please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A great pub 15 years ago - a great landlord, a great laugh and very welcoming.
The pub then seemed to plod along ok until about 5 years ago when anyone seemed to be allowed in - a pub that nice really went to the dogs in a very short space of time until it became a real mess. All very sad and gone forever by the sound of things.
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Unlikely to become a chinese; the whole of the east side of Lowfield Street from the town centre to the swimming baths (including the Plough) is to be demolished as part of the town centre redevelopment. Tesco is taking over Dartford!
JKIRK - 28 Oct 2008 18:35 |
Can't see The Plough ever re-opening, rumour has it The Plough will soon be converted into a chinese resturant!
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Yep - all boarded up, name removed and seemingly gone forever. Well done pikeys and druggies! Had some good times in here over the years but it was dragged down by local pond life. I dare say they will now target other local pubs to do their dodgy deals.
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Pub has now been boarded-up! Looks quite permanent this time.
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I haven't been in here for about 6 months, since the old regime kicked the Sunday Music Quiz into touch, probably the only night of the week when people with brains outnumbered those without. A scribbled note outside is advertising Speckled Hen & IPA at �1.50 a pint - good in that they have at least made an effort with the ales (it is years since the Hen last made an appearance here) but if they are trying to rid the place of druggys from the estate and general low life characters, knocking out cheap beer isn't going to help turn things around. All the usual cheap entertainment (DJ's, Karaoke etc) appear to be part of the way forward so I don't expect things to change too much from what they were. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss!
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Update: Pub has re-opened but haven't tried it yet (02/02/08).
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Previous reviewers were not far wrong! Pub was served a closure notice after a 'disturbance' on 12/01/08. It remains closed at the moment (23/01/08).
JKIRK - 23 Jan 2008 19:51 |
Its a brave person who drinks here. Last week, a pikey wedding with 300+ pikeys from across the southeast. Perhaps the only positive thing was that the dealers all scarpered for the day. A real menace of a pub, full of all the scum who are barred from everywhere else in the town. I give it about another month before its license is pulled by the police and local council.
anonymous - 18 Oct 2007 20:11 |
Judging by the board outside with the new managers welcoming all, another couple have given up on The Plough. Good luck to the new managers - you will need it.
anonymous - 17 Aug 2007 14:24 |
Thanks for the interesting insight ex-guv. Your efforts were appreciated if somewhat fruitless. You are not the first to have tried and failed here and certainly won't be the last. There is currently no Sky TV, attempts to introduce food have failed, live entertainment is cheap and tacky. Basically it is a Catch 22 situation - everything avaialble here drink or entertainment wise is already available at better pubs in town and unless someone wants to really gamble with something completely different it will probably remain the rather dull and uninteresting pub that it has been for some years. The latest incumbents have at least replenished the drink stocks although it is still a bit hit and miss whether the only ale (IPA) is available (and where the justification for Cask Marque symbol above comes from I will never know - it certainly is not currently accredited). Unfortunately there are probably more questionable characters frequenting this pub now than I have ever known before although I have never noticed any specific drug use, not to say that it doesn't occur. With Green King currently looking to offload several of thier pubs before the smoking ban comes in, the Plough may have an uncertain future.
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Although I�ve only paid the one visit, I feel qualified to review this pub as my opinion somewhat echoes those below. There isn�t anything particularly wrong with The Plough; it just isn�t particularly good either. Whilst not being tatty as such, the place has a run-down feel and I don�t like the openness of the layout at all. The music blaring on my visit was welcome, but too loud and tinny and my beer was flat. No doubt I�ll find myself in here again one day, but I won�t be rushing back.
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I used to be a regular at this pub, when it had bar staff & management that stayed longer than a month. Since then, it has slid downhill constantly. I recently had to go through 5 alternatives before finding one they had in stock (& I was only looking for a basic drink, nothing fancy). The food has also gone from having a reasonable menu to burger & chips as the special of the day, & more recently to "Kitchen closed". This is likely to be the fate of the pub itself if it doesn't improve soon, as I am sure I'm not alone in losing my patience with this establishment.
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First visit back since Christmas and hey, yet another management change. Tonight we have no Strongbow and even the choice of soft drinks seems to have evaporated. Can this place get any worse? Plough - SORT YOURSELF OUT BEFORE THE LOWFIELD STREET REDEVELOPMENT PLAN ENSURES THAT YOU GET DEMOLISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Wandered into this place once after a curry to be greeted by the funniest (unintentionally) Elvis impersonator I've ever seen racing through song after song at about 300 decibels. Stupidly, I didn't take this as a sign that I should turn straight back round and leave, instead choosing to get a pint in. The rest of my three minute stay was a bit of a blur which I've done well to block out of my memory. Absolute rubbish.
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Since being completely gutted and refurbished about 10 years ago, the Plough has undergone several overhauls and has had more management changes than Tottenham Hotspur in a bad season. The result of all this instability is a pub that is no more worthwhile visiting than it was before all the money was (�scuse the pun) ploughed in. The latest gaffer has reintroduced the TV�s (football regularly shown - hurray) but now provides probably the narrowest range of beers I have seen in a pub of this size. 18 months ago there were 3 Real Ales and, if I remember rightly, 2 keg bitters. Now there is IPA and nothing else (even the keg bitters have gone). The abundance of lagers possibly says something about the market they are currently aiming at and the pub (like the town in general) has suffered in the past from some fairly loutish clients. The prices over the past 18 months have also been hiked up considerably � not too long ago a pint of Strongbow was �2.20, now it�s �2.60, almost on par with Central London. For the entertainment minded, there is a somewhat obtrusive Pool table, darts board, various games and quiz machines. The regular Sunday Music Quiz is very popular (especially as you don�t need to win to walk off with the top prize). On other occasions they hold race nights, karaoke and the usual cheap tribute acts (there�s only so many times anyone can put up with a fake Elvis or Blues Brothers!). The Plough basically caters for certain elements of the immediate community and whilst it tries to make itself accommodating to all, it needs to work a lot harder if it is not to turn into just another cheap entertainment centre for lager drinkers.
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