BITE user comments - Dumbell
Comments by Dumbell
The Anchor and Hope, Orpington
This is now an oriental 'all you can eat' buffet style restaurant.
12 May 2011 12:04
Who had the 'brilliant' (spot the sarcasm) idea of dumping the very thing that made Rose and Crown so great, i.e., Bob.
Lets face it, even back in Joy's day it was Bob who made the place what it was. Now, after years of excellent service to the community, to good food, and to good ales, along with keeping a traditional, proper pub just as it was, it takes less than a week to plunge downhill.
Get Bob back if you can, or I fear that in a short while we will read of the demise of this once great pub.
4 Jul 2010 21:25
The Bull got yet another new landlord at the end of March 2010 (does not have a a landlady so assume Adrian_s means the barmaid who reads out the quiz questions) and we assumed it was going to be yet another disaster, but no, this time the place has turned round, it's getting better and better. Food great, beer much improved, staf polite, friendly, and seem to know what they are doing. I would never have believed it, but well done new team, and keep it up.
4 Jul 2010 20:37
My advice for this pub would be don't bother if you want to eat or drink, but quite a pretty village if you just want to admire the view.
We arrived at 6pm to an almost empty pub. Sign stated 'please wait to be seated'. At ten past we gave up and sat ourselves. At twenty past we were asked if we wanted to order. We ordered both food and drinks. Food arrived at 6.35, drinks a little later!
20 minutes after finishing startes our plates were cleared, then a further 20 minute wait for our main course.
Meals were cold, vegetables overcooked, grilled tomato looked like it had been there all day, salad garnish was so drench in oil the plate had a puddle.Outside of the chicken breast was so hard it was inedible.
Ordered another drink,it was for the person driving, they asked for a lemonade, and 10 minutes later they were give half of bitter.
Eventually, 25 minutes after we finished eating, we were asked if we wanted to order anything else by the landlord, who cleared our table. We said we would like to order sweets and more drinks.
40 minutes later, still no one had taken our order. We gave up, went to the bar, and asked for the bill.Even that took a while.
If I had not been very tired, I would have complained bitterly and left.
I have eaten in other Chef and Brewer pubs and found the beer, food and staff to be of a far higher standard.
5 May 2008 18:14
Things must have improved since some of these earlier posts. Beer was good, the gentleman (and he WAS a gentleman) who waited our table was prompt, but not pushy, helpfully but not gushing, funny but not intrusive. The food, WOW. I'd never tried a cheese cake as a starter before, but smoked salmon was excelent. It was nice to find something with subtle flavoured instead of everything being overpowered with chilli as seems to be the norm most places in recent years. Main course was well cooked and well presented, and the dessert, a beautiful warm chocolate concoction worth every calory.
the wine was excelent, coffee hot and not too strong. We will return.
30 Jan 2008 17:33
Saw it had been refurbished, so went in for a lunchtime drink and meal. Never again. Althought he bar staff were very freindly, the regulars were not.
The glass my drink was served in was grubby. As for the food. Between us we orderd one suasage yorkshire, 3 steaks, one ham egg and chips. The egg white was spread almost the entire size of the plate, showing the egg was old. The ham was dry. One of the steaks was too tough to cut, let alone eat, the other 2 steaks were chewie. One of the sausages had a piece of blue plastic in it.
The only thing we can say in favour of the place was that the toilets were quite nice.
23 Nov 2007 10:36
The Cricketers, Orpington
a proper pub, family run, not a chain, who remembered us after just two visits. Good cellar, nice staff. A 'local' as it should be
12 May 2011 12:07