Pack Horse Inn, Affetsideback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
What a nice building and a lovely location. I expected a traditional country/village pub and a friendly atmosphere. You know the type, full of locals and farmers and other eccentrics. I was disappointed. I eventually came to the conclusion the pub was trying too hard to be something it isn't and will never be. I went on a Friday evening, and there wasn't any convivial atmosphere at all. I really would have expected it to be full of people from the small village in which it is situated, but there were none in. I did ask an elderly guy who seemed familiar with the place, and was told that the villagers don't come in - they go elsewhere. Odd, but not surprising. You would have thought the place would be packed with locals and regulars but it wasn't. There is no shortage of flash motors in this village.
The beer was OK-ish - I had Hydes Best, and whilst Hydes do brew a good pint, it can be variable but does require a good cellarman to keep it tiptop. It wasn't the best kept pint of Hydes I have had.
I understood that there was a restaurant to the rear of the pub, however, it would appear that this has now closed. The restaurant building is relatively new and looks like a charmless church hall; this is in complete contrast to the rest of the building which has character. When I was there a B-rate disco was in action. The clientele here were a bit chavvy and the DJ was a typical 'mobile DJ'. In fact it reminded me of something from Phoenix Nights, but I didn't see if the DJ was called Ray Von. (Shabba!). I was surprised by this, and it was unexpected in a remote country pub.
I subsequently found out that the pub advertises on Facebook - what on earth are they doing? Certainly smacks of desperation to get customers. This explains the disco clientele & Ray Von. If they are using social networking, they are targetting the wrong demographic - they want the over 35's with disposable income, not the 13 to 24 year olds binge drinkers/chavs their disco night is attracting.
Would I go again? - no. I did have to drive to go there. What is attractive is the building and it's setting, the beer should be good but it isn't kept well. I didn't eat, so cannot comment, however the menu seems to cover every taste and every continent. A disappointing pub as I expected it to deliver a real country pub experience, but it didn't. I don't mean to be harsh but my lasting impression from this pub was charmless & chavvy. It could be so much more.
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Used to be a nice traditional village pub. Sadly a few years back it decided to go upmarket without realising that there is more to going upmarket than increasing prices and serving poncy food. Now falls between two stools, neither a good plain pub nor an attractive upmarket gastro pub. It has lost my custom.
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I went here on New Years eve with a party of 6 close friends. I am still very angry at being ripped off in such a blatant manner. I understood when my friend bought the tickets that there were only 250 people paying �25 for a champagne reception and buffet. There must have been 450 people in there. The organisation was disgraceful. I have contacted Trading Standards about their sharp practice. It was standing room only, you could not even get to the bar for a drink - the champagne never materialised and we gave up on the buffet after queueing for an hour. I have never in my life paid �25 to just stand in a pub - it was a complete RIP OFF.
Perhaps from the owners point of view it was a good business decision - get people to pay cash up front for tickets (must have took �10K - 450 x �25 ) and lay out �300 worth of buffet food, and what we lose at the bar we have guaranteed from ticket sales.
It would appear that I am not the only one to be disgruntled as the pub started emptying before midnight and people going elsewhere to celebrate their New Year.
This was a complete shambles and I'll certainly not be going back there - EVER!!
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Nice place, but food just OK, certainly not good, and not particularly value for money. Our meals arrived in batches - 5 meals arrived (almost) at the same time, and then the last two some time later. Same again for desserts - staggered delivery (5+ minutes apart). So if you want to eat together, then only go in small groups.
Our food was OK, nothing special. Ice cream was supermarket norm and the main course items we selected appeared to be mass produced (no home cooking here!). It was served on severely chipped plates and the menus were very grubby and dirty (yuk!!) . However, the tables were clean. Overall, I could not recommend to a friend and don't understand the rave reviews. I've had far better at these prices.
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Nice out of the way pub if you like a quiet drink.from the beer garden the view is amazing you can see Bury,Bolton, Manchester,Runcorn, and on a clear day you can as far as the Hills of North Wales, they have a very good selection of drinks. As a plus there is a very Interesting Human Skull believed to be the executioner of the 7th Earl of Derby who died 15th October 1651, a must see. i plan to go back there again with my camera.
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Nice little place, with a friendly atmosphere. The food's very good, but the prices are a bit steep. The staff are always friendly, and the beer seems well kept. Also, the views of the surrounding countryside are very nice.
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A good pub if you can get in the small lounge at the front (by far the best room, with an open fire in winter). Failing that, plenty of space to sit outside in summer as well, with splendid views for miles around. Well kept Hydes ales and decent food.
Don't rate any of the other rooms though.
alexw - 28 May 2007 16:13 |
Good food and good beer in this friendly pub. They serve food weekday lunchtimes, so it is one we often enjoy on walks starting from Bury or Jumbles.
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