The Canbury Arms, Kingston Upon Thames

as a gastropub wannabe, the food selection, although generally of a good quality, is quite limited & does not seem to be updated very often; we ate there yesterday evening and the menu hasn't changed since our last visit over a month ago - including mussels which were so tiny our guests had to complain to the manager who offered to cook something further (at 22:30) but our guests declined, so he deducted them from the bill.

having been drinking at this pub for nearly 4 years, it was an unpleasant surprise when we queried a couple of extra drinks on our bill that were not ours, and were 'threatened' that the staff would check the CCTV footage. (they then came back and said they couldnt be bothered. charming!)

i didnt realise it had been bought by Yates' brewery... what next? burly bouncers on the door?

26 Sep 2008 11:03

Harts Boatyard, Surbiton

visited for the second time last night - same conclusion as most of the reviews on here; great location, lovely refurb, good food when it finally arrives, but desperately slow.

bar service is average; the barman got irritable because we took longer than 2 nano-seconds to choose which flavour crisps we wanted, he spilt the drink as he poured it into the glass and didnt tidy it up, and when they came round to put candles on the tables, they left the empty glasses and crisp packets behind. small things in themselves, but they add to the overall experience.

restaurant service is average to poor; friendly staff but painfully slow to deliver the food and lacking in attention to detail (brought the wrong sauce, despite having specifically asked which one we wanted; had to chase up the water etc) but quite happy to add the service charge anyway.

if you can bear the wait, the food is good and in very generous portions.

18 Sep 2008 13:47

The Lass O'Richmond Hill, Richmond

three extensive menus (large main menu, lighter snack menu, and a specials sheet) AND a daily fish board could be whittled down to one really great menu which might help with the speed of service as they seemed to struggle with quite a simple order (1 burger, 1 jacket potato) during a quiet period.

couldnt fault the staff though - very knowledgeable and friendly. and the 'large' glass of wine is ENORMOUS!

8 Aug 2008 16:54

Princess Victoria, Shepherds Bush

tried this place for the first time today with work colleagues - glamorous victorian interior indeed. spacious & light and a great alternative to other pokey dark pubs in the area. a lovely place to spend a lazy lunchtime and we've already earmarked it for a potential christmas-lunch venue.

the lunch deal is great value at �10 for 2 courses (�15 for 3 i think); the pork belly & duck liver pate with grape chutney was a little garlicky but otherwise great texture & flavours, followed by a generous portion of creamy smoked haddock risotto with broad beans and a perfectly poached egg on top.

service was friendly and prompt and, refreshingly, there was no automatic service charge on the bill.

and as everyone else is commenting on the black shirts... if you're going to have a uniform (a good way to spot staff in amongst customers), black is as good and smart as any!

8 Aug 2008 16:25