BITE user comments - rabdes
Comments by rabdes
@malo66 Agreed except I'd add to The Lamb, the Calthorpe Arms, Grays Inn Road
27 Feb 2012 17:20
Quite lively and atmospheric in the early evening, I visited here for the history alone and wasn't expecting much else, it at least managed to exceed those expectations. Usual bored young bar staff you'd expect in this kind a place.
27 Nov 2011 11:18
Straight out-of the-rulebook gastro pub. Why do they make these places so uncomfortable: does it appeal to the puritan streak in the English middle classes?
27 Nov 2011 11:11
After my last visit, I felt much the same as gaypostman, John Bonser -the erstwhile Grande Dame of BITE- and others that this place was getting too grotty for comfort. I don't know whether someone has shoved the hoover round since (yes that was deliberate understatement) but there did seem to be less grime this time. Maybe it was the time of year and the low light levels! Whatever the case I am glad that place got a reprieve and it still has more soul than many if it's gastro-ised neighbours.
27 Nov 2011 11:06
I must admit, if I found myself running short of time, I was going to miss this one out of the itinerary and go straight to the Charles Lamb. That would have been a mistake as it turned out to be the star of the evening. Surrounded by streets where even the smallest terraced house fetches �1m+, it's something of a miracle that such an untouched warm and welcoming local has resisted re-development or gentrification (can't help feeling it's only a matter of time). The barmaid (landlady?) should be preserved as a national treasure. In the end I didn't get to the Charles Lamb.
27 Nov 2011 10:49
Worth visiting for it's architectural merit but if you're not young, beautiful and privileged you will be treated with disdain.
27 Nov 2011 10:30
Can't even call this a gastro-pub: it's more a restaurant with a decent bar. Interesting location overlooking the canal and obviously a place to go with a gang for a meal rather than just a drink.
27 Nov 2011 10:25
A much better choice in my opinion than the nearby White Lion, a very affable atmosphere and overall a good modern bar conversion. The only slight issue I would have is that the cask ales - two York and one Titanic one my visit - were too chilled for my liking.
13 Nov 2011 10:36
The White Lion Hotel, Castlefield
I'm used to London prices but even there, �3.70 would get half a raised eyebrow. The TT Landlord was in good condition granted, but the pub was average, pretty uncomfortable and the service not exactly with a smile. Cashing in on the location opposite the excellent Museum Of Science And Industry, perhaps. Sorry, but no thank you!
13 Nov 2011 10:31
The Riverside Cafe Bar, Sheffield
Contrary to the previous bafflingly petulant and rather ill-informed review, had a very pleasant time overlooking the river watching the mallards raising there large broods . Solid selection of ales and a relaxed open atmosphere and a good spot to end your valley of beer tour on the way back to town. A river collecting the water off the many big hills in Sheffield will never look like a Hampshire trout stream even without the industrial heritage.
24 Apr 2011 09:17
Honestly surprised why this pub has such a high rating. It's like a poor man's Ember Inn, if you've been in one of those. Somewhere to bring your granny if you're desperate. I'd rather wait on the platform for a train than here, it's less depressing.
16 Apr 2011 22:26
It doesn't seem to matter what time or day you turn up here nowadays is always seems to be rammed with hen parties, due to the proximity of a recently-constructed budget hotel. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is up to you but if you fancy a leisurely pint with your paper I'd try elsewhere.
31 Mar 2011 21:25
The Briton's Protection Hotel, Castlefield
It is a real pleasure to walk through the doors of this pub, still Manchester's finest after thirty years research, I say and back then you had only the dubious delights of Tetley Walker.
20 Mar 2011 09:03
The Peveril Of The Peak, Castlefield
Passing by mid-afternoon Saturday it was apparently shut with just a light visible above the bar. Seemed in the same state by the time I returned about 5pm but this time I walked all the way round the building to find it was open at the other side. Now the probability is that it opened in between times but nevertheless worth making sure I think!
20 Mar 2011 08:54
First time visit, looking for somewhere new to wait for my train, I am clearly neither friend nor local. I can only echo the previous review and say I found the experience a friendly and utterly un-threatening one. Not a huge ale selection granted but who ever decided that was the be-all and end-all of everything. If you find ordinary working people being pleasant and civil to one another a scary prospect then I would stick to Hampstead if I were you otherwise I would recommend here.
6 Feb 2011 13:52
If you're a young professional or proto-professional, this is a place to bring your parents or perhaps just meet up with (many, many) more of your own kind. If you're not, I 'd say there are better pubs and beer to be had in Highgate (unless you can work out a time when the aforementioned are elsewhere, perhaps).
30 Nov 2010 15:19
The Drapers Arms, Peterborough
More comfortable than most with efficient and friendly staff who actually talk to the customers, this has a more pubby atmosphere than your average 'spoons. If you're travelling on a budget you will probably end up in one of these establishments for a meal and a drink at some point - usually quick in and out - but here you might want to linger. Of the two nearest pubs to the railway station, in my opinion this is preferable to the Oakham Brewery Tap which is one of those "big barn" conversions in which I never feel at ease.
21 Nov 2010 10:01
Bit worried about the recent reviews so I determined to visit after a couple of years absence. All I can say is that it was well-frequented mid-Saturday afternoon. Ale was fine and a very comfortable, convivial atmosphere, just as I remembered it. Remains, therefore, one of my favourite pubs in York.
2 Oct 2010 20:23
Please don't be put off by the photo on here making it look like a dubious estate pub: it is very far from that with excellent beer; welcoming staff and clientele.
26 Jul 2010 17:40
stropmag, you should clearly loan out your username to Pat_Bateman or stropbat.
26 Jul 2010 16:15
The King Charles I, Kings Cross
Just to put the record straight visited Saturday 10th July and it is open and well worth a visit. A definite alternative if your waiting for your train.
11 Jul 2010 14:58
The King Charles I, Kings Cross
Also closed the previous Saturday, 24th April for "technical" reasons.
2 May 2010 12:30
The Chesham Arms, Homerton
Now a boarded-off building site. I can only speculate on what the future holds but of 3/11/2012 you surely can't get a drink here.
3 Nov 2012 22:20