please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
This place is permanently closed. All boarded up and the building's going to be redeveloped.
|
Yes this place appears to be a hidden gem but surely it doesn't need to be so secret that no-one appears to go!! For a Friday night when everywhere else was completely rammed this place was empty! It's got a great layout with a nice interior (pool table, darts and table football!!!) and it's very quirky. I wouldn't imagine you'd come in here for a wild night though.
|
This is a great pub. One of those hidden gems. Beer is well kept, decent range and quite cheap ( when compared to other places in the vicinity). Food is well portioned and well cooked. You cant beat the steak sandwich !!
Agree with ithers about keeping it quiet though. Dont want my lunchtimes and evening ruined by too mnay people at the bar :-)
|
I use this pub regularly. The reasons are very clear to me. The food is good and not expensive. The drink is good but not exceptional. However, at the moment no one else has caught on to this gem, and so there's always space, it quiet, the staff are crilliant and it's a very enjoyable place to have lunch.
|
I work nearby and only realised today that this place had re-opened so gave it a go. Found it quite welcoming. The service was quick and efficient. There were two ales on, Youngs ordinary and a Pale ale from the Purity Brewing Co. in Warwickshire which was excellent and good to see something other than Pride, Bombardier or Adnams in a London pub.
Had a nice fish finger sandwich with chips and the price of �4.50 is not bad for a City pub.
I noticed they do 'Movie nights' with free popcorn once a week, a new one on me for sure.
This is a good comfortable pub and unusually for the City it wasn't crowded although I visited on a wednesday lunchtime so it may get busier in the evenings I guess.
|
I've just got back from the Stonehorse and was looking at the reviews here- and I must say two things about them. First, Most of the ratings and reviews are when it was a Puzzle pub and the one time I did go there it was terrible - thus the low ratings and closure. The second thing is - it hasn't been open very long and I think you can forgive them - and in hotter summer months being the coldest pub :) must be a virtue? But I think thats nonsense as it was completely lovely today and the other 2 times i've been.
SO why the review? first, to tell city folks like me about it and second, i had the most amazing lunch that spilled over a few hours and i want to thank them publicly for being so nice and also accomodating for my party.
We had some of the most decently priced wine in the city - almost cheaper than Tesco's around the corner - and tucked into some good fairly priced food - that they assure me [jokingly im sure] is no Gordon Ramsay!
With all the booths, the pool table, really good music unlike other pubs - i think we heard the Smiths and stone roses which is always appreciated - the atomosphere quirky but not too quirky to bring an informal business lunch to. And there was interesting stuffed animals, velvet curtains, sofas, a trophy case - and thats just in one corner.
What im saying and i have to admit to being slightly happy after a very long lunch - the this place is a god send for the city and one that you can take your cool shoreditch friends as well as your boss to without blinking an eye.
I didn't catch the managers name - but she really looked after us and made sure - even when it got busy at 5 - that we were happy.
So a big thank you to Stone Horse and we'll be seeing you soon. Fantastic new place - well worth a visit and a drink.
|
I agree with fysh on many fronts but it has to be said that the SHPC is probably one of the coldest pubds in the free world. It has no radiation and relies solely on portable heaters which quite frankly arent up to the job of heating a pub of that size.
The beers are fine, the cider (my personal favourite) is great but the staff are all very inexperienced which leads to delays that are necessary in a pub that isnt that busy.
All in all not bad but i wouldnt recommend going there during this cold snap
Quiz night to be reviewed when it starts ont he 19th of Jan '09.
|
the shpc has been open for a few weeks now. to be honest it's all felt a bit amateurish as they've had a fair few teething problems (all the draught pumps were off the other day for example, a couple of food orders have been wrong, and in the first week they weren't serving full pints of cider as they thought they were using oversized glasses). hopefully most of those are behind them because in general it's one of the best pubs in the city. mad decor includes a birdcage, a trophy cabinet and mis-matched sofas interspersed with nice quiet booths and plenty of room (it's a big pub). also has a pool table and table football (no sport on TV though).
wouldn't really recommend it to an ale lover, food ranges from disappointing (sandwiches scantily filled) to superb (chicken and chorizo pasta was perfect). main selling point is the atmosphere and excellent staff and management. has a feel of a place that you and your mates would try to open without really knowing how to, and for that reason alone i love it. and not just because i got very drunk at their excellent opening party!
now shpc...what about a pub quiz one weekday...?
|
Having been closed for last couple of months the pub will reopen soon as Stone Horse Paper Cow. Operated by the people who brought you Tooting Tram & Social and Balham Bowls Club, SHPC will be an Uber Pub for the City. See website for details.
|
Quite the rudest staff in any City bar
|
Award for the most miserable barman / landlord in existence - doesn't mind taking money off you though.
|
Staff, management, beer, food, AWFUL!
anonymous - 16 Jan 2007 12:15 |
OK, let's bring things up to date a bit!!
It's called the STONE HORSE (as in the thing that you ride NOT the thing you live in) & it has changed drastically since I was last there. Very spacious, clean & the black stuff wasn't bad - �3.05 a pint which is reasonably high for that bit of the city. Good selection of Bitters & Largers.
Seems popular with diners & has a good menu.
Worth another visit. In the meantime it gets a 6!
|
It's bad but there are worse in the vicinity. The beer selection is limited (Directors,and Greene King IPA as I recall) and the staff are a wee bit hopeless (though they do try). The food isn't very expensive and is acceptable if completely forgettable. it's got a pool table and a big screen which comes in quite handy for the football/rugby/golf. There are better pubs nearby, but there are far, far worse so I can't judge this one too harshly - 'nondescript' doesn't quite do it justice, but in the interests of brevity that's probably the best summation.
|
Gave this place one last chance. Only one out of four ales were on, Directors, and they refused to turn the clips round saying it was against company policy (Puzzle Pub Co). They then ran out of Directors, found a barrel of Bombardier that was absolutely awful, had no John Smiths, then ran out of cider. At 4.00pm they stopped serving without any notice and threw us out because they had a private party to prepare for. This place is a joke and has had it's last chance for my custom. Now re rated as a 2.
|
OK when it�s not busy but get a crowd in there and the bar staff struggle to cope. There is sometimes a lack of urgency and �bar awareness� of who is next to be served, in a long bar like this that is very annoying. Even more annoying is that they have four real ales (Bombardier, IPA, Directors and Pride) but rarely are more than two available, even worse they don�t turn the pump clips round when they�ve run out so you have no idea what�s on and what�s not, on occasions they have run out completely. Quality of beer is not good but generally drinkable. Typical complacent City pub that knows it is going to make money because of its location so doesn�t really try too hard. Good prices for the City though, around �2.40 a pint. The food seems popular but I do worry about any pub that has �quiche of the day� on its menu.
|
The Stone House is just next door to the Halifax and is in the basement. The decor could do with some updating but the staff are very friendly, and the food is fantastic (steak pie is superb.
There is a quiz on a Wednesday night, �1 to play. This tends to seem disorganised, I don't think it has been going on for very long, and so it might get better as the weeks go on!
Whispy - 16 Sep 2003 13:28 |
