please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
This place has sadly gone downhill again. The seems like the general manager has lost interest and she is rarely seen. The place appears to be run by young duty managers who, quite frankly, haven't got a clue - although they are very keen on cashing up so they can clock off and go home!
Recently the place wasn't even able to serve any draught beers because they had run out of gas! Despite there being another outlet from the same group in town I doubt that it occured to anyone to contact then to see if they could help them out with some gas. Result: the customers had to drink bottled beer.
The whole bar is looking very run-down and there is a large damp patch on the wall in one of the seating areas that smells of mould. Very few of the outside coachlamps are working and the pub signs and impressive illuminated tree are very seldom switched on so the place very often looks closed.
There appears to be a fast turnover of staff which doesn't help.
It's a shame to see a pub/restaurant deteriorate just when you thought that it had turned a corner and become a decent place to go.
Time for some changes I think Whitbread! Surely they must have area managers that visit large outlets like this and notice all these things and take action?
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Lunchtime visit. 2 clips: Pride & Spitfire. The Spitfire was off, but the Pride was in great condition. I was surprised as the pub is not great, but the Pride was.
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This place seems to have improved over the past couple of years. There now appears to be 2 real ales on most of the time, Spitfire appears to be a regular one. The majority of the staff are now friendly, efficient and helpful.
Like all Beefeater outlets the prices of the food appears to have increased considerably recently compared with other nearby pub restaurant outlets, which could explain why The Downshire Arms is often very quiet on nights when their nearby competition is extremely busy.
I think this establishment now suffers from it's lack of garden during the summer months. (The lovely big garden they used to have at the back now has a Premier Inn built on it) All that is offered now as far as outside seating for familes and smokers goes is a small decking area at the front, just a few metres next to the busy A322 with fire engines and ambulances regularly roaring past. Surely the planners could have thought up something better than this when they designed the hotel addition to this pub/restaurant?
Nevertheless, The Downshire Arms is now a lot better than it was a couple of years ago and all credit must go to the management team and staff who have turned this place around.
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What a great find! The staff could not do enough for us when we visited recently. The food was good and reasonably priced, the place was clean and fresh, and the children were kept entertained throughout with balloons and colouring books. A thoroughly enjoyable afternoon had by all.
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Recently had a minor refurb (new tables, painted, door entrance changed to catch out the regulars etc). Nice to see a second Ale on here now so in addition to the London Pride, Adnams is now available. Seemingly with the addition of the second ale, you do have at least half a chance of one of them being on and so far this has been the case.
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I've been there twice last week at lunchtimes since our office is around the corner. Yes, it is a Beefeater with the normal fare (seemed fine on both days I ate) but the bar has some character. They only sell one real ale which is London Pride but it is kept well - better to have one in good condition rather than many in a not so good state.
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I've seen the Real Ale pump in use about twice in the past year!! This establishment is regularly out of stock of something or other. We've also experienced "sorry - we haven't got any lemonade" and last week they didn't have any lime cordial! It's quite amusing to go there just to find out what they're out of stock of this week!
Badly run, tired Beefeater establishment that's in dire need of some TLC.
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The garden was great, sadly now gone.
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Apparently this is a Beefeater pub... in other words, something that I would normally avoid, on the basis that food and families are usually more important to the landlord than selling good quality real ales. However, to my surprise, I found that this was a cosy, low-ceilinged place serving an excellent pint of London Pride. The pub area is separate from the food area so you can almost pretend this is a proper old fashioned boozer.
Perhaps some Beefeater pubs are worth a second look these days. I would certainly go back to this pub again if in the area.
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Visited on Thursday 15th December 2005 on the basis that it is a Cask Marque establishment only to find that there was no real ale avalable at all!
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