BITE user comments - Campanologist
Comments by Campanologist
I liked it. Quite plain from the outside but cosy and friendly inside. A pub in such a location has to cater for all - locals and tourists alike - and this does the job pretty well. Food was good and beer choice excellent.
25 Sep 2012 12:42
Not a bad boozer with a saloon and traditional public containing pool table. Food was sustaining and reasonably priced, whilst the ales were in good nick and mostly local.
One negative though, I don't mind a telly for major (or even relatively minor) sports events, but when it sits there permanently on, relaying a mixture of adverts and repeats of second rate American shows, then I think its time to find another pub or wander into the saloon bar.
Otherwise pretty good but I feel could be excellent if the off switch were exercised a bit more frequently.
25 Sep 2012 12:29
I have now visited this pub, although didn't eat there so can't comment on that. Had a range of ales on offer but none gave employment to anybody living within 50 miles. Curiously un-pubby, the bar giving pride of place to an oversize coffee machine and also prominent in the public area was a rather ugly cooler cabinet containing various creamy desserts etc. Furnishings were otherwise largely traditional but the clientele seemed to consist of the kind of people who usually avoid pubs e.g. the local WI and gentlemen in sports jackets and ties. Service was efficient if not over-friendly and for me it just lacked something. Nonetheless, still deserves way more than its current lowly rating.
25 Sep 2012 12:17
The Kilvert's Hotel, Hay on Wye
Large pub/hotel which is really difficult to categorise. Bar area is quite small but main room is long and oddly shaped. Nice range of local ales and reasonably good food, although like everywhere else in Hay, was not that cheap. Traditionally furnished and perhaps not the tidiest pub in the world, but maybe that's part of its charm. Gets a tick from me.
18 Sep 2012 17:00
Mahogany-veneered interior with many Victorian style prints on the panelled walls. Very large with rows of tables to encourage drinkers to indulge in the cheap but indifferent food. Service was, as is usual with Wetherspoons, quite slow, but the range of beers was extensive, quality high and price low.
Far too large and impersonal for me to put on my re-visit list but a decent place if in the area, especially if funds are limited.
18 Sep 2012 00:37
An old and imposing building but the interior seems to have received some unsympathetic upgrades over the years. Quite large with a separate eating area and well-kept Brain's beer.
Okay, but lacks character.
18 Sep 2012 00:28
The Brockweir Country Inn, Brockweir
I liked this place. Looks a little run-down from the outside, but inside it's friendly and quite individual with traditional wooden furniture in a single room which naturally divides itself up into several small areas. Beer range was pretty similar to that below and the garden seems to have been tidied up since Dandillus's visit. Food was pretty good too.
18 Sep 2012 00:17
Although forming part of a hotel, this is more pub than hotel bar with decent range of mostly local ales and quite a good local following. Food was sustaining if rather standard pub fare and quite reasonably priced, although low prices seemed the norm for the area.
18 Sep 2012 00:05
I have never been to this pub, but just a hint. Where extreme views are expressed, check out to see how many other pubs the individual has posted. If it is only one, then the chances are that one or two individuals have a vendetta against the place and the mark doesn't reflect what it is actually like.
That's all.
5 Sep 2012 13:12
Agree that this was probably a Victorian gem at one time but is now just cavernous and echoey. That said, it sells excellent ale which is a definite plus, and does without either a TV or recorded music so you can at least conduct a conversation without cupping your hands over your ears and saying 'eh?'. Food is good too, although it is much more of a drinking than eating establishment.
All in all, tries hard but just lacks a bit of star quality.
.
9 May 2012 16:43
It is a foody place but also seems to make a good stab at the pub role. Decor is a little bright if clean and tidy and the service seems to be friendly. In contrast to one posting below, I thought the mostly local beer range was pretty decent and the beer quality high.
Not a classic but decent nonetheless.
12 Feb 2012 10:25
Not bad although very much a gastro pub with all that entails. Both service and customers were friendly but (oh dear!) the ale was all from the Mouldy Monarch.
A gripe which I have about most such places is the lack of drapes or frosting on the windows which makes it feel a bit like a fish tank. Must be somebody's kettle of fish though as very busy on a Wednesday night in January in the heart of a recession...
I was born locally but surprisingly don't remember this place at all. Did it have a previous name?
28 Jan 2012 12:03
Small, awkward to wend your way between bar and door, a restricted choice of beer, outside Gents but an absolutely sublime little pub which thankfully has not changed in what, 60 maybe 70 years? At one time the countryside between Wycombe and Henley was heaving with such little gems but sadly few now remain. Try it now while you still can.
3 Jan 2012 23:49
The Old White Swan, Beaconsfield
Would be a so-so pub anywhere else but in the pretentious hellhole that is Beaconsfield it's bloomin' marvelous! Interior is quite smart, having had a fairly recent makeover. The beer range is small-ish but usually well-kept; however, on a recent visit my pint came out of a pump marked London Pride into a glass labelled London Pride, so why didn't it taste like London Pride? Perfectly good ale and everything, just wasn't what I ordered.
Ah well...
21 Dec 2011 17:28
Good old fashioned backstreet boozer. Staff were friendly and beer was good even if choice was a bit limited; despite this, would definitely return.
16 Dec 2011 16:30
George and Dragon, Princes Risborough
Good choice of ale (two Vale plus one other) but a rather strange pub. The first thing that caught my eye (literally) was the light level which made me wish I'd brought my sunglasses. Decor is a little spartan and the furniture a complete jumble of anything that you could either sit or park a glass on, hence you get the impression that it is currently being run on a shoestring. Would not be surprised to see it morph into an excellent pub - God knows Risborough needs it - on the other hand it could shortly become yet another estate agents...
13 Dec 2011 00:58
An eating rather than a drinking establishment but to be fair, the food is usually excellent and the surroundings relaxed and pleasant. Beer choice is the sort of thing you would perhaps have enthused about twenty years ago but now just seems lacklustre and unimaginative, most coming from the Marston's stable.
Has an enormous garden which tends to get packed in summer - perhaps the best time to visit the pub.
Only 6 out of 10 though, because this is essentially a pub forum and The Polecat strays over the line into restaurant territory.
13 Dec 2011 00:03
The Pineapple, Amersham Common
99% restaurant, 1% pub but food was good, quite reasonably priced for the area and service surprisingly friendly. Only two ales on, the ubiquitous London Pride and a low gravity seasonal from Adnam's so hardly a place that is going to have the real ale mob queuing on the doorstep. Garden looked spacious and maybe worth a trip in the summer.
Suspect it might be owned by our friends Vintage Inns or one of their ilk.
11 Dec 2011 20:54
A Vintage Inn with all that entails but not a bad one, being more pubby than most. Food was good enough and beer reasonably well kept if hardly a mouthwatering selection. Fine if you're in the area.
11 Dec 2011 20:44
I was pleasantly surprised at my last visit to this pub which has been a bit up and down over the years. Food was good and not that expensive whilst the range of ales has been expanded dramatically without any loss of quality. The staff were universally friendly and all in all, a worthwhile evening out.
29 Nov 2011 00:04
Old Swan Cheddington, Cheddington
Marvellous looking thatched building which could grace many a postcard. Clearly relies heavily on its food trade but the bar is comfortable enough if a little sedate. With only two standard (non-local) real ales on tap though, not worth a major detour for the serious beer drinker.
28 Nov 2011 23:51
The Full Moon, Little Kingshill
I want to be nice to this pub I really do, so let's start with the good things - it has a nice garden and the bar is one of the most traditional in the area with a stone (or is it tile?) floor. When it is full, the locals give it a good atmosphere with plenty of good humour. The beer choice is okay but nothing local is served and the last time I went there the beers I had were pretty poorly kept (which also applied the time before that).
Now, I can understand why pubs have introduced restaurants and why, from time to time those tables are reserved but when they start reserving tables in the bar, then in my opinion things have gone a bit far.
Back to positives though, I felt that my food was good although I did get nagged that vegetarian or fish options were in short supply.
Look, this is basically a decent pub but with faults, although nothing that a slight tweak in attitude and a cellar management course couldn't cure.
23 Nov 2011 17:36
Large pub on the old road between Handy Cross and Marlow. Interior is mostly given over to eating but unlike many pubs you won't feel uncomfortable if you just want a pint. The beers are all from Rebellion Brewery and kept with almost obsessive care. Unsurprisingly given the quality of the beer, the place itself is always spotless.
Haven't tried the food so can't comment but for a simple beer few pubs in Bucks come close.
23 Nov 2011 17:12
The current rating of 8.7 pretty much says it all. Taken dispassionately a medium size pub, half bar half restaurant but it is the bar part where it all happens - don't ask me to recite what beers were on as I certainly couldn't remember them all, but every single one was in excellent condition. To add to this, the service was friendly and the place certainly has atmosphere. I have eaten here and the food was fine, but that was some years ago.
To sum it up, a brilliant pub in an otherwise ordinary building. A visit here should be included in the itinerary of anyone who has a yen to run a pub and many already doing so should take time out to pay it a visit.
23 Nov 2011 17:00
Whilst it suffers in comparison with some of Lewes's other pubs, taken in isolation the John Harvey isn't at all bad. Had four Harvey's ales on when I visited and I found the bar to be quite atmospheric (the overspill room tacked on the side was another matter...). Staff were friendly and it was very much standing room only, hence didn't stay too long. In any other town it would be a winner.
18 Oct 2011 23:52
Long, narrow, pretty basic (not a criticism by the way) and aimed squarely at the serious beer drinker. Can't remember how many real beers were on during my visit. Four? Five? And I don't recall having heard of any of any of them. Probably does food but if so, is very much a sideline to its main purpose.
Why does Lewes have so many great pubs?
18 Oct 2011 23:37
It's a great pub although in my opinion just not quite up to what it was in the pre-Greene King days, the main issue for me being that it was perhaps a little bright for such an unspoilt pub. Considering it is now owned by Fuller's, it had a decent range of beers available with Butcombe as well as the sacrosanct Harvey's Best Bitter. Well woth an hour or two of anybody's time.
17 Oct 2011 17:29
Excellent pub full of character and characters. Food was good and pretty cheap; wide choice or ales and the place just oozes atmosphere.
Well worth a visit or ten.
17 Oct 2011 09:28
Due to re-open soon. In its heyday it was a great little pub but typical pubco neglect put paid to that.
I do hope they don't ruin it.
4 Oct 2011 10:23
This pub really shouldn't be any good. There are no locals, no competition to keep standards up and prices down, but somehow it succeeds where other pubs fail. Okay, the food is not cordon bleu but it is perfectly acceptable in such a remote location and there is a surprisingly large choice. Part of the reason for its success lies in the attitude of the staff who were more or less without exception, friendly and helpful.
The interior is surprisingly big with a main bar (plus a gallery), a kind of neutral area and a room round the corner which acts as a sort of of restaurant.
All things considered, I can even forgive it the re-labeling of St. Austell Tribute and Dartmoor as respectively, Old Light and Lundy Experience!
27 Sep 2011 00:24
Okay, Clovelly itself is a timewarp but this place seems to have stopped in the 1980s. Externally a stunning black and white building but upon entering you are met with a bar that really could be located in the back streets of any seaside resort between here and Blackpool. On continuing through the bar, there is a large area seemingly converted out of an old stockroom and distinctly lacking in either decor or atmosphere. Food was pretty standard and although the Country Life beers were perfectly well-kept, I found that I just didn't get on with them - but that is maybe a question of individual taste.
On the plus side, service was perfectly friendly, but I couldn't help but feel massively disappointed with the pub itself.
27 Sep 2011 00:05
This is way, way the better of the two pubs in Clovelly and attracts a much more local crowd than I would have expected despite the omnipresent tourists. A really traditional pub with several differing areas to choose from including one with a pool table. Bar food is pretty standard pub fare but pretty well cooked and the prices didn't give me too much of a shock. Beer choice is a little limited but I found the Doom Bar in good fettle
26 Sep 2011 23:40
Enormous mock Tudor type of pub/hotel in as idyllic a setting as you could want. The pub very much divides itself into the bar for locals, a rather blander area overlooking the garden for the grockles and ne'er the twain shall meet.
Beer is mostly local and I have to say I rather liked the place, but tend to agree about the sticky tables...
26 Sep 2011 23:22
Not exactly what I had expected when walking through the door. Very much a public bar with odd little touches such as the murals of gypsy violinists on the wall. The clientelle seemed to be a reasonably harmonious mix of locals and tourists, the former stand at the bar and the latter sit around the tables.
Didn't try the food but the beer (it seems to be a St. Austell tied house) was reasonably well-kept.
Not in the top hundred or anything but generally an okay place to while away an hour.
26 Sep 2011 23:07
As Hellskitchen says, very much a hotel bar with the most appalling muzak imaginable. Food was okay but nothing to trouble Egon Ronay and emptied out really early, leaving me all alone with the lift music...
26 Sep 2011 22:53
Suffering from what appears to have been a budget 1980s makeover in the late Bass Charrington style (although no idea who actually did own it back then). There was at least one local beer but menu looked pretty standard seaside fare, and all in all, nothing to write home about.
26 Sep 2011 22:47
This is a real find as the pubs in Lynton/Lynmouth are on the whole a thoroughly lacklustre lot.
Excellent old-fashioned pub full of nooks and crannies and a good choice of local ales on tap. Didn't eat here, but the food being served up looked fine to me and certainly nobody was complaining. Well worth the strenuous climb I made out of Lynmouth to get here.
26 Sep 2011 22:40
The Old Hunter's Lodge, Whipsnade
Interesting old building with lots of nooks and crannies, although beginning to look a tiny bit dog-eared in places. As for the beer, it seems to be a Greene King pub - well kept Greene King granted but still an outpost of the evil empire.
Didn't try the food, so defer to others on that score.
1 Sep 2011 08:40
Le De Spencers Arms, High Wycombe
Nice cosy little pub which really is absurdly difficult to find. Bar divides itself up into several separate areas which helps the atmosphere no end. Perhaps I just have a friendly face but in the few times I've been there, I've never found it in the least cliquey or unfriendly.
Beers are mostly drawn from the old Gale's range which I can't say impress me that much - I prefer Fuller's own beers. The couple of times I have eaten there, the food has been fine.
26 Aug 2011 00:11
Large, bright open plan pub with largely modern decor and surprisingly a dartboard. I remember two real beers being on, Brakspear's Bitter, Doom Bar and possibly one other.
As good as any pub in High Wycombe but that really isn't saying much.
25 Aug 2011 23:59
The Queens Head, Little Marlow
Agree with other posters that the accent here is clearly on food. You can pop in for a beer but there isn't really much room which isn't allocated to eating. Three draught beers on, two from Fuller's and a seasonal from Marston's so nothing local - all OK but rather unimaginative. Food was good if not cheap, but service was perhaps a little frosty.
25 Aug 2011 23:40
Large echoey pub just outside the city centre. Decent choice of well-kept ales and the place certainly has character.
24 Aug 2011 18:07
Nice friendly village pub catering for all sorts. Being quite large there are several different areas, one with pub games, one with TV and another where you can just sit and chat, the good thing being that one never impinges on the others. Good choice of beers including local products. Does food but I was enjoying the beer too much to partake.
24 Aug 2011 18:02
An obvious campaign against this pub by a few individuals who have somehow reduced its rating to a ludicrous level clearly doesn't help the neutral decide what sort of pub this is, so here goes;
it is owned by Marston's and whenever I've been in there, the beer range has been restricted to Marston's products. Has a separate restaurant and the food has in my experience always been OK. The working area of the bar is bright and rather out of place in such an old building although the public area is comfortable enough and frequently busy. Overall, nothing to write home about but nowhere near as bad as some people would have you believe.
24 Aug 2011 10:37
The Grand Junction Arms, Bulbourne
Situated on one of the less attractive parts of the Grand Union and obviously owned by a chain (Chef and Brewer?). Painted in two tone yuppy green and with airport style furniture, it has more of a cafe than a pub feel to it. Good choice of beers though including one from Tring Brewery.
Overall, too standard and formulaic for me - give me a bit of idiosyncracy anyday.
24 Aug 2011 10:08
The Queens Head and Artichoke, Regents Park
I was actually reasonably impressed by this pub. Despite it being very crowded and a little trendy, it had a reasonable pub atmosphere and an acceptable choice of ales. For some reason I had imagined it would be a typical gastro type offering, but the food trade seems to be mostly absorbed by the upstairs restaurant, in which by the way, the food was pretty good. Deserves way more than its current rating.
24 Aug 2011 00:23
Fairly standard London pub in the mahogany panelled tradition. Decent enough choice of well-kept ales, brands pretty much unchanged since 2009. Perhaps it becomes more of a local later on, but when I visited largely populated by tourists and people who were unlikely to be planning their return. Okay if you're in the area but not one to put yourself out for.
24 Aug 2011 00:15
Decent little pub in a quiet village on top of the Chilterns. Two real ales on when I visited (Doom Bar and Knight of the Garter), I only tried the latter but was on top form. As for food, enormous portions and really good value.
24 Aug 2011 00:01
The Land of Liberty, Peace and Plenty, Heronsgate
Excellent range of ales spread over all styles from blondes to porters. Pub is fairly basic and food pretty much non-existent but who cares!
14 Aug 2011 18:36
Decent pub, just getting slightly dog-eared in places. Excellent range of ales and the ones I tried were in decent nick. Curiously, food available any day other than Saturday.
14 Aug 2011 18:31
The Nags Head, Great Missenden
Alas, what used to be a decent local serving fair to middling pub food is now little more than yet another restaurant. On the plus side, it does sell real ale, and good brands too - Rebellion and Tring were the ones I can remember, but if that's all you want, you might feel a little awkward being hemmed in on all sides by the oh so middle class diners.
My mark reflects the fact that I am reviewing it as a pub, not a restaurant.
12 Aug 2011 18:12
Clean and tidy little pub with very comely barmaid and nice garden. Beer was well kept but a rather boring selection (Young's Bitter, London Pride and Adnam's Broadside - I think it was Broadside).
Food was wholesome and not overpriced for the area. Gave it 7, would have been 8 with more interesting ales.
12 Aug 2011 17:58
Accent mainly on food but it is more pubby than some of its ilk. The food is a little expensive but then it isn't standard pub grub and is usually well cooked. Likewise the Hall & Woodhouse beer isn't everybody's favourite but is usually well kept.
Whatever way you look at it, deserves more than 5.
12 Aug 2011 17:34
The Jack Horner, Tottenham Court Road
Echoing the views below, the Jack Horner is satisfactory, nothing special but it serves its purpose well enough. I found the service friendly and both food and ale of merchantable quality and a big plus on hot and humid day, it had air conditioning.
2 Aug 2011 22:39
The Ship and Shovell, Charing Cross
Almost two pubs and if you combine them, actually one of the better pubs in the Charing Cross area. Interior is very traditional, so don't expect acres of chrome and plastic. Hall & Woodhouse beer is okay if not everybody's favourite but palatable enough. Unsurprisingly, gets very crowded.
27 Jul 2011 10:33
Pink and Lily, Princes Risborough
Forgive me if I am wrong, but I understood it had been bought by Enterprise Inns? As for the choice of beers, the days of the 'tied house' has long gone (with a few exceptions) and pubcos source their beers from any number of different brewers. The beer sold is not therefore any guide as to ownership. Personally, I hope my experience was an exception and others have a better experience than me, but I can only report as I find.
I'm sorry, but I found your gushing tone and only one review highly suspicious. Landlords/landladies 'bigging up' their own pub is hardly unknown on this site!
Incidentally, you seem to have changed sex.
22 Jul 2011 22:05
Not bad for what it is, a large chain eatery with standardised meals and spray-on interior. I guess though your overall experince is likely to depend on which of the hundreds of transient staff served you. Surprisingly had a decent range of beers on my last visit but hardly a place for the commited beer drinker.
Has been known by a variety of names over the last few decades; originally The Halfway House, the only one of its names which made sense as this is approximately half way between Amersham and Aylesbury and the pub was used as a coaching stop. Then for no known reason the name was changed to The Office and finally The Firecrest. Why, I haven't a clue.
Usually heaving which just goes to show that nobody ever got rich by over-estimating the good taste of the British public.
21 Jul 2011 12:19
It is what it is, a drinking/eating establishment aimed squarely at the tourist market. With that in mind, it is amazing that it sells real beer (the pints I had were all OK) and that the food is as good as it is.
For lovers of the traditional English boozer it doesn't even rise over the horizon, but tired of sand in your cheese roll and with screaming kids in tow, it certainly fills a gap.
19 Jul 2011 11:23
Friendly pub which was pretty busy - deservedly so - when I visited on a Friday night recently. Decent range of ales and wide screen TV. Would definitely return.
18 Jul 2011 17:39
Pink and Lily, Princes Risborough
Is archie13 the manager?
It never was a 'tired old pub' to be honest and I struggled to see any difference in overall style from my previous visit a few years ago . It had four real beers on when I visited a few days ago but none could be said to be in very good nick. Food was so-so and portions distinctly mingey. The gang of youngsters who acted as waiters/waitresses were keen to please but lacked any direction and as is usual with large managed houses, there didn't seem to be anyone in overall control to tell them what to do.
Really needs grabbing by the scruff of the neck before things go horribly awry.
18 Jul 2011 17:04
Absolutely heaving when I went there one Friday night a few weeks ago, but you have to say that it was friendly and clearly deserved its popularity.
One slight gripe - the pub stocks a large range of Hop Back beers but every one was the colour of Budweiser. Now, I have a great deal of respect for Hop Back as a company, but personally I have a preference for something a bit darker. I assume Hop Back brew darker ales, so wouldn't it be nice if this pub stocked one.
18 Jul 2011 15:13
A nice back bar with an excellent choice of ales and ciders as well as a wide range of Scotch whiskies, skittle alley, dartboard, pool table... Well worth a visit.
Restaurant is a little pretentious but as a pub person you won't be going there...
18 Jul 2011 15:03
Beautiful location but a rather underwhelming pub. Okay, there are many way worse than this but it just didn't seem to make the most of its natural advantages. The garden, although obviously popular just seemed a little scruffy and on the consumables front, my baked potato was burnt and my Abbot not well kept. Have given it a comparatively high rating (7) based purely on its location but as a pub, deduct 3.
Needs a kick up the backside.
18 Jul 2011 14:57
Strictly old-fashioned opening hours but a truly excellent pub when the doors do open. Very friendly with great food and the rack of well-kept ales behind the bar is a reminder of a bygone age.
Highly recommended.
18 Jul 2011 14:46
A comfortable and well run pub right on the edge of the village. Both beer and food were excellent and the place itself absolutely spotless. The complete antithesis of the pubco run couldn't-care-less, anything-will-do pubs which pepper our high streets.
18 Jul 2011 14:41
A pretty straightforward pub but with excellent ale and a good local crowd. My memory of what ales were on is a little hazy but I do recall them as being mostly local and in excellent condition.
18 Jul 2011 14:34
The Royal Lion Hotel, Lyme Regis
The bar area is a little formal although the interior is quite nice an cosy. My sole purchase in here was a pint of ale from the local Town Mill brewery which was blood temperature and flat. If that's the best they can do then I definitely won't be going back.
18 Jul 2011 14:27
Surprisingly, nowhere near as touristy and far friendlier than I had expected. The Donegal was awful in the hot weather but to their great credit I discovered this without shelling out a penny as they had given me a sample to try. Other beers (I think there were three) were fine as was the food.
18 Jul 2011 14:18
The Royal Standard, Lyme Regis
Suffers from its location and absolutely heaving in summer but what do you expect just feet from the beach? Ale is usually good and the food gets served surprisingly quickly.
18 Jul 2011 14:11
The Pilot Boat Inn, Lyme Regis
Not as bad as the reports below had led me to expect. Service was a bit slow but the food was fine and two of the three Palmer's Ales that were on (I didn't try the third) were excellent. Not sure what certain other posters have got against Palmer's - always good ale in my opinion.
But back to the pub - not a bad place considering its location on the seafront of a major seaside resort.
18 Jul 2011 13:55
Nice friendly little pub with plenty of banter from the locals. Good choice of beer.
18 Jul 2011 13:45
Very much a curate's egg. Firstly the good bits - the beer was fine and the food was OK. Now the bad, it doesn't seem to have anybody in charge and the bar staff just aren't that welcoming. Moreover it suffers from an atrocious lack of attention to detail e.g. broken furniture still in the bar which has clearly been there for ages and the fact that the windows haven't been cleaned since the old king was a lad.
Could be a great pub but at the moment, just isn't. The Giant is er... a giant in comparison
18 Jul 2011 13:38
Back to Campanologist's profile
The Adelaide, Teddington
Dropped in purely while passing and found this a cosy, friendly and well-run pub. Beer wasn't bad either.
If all pubs were like this, then God knows how many it is wouldn't have closed in the last year.
13 Jan 2013 23:32