BITE user comments - Beer4Daddy
Comments by Beer4Daddy
I'm afraid this particular branch of Spoons has gone downhill (Hamilton Hall much better). It's on my daily route to Liverpool Street so I often used to pop in for a pint or three. I visit only occasionally now. The pub itself is fantastic with lots of history and charm. Unfortunately the bar staff and management haven't got a clue.
The bar itself is a large oval with 24 pumps and you can walk all around it. There are usually 11 or more beers on at any one time (some of the pumps double up). They have a screen above each of side of the bar and at each end showing which beers are on but you cannot rely on this as they don't update it quickly enough. On one visit I walked around the entire OUTSIDE of the bar, which is in the middle of the pub, to see what was on the pumps only to be challenged by a surly manager who accused me of walking THROUGH the bar!
The bar staff have no idea how to work a long continuous bar such as this. Instead of patrolling a zone each they fall over each and only pay attention to the top end of the bar that faces the main entrance. Anyone else waiting around the sides or bottom end of the bar has to struggle to get served (and then only on the basis of "who's next?") If they stuck to their own bit of the bar they'd be able to manage the flow of customers much better and not every customer would try to get served at the top end - it's just a vicious circle.
On some visits the pumps have had sparklers on when I don't think they are necessary or appropriate to the beer in question. Now I've had this in other Spoons and they tell me that they have to go by the tasting notes on the back of the pump. Go to other Spoons and no sparklers yet same brewery and same beer. Cannot make sense of it. Anyway, more recently the sparklers seem to have gone - which is a good thing. When you can get served the beer is usually good if rather too chilled but I've had staff serve me a few pints of cloudy beer without batting an eye lid - this should never happen in a real ale pub and just says to me that there is a lack of basic training / understanding of the product they are selling.
Food here is good and waiting times not a problem usually.
2 Jun 2013 15:30
The pub itself has closed and the venue has re-opened as The Rare Cow, an upmarket steak restaurant I hear.
2 Jun 2013 14:57
I call in here two or three times a week for a quick pint while waiting for the bus and only drink the real ale. The staff here all tend to be very friendly and the manager that I know does not fit the description in the review below (although I appreciate that the reviewer says he had a bad experience).
There are 3 gravity fed real ales (the barrels are in the room ABOVE, which I think has to be a fairly unique dispensing system). They change constantly and are well kept in my experience. At the time of writing this review it is £3 a pint regardless of the ABV - which is pretty decent I think.
I like the chilled ambience of this place - it's the perfect antidote to a hard day and a quick way to wind down on the way home. I have been in here on Fridays late when the crowd is much younger and the atmosphere is much more club-like. All I can say about the door staff is that they are always friendly with me. It's a shame that so many places in Chelmsford have to employ door staff. I've never personally seen in trouble in Barista, which is generally a pretty chilled kind of place.
2 Jun 2013 11:20
I went here on my Birthday and cycled the 90 minute journey each way, having previously been with the wife and children in the car a couple of weeks earlier. It really is a pub in the middle of nowhere - which may account in some way for it being so good, otherwise it simply wouldn't survive.
Beer was again excellent and on the previous visit we had the Huffers which were tasty and very filling. I did sit and listen to some of the locals and the reviewer who commented on the swivel-eyes loons at the next table must just have been unlucky (it happens in the best of pubs sometimes). We didn't have any grumble with the service when we ate here and the staff (and one of the locals I spoke with) were friendly but I do wish they'd sort out the website as the times given for food are misleading (so call them first is my advice).
2 Jun 2013 10:50
The Railway Tavern, Chelmsford
I drink here fairly regularly. It's a great real ale pub with friendly staff and a constantly changing selection of good real ales from around the country in addition to a number of regular ones. Don't be fooled by its location just opposite the station - this pub has a regular clientele as well as those popping in and out for quick pint on their way to somewhere else.
I like Grays pubs generally because they are all different and tend to have character and generally good landlords who know how to run a proper pub selling proper real ale at a reasonable price. The Railway Tavern is a great little example of this - a bit quirky in the décor department perhaps but it is opposite the railway station after all! There's a secluded patio area out the back so you can easily forget the bustling traffic going past the front of the pub.
2 Jun 2013 10:31
I'm afraid that while the pub itself is full of character and in a nice location with good outside dining areas this is not a destination for lovers of real ale.
The landlord seems to think that every guest beer he puts on should be dispensed through a small diameter sparkler to produce a pint of Boddingtons. Not my idea of enjoying a pint. This pubs badly needs a landlord who understands something about real ale and how to serve it.
A real disappointment as it used to be so much better. We still go there sometimes in the nice weather as we can cycle there with the kids but I only ever drink lager there nowadays. Says it all really.
2 Jun 2013 10:22
Still one of the finest real pubs in the area (and it's still my local!) Other pubs pretend to serve real ale but don't really know enough about the art of keeping and serving a live product so as to give the customer a consistently top notch pint. You won't find any issues of quality in this pub.
The Wheaty is a proper pub with an eclectic mix of real people from all walks of life who enjoy the art of conversation over a good pint without using the F word in every sentence. Sadly a declining phenomenon as more true pubs like this close to be replaced by characterless Pubcos serving a limited choice of poorly kept beer at high prices.
2 Jun 2013 10:12
This is a little gem of a pub with an excellent selection of real ales properly kept and served - including Mighty Oak Oscar Wilde Mild on tap every day ! It's my local, so I would be biased, but I've had beer from far and wide and this is without doubt a great real ale pub. Some people complained when Greene King IPA went but to be honest there are much better IPAs out there.
The pub is tiny - but that's part of its charm. It's definitely a locals pub but visitors are also made to feel welcome. There is folk music on every third Friday of the month. Well behaved doggy customers are welcome.
1 May 2011 11:08
The Magpie, Bishopsgate
I like this City pub and pop in when I can. It's one of the better examples of a Nicholson pub and the manager is a fantastic bloke, the bar staff are also friendly and ultra efficient too. The choice of real ale is good and ever changing.
I've had two occasions when my enjoyment has been somewhat spoilt by the behaviour of rowdy tanked-up "Loadsamoney" types knocking into me and spilling my beer (and not even bothering to apologise) but they're still thankfully in the minority here on a Thursday or Friday night. I prefer to drink here earlier in the week when it's less rammed.
In the hot weather you can enjoy your beer with a bit more space outside in the street without anyone minding.
2 Jun 2013 16:03