BITE user comments - soodly
Comments by soodly
Modern estate pub, a bit chavvy, typical passable but uninspired Greene King beers. Adequate.
27 Jul 2012 09:13
Ales served through a sparkler! Our friends oop naath might enjoy having their beer massacred in this fashion, but there is NO excuse for it in Bedfordshire!
27 Jul 2012 09:06
The Blacksmiths Arms, St Albans
I still like the Blackies. It's still a bit pubco-crap but one can forgive much for the ever-changing range of well-kept ales and the cheerful staff.
Playing "chase the sun round the garden tables" of an evening is an amusing pastime.
20 Jul 2012 11:35
I'm pleased it's the Mucky Duck again and not the frankly daft Oscar's, but I've got to agree with donaldking, the place now has the feel of a nasty incident that hasn't happened yet. Maybe I'm a touch over-sensitive, but one's fellow drinkers all seem to have popped in for a gallon or two of refreshment in-between stripping lead from church roofs or tearing up copper telephone cables.
20 Jul 2012 10:37
The Carpenters Arms, Harpenden
What on earth has happened to the Carpenter's Arms? Made one of my occasional visits recently, tried three different ales, and they were all rank, cloudy and with bits of finings bobbing about. Eugh.
1 May 2011 06:25
I had two goes at having a beer in the White Lion's lovely garden over the Easter weekend and on both occasions I gave up a went elsewhere because it was overrun with the kind of non-drinking Happy Families who crawl out of the woodwork when the weather's nice but are not seen at all for the whole of the rest of the year.
It's hardly Dave's fault that his pub is so popular but it's a shame that regular customers get elbowed out in this way on all the best occasions, particularly when I'm pretty sure that me and my companions spend more on a single visit to the bar than the part-timers spend in an entire lunchtime.
1 May 2011 06:15
The Hare and Hounds, St Albans
Another visit to the H & H leads me to conclude that it's not OK really. Most of the ales were unavailable, the "garden" at the back was scruffy with disintegrating tables and drunkenly-leaning parasols, and the other customers were not people whose company anyone in their right mind would seek.
1 May 2011 06:02
Not as great as it thinks it is. Bills itself as a riverside pub, but in reality the river is little more than a muddy ditch. Proximity to Hitchin means it is rammed on a sunny lunchtime, and getting served at the woefully understaffed bar is painful. As is the wait for food, so we didn't bother, but where people did manage to get food served on the same day they ordered it (or had they been there since yesterday?), I must admit it did look good. Beer selection is dismal: nothing but the standard Wells and Youngs offerings to be found in all Charles Wells houses.
1 May 2011 05:48
A grim clone of the Red Hart a few doors down i.e. another chavved-up former coaching inn. On the plus side, there is more on offer than the ubiquitously awful Greene King IPA. On the down side, the "choice" extends only to the deeply uninteresting Wells Bombardier. Dreadful drum and bass music is piped throughout, including outside, which must be nice for the neighbours. Another one to avoid.
1 May 2011 05:41
Chavved-up former coaching inn. The only "ale" on offer is the dire Greene King IPA. If you want to drink outside in the sun (does anyone WANT to drink IPA?) you are obliged to do so in what is basically the car park at filthy and graffiti'd tables. One to avoid.
1 May 2011 05:37
@manx_888: There is a bell in the lounge bar for attracting the attention of the staff, although admittedly this particular feature is not well advertised! The staff are generally efficient, although sometimes it is a bit understaffed which can lead to a longish wait, particularly if someone has to go change a barrel. In additon to the Wells offerings Youngs Bitter and Special are always on, and there is always a (frequently-changing) guest. Unfortunately Charles Wells never owned the car park opposite and had no say in it being sold for housing. The public car-park in Townsend Avenue is only a few yards away and is free in the evenings.
17 Apr 2011 11:44
Dropped in a couple of days ago. The LRL continues to be solid and reliable, if not back to it's former "national treasure" status. Not to be missed on any beery night out in Snorbens.
11 Jan 2011 16:44
The King William IV, St Albans
This dreary chain establishment is no better for it's recent refurb. Same sterile atmosphere, same microwaved food, same adolescent staff. The ale was OK but nothing about the place made me want to stay for more than one. Was astonished that in the recent ice age they didn't bother to clear the lethal car park. Surely the pubco could've sent them a sack of rock salt and a shovel?
11 Jan 2011 16:38
The Hare and Hounds, St Albans
I hadn't been in here for years until someone recently told me that it was OK these days, despite being right on the edge of bandit country. So I had a look, and it was. OK, that is, nothing more. Only two ales were "on", it smelled of toilets, and there were too many tellys. But it was OK.
11 Jan 2011 16:31
Hi TMJ, yes I know the history of how Fat George and his ghastly staff ruined one of the finest pubs in the land (The Lower Red), driving me away from it in the process, and are now doing the same to the Mermaid (not that the latter has ever been the finest pub in the land, it's not even the finest pub in Hatfield Road).
I understand that Viv still owns the FB and is personally working on getting the brewery going again. Hopefully this will give him a chance to see the state it has got into, and prompt him to give the current tenant a good kick up the backside.
28 Jun 2010 12:23
'Tis a bit posh! Only dropped in for a beer (never having been before), but it definitely feels more like restaurant than pub.
28 Jun 2010 12:10
The Blacksmiths Arms, St Albans
The Blackies is still a bit of a standard pubco dump, but somehow they do manage to keep hitting the spot with the beer. I agree that they seem to offer a majority of light, brisk ales, but I see that as no bad thing in the summer. Plus, the ales on offer rotate with amazing frequency.
The current manager seems one of the better ones in recent years, despite being barely out of short trousers (as is generally the way with pubcos). He's polite and knowledgeable. We even overheard him give honest and accurate advice to a pair of chavettes who enquired how much of that ghastly bottled cider muck they could drink while still being legal to drive. Not his fault that the airheads ignored his advice and left rattling their car keys several bottles later.
28 Jun 2010 09:11
Snorbens has a sad lack of pubs where you can catch the evening sunshine while enjoying a pint. Think about it, at most of them the exterior is either shaded or north-facing. The White Lion is one that qualifies, but can get horribly busy and bratty outdoors, as is the Blackies, where you need strong nerves to tolerate the chavvy custom and general pubco crapness. However, I am delighted to report that the Six Bells is a member of that select group. OK, sitting in the sun out the back does feel a little like drinking in the car park, but it's really rather enjoyable.
28 Jun 2010 09:02
The Brocket Arms, Ayot St. Lawrence
Bicycled here last Saturday and enjoyed several jars of the Brocket Bitter in the sweltering garden and a natter with the delightful Becky. Still a wonderfully atmospheric old edifice (the pub, not Becky...).
28 Jun 2010 08:43
The Rose and Crown is currently closed, with no sign of any refurbishment taking place. I fear this may be the end for this ancient hostelry.
28 Jun 2010 08:35
The Green Man has always been a bit of a locals' joint where occasional visitors can feel a little out-of-place, but the barman took this to an extraordinary extreme last Friday evening when he treated my (female) companion with utter contempt.
Not only did he serve all the locals before her (even ones who just walked in the door while she was still waiting) but he also took a delivery and had a chinwag with the driver before deigning to serve her. Then, when he did condescend to take her money, he did so whilst rudely holding a conversation over his shoulder with someone at the other end of the bar.
We may not be locals, but we only live about a mile away and we did visit regularly if not frequently. No more.
Also, the beer selection is still deadly dull. 4/10, mostly for the lovely birds in the aviary.
28 Jun 2010 08:31
This place went right downhill a few years back but, having heard that changes were afoot, I decided to check it out again.
Oh dear. It had the same old bunch of foul-mouthed, ratted alkies infesting the left side of the bar, and the yard out back was rammed with more extremely loud effing-and-blinding lagered-up footie supporters. The interior was dirty and tatty, there was no sign of the Verulam Brewery ales, and the Wadworths offering we tried was poor.
Needless to say, we drank up hurriedly and nipped round the corner to the enjoy the civilised delights of the White Hart Tap.
I'm giving the Farmer's Boy 2/10 only because the barman was friendly and welcoming, but I will not be back anytime soon.
28 Jun 2010 07:14
Utterly delightful. An idyllic riverside location, a vast range of ales and excellent food (especially the chips). The only reason its not getting the full 10 from me is that it's a bit pricey.
28 Jun 2010 06:57
The missus went here at the request of some work colleagues recently and reports that things are no better than when we stopped visiting a couple of years ago. She was particularly struck by the filthiness of the glasses.
I am delighted to hear that it is changing hands, and will be even more delighted if it is true that the estimable Dave Worcester is returning. I shall give it a few weeks to settle down and then give it a try.
I read elsewhere that the current LRL management is taking over The Mermaid. If so, then it goes straight to the top of my list of Snorbens pubs to avoid (it's already a dump that smells like a toilet).
31 Dec 2008 14:05
Don't get here as much as I used to but I dropped in one weekend during our recent belated summer and had a couple of very nice pints sat in the quiet garden at the rear. Good place.
3 Nov 2008 11:18
Great selection of beer but it could do with a damn good clean and a swear-box.
3 Nov 2008 11:14
Dropped in on Saturday afternoon. Busy but only one bar person, loooong wait. Place was filthy, as usual.
3 Nov 2008 11:07
The Lamb and Flag, Marylebone
Serve beer through a sparkler in LONDON? How very dare you!
27 Jul 2012 09:23