please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
We went there 12noon Bank Hol' Monday 7th May 2012. Intended to eat, so set up a tab & ordered a pint of Badger Firkin Fox & a lager for 'the missus'. The Badger was bitter as hell & I could not drink it ( I have brewed beer for years & know whats what). Substituted with a pint of Tanglefoot, went to table & it was 'minging', like full of water, even my wife said the same (YES she likes ale too).
Took both back to the bar & refused to pay, saying the beer was sub-standard & the staff appeared not bothered.
Wondering if somebody did not flush the pipes after cleaning???
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Oh dear. Couldn't get through by phone to book, so booked online. Got confirmation email of this. Got there, no sign of reservation. No-one had bothered to check the computer. I'd asked in writing for a quiet corner...so we were put next to the coffee grinder in the busiest bit of the restaurant. My friend's fish and chips was bad enough that she left much of it "The chips were either so overdone you couldn't bite into them, or very underdone - strange!" My salad was the oddest I've had.: Everything was chopped into tiny pieces barring the egg and the tomato, and so I had quarter inch of chopped ingredients with those items perched on top. Hardly any avocado. The 'hand torn chicken' was cubed and processed. No dressing, nor offer of one. Staff were nice, which was something.
I've eaten here before and it was ok, but this was beyond strange.
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I don't know why this pub has received any bad reviews, I have been there several times lately, the service & food is always great, the staff are freindly & the beer is very good. I can only think that the people that have been there and have given bad reviews are snobs & toffee nosed gits, who would be more at home in the Hilton hotel restaurant or similar.
By the way I have been to the Hilton hotel restaurant, the service was appalling, the food was terrible & the cost was �160 for 4 of us, never, never, never, again, so snobs go fourth & get ripped off!
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Went to the J & H on 28 August for Sunday lunch, 4 people. Huge portions, but poor quality. The veg & pots were good but the Yorkshire Pudding was rubbery. My beef was tasteless & another's turkey was bland. My wife chose a chicken meal that she really did not eat much of, tasteless! All-in-all a pretty poor experience. I live not too far away from the J & H but will not be using it again for food as there are better places nearby.
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After having the opportunity to utilise the Jekyll and Hyde again the other week for the first time in some 15 years I can see where Nofanofbritain is coming from, as it has certainly changed from the rural country pub I used to frequent.
However, as Darwin correctly stated, it is not the strongest who survive but those that are able to change and evolve in response to the changing environment around them. And in that respect I thought the Jekyll and Hyde has done this quite well. Probably a lot better than Nofanofbritain who has disappeared since 2008 after posting several disparaging comments about anywhere that dared to move away from what he wanted.
As a large roadside pub, basically in the middle of nowhere between two largish population centres, it has to try and provide something that will entice people to get in their cars and drive out to, so it�s no great surprise that it focuses on food and has been given a modern makeover that provides a clean comfortable environment, mainly for dining.
But in my opinion they have avoided the trap of making it completely a gastro restaurant and there is enough of a pub feel still about it, especially the front two areas which are more aligned to just sitting and drinking. And a lot of the original features, the large stone fireplaces, most of the oak beams e.t.c. have been retained.
And the beer is good, very good in fact, but then I do like Hall and Woodhouse beers. There are four pumps lined up on the bar, two dispensing Badger and Tanglefoot and then the other two dispensing the seasonal brew. At the moment that is Fursty Ferret, which I thought was a bit thin and lacking in taste for 4.4% ale, but fortunately the Badger and Tanglefoot were on good form.
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Went to this pub for the first time last night and had a meal there - it was very nice and the service was good too.
Sadly didn't try the beer as I was driving.
Will definitely return.
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This is a typical Hall & Woodhouse 'non-entity' pub. Could be fantastic, unfortunately it's c++p.
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Nofanofbritain - hope you've gone abroad! This is a good pub, real fires in winter, cheeky landlord when he's about and charming landlady - food is a bit formulaic but it's a chain pub. Badger ales are kept well.
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Love the Badger Ales although food run of the mill for a standard chain pub. Good venue during the summer as well kept activity area for the kids at the rear.
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To the rear of this pub is a beer garden and outdoor children's play area. Nothing terribly special but ideal on a sunny afternoon. Perhaps inevitably the kitchen does seem to struggle to keep up with orders during the busiest periods. We visited this Saturday and timed our arrival for 1:30 by which time the rush had died down and the service was perfectly acceptable. Foor and beer not exceptional but all were satisfied. 7 out of 10 for a family Saturday afternoon pub lunch.
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What a joke of a pub- years ago this was a great place- some guy has come in with his kitsch ideas of what looks classy and wrecked the place...complete with fake chalkboards! Probably some builder type who thinks this is chic. The menu laughably talks about fresh produce and a different kind of pub- then serves up dreadful microwaved nonsense- at a premium! Beer is ok though- but the atmosphere has been destroyed by a 'pack em in' and rip em off mentality- anyone who remembers this place will have much to mourn- only stopped in as it was getting late....never again!
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Visited the other evening and the service was dire. I waited over 10 minutes to get served at a nearly empty bar. One person serving and other kitchen staff just standing around, fiddling with cutlery and watching the queues build up. Of course, when the bar was empty the bar staff miraculously appeared again! Saving grace...a nice pint of bitter.
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Great atmosphere, staff and beers. Love the bottled weissbier! As with many places these days, food could easily be improved. As a general comment, if I can cook much, much, higher quality AND waay cheaper, I can only assume profit margins are far more important than customers. I'll be back to the Jekyll for sure.
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Really surprised to read the poor reviews. We often call at this excellent pub for an evening meal, and have never been disappointed. The menu has a good range of choices, the staff are friendly and the atmosphere relaxing. Tonight we had lasagne, pasta with mushrooms, and a chicken and bacon salad, all good. A feature of the menu we appreciate is the "smaller appetite" option - it means we have room for the puddings! And what puddings - we had chocolate brownie, bread and butter pudding, and chocolate and raspberry tart, all with delicious ice cream.
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Very cosy and friendly pub - good olde worlde feel.
Rating: 8 for pub atmos, 6 for food
Menu is dull dull dull, you can tell its a chain.
Service was good on the 3 occasions we've been.
Its just a shame you get the same old choices for
dishes as you would in a harvester !
anonymous - 16 Dec 2006 13:01 |
An excellent pub with a good if unremarkable menu,I think its the brewery's menu as it resembles other Hall and Woodhouse Pubs. Food is cheap and lots of it good vegetarian options lots of real ales very friendly and efficient staff .will pop in next time we go back
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Nice place, and far enough from Tadley to keep the Pikeys away.
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Went in the evening of 14th April. Food was good. I had the gourmet burger. Very nice. The patty perhaps a tad overdone, but everything else OK. Others in the party had the Sussex smokey and a special vegetarian curry. I'm always a bit cautious about pub curries, rather than indian restaurants, but both dishes were received and enjoyed. Not the highest standard food, but not bad for a chain. I would certainly go back again.
To the previous reviewer - go back and try it again, then if it is still bad don't bother further. All chefs have bad nights. Give him/them a 2nd chance.
Cheers all.
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Serious Disappointment.
Took my colleagues to the J&H for lunch on the 12th of April.
Inside the pub looked nice and the atmosphere was pleasant enough. However, the service and the food was a disaster. I would say that the only highlight was the Guinness.
I made my comments known to the day-manager as he unfortunately asked me how everything was. In Short:
Service � Slow. Took > 30 minutes between us finishing our starters and the main course to arrive
Food Quality and Preparation: All dishes were graded as average at best. In particular the steak and ale pie I had tasted generic and like something you�d get out of a freezer. The veg were dried up and old looking. We actually dared one another to try one of the shrivelled up carrots but there were no takers..
Needless to say I assured them that I wouldn�t ever return and I urge you to give this one a miss.
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ok, a chain
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Country pub along the main road. Large seating area is good as it was fairly full at lunch. Good pub food.
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nice surroundings, but only order bread as a side order if you want it to be so stale it is rock hard!. Also think the menu has very little 'normal' pub grub on it
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Nice old pub, but part of a chain. Despite this good pub food and friendly service. Good outside seating with heating.
anonymous - 4 Aug 2005 23:18 |
This is a gem. The staff are really friendly, the beer is good and they have a tasty and reasonably priced menu.
jennie - 26 Sep 2004 12:38 |
Lovely pub, give it a miss at weekday lunchtimes though because it fills up with office bores. Large garden.
ray - 29 Aug 2004 02:05 |
