Vaults Bar, Stony Stratfordback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I loved this place. Had a great pint of scrumpy, and two of the ales. All superb. Footy on large screen but not too intrusive if that's not your thing. Amusing bunch of inbetweener type local youths making plums of themselves but not offensively so. Very good!!
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The best pub I've visited in Stony and along with The Red Lion in Fenny Stratford, quite possibly the best in the whole Milton Keynes area - which is I know a bit like nominating the best player for Queen's Park Rangers for season 2012-13, but still. This had a good vibe on a Friday night and a pint of Black Sheep went down well after an excellent cuzza at the Calcutta Brasserie down the road. Locals were friendly if very off their faces.
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This is a long, narrowish pub, divided in to three areas. The flooring is large flagstones, and much of the wall is covered in wood panelling and dotted in old black and white photos. There�s a traditional, curved wooden bar counter in the middle and this is where many of the locals seemed to congregate. In spite of being a more mature (middle aged) clientele, a number of them seemed unable to complete a sentence without using the f word. At the front was a large brick chimney which had a fire was burning away on a recent visit. A double sided chimney breast separates the middle bar from a small rear bar, although the fire here was not in use. This small room at the back houses a darts board, and as you go in an old sign on the wall proclaims that �you are now entering the British sector�.
Seating is a mixture of tables and chairs, with many of the tables being made out of old beer barrels, and a wooden pew or two. There were a couple of plasma�s showing the football which seemed a little intrusive and out of character with the rest of the pub. There is some limited outside seating in the alleyway to the side of the pub, and this is where you enter the pub from as the front door is not in use. A sign on the doors states no dogs allowed, but as a mutt was the first thing I saw when I got in, clearly nobody takes too much notice of this.
Beers on tap were Adnam�s Broadside and Bitter, Black Sheep, Bass and London Pride. Ciders were a very pleasant, (and rare for these parts) Old Rosie, along with the seemingly obligatory (for these parts) Strongbow.
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Returned a while back and now a commited local, thanks to the landlords listening to comments and now stocking Weston's Old Rosie, which seems to have become a good seller, judging by the amount of customers I see drinking it.
Just changed hands yet again, mostly due to the previous owners (Punch I believe) rather than the staff, looks like we may be in for a long awaited facelift for the Bull, next door.
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Why doesn't this pub offer a real cider?
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Fantastic Pub...kept to it's roots. No converted 'bistro' / 'wine bar' nonsense here...If it ain't broke do'nt fix it ( shame about the Fox & Hounds )..best pint of Broadside in Stony... It's Under new management and going strong.. Still ca'nt get rid of the 'crusty's' at the Sunday morning 'Folk meet' though.. There is 'one' guy that's worth listening to though... he plays a zither ( I think that's what they call it )... real class act !!.. Have a pint, listen to the zither player, then go before somone else starts singing obscure songs about the Napoleonic wars or dead animals..
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A "proper" pub decorated with tons of clutter on the walls and ceiling. Hope it doesn't succomb to the IKEA makeover effect.
Several "mainstream" brewers represented on the 8 or so real ale pumps. My Bass (increasingly rare these days) was in good condition, if a little cold; but I'd rather have it that way than tepid. Had some good satisfyingly stodgy and good value bar food.
Probably the pick of the drinkers pubs in Stony. My only suggestion for improvement would be to have a bit more variety (guests) on the beer lineup.
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Quaint real ale pub.
Good selection of ales.
Folk jam session every Sunday lunchtime.
Ghonet - 7 May 2006 09:25 |
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