please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The Old Ship is not a pub I had visited before. The entrance up a narrow alley from Mare Street did not look too appealing. But we gave it a try yesterday. The interior is quite appealing. Although it does have the feel more of a gastropub - not quite what I was expecting. The ale range was Dark Star Hophead, Windsor & Eton Windsor Knot & Hammerton N7. Better than I had expected. But not a patch on the Cock Tavern.
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Given the competition from the nearby Cock Tavern I was surprised at the boring ale selection as in Otter, Butcombe and Sambrooks. All similar gravities and colour. The Otter was ok but I didn't like Sambrooks but that could be just me, I never have.
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Often a strange pong in here. Doesnt seem very clean to me generally. Rooms are pretty good though. Havent risked the food.
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Great selection of ales, and really friendly staff. Very contemporary and well kept. I also stayed over night where the rooms were very much the same and well priced.
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Service has improved recently and they now have four rotating real ales (the waiter claimed they changed every 48 hours!) rather than the previously unvaried diet of Pride, Timmy Taylor, Deuchars and Doom Bar.
Good food and the best pub by far in the Mare St area.
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I recently took my entire family to the old ship for lunch, including some family members I hadn't seen for years, the pressure was certainly on to pick somewhere nice.. I chose the ship because it had far more vegetarian options than any other gastro pub in the surrounding area but I was apprehensive because it has some terrible reviews online!
I wanted to rectify this, I wasn't at all disappointed with the old ship. The service was friendly and prompt even though we were a very large and indecisive group. The food was great, honest and locally sourced. The atmosphere is unpretentious and relaxed, perfect place to catch up with family. We all had a great time.
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Looks incredible from Mare Street with it's amazingly narrow facade, but once you're inside it looks like a nice old pub that's been gutted of all character, and it stinks of not-very-fresh fish, too, from the kitchen. There are seats out the back and that's your best bet, if the weather's warm enough, as there's not much atmosphere within.
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This was my best local untill they changed the cook now the food is not up to par the spirit selection is still well kept i dont visit as often as i used to.
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Had some Sunday lunch here, the food was great. There was a wedding party in the main eating area so we sat in the bar area. The beer was good, the food good, the atmosphere relaxed. Really enjoyed it.
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One of those old pubs which has had a bit of flock wallpaper hung up and some Ikea sofas put in. Coupled with the obligatory gold baroque mirrors and candles, it has been magically transformed into a hip and funky bar!
I especially liked the way you could sit at a table eating your food and see into the gents - complete with urinals vacant and in use (isn't there meant to be some law about 2 doors separating a bog and food?)
But to be fair, on a VERY economical budget the place hasn't become too bad - the staff are friendly, the beer is fine, and the speakers -though tiny and tinny - were playing some decent tunes
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Dont understand what the negativity is about from the previous reviwer, the food is fantastic, yes of course it is not fine dinning but the menu prices do resemble a pub with good food, where else can you get a venison, rare breed beef or Wild Burger for under �9.00??? This pub cum restuarant come hotel is very good and well recieved in my local area, who thought two years ago Hackney would have such a wonderful choice of eateries? Looking forward to my Sunday Lunch with the Old Ship.
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A very disappointing pub, the staff are very friendly and frankly the only reason I go in there at all. The beer is nice enough if you like youngs or fullers but a bit boring. The food is probably the worst thing about the place, the menu looks like it should be really interesting and yet it seems a little inconsistent, for example, I ordered one of their burgers with supposedly melted blue cheese only to discover that the melted blue cheese wasn't melted at all and the burger was seriously underdone. It's a shame really because most of the other pubs in the area are either complete s@*tholes or too trendy to go into.
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Boring and no passing trade but the staff were friendly.
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Moved into the local area and what delight to find such a wonderful place to eat, the British Menu was refreshing,Wild Boar burger should be tried by everyone.
The down side to the property is that I understand they have boutique style hotel rooms which means the inlaws will be visiting more often!
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Well, its nice enough, I suppose, but hardly groundbreaking. BBC News 24 was the entertainment there on a Friday night and the eating only section was deserted. The homemade black pudding looked interesting though.
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I was a bit disappointed when I first went into this pub -- from Mare Street it looks like it's going to be rickerty and old, but then you go down the little passage and actually it's really modern and shiny and a bit boring. Good for football though.
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I like the new refurbished Old Ship - it looks cool, has good food, good place to hang out with mates.
Before it was a bit dodgy.
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Know the area and the pub previosuly, pretty poor before - noticed it was being refurbished and assumed it would be your typical Gastro Pub re work.
Suprisingly it is not. Went in the other day for a drink and was quite impressed good beer & wine list, food looked good as well. noticed they were to have hotel rooms as well, interesting idea...
Espected to be unimpressed but just the opposite - very impressed - great feel to the place and Hackeney needs more places like this.
I suggest everyone takes a look.
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The Old Ship has recently undergone a complete refurbishment which I have seen happen over the last couple of months as its my local. It USED to be a total dive with shabby sofas, disinterested staff and very limited wine/beers on offer. Now it is completely different - really vibrant decor - white leather sofas, roses on the wall, chandliers (totally works), great staff, excellent wine list etc and really good gastro pub food. Can't recommend it highly enough - go and see for yourself. JT40
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this has been closed for 'refurbishment' for a while. before it closed, admittedly they didn't know how to keep ale, but there was something about it that appealed to me - grotty sofas, dodgy loos, and all. it still had *some* of the vestiges of actually being a pub.
however as the bus passed it this morning i looked out the window to see those dreaded words "BAR and KITCHEN" emblazoned above the mare street entrance.
ladies and gentleman, i fear it's about to get a whole lot worse... :(
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Some appealling Tiling in the entrance to the alley leading to this pub is the last vestige of what once might have been a good pub. Now its a dull, charmless room with ropey beer and a few sofas. Miserable.
PS. Mr Widescreen - I think I am fairly safe in saying no-one wants to know anymore about your campaign.
anonymous - 11 Oct 2006 11:37 |
One of Hackney's better pubs, with a great range of people and a relaxed vibe.
anonymous - 26 Sep 2005 12:29 |
The comfiest pub sofa's in the world can be found here! Sitting in the Old Ship and chatting to mates over a pint is like being at home. The floorspace is huge with tables and chairs at one end and huge comfy sofas at the other.
A mixture of people drink in here from Twentysomethings to Seventyodds and a Media-Types to Builder-Types. This place just cant be pidgeon holed.
Football is shown on the huge plasma screens and the bar staff are always courteous.
The music is varied, depending on who is behind the bar. All in all a nice little booxer that you wouldn't be ashamed to take your mates from outside the area to.
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Great place to watch the football if you want to have a seat and no difficulty getting to the bar! Nice and handy for the tube station as well.
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One of the best places to watch football round this way as it has a big screen, isn't as packed as the Pub on the Park, and also usually does a free buffet! London Pride on tap but supply is a bit erratic. Full of liquid lunchers from Hackney town hall during the week.
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