BITE user comments - BeerHeaven06
Comments by BeerHeaven06
The Railway Tavern, Hampton Wick
A pub on its last legs and a shadow of its former self.
Shabby, cold and frequently almost empty of customers, it's struggling to survive. It has the smell of death about it...
30 Apr 2008 09:07
The Marlborough, Kingston Upon Thames
Now closed and boarded. Please flag as such. Apparently it can't be knocked down as it's listed. No-one cried when it closed as several other pubs (Honest Cabbage, Cricketers, Duke of Bucks, Albion) within 5 mins walking distance.
30 Apr 2008 08:59
You can't please all of the people all of the time but it was widely thought that the pub had hit the skids in recent times which was evidenced by old bill showing an interest, fighting etc.
I sincerely hope the new management can turn it around and I look forward to being pleasantly surprised if I visit it soon. Blonde2008: I did leave and drink elsewhere, fighting etc not really being to my taste for an evening's fun. Good luck to the new people there.
Ps Why did ALL the former staff choose to leave?
21 Feb 2008 08:31
Enjoy a pint here before jumping on the 65 to go and see the super Bees (you're spot-on, anon, 12.9.07). Like Man Utd, some can only buy the shirt and call themselves fans when they rarely venture inside the ground. Decent boozer. Enough said.
24 Jan 2008 18:25
Cracking traditional boozer. Cosy inside and just the job on a cold winter's night. Definitely worth including on an Ealing crawl with Fuller's ales in excellent shape.
Cheers!
24 Jan 2008 18:22
The White Hart Hotel, Hampton Wick
Yes, its days as a pub are long over but the ales are still worth going there for as they're in ace condition, if a little pricey. I was visiting recently and noticed that everyone present was drinking and no-one was eating! This isn't a reflection on the excellent grub, but shows how good the beer is. Recommended.
20 Jan 2008 17:09
Wow! What a place. If you ever needed to have your faith restored in the traditional British pub, this is the place to go. Likewise it's also the fine advert for how great a pub can be if you need to introduce any overseas visitors to the pubs of London (and indeed the UK).
It's both tucked away down an alley off Hatton Garden and tiny. By tiny I do mean very small! If you brought all your football team in, the place would be packed! In terms of atmos, service, beer quality etc, it really sets the standard. Forget plastic here-today-gone-tomorrow gaffs with their thin promise and zero atmos or character: this is the business!
23 Oct 2007 10:53
What a place!
Tucked away in a narrow alley in the City and therefore easily missed, this is a superb inn in the old style. Forget your nearby tourist traps: if you see any visitors, drag them here to show them a real pub.
Inside it's tiny and as snug as you could wish on a cold winter's day. Excellent ales in top form complete the picture. Any self-respecting pubgoer should visit this house if only once in their lifetime: find it, drink in it and know the truth!
11 Dec 2006 22:27
Out there in the big bad world of commercialdom, it's easy to forget that oases like these exist, are vibrant and viable and are really giving the people what they want. A world away from the plastic and predictable, the Wenlock is a bit of a legend, a reminder that not all backstreet pubs are filthy, lazy, bigoted places where you're as likely to get your head split open for looking at the wrong chair on the wrong night.
Cracking ales from a constantly-revolving selection and a load more besides. I reached this place with a friend at the end of a good crawl and availed myself of some splendid mild (always available) and a porter.
It's a fair walk from Old Street tube in a bit of a crappy area but don't let that put you off. Go find it and enjoy. Beware live jazz too but you can't have everything!
7 Jul 2006 19:30
Hosts folk music. Expensive ale. Packed with well-fed rugger buggers occasionally. Food. Kids. Crawl quota: one pint. You have been warned.
6 Jul 2006 15:38
The Hook, Line and Sinker, Twickenham
Large open-plan Fuller's place close to Up 'N' Under and the Bear. Excellent Pride, pretty staff, fine food but a bit impersonal. Student totty apparent. Crawl quota: one pint.
6 Jul 2006 15:31
Stonking and small traditional tavern close to the (horrid and bigoted) Barmy Arms and also The Eel Pie (poor ale). A tiny L-shaped room with a room upstairs apparently. Also sells fruit wines (lethal) and was a former Watney's nose-picking establishment. Well recommended. Crawl quota: two pints at least.
6 Jul 2006 15:29
Not really a pub as such but a trendy, sit-yourself-down-and-admire-our-expensive-sofas-whilst-eating-an-expensive -meal sort of place. Better fun and beer to be had elsewhere but worth a half on a crawl. Cheek by Tessa Jowell by other pubs, bars and whatnot. Lots of student totty around.
6 Jul 2006 15:26
The Jerusalem Tavern, Clerkenwell
Wow!
What a place. I'd long wanted to visit what I'd heard was a tiny but amazing pub and was duly introduced a while back on a crawl. They don't get much smaller than this and you'll be hard-pressed to get within sight of the bar when it's busy but it's well worth seeking out. The St. Peter's ales - particularly its unusual bottled range - are all here and damned good they are too.
Get in early and chain yourself to the bar!
6 Jul 2006 15:17
The Tide End Cottage, Teddington
Small pub right by the river and backing on almost to the studios and the inferior Angler's. A very cosy place and just the job for an autumnal night out kicking off with some Greene King ale. A good place to start a Tedders crawl (all eighteen pubs of course so good luck!).
4 Jul 2006 17:49
Horseshoe-shaped backstreet local about two mins walk from the infamously dingy and horrid King's Arms. Very much a locals pub but not in the American Werewolf In London mold. Expect to find Caley Deuchars IPA from Edinburgh in great form on plus a couple of others. It has been known to hold dodgy karaoke and even dodgier live music so be warned. Otherwise it has plenty to recommend it.
4 Jul 2006 17:39
Long-established Fuller's house that lost nearly all of its character when it was extended to the back. Nice without making a lot of impression. Fuller's usual ales in good nick. Close but no cigar. Worth a half only on a crawl.
4 Jul 2006 17:34
A really nice (and small) backstreet pub. Two bars which is quite unusual and Young's ales on draught (although not seasonals). It has a very loyal (and forty-ish onwards) clientele but they don't bite and the ale is good. Definitely a place to take your wife...or your mistress! Also handy for the Mason's Arms a few minutes away.
4 Jul 2006 17:32
O'Neills, Kingston Upon Thames
Naked? Blimey, that takes some doing!
Strang to think that Oirish plastic pubs were all the rage ten years ago and now O'Neill's are the only chain left. How long do you give them now or are they here for good? Still better craic to be had at genuine Irish houses (maybe there should be a seperate section for those here?), places where you're thrown out if you don't know all the words to The Fields Of Athenry or Sean South From Garryowen!
What to look for: if Galtee or Calvita cheese and Tayto crisps are on sale behind the bar, you've found a genuine Irish house. Prepare your wallet and liver for a spanking time. Nudity is optional.
4 Jul 2006 17:20
The Druid's Head, Kingston Upon Thames
Now a Greene King pub. Popular with students from nearby college and uni. Expensive for area. Only visit if loud sounds and student skirt is your thing.
4 Jul 2006 17:15
The Wheelwrights Arms, Kingston Upon Thames
A small corner pub close to the Cattle Market bus station and Kingfisher leisure centre. Very much a town centre local and handy for both the King's Tun (crowded Lloyd's Number One bar) and Oceana. Worth including if you're going for a town centre crawl. They usually feature London Pride on handpump (quelle surprise!) and sometimes one other but otherwise lagery.
4 Jul 2006 17:12
Back to BeerHeaven06's profile
The Swan, Hampton Wick
Yes, the seasonal beers are excellent and the quality of the draught ale is very good. I'm not sure it's a "weird" place though as it seems to be doing things properly i.e decent ale, clean, bright and comfy interior, efficient and friendly staff etc. The food's also good! It's everything a traditional boozer should be and the bar has been raised in Hampton Wick...
21 May 2008 14:02