please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Staff has changed to the more friendly ones, no shouting or screaming see my review.
The choice of beers have always been fine and remains with the new management.
Clean tables, friendly service, well kept ale ; this spoons should get award at present.
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So, another Wetherspoon. And clearly one of the 1990s vintage, judging by the external and internal fixtures and fittings. Though nothing essentially awry with that in my opinion; there is a certain predictability but a certain comfort about their more traditional pubs which some might say is lacking in their more adventurous and contemporary of recent conversions.
I am bound to say we didn't expect much, as it would be an obvious venue of preference for shall we say the more mixed punterage in Dover. But despite any silly snobberies, we found it rather enjoyable. Besides the possibility of a bit o' banter between customer and staff - certainly not to be assumed in a JDW - there was a cracking array of 8 cask beers to choose from. This included 3 of the really rather rare Kent Brewery's offerings - KGB, Zingiber and Black Gold. All were flying off the bar, apparently. Wantsum More's Head was available and that went down well alongside the Kent. Others were there if these don't tickle your fancy - if you're in town go along and see. Only �2 a pint which can't be sniffed at after all, if the ale's in good nick, which it was.
Perhaps not a pub one would instinctively wish to remain in for an entire afternoon or evening, but as a part of the patchwork of preferred pubs in Dover, the Eight Bells surely should have a worthy place. You could do worse, here and elsewhere.
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I visited thre Eight Bells recently on a Sunday night & I thought the place had improved since my previous visit. I was very hungry after a long journey & the White Horse doesn't serve food after 5pm on a Sunday. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food & that it was served hot. I consumed several pints of Courage Directors bitter @ �1.90 and it was excellent. The pub wasn't very busy & the staff were thinking of closing at 10.30pm. The selection of cask bitters was far better than at my local Wetherspoons.
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Everyone bashes 'Spoons houses, and I freely admit, with often very good reason! However, it is the beer that is the most important factor and to be fair, it's not bad here. Naturally it doesn't compensate for the shite surroundings, the chavvy scum that frequent the place who are usually pissed by 1pm and the dreary atmos. that pervades the place. Still, we all know what to expect from these places.
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went in midweek afternoon busy but soon got served not many seat avaible due to a third of the pub seating only avaible to people eating. ok for a spoons but not the best
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Popped in on a sunday evening a few weeks back,it was pretty dead apart from some very very odd regulars including some awful cackling woman(i use that word loosely),shame as the selection of ales was good and the barmaid serving was friendly. 6/10
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Agree with most of what is said, especially the regulars, one in particular who made no secret of suggesting where to get the nearest fix from!! Not very good for a family public house!!! Name either being Timmy/Jimmy?? I will not be bringing my children in there again with the likes of him.
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What a shithole. As is common with all of these McPubs, if all you're looking for is the cheapest booze then you'll be fine, otherwise give it a miss.
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Visited the place today and it had 7 different real ales, tried the Dr Sunshine of the Ramsgate brewery which was really nice.
Seems they have a new manager in from the last time I visited and it seems things have improved.
The problem with the pub is that you first have to pass all the "benefit people" but once passed there you are in a no hassle zone.
Clean tables and friendly staff.
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Having been back to the pub a couple of times since my last review, I think I may have misjudged it. On my last two visits the staff have been efficient and friendly and the place also looks better kept with staff actually cleaning tables at regular intervals. No complaints about the beer quality either. All in all much better than my previous review gave credit for. Worth a visit. let's hope it keeps that way.
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This is not the best example of a Wetherspoon beer temple. It seems to have a hard core of 'meths' drinkers who give the place a less than fragrant atmosphere. Curiously for a pub that has so many staff, the length of time it takes to get served is a real pain. The whole place has needs a deep clean; tables are frequently filthy as is the carpet, and the bar counter is one of the stickiest I have ever seen. The ale quality is normally OK though. However, given the general condition of the place and its regulars I am at a loss to see how this can be included in CAMRA's good beer guide. Not recommended in any sense.
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Revisited the pub and with 4 guest ales on it was fine.
The staff were very friendly and the pubs duty manager seems to be someone who controls the place.
The chatty staff seems to replaced with more customer focused staff.
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I arrived here the other lunchtime and something to eat and a good pint of beer. Service was good and friendly and i have to say not to many Spoons tramps but i did arrive at 1 and most of them have drunk themselves stupid by 10 in the morning
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Entertaining if you like watching a fight I suppose but for those of nervous disposition sit towards the back. The beer was in good condition and the staff, although they looked weary and resigned to their fate, made a good fist (so to speak) of giving good service.
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I've visited this place many times before but yesterday the service was absolute crap.
The barstaff was chatting away while people were waiting to get served.
Once served she forgot my glass of wine and then told someone else to get it.
One of the barmaids was talking so loud it was as if she was selling goods on a market.
The beer was fine(Incabus) but from the 5 guestales,only 2 were on.
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Typical 'spoons, except that my pint of Palm was unusually poor. Disappointinting.
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first impressions as you walk in are "how desperate am i for a drink, and should i remain in a den of iniquity such as this" you are greeted by the local down and outs of Dover, belowing smoke and the smell of stale urine in the air. a big fat bloke leaning on the corner of the bar whom the locals were calling big BOB (or should that be K-N-o-B)a gropu of out of tune deliquants hanging around by the kitchen door attempting to sing some drunken charade. behind the bar i was greeted by a manager who asked "what would you like good sir....and all that. He looked like something out of an old seventies porn movie. service was slow and he had'nt even remembered to tuck his shirt in. at the corner of the bar there was another pot bellied barmaid talking casually to big BOB about how she hasnt got a boy friend. as for the food....i would not let my dog eat in that place. this was my first and LAST visit to this totally naff establishment.
anonymous - 3 May 2007 15:42 |
One of the better 'spoons in Kent. The beer is good - wide selection of ales. Does tend to move awawy from being a pub into being a youth club at times...
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My visit to Blakes must have put me in a good, devil-may-care mood. I breexed in through the flotsam and the jetsam, that is the unemployed, the un-employable, the halt, the lame and the blind(drunk) of Dover, that made up the vast majority of that particular afternoon's clientele. The size of the frontage belies the size of the interior. The pub goes back a fair way, then dog-legs to the right.
Tables with dirty glasses and ashtrays - as seems to be the norm for 'Spoons! Undaunted I approached the bar, and was served straight away - with a smile as well. I plumped for a pint of the Spinning Dog Brewery's "Top Dog", a 4.2% bitter. She put the berre down, took my money, gave me my change, picked up my pint and topped it up without being prompted.
Out of the corner of my eye, i caught a scurry of movement. No, it was not a bout of fisticuffs, but TWO members of staff clearing/cleaning the tables and ashtrays.
I'm unsure what to make of this place - the service was good and cheery, I got a full pint from a hitherto unknown ( to me ) brewery in Hereford, which was in good condition. I can't speak for the nosebag or the toilets however. I can imagine that this place is bloody awful at weekends, with the less salubrious of Dover's residents frquenting it, so based purely on the above observations, 4/10
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Totally gash Weatherspoons pub, nipped in for some food before getting the ferry to France and ate the absolute worst food I have ever eaten in my life under any circumstances.
Was also rammed with chavs kicking up trouble at the weary looking barman because they were being ID'd and the plasma telly was smashed where some friend of humanity had obviously either put his pint or someones head through it.
Definately one of the crappest, run down and dreariest pubs I have ever been to.
Tim Martin should be taken out and shot for inflicting these invariably shite chain of pubs on to the UK..
anonymous - 3 Aug 2006 17:32 |
great place with BIG BOB on his corner of the bar great bloke great pub
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This is the worst Wetherspoons pub I have ever been to.
We arrived at 1 minute past 12 and were too late (by 1 minute) for breakfast. The veggie burger & chips we ordered was OK but everything else was dire. They ran out of caesar salad dressing so offered us vinagrette instead but came back to say they only had mayonnaise (not a pleasant mix). The beans on the jacket potato were luke warm and tasted really cheap. The coleslaw and salad were warm.
The serving staff were quite friendly.
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Excellent place, I went in there with my girlfriend a couple of weeks ago and to my surprise found that no less than 12 real ales were being served on the handpumps. Lovely!
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This is a Wetherspoons house (cheap prices) which has just been refurbished, (Jan 2004). Friendly atmosphere, good beer, variety of guest beers. The busiest and most popular pub in Dover busy nights Fri & Sat where the young people gather before going on to the local night club. Its in the pedestrian precinct just up from the market square. Excellent kebab shop nearby.
Tim - 3 Feb 2004 04:32 |
