu.
Loved their cold seafood platter but this is no more on the menu. Instead you can have a pint of shell on prawn with a loaf of brown bread and some butter for �7.50.
29 Mar 2012 23:25
Went in there on a Friday about 10 PM.
About 15 people were in and had a very good pint of Bombardier.
Something I can't understand at Ramsgate is that if you don't serve food, well then put the blackboard outside back in and store it somewhere.
The board was still out while the tables were cleared.
29 Mar 2012 23:17
The price of beer has gone down since the last visit.
Also they offer 4 real ales now instead of just 2.
The price is �1.99 a pint for a pint of real ale.
As someone mentioned its still a Spoons look-a-like but the JdW's don't ask over �2 for a side salad.
They serve peas with almost everything.
This pub is in need of a good clean and the toilets are in need of a very good clean. On my visit you needed wellington boots to enter the mens toilets. They should have put a flood warning on the door.
Generalstaff friendly, manager very unfriendly.
29 Mar 2012 23:12
The fact that they do cheddar now is great but I would rather see some regional cheese.
They do regional beers so why not regional cheeses?
As for the Vijfde graaf van de niet permanente bron, keep up the good work. But more is less and less is more.
19 Dec 2011 22:21
Visited this micropub on a Friday and it was very busy. It was a first time visit to a micropub and it was a bit strange not having the landlord behind the bar but in between us all.
The beer was good and it felt like as if I was at someone his living room.
They serve pies in here would like to see some real English cheese in here. Somekind of regional cheese platter with a good pint of ale.
22 Jun 2011 22:28
Youngs bitter on draught. Not many people in and the service was friendly.
The foodmenu seems to be cheap for Ramsgate.
Perhaps it will attract some more people from the soon to be open Travelodge outlet just across the road.
3 Jun 2011 23:29
The pub serves Timothy Taylor Landlord as its regular ale with 3 other guests.
They now seem to have a improved menu and special barmenu.
The special barmenu contains some food that I haven't seen in a Dover pub before. Whelks, cockles, shell on prawn and jellied eels can be eaten in the pub now.
3 Jun 2011 23:19
They have 2 pumps but only one was on. Had the Robinsons Dizzy blond at �3.20 a pint.
The food served seems to be plentyfull but not served all day.
Kingsdown is a small place to wonder around and busses run about every hour from Dover.
3 Jun 2011 23:03
Why someone gave a 7/10 for this pub , I don't know. Perhaps for the price of the food, certainly not for the beer.
Had a Greene King IPA in this Greene King owned hungry horse outlet and it was off. Couldn't believe it. Tasted like malt vinegar...
Then again it seems that most people were drinking non alcoholic drinks.
The food was ok and cheap, a special offer on Thursday with a free starter or dessert.
Food yes, beer no.
3 Jun 2011 22:56
They had 2 real ales , Spitfire and a Adnams. As mentioned here the problem is the parking, for people heading to the beach they can buy a carpark ticket for �10. The ones who use it as a free parking can be clamped and the removal fee is �100.
Didn't know how they check it so did not bother to have a meal here.
The Spitfire was fine so was the service.
3 Jun 2011 22:48
Been to the pub last weekend and the only real ale on offer was Masterbrew and Green king IPA in bottles...
There are no handpumps!
Friendly bar staff though.
21 Nov 2010 19:05
As the menu in the Ship inn wasn't that appealing I wondered to the YE OLDE BELL INN.
A small place with only London Pride on draught.
As I was hungry I had a ham egg and chips which was very expensive at �8. Then again the ham was nice and didn't taste like the A*** or T**** cheap stuff.
24 Oct 2010 23:04
Visited the place on a Friday around noon, it was empty.
Had a pint of Harveys Sussex best and asked for the menu.
Got a menu which said pig's ears, wild boar and whitefish not something I really wanted.
Would have thought the pub would do more local seafood.
As it didn't appeal me I wondered of much to the dislike of the landlady.
24 Oct 2010 22:54
Tried this pub as it was the nearest to the B&B.
Its a large place and yes it can be a bit rowdy with people shouting to each other instead of just talking but this was due to the music playing.
The meals seem to be reasonable priced but I didn't taste any as I had a good meal at next door's Chinese.
They had 3 real ales on, Speckled hen, Harveys Best and Courage best.
Prices were fair, �4.70 for a pint of Harveys and half a Foster's.
24 Oct 2010 22:46
The Filo (First In Last Out), Hastings
They have about 3 homebrews on which are nice.
There is a open fire in the middle of the pub which makes the pub very hot, too hot to my likings. Especially when you add the heat of the open kitchen mid October...
They seem to be serving more food than beer.
24 Oct 2010 22:34
It was very busy when I visited the pub.
From the outside one would have thought the pub was bigger. They have a good choice of real ales, mainly from Dark Star.
As said before they have a good mixture of local people and tourists.
They are opposite the fishermen huts and not from the seafood stalls.
24 Oct 2010 22:28
Went in there on a Saturday and the first impression you get is, I turn around a get out again.
But I did stay and had a Harveys Sussex best which tasted fine and was served by a friendly Asian guy. Good choice of real ales.
The people inside was of all sorts, one was sitting there as if he was dead. The other was talking to his wife who sat next to him as if she was 5 miles away from him.
Whole bunch of strange people but nobody bothered me.
Its near the Priory meadow shopping centre.
24 Oct 2010 22:23
It has a new owner and he will be focussed on music instead of real ale.
No real ale on offer, a shame.
They used to have a good collection of Nelson's brewery real ales...
24 Oct 2010 22:06
Passed there today, the pub opens again next weekend with Karaoke and a fancy dress party.
The pub has been done up on the outside.
24 Oct 2010 22:02
Visited the pub on August 7, the girl behind the bar was friendly but seemed to be new as she didn't know the table numbers.
Ordered a pint of Courage Directors which was fine but didn't get a scratch card to win a t-shirt as advertised on the pump.
I ordered chicken skewer which was overdone with the mushrooms and peppers black.
The rice wasn't that nice either, tasted like rice pudding.
There is also a limited choice of food on the menu but they have a chef's special.
8 Aug 2010 21:40
Visited the place today and it had 7 different real ales, tried the Dr Sunshine of the Ramsgate brewery which was really nice.
Seems they have a new manager in from the last time I visited and it seems things have improved.
The problem with the pub is that you first have to pass all the "benefit people" but once passed there you are in a no hassle zone.
Clean tables and friendly staff.
23 May 2010 23:22
One would think you are in a Jd Wetherspoon pub but in fact your in a Barracuda group pub owned by some ex Wetherspoon managers.
The beer I had was Bombadier which wasn't that nice.
In the weekends they have doorstaff. This means after 7PM no trainers, shorts, football shirts, workmens trousers or boots, denim,etc for the men.
For the women however, the less clothes they have on the better...
The dresscode is very strict.
Food is a bit dissapointing as almost everything is served with peas so no fresh produce...
Everything seems to come out of the freezer.
23 May 2010 23:07
Normally their selection of real ale is awfull but this time it improved, they had 5 yes 5 real ales on.
With 6 staff behind the counter the service was quick.
Also the food came out quicly, there seems to be some new managers in to the service has improved, for now...
Still some idiots in who think that when they talk loud they are interesting but then again in any other pub one can turn up the music...
23 May 2010 22:57
Wanted to take a taxi from Whitstable to go there but the taxidriver told us it was closed for refurbishements on 22-05-10, so check before you go.
23 May 2010 22:52
Still 20mins before our train went so went in here.
No real ale but two handpump, so we decided to have a small lager.
The music was very loud and this was around 5PM. The other people in the pub looked like they were models from a tatoo shop. Tatoos everywhere even in their neck and face.
Some dodgy dealings in a corner with a Chinese looking bloke.
It was reasonable in the afternoon but wouldn't go there in the after dark..
23 May 2010 22:40
Wanted to visit the pub on a Saturday but they seem to have country pubhours...
Weekends open from 12.00 till 15.00 and open again from 19.00-23.00...
In weekdays only open after 19.00hrs till 22.30hrs...
Well its going to for the next time I visit Gillingham.
23 May 2010 22:33
We tried this pub as a member of Medway camra suggested it to us.
What a "mistake to make", forgot the name of the beer but it tasted like malt vinegar, all three of our pints...
Serves hot food it said, that was correct either at 01.00 in the afternoon.
The lady who served us wasn't interested in us at all, the newspaper was more important. They had 3 ales on , one was London Pride, the other a 6.5% one.
But we tried a 3.5%, as you read before it was very sour.
Its also up a very steep hill when you come from James street. Its about 15 to 20 mins walk from the station.
23 May 2010 22:27
I read some reports here so we tried the pub, also because we tried 4 other pubs but it appears that the landlords at Gillingham like to sleep till noon.
The welcoming was not overfriendly but it was ok. There were 3 real ales on sale, all more different breweries so the choice was nice.
They do food as reasonable prices around �5 - �6 for a fish or meat meal.
They do have a funny dog, it must have been deadtired as she laid on the ground a couple of seconds later she snored. Was very funny that was.
Near the high street it wasn't a bad pub. And I would recommend it to someone visiting Gillingham in search for a real ale in peacefull atmosphere.
23 May 2010 22:15
The Brickmakers Arms, Gillingham
We visited the pub on a Saturday afternoon, only one real ale on which was Green king IPA.
It has a nice beer garden but the pub was dead apart from one other customer and the two "house dogs".
No food though which a pitty as I saw a bbq and with the weather so fine, I fancied something fried...
23 May 2010 22:03
Revisited the pub and with 4 guest ales on it was fine.
The staff were very friendly and the pubs duty manager seems to be someone who controls the place.
The chatty staff seems to replaced with more customer focused staff.
21 Sep 2009 21:06
This is one of the best pubs for real ale in South Kent.
21 Sep 2009 20:59
The place has been upgraded, a bigger choice of real ales and less "all day drinkers".
Still I wouldn't visit the place in the evening.
21 Sep 2009 20:58
The Man of Kent Ale House, Rochester
We did like the pub as they have a good selection of Kentish ales.
Also they have a good selection of Belgian beers, yes even the strongest ones...
They even have Brugse Zot on draught, a regional beer from Brughes Belgium.
Especially liked the dog in there, we became good friends--))...
21 Sep 2009 20:47
We were looking for a place to eat and considering the menu outside we thought this would be a ideal pub.
We had 3 pints of real ale and a coke for just �4.78, now we found this very strange but as they advertise real ale from 99p we thougth it might be normal.
The pub offers a special grill, a very hot pan is given to cook your own meat of fish.
But we didn't decide to this as my mates glass was very dirty with a dead beer fly sticking on the glass.
Also the chef was playing fruitmachines and his clothes were very dirty. As if it hasn't been washed over a month...
21 Sep 2009 20:41
As good as ever, 4 guestbeers, had a nice pint of porter.
Very friendly barmaid and nice people to chat with.
The landlord wasn't there as he was off at a day to Ascot.
30 Sep 2008 13:20
Still up for sale and now its even boarded up.
They appear to have had their cellars and bararea flooded a month ago.
30 Sep 2008 13:18
It's closed again since 20 September, its up for sale again.
Apperently they sold all their beer at �1.50 a pint the last days of opening...
30 Sep 2008 13:14
I've visited this place many times before but yesterday the service was absolute crap.
The barstaff was chatting away while people were waiting to get served.
Once served she forgot my glass of wine and then told someone else to get it.
One of the barmaids was talking so loud it was as if she was selling goods on a market.
The beer was fine(Incabus) but from the 5 guestales,only 2 were on.
22 Aug 2008 14:47
Latest news is that this pub will be converted into a block of flats
12 Aug 2008 12:57
Tried ESB and Discovery and were both OK. Young people in and out, drinking lager. F1 was on the big flat screens.
25 Jul 2008 13:58
Was closed Sunday 20/07 so no review. Is it normal to be closed on a Sunday? Lights inside where litten... Went for a pint across the road: The City Pride...
25 Jul 2008 13:53
Went in for a Sunday roast and came up realy quick. Food was OK, so was the staff. It was very relaxing to sit there: no trouble what so ever and a quiet a few OAP's having a meal. Selection of ales was ok and different from other nearby JDW.
25 Jul 2008 13:47
Went in there Sun 20/07 in the afternoon and no one was in. Barkeeper was very friendly and 'chatty'. Only had 1 real ale on (TT Landlord) but well conditioned.
25 Jul 2008 13:41
Normally has one real ale on, most of the time its Bombardier.
Fairly large pub who doesn't do food, well I didn't see anyone eating nor did I see a menu.
The price of the beer is cheap. Has 4 fruitmachines and a jukebox.
22 Jul 2008 13:42
The Racing Greyhound, Ramsgate
There must have been a change in management as no real ales and rubbish food.
They used to do very nice food but what I now had was crap.
22 Jul 2008 13:30
Nice pub with very good and reasonable priced food.
I always have the seafood platter in there, its very nice .
Yesterday they didn't had any so I had mussels instead.
Very small mussels but very tasty with my pint of London pride.
Its recommened for food.
22 Jul 2008 13:27
A sheps pub with a Masterbrew and Spitfire on draught.
There is also a pool table in the back.
A friendly service but I think with a bit of work this place could do very well if they would serve food.
13 Apr 2008 16:07
Visited the pub on a saturday around midday and it was very busy.
Had to wait 15 mins to get served at the bar then strolled around to find a table.
Finally found one and ordered my food for which I was told it was a 45 mins wait.
It was understaffed and as with all JdW pubs the tables were not cleared nor cleaned.
Still the only possitive note was the beer, had a very pint of Sunchaser.
13 Apr 2008 15:10
Visited the pub yesterday 12/04 and it was very busy.
Its more a eating place than a drinking place.
The have a good selection of wines and three real ales, Masterbrew, Spitfire and Early bird.
At �3.10 for a pint of Spitfire, I thought this was a bit over the edge.
13 Apr 2008 14:58
The Eight Bells, Dover
Staff has changed to the more friendly ones, no shouting or screaming see my review.
The choice of beers have always been fine and remains with the new management.
Clean tables, friendly service, well kept ale ; this spoons should get award at present.
18 Feb 2013 00:07