BITE user comments - rob1981
Comments by rob1981
To be honest I only have a hazy memory of the original Wheatsheaf, a casualty of the Thameslink upgrade programme and now lost forever beneath a new railway viaduct, but this atmospheric cellar bar is a creditable replacement on the Southwark circuit. Bit too polished for my tastes - like an upmarket version of the Hole In The Wall at Waterloo - but a great range of beers from all around the UK and well worth a stopoff.
10 Aug 2011 22:27
Reborn last year as a middling Wetherspoons. The lowly aggregate rating of 3.6 betrays its former life as an All Bar One, nowadays you can at least get a decent pint.
28 Jun 2011 19:06
Above average Wetherspoons, usual range of well kept beers and an atmospheric downstairs bar
19 Jun 2011 15:23
Typical city centre Wetherspoons - good beer, reasonable food, varied clientele. Average.
12 Apr 2011 13:36
Just in Hereford for the day and armed with a copy of the Good Beer Guide, so I looked this place up at lunchtime and found it a pretty tatty and unwelcoming choice. The bar area is themed to look like a ship which is briefly interesting, but the building is starting to look really quite run down from the outside, even a bit hostile. There were only about eight or nine other punters even at peak time on a Saturday, perhaps because the place wasn�t doing food � in fact it was so quiet that the girl who turned out to be the barmaid was sitting outside chatting to a few of the regulars, and I spent some minutes standing at the bar like a spare part until she finally came in and gave me her attention. I hoped the quality of the Hereford Brewery beer would rescue the place, since it is produced on site and it's hard to imagine it not coming in top condition. But I had a very mediocre pint with a bit of an edge to it, and it took the poor girl about fifteen attempts to eke out enough liquid to fill the glass. When I assumed the barrel was empty and offered to change my order she laughed it off, stressing that there was plenty left and making some comment about �the dodgy pump�. Clearly this is something of a running joke. JUST GET IT FIXED. So hugely disappointing all round, and presumably not the pub it used to be. Regrettably I didn�t have time to try anywhere else, but sounds like the Barrels over the road is a much better bet, and The Lichfield Vaults in the town centre also looked inviting.
12 Apr 2011 11:37
Made my first visit to the Museum Tavern today after hearing many great things about it, so I was surprised and a little disappointed to find it in the hands of Punch Taverns and having been on the receiving end of yet another corporate makeover. Yet even with the pub chain's branding and "marketing collateral" in every available space, and huge laminated A3 menus, wine lists and ketchup bottles on every table, they have not completely knocked the charm out of the place. Far from it in fact - much of the pub's original character still shines through, and its numerous Victorian features make it well worth a visit. Seven real ales available too, including a superb Old Peculier.
7 Apr 2011 20:59
The North London Tavern, Kilburn
Fully refurbished within the last few years and designed to look like a rustic old pub. Dining has pretty much taken over from drinking � and you can�t blame the proprietors when people are clearly prepared to pay these extortionate prices for their food. It certainly seems to do a roaring trade, no doubt servicing the neighbourhood�s image-conscious young professionals. If you're the type of person that enjoys this sort of place I�m sure you could happily pass your Sunday afternoons in here - but if I pay more than �25 per head for a two-course meal it won�t be on the Kilburn High Road, even if the arrival of pubs like this proves the area is gradually hauling up its reputation. For for all this pub�s faults though, the beer was much better than expected � too often this sort of gastropub knocks out London Pride or nothing, and usually makes a pigs� ear of that. Instead I had an enjoyable pint of Sharp�s Atlantic IPA, and there were a couple of other interesting seasonal ales available, rather than the mass-produced usual suspects.
30 Mar 2011 12:08
The Plough and Harrow, Monknash
Deservedly popular village pub with a good range of ales, and a large garden in front of the building where an annual beer festivals is held. Lovely place to pass a spring afternoon or a summer's evening, although the pub itself is quite smoky because of its open fires and I'm not sure I'd want to sit inside for hours on end, cosy though it is. Also the food menu seems a bit limited.
29 Mar 2011 16:03
The Seven Stars, Chancery Lane
Another famously quirky central London pub that divides opinion. It�s certainly a unique little place and made a real impression on me the first time I went � there are some great original features that earn it a mention in CAMRA�s book of London Heritage Pubs, two small cosy rooms to drink in, checked tablecloths that recall a Parisian salon, a resident cat that skulks around the bar and lets you stroke it, and the toilet is up a very steep flight of stairs, next to the proprietors� study-cum-office which normally blares out opera CDs while you take a leak. A Pitcher and Piano this isn�t. But to be honest once the various novelties have worn off, you are left with a pretty average pub that is clearly trading off its reputation, dispensing beer of questionable quality and employing notoriously rude staff. I don�t think I�ve ever encountered Roxy, the famous landlady, but I have certainly encountered one of her minions and he looks at you like you�ve ruined his day every time you place an order. Nowadays I usually only go in here if I am taking someone else for their first visit � it seems to get more disappointing each time I go back.
24 Mar 2011 21:06
Probably the best out of all the many Fullers pubs I've been in. Tucked away in a typical Belgravia street, with a few interesting features on the outside and some cosy intimate drinking spaces on the inside, arranged around a square bar in the centre. Add a couple of interesting guest beers and this could be a 10/10 place, until then you'll have to make do with the usual Fullers range.
24 Mar 2011 20:42
Strange little pub that seems to be having an identity crisis - walk around the L-shaped bar from the door to the dining area at the back, and the character of the place seems to change with every few paces that you take. It starts off feeling like a traditional real ale pub with the local Ringwood beers available; then it's briefly a folk music venue with a bloke playing away to himself in the corner; then it starts to feel like a town centre sports pub, with big screens showing Sky matches and one of those rogue ATM machines that charges you for making a withdrawal. Then you get to the carvery, and there's a bloke serving roast dinners from a trolley. Even in the restaurant they were serving Sunday lunches and Thai food off two different menus, and somewhere in the building they were also serving cream teas according to a blackboard outside. Weird place, could be OK if it makes its mind up about what it wants to be and who it wants to cater for. At the moment it's trying too many things and not doing any of them very well.
24 Mar 2011 20:30
The Hole In The Wall, Waterloo
The pub name is very appropriate here - it really doesn't look like much from the outside but through a narrow doorway in quite a hidden little street the place opens out into a sort of subterranean drinking dungeon built underneath the railway arches. If you can find the entrance it's worth a visit. Looks scruffy but the beer choice is good and I seem to remember the food being excellent value. Atmosphere can be a bit so-so though, and quite a transient crowd usually - being so close to the station most people either meet up here and move on after one drink, or kill time before heading off to catch a train.
24 Mar 2011 20:12
The Freemasons Arms, Covent Garden
Right on the Covent Garden tourist trail and surrounded by office workers so it often gets uncomfortably busy, but The Freemasons is an inviting little Shepherd Neame pub if you can catch it during one of its quieter periods. Shows the sport and has a few bits of football memorabilia dotted about. In fact it claims to be the birthplace of The Football Association and the meeting venue where the rules of the game were first drawn up in 1863. But this could equally have been The Freemasons Tavern, a pub now long gone that stood on the site of the New Connaught Rooms a few hundred yards away on Great Queen Street. Nobody seems to know for sure. So there you are - something to bore your fellow drinkers with over a Spitfire.
24 Mar 2011 19:56
Mixed feelings about this place. Has a superb range of regularly changing ales from all over the UK, but the pub interior is a bit dull and featureless, just being one big square room. Not very homely and doesn't really invite you to relax and settle in for the night, which is a shame when there are so many great beers on offer.
24 Mar 2011 19:40
Absolutely superb example of a traditional back street boozer - in a perfect world there would be one like this on every London street. There isn't, of course, which makes this place one of the very best pubs in the city. Great beer, good food, friendly service and a welcoming atmosphere - what more do you need? And unpretentious enough to leave its Christmas decorations up even though it's March.
24 Mar 2011 19:19
A classic London pub that has stood defiantly and stubbornly unchanged while all around it have been knocked about by developers in the name of progress. If it wasn�t for the energy saving light bulbs, you could step in here for a drink and easily believe you were still in the 1960s. The original interior is wonderfully intact, dividing the pub into four areas, and it even has a phlegmy no-nonsense barmaid of a certain vintage who is perfectly in keeping with her surroundings. Let down slightly by a fairly limited beer range, but remains the best pub in the Smithfield area for me � if it had a couple of interesting guest ales I would give it 10/10 without hesitation.
24 Mar 2011 17:24
The mock tudor frontage does this place no favours and for years I have given it a wide berth, fearing a sort of hammed up Olde London pub aimed at tourists who don't know any better. When I actually went inside recently I was pleasantly surprised - there are a few old features and little touches that are a bit more authentic than the exterior, and a wide range of beers in keeping with many other Nicholsons pubs. Good place to watch sport too, although the screens rather dominate and it may be best avoided on match days if you are not a football fan.
24 Mar 2011 17:04
I desperately want to like this pub more than I do. I'm a sucker for London history and it looks fabulous from the outside, the surviving buildings having changed little since its days as a famous coaching inn. And as a fully paid up member of the National Trust it warms my heart to see them looking after a few historic pubs and not just spending all their money on tapestries and stately homes. Unfortunately with a steady stream of tourists to keep The George in business, neither the standards of service or the quality of the beer are particularly high. I've been here a few times and never had a decent pint, and last week I got a rancid Greene King offering that I couldn't even finish off. Within the last year or two the middle section of the pub also looks to have been smartened up in a bland modern style that doesn't befit the rest of the place. My advice? Take a few photos of the outside and drink somewhere else.
24 Mar 2011 16:24
Clearly this quirky little pub is an acquired taste, and while it makes a welcome change to the formulaic chain pubs on every street corner it didn't do a lot for me. With random bric a brac and general clutter on every available surface and a pretty run down and shabby appearance it feels a bit like sitting for a drink in someone's attic. Plus they served up a rotten pint of Adnams that tasted like it had been stood outside for a fortnight. Unfortunately we didn't encounter any of the eccentric staff detailed below, but my two friends and I got a frosty reception from a couple of the well heeled locals. They moved away from us after a few minutes, presumably because our art collections come from Athena rather than Sothebys. Worth a visit though, if only to say you've been.
24 Mar 2011 16:08
The Southwark Tavern, London Bridge
Owned by Mitchells and Butlers, so don't be fooled into thinking that this is an independent place rather than yet another chain pub. Decent range of beers though, and it's worth a visit to see what they have done with the downstairs. Otherwise this place is too trendy for me - candles on all the tables, and filled with loud music and the self important chatter of the twenty and thirty somethings that have apparently made Borough High Street such a happening place to be. Can't comment on the staff - my drinking partner went to the bar, but it didn't seem to take him long.
24 Mar 2011 16:01
Solid enough station pub, well kept Fullers beers and good value pub grub. If you've got an hour to kill before catching a train from King's Cross, it's either here or Mabel's Tavern around the corner.
22 Mar 2011 22:09
The Rose and Crown, Chesterfield
Brampton Brewery have done a superb job here, breathing new life into a run of the mill back street boozer with their first foray into pub ownership. Now it boasts six or seven handpumps at any one time, with an Everards or two and regularly changing guest beers sitting alongside the full Brampton range. Still has that newly refurbished feel which is a slight turn-off, but will have a bit more character when it's been open longer. Only real criticism is that it took me forever to get served in the small snug at the rear of the bar, and in the end I gave up trying to attract attention and walked round into the main pub. Why have a serving hatch if you're not going to serve at it?
22 Mar 2011 22:02
The Old Bank of England, Fleet Street
Superb bank conversion with the usual Fullers beers. Well worth a visit, although I have never lingered for more than a couple since there are so many other good pubs in this area.
22 Mar 2011 15:38
One of the best pubs down this end of Fleet Street in my opinion, certainly preferable to The Punch Tavern and The Tipperary. Part of the Nicholsons empire, but it does not feel much like a chain pub and retains a lot of character. Good range of beers too, usually including St. Austell Brewery's Tribute.
22 Mar 2011 14:17
The Horse and Groom, Belgravia
Another quirky mews pub, tucked away in a hidden corner of Belgravia and looking hugely inviting as you approach it. Better from the outside than the inside though; something about the decor and fittings didn't really work for me. Has very bright lights and high tables and stools, which made it feel a bit like a wine bar selling Shepherd Neame beers.
22 Mar 2011 00:33
Fairly pedestrian beer range, but a really friendly backstreet pub that looks gorgeous from the outside and gets better still when you go through the door. Tucked away, but people in the know will seek this out and won't be disappointed.
21 Mar 2011 23:52
A touch more corporate-looking than some of the others Nicholsons pubs but it has a wide range of beers and is pretty quiet during the day, which makes this a great place to pass a lunchtime. I would give this a solid 8/10 on that basis - in the evenings it gets extremely busy and often has the sport on which makes it a rather different proposition.
21 Mar 2011 23:40
I would take dmills' endorsement with a pinch of salt, five reviews in one evening and all for various branches of Belushi's in disparate parts of London. If I didn't know better I would guess he works in their marketing team. For the record I've never been in here, but I've walked past a lot and it looks like my worst nightmare.
21 Mar 2011 22:21
Surprised by some of the criticism on here. The Globe is not my favourite place by any means but it's a solid enough Nicholsons pub with a good range of ales, and makes a decent enough place to meet given that it's right next to Moorgate tube. Layout is a bit quirky as others have said, basically two pubs that have been knocked together at some stage. The 'Keats' side has a bit more character and you are more likely to find a seat... there is also a third bar in the dining area upstairs. This is usually staffed and rarely gets busy, in fact if you time it right you can get sometimes get a room and a barperson all to yourself up there.
21 Mar 2011 20:27
Another pretentious Islington gastropub full of vacuous office types, utterly bland and indistinguishable from the next and yet so smug and pleased with itself that I struggle to do justice to it in words. A glance at the pub's nauseating website should tell you everything you need to know about the setup here, and the clientele they are going for. Any pub that uses the words "ambrosia" and "elixir" on its menu in preference to "food" and "drinks" is a pub best avoided in my opinion. "Dessert time can turn into a religious experience" apparently, but I didn't stop to find out. As for its laughable claim about good quality cask ales - this is only true if you like your beer ice cold, tasting faintly of cheese, and served in a chipped glass. Had a rotten pint of Doom Bar to start and then found the Deuchars even worse. The Theakstons was off which was probably a blessing.
17 Mar 2011 23:21
After being immortalised by a Victorian lyricist in the words of the "Pop Goes The Weasel" nursery rhyme, The Eagle is one of the most famous pubs in London. Thus it enjoys a reputation almost entirely at odds with the experience on offer in the 21st century. At first glance I know it can appear quite intimate and welcoming, with a slightly rustic charm. However the service is almost always lousy, the quality of the beer very often disappoints, and with thousands of office workers nearby it is very often uncomfortably busy. More than once I have also seen rats running around the beer garden. Mercifully this is not in my 2009 copy of the Good Beer Guide; if it has made it into another year's edition, I can only assume this is down to someone at CAMRA taking the piss on their last day.
17 Mar 2011 20:59
Nice enough place for families - we've had Sunday lunch here a couple of times recently because we've had a new baby in tow. Probably wouldn't want to go here otherwise, although they do have Jennings beers on which is a plus.
15 Mar 2011 00:18
The Carpenters Arms, Marble Arch
Stumbled across this place after a meeting in an unfamiliar part of town and it didn't disappoint - four ales available, friendly service, nice traditional feel. Well worth a visit.
8 Mar 2011 18:55
Starting to look a bit tired inside and facing stiff local competition now that the nearby Rose and Crown has been made over as a Brampton Brewery pub, but The Peacock remains a popular choice for real ale enthusiasts in this part of town. A regular in the Good Beer Guide, and winner of one of the Chesterfield CAMRA branch's Pub Of The Season awards.
8 Mar 2011 18:13
Great pub, deserves to be in anyone's Top 10 London pubs. Rarely drops quiet though, given its proximity to both Borough Market and London Bridge station so expect to stand up.
8 Mar 2011 17:39
I'm no expert on Belgian beer, but I do know that the food was overpriced and the atmosphere unremarkable.
28 Feb 2011 23:14
This is a pub that sums Islington up perfectly, all style and no substance. In the rush to tart up the interior and put the organic food on the menu, it seems they have completely forgotten to stock any beer and overlooked the fact that their customers might ask for it. If you're after a proper ale the best you'll get is a bottle of something that's been chilled in the fridge to within an inch of its life.
28 Feb 2011 23:11
This is a great great pub, with a good atmosphere and a fantastic range of beers. It is very busy most of the time, so your chances of getting round a table and settling in for a good session are often not that great. But as a place to pass through for a pint or two it is very hard to find better anywhere in town.
28 Feb 2011 23:06
Another decent Fullers pub, converted from an old bank - inside it's all high ceilings and neo-classical pillars. The usual range of Fullers beers.
28 Feb 2011 22:45
Excellent range of beers, with 50p off each pint for card-carrying CAMRA members. Badly lacking in character though, the interior and decor is bland and forgettable.
28 Feb 2011 22:43
Very average - not a bad meeting point because it is right opposite the tube station and rarely gets busy, but it's unlikely you'd want to linger here for a second pint.
25 Feb 2011 19:41
Working across the road from this place I have passed a couple of lunchtimes here at the behest of staid colleagues who wouldn't appreciate a good pub if you dragged them into it. This is another atrocious chain outlet that can't decide if it's a pub or a wine bar, modelled on the likes of All Bar One and Pitcher and Piano. Beer wise you might get a ropey pint of Greene King IPA if you're lucky, otherwise it's ice-cold watery lagers all round. Do yourself a favour and go somewhere else. There are at least a dozen better options within a five minute walk.
18 Feb 2011 17:09
Unlikely to win any pub awards, but it's decent enough and you are hardly spoilt for choice in West Hampstead. Usually has a couple of ales on and shows the sport - often gets busy when there are matches on at Wembley, and it makes a decent meeting point being within a minute's walk of the tube.
16 Feb 2011 23:27
Visited this place for the first time last week, and despite its fabulous mews setting, a couple of decent guest beers and enough quirky features to make a pub historian giddy, I came away thoroughly disappointed. I can only echo the comments below about the hostile reception and the spectacularly belligerent staff. A real shame - with someone else in charge this could easily be one of the best pubs in London.
16 Feb 2011 23:18
Superb Shepherd Neame pub tucked away near Victoria, but a world away from the identikit bars and chain pubs that dominate the area around the station. Despite its size it is rare to find it too busy in my experience, and I have been in a few times and been able to bag a table and settle in. Hard to find better in this part of town.
16 Feb 2011 23:04
The Knights Templar, Chancery Lane
One of the few real jewels in Wetherspoons' crown, this is apparently their only pub in the country that has been licensed for weddings. Converted from a nineteenth century bank, so it has a superbly ornate interior and the usual strong range of beers... but still a Wetherspoons at the end of the day.
16 Feb 2011 22:44
Just to reiterate that this is NOT the celebrated Cheshire Cheese with the centuries-old wood panelled interior - that one is further down Fleet Street towards St. Pauls. This one still ought to have a few things going for it, but I visited with two other seasoned ale drinkers and we all had to send our beers back because they were so unpalatable. While they gave us something else, no questions asked, their second offering was hardly any better. So if you are in this area, try the nearby Edgar Wallace first, or the Devereux. Or The George, or the Coal Hole, or the Old Bank of England. Anywhere really, just avoid this one.
16 Feb 2011 22:38
Easily one of the best Fullers pubs in central London, although I visited on a very quiet Monday evening and came away a bit underwhelmed because there was hardly anyone in. Keen to get back on a busier night.
16 Feb 2011 22:27
The Pitcher And Piano, Islington
Unless the revolution in corporate pub ownership has passed you by you will know exactly what to expect from a Pitcher and Piano, and if you take the trouble to read online reviews of pubs before you visit them then it is unlikely to appeal. This one is a shocker, even by the low standards of the Pitcher and Piano estate - full of braying office types who think they are City traders rather than people who have wound up working in Islington. Avoid at all costs.
16 Feb 2011 22:14
Average Wetherspoons, you know the drill... far from the best pub in the area, but serves a decent pint and it's pretty handy for the tube
16 Feb 2011 22:06
Not as bad as I was expecting given some of the earlier comments on here, and it has clearly had some money lavished on it in the last couple of years - but it remains a pretty formulaic chain pub that I'd be unlikely to return to. Three or four hand pumps on for my visit, but only the mass produced corporate ales on offer - e.g. London Pride, Bombardier and Youngs. As for watching the midweek football in here - we thought about watching last night's Milan v Spurs game in here, but the three or four screens are all pretty small and not very well positioned. Unless you're lucky enough to get a seat right next to one, you'll struggle for much of a view. We drank up and moved on before kick off.
16 Feb 2011 20:06
Can�t go far wrong with one of the capital�s Shepherd Neame pubs and this one is a cut above the norm, with a guest beer available and an enviable setting in one of London�s wealthiest streets. Within 3-4 mins' walk of Sloane Square tube station, it also makes a good meeting point for a tour around the other pubs in the area. Thus I only stayed for one but could have happily lingered into the evening
16 Feb 2011 08:36
The Elephant Inn, North Finchley
By far the best pub in Finchley, I've been fortunate enough to live within 5 minutes walk of this place for the last few years and you couldn't wish for a better local. Shows all live sport (apart from golf) and you can count on a great atmosphere for big football matches - but one side of the pub is free of TV screens altogether so you can usually find a corner for a quiet drink even during the biggest games. Only negatives are the predominantly Thai menu, which is not to everyone's taste, and the fact that the beers are limited to the usual Fullers range, save for a very occasional guest.
13 Feb 2011 18:02
Decent country pub on the edge of the Chatsworth Estate, with a fine range of local ales � although I called in here over Christmas for the first time in a few years and was disappointed to find it has lost a little of its previous character. As others have commented, the proprietors are doing more to attract diners than to attract drinkers these days, and when they can knock out a burger and chips from their �snack menu� and charge �13 then I suppose that is no real surprise. So if you are just in for the beer, you might quickly start to feel like you are drinking in a restaurant.
11 Feb 2011 20:01
The Cock and Woolpack, City Of London
Great little Shepherd Neame pub tucked away in an alley off Cornhill, well worth seeking out.
6 Feb 2011 23:53
Bit of an anticlimax after reading some of the glowing reviews on here before my visit - I would put this down as a very average backstreet boozer, with a question mark over the quality of the beer and a slightly intimidating atmosphere. Having said that, after walking around Gillingham's desolate town centre for a bit I can well believe it is the best pub in the area.
26 Jan 2011 13:43
The Erris Tavern, North Finchley
This has reopened recently as a seedy-looking bar called "The Mist", promising food and live music and regular happy hours. Give it 6 months max.
24 Jan 2011 13:07
Seems to enjoy a loyal following despite being slightly off the beaten track, but the appeal of this dark and gloomy place was totally lost on me. I can't say I really noticed its prohibition era theme either - for the most part the pub has a worn and tired interior, and if it was ever the stunning Art Deco experience promised on its website then this was clearly some years ago. Beer is also badly kept - they had two real ales on during my visit, and I couldn't stomach a second pint of either.
13 Jan 2011 23:25
Oozing history and character in the heart of the capital's legal quarter, this fabulously atmospheric place has one of the city's most celebrated pub interiors. If I could stomach Sam Smiths beers it would be among my favourite pubs in London. As it is, it is of architectural interest only.
13 Jan 2011 20:03
A really good pub. Great choice of ales and some nice original features, not least the bar billiards table just inside the front door.
12 Jan 2011 00:10
Great place with a superb range of real ales. Called in on a pub crawl, but could have happily spent the whole night in here.
12 Jan 2011 00:06
Not one of the better Wetherspoons pubs, most of the seating is in one big open-plan area at the back which does nothing for the atmosphere. Plus I've tried to eat here a couple of times over the last few months and the service has been extremely slow.
11 Jan 2011 00:14
The Original Plough, Chelmsford
Nicholsons have refurbished this quite recently, and the result is a depressingly familiar chain pub with neutral decor throughout and Sky Sports News playing in the corner with the volume down. Great range of ales though, which would be enough to get me through the door a second time.
10 Jan 2011 23:45
Good choice of local ales, but felt like a pub without much character. One end is dominated by a large widescreen TV, the other side has a pool table, jukebox and quiz machine. You'd really struggle to find a corner to get comfortable and enjoy a quiet drink. Also the lighting was very bright throughout which didn't help to create much of an atmosphere. Worth calling in, but certainly not a place I would want to settle at for the night.
10 Jan 2011 23:27
Called in with a few other visitors just before an Aldershot game. Did not look at all welcoming, especially with ranks of police lined up nearby to marshal the away fans, but it was a pleasant surprise inside. Not the best, but a friendly enough atmosphere and a couple of real ales available.
10 Jan 2011 20:45
Tucked away in a residential area with a good range of beers on offer, this traditional pub has the makings of a superb backstreet boozer. Yet I visited with a couple of friends at peak time, and at 9.30pm on a Saturday there were literally four other people in there. Heads turned as we walked through the door, and an eerie silence fell as the people in there sized us up. Yes, we got a decent pint but for the first few minutes we all felt really quite uncomfortable until we'd been served and sloped off to a corner to sit down. Not sure what has happened to the "huge local following" mentioned below - the Queen's Head looks to have had a makeover a few doors up, so perhaps they've all defected there. Shame because with a bit more life and a few more punters this place could be a belter.
10 Jan 2011 20:36
Best avoided on Friday and Saturday nights when half the adolescents in Finchley descend on it, but for the rest of the week this is a decent Wetherspoons in a part of town that really struggles for good pubs. Clean and tidy after a refurbishment last year, and four or five separate drinking areas give it a bit more character than many Wetherspoons pubs - plus there is an room upstairs with a second bar reserved for diners. Add in the usual range of beers and regularly changing guest ales, and it's definitely one of the better places in the area.
9 Jan 2011 21:33
The Blue Boar, Southend on Sea
Called in before the Southend match yesterday to find only lager and Guinness available - two handpumps on the bar but both were out of action, despite the place being relatively quiet. Otherwise it had the makings of a half decent pub - reasonable atmosphere, friendly enough staff, pool table, quiz machine and sport on TV.
9 Jan 2011 21:09
as of 08/01/2011 this place has definitely closed down again, in fact it looks like it hasn't opened its doors for some time
9 Jan 2011 01:22
Great little pub, with a good range of ales and excellent food. Only really ended up eating here because the nearby Monsal Head Hotel was heaving, but would definitely opt for this one in future.
6 Jan 2011 23:47
The Donkey Derby, Chesterfield
Run of the mill place serving up the usual pub food on an out of town retail park. Nowadays it doubles as a football supporters' meeting point, following Chesterfield's recent relocation to the new b2net stadium next door. Gets very crowded on matchdays as it's just about the closest pub to the ground, but apart from the location there's really not much going for it. Certainly nothing here for the ale enthusiast - I was handed an ice-cold Bombardier in a plastic glass and it was virtually undrinkable. The Derby Tup or Red Lion, both a short walk down Sheffield Road, are definitely better options for a pre-match pint.
6 Jan 2011 23:33
The Bell, Aldgate
I'm afraid I cannot echo the glowing review posted immediately below mine. From the outside The Bell is a sorry sight indeed, a gloomy and forbidding corner building tucked away in the sort of neglected East London back street that makes you think twice before getting your phone out of your pocket. Inside you find a large open-plan room kitted out with traditional London pub decor, so while it starts to feel slightly less menacing it is certainly not a place where I could be encouraged to linger - especially not when Youngs and Bombardier are the only ales available.
1 Sep 2011 20:47