please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Fantastic exterior tiles (? 1930's), unfortunately interior has been stripped out to give a minimalist gastro-pub appearance. Saturday liunchtime had a perfectly OK pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord (shame there was no Youngs available in what appears to still be a Youngs house). Nothing much to reccomend it but generally OK
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Put simply: this place ruined our Christmas. Avoid at all costs.
This was actually the second time that we have not been served here and also the second time that we were offered free drinks as compensation for being 'overlooked'. The second time, it wasn't even done with good grace but we were made to feel like we had done something wrong ourselves. Avoid this place.
Now, I'm the first to give a place a chance and that's why we came back even after the first failure but to have exactly the same thing happen twice in a row and then on a family Christmas lunch is simply not on.
We'd rung a week before to book a table for Xmas lunch. Xmas day was full and we were offered Xmas eve instead. We booked for 1230 and asked about the menu. We were told to look at the festive menu online.
On the day, we got there early and the manageress acted surprised. She said she hadn't prepared anything and told us to choose any table.
Whilst I was waiting I was told that I might have to move since they were expecting a group of 12 and they might have to push two tables together. I offered to move to another table immediately but was told, 'it's ok, they're only coming at 5pm', It was midday.
Once my two other guests arrived we tried to order. Now the story was that there was no Christmas menu after all and we should order from the regular menu.
After protesting, the story changed to insisting that we should have pre-ordered. Yet we'd rung a week before and specifically asked about the Xmas menu and no one had told us then about pre-ordering.
We were made to feel as if we'd made a mistake and then the manageress changed the story for a third time and told us the festive menu was on after all but without the salmon and various other options. This was the menu that we'd been informed to look at the week before and since two out of three of us had wanted the salmon, it was already a disappointment.
Nevertheless, we ordered what we could, two nut roasts and a beef pie, not exactly festive. We also ordered a starter. This was at 1230.
After we arrived two other larger groups turned up and within short order, their food arrived. Half an hour passed with no sign of our starter. 45 minutes passed and still no starter. By this time all of the larger groups had mostly finished.
By 55 minutes my two guests, two senior citizens in their 70s had had enough and wanted to go home. I went to check on the food and instead of apologies, the manageress simply got defensive.
When I suggested that it would be reasonable to expect our starters at least to have arrived within the last hour, I was told that in her view, it was not reasonable because another group had ordered before us and they should be served first.
There was no attempt to apologise in a meaningful or sincere way, only in a grudging way which was no apology at all. Again and again, I was made to feel as if I had done something wrong.
Returning to my group, the two senior citizens I was with had decided to leave. As they prepared to leave I informed the manageress that we were leaving and to cancel our meal. More than one hour had passed at this point and all we'd received were glasses of wine that we ourselves had ordered and picked up ourselves from the bar.
The manageress was clearly upset that we were leaving but again her manner was combative and her throwaway offer of letting us off paying for our drinks came across more as a way of getting us out than a genuine effort to offer redress.
Now the thing was, our group had been in this place six months previously and exactly the same thing had happened then. On that night, an Irish barman called Steve had been working and he had gone out of his way to apologise and get us free drinks after our food had failed to turn up. He came over to our group, apologised, told us stories and eventually sat down with us and dealt with the issue with grace and charm. He is the reason that we came back at all.
This time in contrast, when one of my guests, the wife of the elderly couple, also in her seventies, tried to tell the manageress why this had been the second time it had happened, the manageress refused to even listen to her and instead ignored her and insisted that I had not given her a chance to speak even though I was not even speaking!
In a kind and reasonable way, the elderly lady in our group tried to point out why the service was not good enough but she wasn't listened to. At this point a man who was sat at the bar stood up and started to threaten our small group, one man and two senior citizens. We left.
The whole experience ruined our Christmas and if Steve, the Irish barman, had been there, we're sure it could have been handled sensibly. After all, we came back after the first time. We won't go back now. Avoid at all costs.
NickU - 24 Dec 2013 18:27 |
Bold yellow brick and tile exterior, with plenty of interesting reminders of its former life as a Youngs house. Unfortunately, most of the interior character has been stripped out during several refurbishments and it now has a fairly anonymous gasto-pub layout with the obligatory open kitchen, etc. However, it is quite light and airy, with some largeish windows, pale wood furniture and light pastel-shade paintwork on the walls. Nice little wood-burning stove towards the back. Two handpumps, with Purity Mad Goose and a good Adnams Irish Stout (at �3.40) on. As these sort of places go, not that bad.
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Can't say how much I like this pub - yes, it looks as though some people (below) don't like the interior or the range of drinks, but for a great atmosphere and everything that you need to have a good time with friends I think this place takes some beating. The staf are warm, welcoming and very involved with the customers and the pub quiz on a Tuesday is brillinatly run. Top marks I say.
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Now selling real ale from Purity - Purity Gold and UBU during my visit. It's now run by the same company that runs the nearby Barley Mow.
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Absolutely beautiful exterior. I used to visit the pub occasionally about five years ago and it had an unremarkable interior. Stuck my head round the door recently and it has been modernised very unsympathetically - looks as much like a Pizza Express branch as a pub. I turned straight back out. A pity.
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Now re-opened after its disasterous and short lived life as Crapology (c'mon - what was that about?) . Still more than your average number of babes in arms/prams and worse, it also seems to have turned into some sort of geek-magnet with laptops sprouting from the furniture.
OK selection of drinks but no real decent beers. Sulky staff. Cheapish food (specials at least).
Wide and berth spring to mind. Head off to the Packhorse for a pub that wants you to know its a pub.
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Despite the name reversion still a kind of cafe'-bar rather than a pub, thouhg it does do beer on pump so it is a pub. Comfortable sofas at the back, dining tables at the front, a fave of the large-buggy-mum set. I have been there several times but only on weekend afternoons, I don't know what it would be like of an evening when the pub trade would focus on the Old Pack Horse a few blocks away.
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I found this pub to be rather soulless and uninviting. No less than five people were using notebook computers and not drinking alcoholic drinks. There was also a largish group of mums with at least two screaming children. Personally I prefer a pub that doesn�t have the appearance of being a cross between a cr�che and an office. Pride and Young�s Bitter on � the Young�s at �3 a pint is not cheap. Looks good on the outside with an original Young�s fa�ade � but I won�t be going inside again
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This pub is now open again (though God knows why!)and has reverted to its original name 'Crown and Anchor' It is a refurbishing disaster, being neither tradditional pub or trendy Chiswick wateringhole. The range of beers is extremely limited. The London Pride was undrinkable. I committed the ultimate sin of asking for a glass for my bottle of Budvar. Hot day. Cold beer. Hot glass. Perfect combination!
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This IS still a pub albeit with a non-pub name (like so many others). They have Red Stripe, Kirin Ichiban and Erdinger on draught as well as loads of bottled stuff and ciders. The food is excellent and they do a great breakfast. Opens at 9am for that. A good, modern pub for Chiswick...and not another brand.
anonymous - 3 Oct 2007 12:41 |
Does so.
anonymous - 30 Sep 2007 01:32 |
Not a pub according to CAMRA rules which stipulate it must serve beer on pump (whether 'real' or under pressure). Shackology / Crown and Anchor sells bottled beers and ciders but not on pump.
anonymous - 29 Sep 2007 13:36 |
Now called 'Shackology', despite the exterior (which is listed). It still considers itself a pub, despite the name, so it needs a new entry on BITE.
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About to re-open (April 23) as a 'Gastro-Cafe'. Very Chiswick these days!
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currently closed - boarded up and shrouded in scaffolding.
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Former Young's pub with modern decor, not very trad but comfortable enough. Barmaid apologetic that they 'only' had London Pride on tap, perhaps this means they usually have more choice, but Pride was fine. More of a local pub than others around - pool table, etc.
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Nice enough pub. Friendly bar staff, though sometimes they can be a little slow. Chiswick is crying out for pool tables and this pub has bucked the trend by getting one in while most in chiswick are getting rid of theirs. They could make better used of their upstairs space for a couple of pool tables there rather than just having the one is the bar as this is constantly in use. They could also do with a better selection of food.
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This pub is always improving. I like the pub, and the staff are a good laugh too. Can sometimes be a 'mare to get served, but it's difficult to know which part of the bar to stand in, as it's split in to two parts. Typical boozer toilets that whiff, but show me one in Chiswick that doesn't.
If I'm not mistaken, it's recently gone Over 21's only, with a ban on baseball caps. Should aid the further improvement of this place, as I don't think it's reached its full potential yet.
Graam - 10 Apr 2006 19:24 |
Need some personality...
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Shame that it's no longer a Youngs house but the new decor's lovely. The guy behind the bar last night was an absolute star too. Let us sample the Czech beer he had on draught we hadn't come across before before we took the plunge. Very nice it was too. So much so that I drunk so much of it I can't now remember what it's called.
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Visited 30.05.05. Very friendly staff, excellent atmosphere and lovely real ales. Is due to be refurbished again in the next six months and Landlady is looking to bring in more Real Ale. Can only be a good thing!!!
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Just to clarify / confirm the previous comment - sadly this is no longer a Youngs pub, but infinitely preferable to it becoming a Mothercare branch, where as I understand it, they don't serve beer.
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NOW RE-OPENED & OWNED BY CAPITAL PUB COMPANY 2
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Alas, this pub is now closed.
I understand that it is going to be replaced by a branch of Mothercare, which probably means that the splendid exterior tiling and the Youngs ram logo will be lost.
It's a great disappointment to see this pub go, even though it had been "improved".
There is an excellent Fullers pub - The Old Pack Horse - several hundred yards up the road going west and this pub is still well worth a visit
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I can't find any fault with this place. Fine beer and a decent atmosphere.
Dave - 16 Jul 2004 17:07 |
As featured in the latest Streets video. No idea why that would make you want to drink. Yes, yes, this pub sells really good beer, but omigosh don't they know it.
Agnes - 20 Apr 2004 17:41 |
Ant and Dec used to be seen here reguarly on a friday night, must have been around 1999/2000. Christ knows why becuase it's a a pretty dull pub. But then I went through a phase of drinking here too so it must have some sort of pull.
Good for: Hypnotism?
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