BITE user comments - FoggyBalla
Comments by FoggyBalla
The Three Oaks, Chalfont St Peter
I concur with randyray's assessment. The Rebellion is well kept and this is a friendly place. The staff are throughly charming and it is the kind of place a non pub-loving Mother or Maiden Aunt could be taken. I also use it to take staff out for lunch as the set menu is, for the quality of food and bearing in mind the area, very good value. However bearing in mind the area it is very expensive indeed for a drink.
It is also certainly an eating establishment which serves beer. There is one very small conventional bar seating area, but even the non-restaurant bit to the side of it is for diners.
Despite going in fairly regularly and having built some rapport with the staff I was nonplussed the other evening when we were approached, mid pint, by a waitress who said, "hey you guys, I'm going to need this table in five minutes". I think I would have been less put out if there had been a sign there saying that the table was reserved from a certain hour or even if the approach had been, "I'm terribly sorry but we have a reservation here shortly".
As it happens we were then ushered into the dining room to finish our drinks. The dining room was still fairly empty!
I love to come here for a meal (if it's on expenses) or to sit in the peaceful garden on a summer's evening to wind down after work. Just beware being shifted in favour of more lucrative punters if just sitting with family having a drink.
7 Mar 2014 16:47
The Ethorpe Hotel, Gerrards Cross
Fine, this is not a classic British pub. It is, however what is available.
I go relatively frequently to the Ethorpe, and am generally relatively satisfied. On my last visit they were offering CAMRA discounts (which comehow was offered to the soft drinks on my round as well as the real ale) and had three ales on hand pump. One was one of the usual suspects as mentioned in Gann's post of last June, but two others were delightful hoppy numbers (one session strength, one a bit stronger) I'd never come across before.
Not a pub I'd travel any distance to get to, but for an after-work pint it does the trick. It's not by any stretch of the imagination bad, despite the assorted suits and ladies who lunch types suits giving me evil looks because I dared to sit at a table by myself while waiting for friends to join me!
7 Mar 2014 16:35
Having moved into the area earlier this summer, but never visited this place as I generally have my small boy in tow, finally managed to get in here after a hellish week at work. Phew, what a way to recover!
A bit packed to start with (at about 18:45) service was still prompt and friendly. There seemed to be lots of regulars, which is always a good start.
This isn't the average pub, and bearing in mind the sheer variety of beers available it's not cheap. But in the early evening it was just as a pub should be, a mixed crowd of suits, non-suits, students, men & women, all enjoying some really good drinks & just chatting away with some fairly unobtrusive & rather good music in the background.
Don't want to be all gushy, but I may have found a new favourite town pub (the country one will never be usurped)!
20 Sep 2013 22:23
I was here on Saturday afternoon, and while the staffing was chaotic (a barmaid picked up the phone while getting my fiancee's tea, forgot about us then came back and asked if I still needed to pay) I can make certain allowances. The whole atmosphere was friendly and happy and for that I am prepared to relax a little and wait for my pint.
I tried four (Big Ben, Thwaite's Wairnwright, Golden XPA and Theakston's Old Peculier) of the six real ales on and all were in great nick. The menu was expensive, but the fish & chips for £14.50 came with Kiwi additions (the pub is run by a New Zealander it seems) including battered mussels and pinapple rings and fed my fiancee and our hungry boy while my crab & crayfish sandwich for £6.50 was lavish and came with an unexpected portion of frites & a salad.
Perhaps I was in a particularly good mood as we were marking ANZAC Day with a hangi with some NZ friends (fiancee is from NZ) and there was the most spectacular rainbow over the river, but with its skittle alley, table tennis table, play area just nearby for the boy I found this one of the happiest pub afternoons I've had in some time, as did the highly diverse gang of punters we spent it with encompassing proper Londoners, a group of Hungarians, two Irish & a large gang of Antipodeans.
28 Apr 2013 10:47
Pretty certain there is no lager tap, yarblockos, although they keep a small range of bottled stuff. I almost hesitate to recommend The Bell as it gets so busy & I want to be able to sit down!
30 Jun 2012 10:04
Haven't been in here for close on ten years and made a happy return today to show a NZ brother-in-law a decent riverside pub on his last day in the UK. The fabulous weather might have helped, but the experience was positive from start to finish.
I rang early on to check if our well-behaved & pub-trained five year-old would be welcome & was assured he would be. We arrived just as the place was starting to fill up, but a kindly regular made space for us on the terrace right next to the river.
Chiswick was off, but Front Row made an admirable replacement for a lunchtime pint. A juice for the Boy was very generous sized. Food was not cheap, but this is an expensive part of London and three meals of Fish & Chips, Burger with bacon and cheese and a meat & cheese ploughmans fed four of us very well as portions were large.
The ploughmans was mine & came with pork pie, a huge amount of ham, a rather fighty cheddar, bread, pickles, chutney & salad. All were of good quality. The only complaint about the other meals was that the mushy peas were a little bland, but I do make my own & make them spicy!
Only two minor quibbles - the gents while very clean was a tiny bit smelly and a member of staff was carrying out waste cardboard as we waited to be served which he dropped at our feet in the front bar. Having run a bar I would have prepared to get housekeeping like this sorted before opening!
Having found the Small Boy was allowed in I'll be back, just making sure we're early...
6 Apr 2012 16:36
Pub recently closed down & has reopened as temporary premises for the Fairmile Hospital Sports & Social Club while the Hospital site is redeveloped.
It was a pity that this place didn't survive under its most recent management. While it was alleged that the owner had bought it to get a commercial kitchen for use by his ice-cream business the team here were enthusiatic (if amateurish - on my first visit under the new regime the dining room was in some disarray with menu pages piled up on a side table rather than actually in the menus, cutlery in heaps on another table).
I suspect part of the problem, apart from the economic climate, was that the food side was just too ambitious. Along with the very good pizzas there were far too many dishes to be sustainable in a simple village pub.
29 Nov 2010 23:54
Last used this place in 2006 when I had my leaving party from a job in Nottingham. I really hope the GK takeover hasn't spoilt it as when I used to go the beer was top notch & the food pretty good.
I was a regular for the Jazz nights with the fabulous Jamie Johnston Quintet (?) & they were kind enough to play a request in honour of my moving on. Here's to the "Gentlemen of the Orkes-tra" & hope your pint pot brims with donations!
If I were to visit Nottingham again here & the Vic in Beeston would be two of the first places I'd go.
29 Nov 2010 23:37
Not much more to add to the other reviews of this, my favourite pub. One great time to visit is at Christmas when the local Mummers perform. This is possibly the most traditional village event I have ever attended & can be fuelled by mulled wine & mince pies.
My sister, brother-in-law & I have always planned to ask if we would be allowed to pitch a tent in the paddock at the back of the pub so we could enjoy an evening here & not have to drive home. I beleive that they have opened a B&B so canvas may not be necessary...
Incidentally the Gents is known by some as "The Planetarium" because of the lack of a roof.
29 Nov 2010 23:02
The Victoria and Albert, Marylebone Station
I have used this place fairly regularly having moved to a town served by train from Marylebone. I have always liked the place, had good service, enjoyed a good variety of beers, and as a bonus it is child friendly.
There is a "but" or two, though. The lavatories have always been pretty revolting and if sitting close to the street side then be prepared to share the smoke from the smoking area. As an ex-smoker I don't care, but the other half does. Overall the positives far outweigh the negatives.
However last night I was disappointed to find they have stopped doing the BITE card discount. I was also rather put out to be served short measures even after having had to ask for the first round topped up (in a surly manner) by the barmaid.
10 Jul 2014 14:17