BITE user comments - peterwarlock
Comments by peterwarlock
The Crutched Friar, Tower Hill
This pub has definitely had an atmosphere bypass. Been there twice in twenty years - won't go again.
18 Apr 2014 18:21
It's fitting that it's called the Air Balloon because when I'd eaten my last meal here and drunk some of their gassy beer, I was full of wind !!
18 Apr 2014 18:11
I use this pub when it's quiet before noon during the week. Smashing staff and service. Some very well kept beer too. Long may it continue.
18 Apr 2014 18:09
The Chamberlain Hotel, Aldgate
Beer fine but the place lacks any real atmosphere. As the previous review aptly put it - "no reason to return".
19 Sep 2012 12:03
The Flight Tavern, Lowfield Heath
Danishdish, I had an awful pint of lager here last week so if he contacts me with a similar message, i shall follow suit.
5 Jul 2012 10:52
Susie P, My recent experience here was a carbon copy of yours and it left a nasty taste in my mouth when I remember the lovely times that I had in this pub in the 1970's and 1980's. I bet that this post will be removed like the others but it won't alter the fact that i won't be going back and will be recommending others not to do so either. Word of mouth is still the most effective way of ensuring that people don't have to endure poor quality.
5 Jul 2012 10:43
We have stopped by for a Sunday Roast on a number of occasions over the past few months. When it has been good it has been really good but when it has been bad , it really has been awful and last week it turned up without any roast potatoes, together with a surly repsonse when we asked for some. If the manager is reading this, he would do well to step up on quality control. I know that Wetherspoons doesn't claim to be the Ritz, but it really should be a lot better than this. And the service should be a lot, lot faster. Other branches of the chain can manage it, so buck up Jack Fairman !!
5 Jul 2012 10:32
Food nothing to shout about and full of pompous company directors hitting the firm's credit card. Would not come here again.
1 Feb 2012 09:05
The Lord Moon Of The Mall, Whitehall
Surly Scottish barmaid wouldn't serve me as she claimed that she didn't have the right sized glass for my drink. I reckon she just couldn't be arsed. Won't go in there again.
12 Dec 2010 22:54
Go into this pub at any time of the day and you'll get a good idea as to what the so-called "brokers" from city offices actually get up to. Having said that, the beer is still amazingly good.
8 Dec 2010 16:40
Visted the pub and after a forty five minute wait, we found that our food orders hadn't even reached the kitchen !! We paid for the drinks and left - will not visit again. Be warned !!!!
10 Jul 2010 18:25
This is such an easy pub to find. Just exit Victoria Station, take a deep breath and head towards the stinking toilet smell. If you haven't passed out by the time you enter the bar area, you deserve everything that you get .............
7 Oct 2009 11:58
Revisited the pub about a month ago and the previous standards have been regained. Very good food.
20 Jul 2009 12:01
No longer one of my preferred places due to the screaming kids running round the place most of the time - one of many local pubs being ruined by the pushchair brigade !!
20 Jul 2009 11:59
Brought here again by a client and it was even worse - totally agree with ccustard - and the omni-present kids were under everyone's feet - free jelly indeed !!!!. My client said that he wouldn't come again. This pub is horrendous.
13 Apr 2009 17:25
Visited again and would concede that this pub has found its level - sadly not a high one. My last posting - I will not visit again
13 Apr 2009 17:15
The Elephant, Fenchurch Street
What on earthn do these last two mindless entries say about The Elephant? This is not a chatline !!
13 Apr 2009 17:12
�3.50 fora Scotch egg !! Beer was okay but not good enough to make me go in here again. Didn't like the way the plate was snatched away directly we had finished eating. Not my cup of tea.
22 Jan 2009 13:10
I always visit between 4pm and 5pm when this pub has a quiet spell (I'm allergic to kids in pubs) and the two lads behind the bar are invariably friendly and efficient. The decor really is an improvement on the old pub, the beer's well kept and, whilst the food is not the cheapest around, the extra money is well spent. Recommended.
22 Nov 2008 04:48
Now people complain about cleanliness in pub toilets. Try using the stinking toilets in any of the Horley pubs and you'll stop complaining. Keep up the good work, landlord - the pub remains a gem.
22 Nov 2008 04:41
Leftfield, I hope the hour's estimate wasn't for provision of a pint of beer - I could believe it of this place.
22 Nov 2008 04:33
Tribute was in cracking form when I went in yesterday - food excellent - the sausage and onion sandwich was a cracker. Bar staff, friendly and service quick, considering that the place was absolutely heaving. A very worthwhile pub !!
22 Oct 2008 07:54
Suefab, you'll note that I have complained on the site about the quality of food in pubs but ONLY when I have been charged a substantial amount of money only to find that the quality and level of service have been genuinely poor for the amount of money paid. To pillory this poor man when he went totally out of the way to cater for your individual needs really is despicable and I hope that you are turned away from this pub if you ever try to visit it again. Maybe you're the same woman who recently sent a meal back twice in Wetherspoon's without even tasting it and then stormed to the bar and demanded a refund when a third one didn't arrive in five minutes. As to you, Mike, please don't give up and leave the trade. It's crying out for people with your level of care and dedication and I for one would like to visit the pub and enjoy a meal and a couple of pints there. Hope you respond.
18 Oct 2008 08:19
I used to drink in here when dear old Cecil Cork was landlord in the 1970's. It always served the best pint in The Heath then and it still does.
17 Oct 2008 08:22
Yet another pub of which I had fond memories and which I wish I hadn't revisited. It's okay for a decent pint but the unique atmosphere of the old pub has entirely disappeared.
17 Oct 2008 08:17
TGW, the fly in the ointment IS the clientele, just as it seems to be in every other Horley pub. Let's face it, that rapidly deteriorating town no longer boasts the type of establishment where one can enjoy a meal which isn't run of the mill pub grub or sup a good pint in a place where drunkenness isn't customary. You have to go outside the town to escape that , as many people now do !!!
10 Oct 2008 15:27
Definitely the worst drinking venue in Horley - and that's saying something !!!
7 Oct 2008 12:18
Happy memories of this pub from the 1970's and 1980's were today destroyed by overpriced and substandard food and beer and a demeaning attitude from the staff.
6 Oct 2008 15:32
Thoroughly recommendable pub - beer always well kept.
RageofKlugman, I think that Bertrand only rates as a quarter-wit and the saddest thing is that he seems to think he's funny - well, I suppose somebody has to.
5 Oct 2008 12:12
A tourist trap. The discerning beer drinker will know of of better places and will go to them.
5 Oct 2008 12:02
Beer and food have always been fine but it really does depend on the type of punters that are using the place at the time - sometimes a good crowd and sometimes you don't want to stay.
5 Oct 2008 11:59
Wetherspoons, Victoria Station
We've only ever stopped here for coffee - does that tell you anything?
The toilets remind me of something that Houdini tried to escape from , although I can vouch that I got out more quickly !!!!!! It's an experience - you tend to appreciate your own local so much more after you've been in here.
5 Oct 2008 11:56
I agree with biker - I've never had a decent pint in this pub and am not at all surprised at the hygiene rating. Give it a miss.
5 Oct 2008 08:34
If a martian landed in my garden tomorrow and asked me what a pub was, I'd take him here. My favourite pub - shame I don't get down to Turners Hill very often.
5 Oct 2008 08:31
A very well kept range of beers and a lovely pub but, like mhartes, I do not like dogs anywhere near eating areas and consequently would never consider dining here. However, each to his or her own !!!!
5 Oct 2008 08:24
The Plough and Furrow Inn, Smallfield
I visited the pub on a day of torrential early Autumn rain and was pleased to find a warm welcome and a glorious fire. I was served an absolutely cracking pint of Flowers IPA (Courage Best was also available) and, whilst I wasn't eating myself (cannibalism has never been my thing), those who were dining expressed themselves very pleased with the quality of the food. It's good to see this pub coming into its own again after a spell in the doldrums - I will certainly call regularly.
5 Oct 2008 08:20
An establishment with food as good as this should address its very paltry range of good beers.
3 Oct 2008 08:13
Busy pub - get two in at a time at lunchtime, especially on Friday - but has a wonderful atmosphere. Basic but excellent pub grub offered and the beer's always on form.
1 Oct 2008 15:36
The Liberty Bounds, Tower Hill
Stretch your legs and go to the Crosse Keys instead - a far better establishment.
1 Oct 2008 15:22
Goose At Fenchurch, Fenchurch Street
Beer fine but the place itself is scruffy and depressing.
1 Oct 2008 15:21
The Walrus and Carpenter, Monument
If you suffer from chronic constipation, I'd suggest that a pint of beer in this pub could sort you out pretty quickly. Otherwise, don't bother.
1 Oct 2008 15:17
Went in again and it certainly was worth paying the extra money for the level of service and quality. Regulars friendly and nice to be with. Certainly my preferred Horley pub from now on.
14 Sep 2008 16:37
Pub very empty when I went in but the Adnams Broadside was in very good form and the staff friendly and helpful. I will go there again.
14 Sep 2008 16:05
The Burrell Arms, Haywards Heath
I worked in Haywards Heath from 1977 to 1979. This pub was always a last resort and I could not imagine then how it could ever get worse. Thirty years later, it has succeeded in the most spectacular way. What a total tip !!!! A chav's paradise !!!
3 Sep 2008 17:38
Beer well-kept if pricey but I had to endure a bunch of lairy, tipsy women who should have been shown the door about an hour before. I will not return.
3 Sep 2008 17:27
I went in again at around 4pm last Sunday afternoon and was appalled by the drunken, loud nonentities who packed the place, many of them obviously spoiling for a fight. As the previous reviewer noted, the bar staff were only too pleased to keep serving them despite their state. I didn't stay and it just goes to show that you need several visits at different times of the day and week to really judge a pub.
3 Sep 2008 17:22
Great pub when John Peel was the landlord in the 1970's but went into the doldrums after he retired and until the present owners took it over. It's well worth a visit - food and beer excellent.
29 Aug 2008 09:11
I swore that I'd never visit this place again after encountering the fat, rude landlord who wouldn't serve me because he obviously felt my face didn't fit. Hope he's now festering in the great drip tray in the sky !!
The pub has certainly gone up a great deal since then and I'll call by whenever I'm passing. If you're still around, fatty, I hope that you're reading this !!
29 Aug 2008 08:54
Great place if you want kids running under your feet all the time
29 Aug 2008 08:49
The Hung, Drawn and Quartered, Tower Hill
Excellent pub - shame about the boring insurance drones who frequent it and can't stop talking "shop".
29 Aug 2008 08:44
The Barracuda Bar, Bishopsgate
Only good if you're into sport - otherwise firmly to be avoided.
29 Aug 2008 08:41
The Underwriter, City of London
It was terrible when I first went in for a drink in 1973 and it still is.
29 Aug 2008 08:35
Another lovely pub that really should have been left as it was. I also used to combine a visit to the Tate with a jar here but will have to find a new watering-hole.
28 Aug 2008 16:16
The Kings Arms, Liverpool Street
Went in there once and it was once too often. Horrible pub and beer.
28 Aug 2008 16:10
The previous reviewer must have caught the place on a rare good day. We had to endure two pints of sour badly-kept Hancock's beer and two steaks which we'd still have been chewing now if we hadn't left them. And stone-cold under-cooked oven chips. Never again. It wasn't cheap either.
26 Aug 2008 16:03
Has recently changed hands and the standard has dropped appallingly. We went there for a meal, had to wait over an hour and had to endure food which was inedible. The meals served by the previous owner had been wonderful. Don't bother with the place.
26 Aug 2008 16:00
The Elephant, Fenchurch Street
Fancyalightale has this pub summed up perfectly. It would be a great pub if you didn't have to put up with the insurance nonentities who frequent it. Good pint of Youngs, though and the pies are well worth trying.
26 Aug 2008 12:54
Large and basic but the staff are friendly, beer good and service always quick. Food is cheap and basic pub fayre but served quickly and good value.
26 Aug 2008 08:38
Overheated, slow service, beer not good at all - I honestly didn't feel inclined to try the food after that. Not a pub that I'd go back to for a second visit.
26 Aug 2008 08:30
Horley's best pub by a very long chalk. Superbly kept beers, excellent and reasonably priced home-cooked food and a warm, friendly ambience. Well worth a visit if you're in the area.
26 Aug 2008 08:23
This pub just goes down and down. It's difficult to get served, the bar staff are surly and lazy and the food appalling. Give it a very firm miss !!!
26 Aug 2008 08:20
Back to peterwarlock's profile
The Jack Fairman, Horley
Absolute rubbish. I walked out yesterday having waited for ages to be served whilst the chimps behind the bar messed about doing very little. This establish is definitely off my list now - won't patronise it again.
7 Apr 2015 10:38