please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
My penultimate stop of the night was the Forth. It's located up an alleyway leading down towards Central station. I've passed it many times, but never ventured in. Monday evening was quiz night, with a rather amusing hostess. There are 2 main rooms and a smaller and much darker back room, where I sat to try to get a bit more peace and quiet and to have a meal with my drink. Doom Bar is the regular ale. But they also had 4 guests - Roosters Little Bird, Ilkley Mary Jane, Durham White Gold & Adnams Longboat. I opted for the latter, which was cloudy and the worst drink of the evening. The burger I had was ok though.
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Posh 'cool' pub where you can take the missus or your boss. Beer range ever improving and food is good - dinners or snacks. All comes at a price mind, but you never have a bad time in here
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A new entry to the Beer Guide and a suberb half of a local dark beer, maintaining Newcastle's growing reputation as a place for exceptional quality real ale. Beer turnover on match days clearly helps, but I suspect is high consistently. Looked like a high quality place all round (similar to Defectors Weld in London). Roof garden too.
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Quite trendy. 5 ale, all OK. Not the best place especially for a hotel. Not great for a quiter pint, but horses for horses.
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Be very careful of the Blonde (female) Manager working in there if still working here from around Dec 2010. I was short changed at the bar when handing over a �10 note. I had just drawn it out of the Bank so I know what I was giving over. I ordered a drink and was given change of a �5.00. I pointed this out to the person but was rudely told, "I was mistaken, 'I was in the wrong'. I ask her to check the till where she then became nasty and refused, so I asked for the Manager she told me she was the Manager!! I was so shocked! that this person could act in such a way. Eventually I was given my money back but then took the drink away I was so embarrassed as I felt I was being accused of being dishonest. This happened last December in front of my Mother whom I was visiting Who lives in Central Newcastle as I now live Brighton. It was supposed to be a treat. I hadn't been back to my home town for over a year and my mum wanted to show me the new Forth. Well, with Manager's like that with attitude, I certainly won't be back. I was given no apology. I wonder if this particular person has short changed others. I used to live in Central Newcastle myself but I also spent eight years in Islington, London as a well as Brighton. Bar Staff have never tried it on! I only hope people like that eventually get found for the good of the public. So you've been warned. I should have written to the Head Office but maybe writing this was a better idea.
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Started a crawl of Newcastle in here on a tuesday night, and found it to be reasonably full, with a decent enough selection at the bar. The Mordue Workie Ticket was well kept - Looks better inside than it did from the street, wooden floors and sofas make up the decor - Worth a stop if you are in the city centre
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A really great pub. Loads of interesting bitters and lagers on tap (Kirin Ichiban and Franziskaner my favourites) an excellent menu and just a general friendly ambiance. Terrace upstairs for when the weather's clement and big sofas downstairs for when it isn't. Yes, it is on the expensive side but worth the premium in my opinion.
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Very nice pints. As mentioned before though, you pay for it.
The pub itself has a nice feel to it too.
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I have to agree with abendellis the prices make your eyes water. How can they justify charging �3.30 for a beer that is made less than 10 miles away (Mordue) yet charge less (�2.70/�2.80) for the Sharps Doombar which comes from Cornwall? Not tried the food but looking at the price list I'm not likely to. A good pub for a swift half before or after the train but too expensive for a session.
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From the blurb you may expect this to be the ideal pub. Great range of beers, ales and wines. No fosters. Great food menu. Rooftop smoking terrace. Dj's playing on weekends. Cosy atmosphere. The problem with The Forth is it's prices. Not just that they charge well over the odds for their beer (�3.30 for a Radgie Gadgie) but that this is a Castle pub. That means it is part of the M+B chain. Which owns pubs such as the Goose, which not too far away serves a similar range of beers and ales for, in some cases, less than half the price.
I begrudge paying over the odds for my drink in a "pub chain" pub.
Not only do I not enjoy paying too much for my drink but the food is ridiculously priced. The portions are terribly small. When eating there with friends a few months back the staff forgot to bring a side order of chips to the table. My friend had to go to the bar to complain and about five minutes later he was brought a large bowl with (and this is no joke, we counted) 7 chips in it. Not big fat home cooked chips, but steak cut frozen chips. It was laughable.
It seems a shame as this has the potential to be a brilliant pub. But it comes at a severe price.
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i recently stayed in newcastle for a few days and had a few hours to kill while waiting for the train... my girlfriend and i found the forth. although it looked pretty rough on the outside it is such a lovely pub on the inside. we stayed for at least 3 hours and relaxed on the comfy sofas downstairs. i was drinking doom bar and it was very well kept. the pub looks really nice inside and has a roof terrace garden which would be perfect for a drink on a summers day although it was freezing when we were there. we didn't eat but the menu looked good, especially the sunday roast with a bloody mary. i liked the blackboard that stated that certain drinks (malibu, strongbow, fosters etc) were not just unavailable that day or that week, but never. really good pub, nice staff, ticked all the boxes. i wil difinately come back here next time i'm in newcastle. just wish i'd have found it a few days earlier!
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Never had a decent pint in here on the few times I've been in. It may have been done out but it still lacks any sort of atmosphere and still has the same disinterested staff.
Avoid.
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Worth a visit to see what real ales are on plus wide selection of lagers and the occasional draught fruit beer or similar. Al;ways busy, quite expensive though friendly. Not much bar area to get served at. Sit in the window and watch the world wander up and down the lane
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Drink in the Forth a lot! Better now there is a terrace upstairs to kick out a snout! Normally a decent pint. Serves Red Strip on draft which can only be good. Bit expensive and can be a pain in the arse getting served as always busy. Enjoy watching the antics of the various drunks, drug-addicts and charvers who walk up and down Pink Lane. Yeah the Forth is a good bar!
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It's been done out again. The former downstairs toilet area is now a neat little room. I know that sounds bad, but it's not. The bogs are upstairs (there awlays had been upstairs toilets but they were closed before the previous fairly dimwitted relaunch). There's a rooftop beer garden but I suspect there's been some legal problems, because it was closed last time I was there.
You don't have to be a lager anorak to enjoy the beer because they actually manage to keep a few real ales on at Fridays and on weekends - though they're not kept very well.
Staff are so-so. You get the impression they'd rather serve attractive chicks, but then wouldn't we all...?
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Scampi Fries? I don't think so (nice pub though, the best one to go for while waiting for a train)
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Vastly improved since the smoking ban came in. Agree that real ale anoraks might be a bit sniffy about the beer quality but there is also a decent range of continental bottled beers (Duvel, Kriek etc.)
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Beer is badly kept. Hand-pulled real ale doesn't often exist on a Friday. Staff are okay, unless they're too pre-occupied with a well-endowed girl.
anonymous - 4 Jul 2007 20:01 |
This used to be a good bar until it was refurbished a few years ago ago they pulled out its spirit and replaced it with bland complacence.
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Selection of beer is OK, including the ale. But it wasn't kept all that well. Served by a particularly dozy bloke - I asked for two Workie Tickers, the guy said "sure, two Tickets", and then poured two of Deuchars! He was happy to correct his mistake (thirty seconds later he had to ask a girl at the bar what she wanted again having wandered across to the optics and forgotten her order en route).
Cool ambiance though, and they had Astral Weeks playing when I wandered in, and a worth a look as long as you aren't a total real ale anorak.
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A pub with good points and bad points. It serves reasonable food (although I think it is a bit overpriced for what you get) but the atmosphere is so smoky it can put you off eating. A non smoking area has been created at the back but it is not well ventilated enough to make this meaningful. The selection of continental and bottled lagers is good but the real ale is disappointing. As other reviewers have noted there is very little choice of ale and one gets the impression that, since little real ale is drunk there, it may not be as well kept as it should be.
The DJ nights attract a studenty crowd and it can get very busy when there's a popular gig on at the nearby Carling Academy. Local artwork of varying quality is displayed in the back half of the pub.
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GOod selection of ales and continental biers on draugh, as well as a worthy bottled selection. Good jukebox too.
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first boozer i ever drank in when i arrived on the day of my interview some two years ago now all trussed up in my 500snot suit that i still manage to wear like a taillored sack from burtons. so 3 pints of hideously overpriced badly kept pish-water under the name of deuchers or landlord later and served by gangly ginger-haired kid (whose still there last time i checked), i got the job and here i remain.
the pub is a goodun on the whole tho one i rarely venture in to, and when theres the bode (bodega) up the road then i rarely ever need to!
nice to have around tho if you fancy a change of scene.
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Some decent beers that aren't well kept. I've even had bottled stuff from the fridge that wasn't cold! Staff are okay, but can be slow and it certainly helps if you know them. Atmposhere on Friday nights is great but excessively smoky
anonymous - 14 Apr 2006 20:59 |
Decent pub, beer well kept, civilised crowd, and part of the Bodega, Tilleys, Head of Steam quadrant so four similar style pubs very close to each other.
Bit of a gripe would be the real ale selection can be a bit limited at times, although there are three different beers on normally(Deuchars,Landlord and Mordues) often is the time that I have been in and only the Workie Ticket was on. But still, friendly staff, a little 'bohemian', but I'm sure they'll all grow up to be solicitors and doctors!
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This really is a great bar. Came here a few years ago, it was a bit more grungier but still good. Been done up since then (from fire as I read) and it's not lost it's character. Good selection of foreign lagers and ales. Good food menu and friendly staff. Tucked away so it attracts people who like a wander. Definitely going back when I'm next in Newcastle.
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Good beer (selection of real ales, all consistently well-kept), friendly staff. Was sadly damaged in a fire earlier this year, but has been restored to former glory and is back in business. A nice atmosphere whether busy or quiet. I haven't sampled the food but it seems that they have a reasonable selection. Nice crowd in here, a very mixed bunch, students, musicians, film-makers, artists, silicon alley workers... Gets very busy after work. Also handy for the jazz caf�, if that's your thing.
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Daytime 'sit & chill' bar...Some good foreign beers & decent food.......Another rejuvenated part of Newc`astle....Was in the pubs around here about 20 years ago & they made `Get Carter`look like Mary Poppins!!
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nice pub.. service a bit slow though.. good beer and food.... can imagine it gets busy later in the evening... like the big windows to watch life passing by....
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This is a real find. It was my first time in Newcastle, and I didn't like the look of the food in the hotel I was staying at, so I went for a walk and discovered this wonderful bar, where they served the most delicious asparagus soup. Being a girl on my own, I was a bit self-conscious about being in the pub and not knowing anyone, but the staff were so kind and welcoming to me, and kept on checking to make sure I was okay. It is a lovely place, and if I lived more local, it would become a second home. Thank you.
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I love everything about this bar, great tunes, great choice of beer, good clientele (a rariety in Newcastle). The atmosphere and decor are top notch. Go for the sofas near the front or the little hideaway room right round the back.
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great pub, great atmosphere
anonymous - 8 Nov 2004 10:48 |
This pub is the beezKneez. Apparently it burnt down, don't remember. Get to it
claud - 6 Nov 2004 10:10 |
Glad to hear its reopend, up there in a couple of months will definetly pop in for a pint.
anonymous - 9 Aug 2004 16:34 |
well, it was certainly open when I went a couple of weeks ago. cracking pub on a friday, absolutely rammed but great atmosphere. had workie ticket which was good. excellent all round!
Duncan - 14 Jul 2004 08:53 |
It's shut???
Tragic loss to the city. Used to have the best Burton Ale in the city, and a decent Juke Box as well.
Ade - 14 May 2004 14:58 |
Its closed?? A classic pub, one of my favorites when I was a frewuent visitor to Newcastle. Used to a supurb pint of tetleys.
thomas - 19 Feb 2004 14:40 |
We miss ya - when ya opening up again????
Parsnip - 3 Feb 2004 14:01 |
Best pub in Newcastle!
Katie - 30 Jan 2004 16:21 |
THE best pub proper pub to visit in newcastle, the music is legendary, the beer great, the food is lush, and the staff well, frosty bouncing around, dre on the decks on sun afternoons, and dan the man. no one beats this joint. sunday quiz is good too.
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