The Windsor Castle, Hounslow

One of the main things I miss about Hounslow this is a great little place. It is a gay venue and has a good mix of men and women, it is also friendly towards heterosexuals and is definitely not 'cruisey' - at least not on the nights I've been there. They do specific evenings for singles though.

The sunday roasts are a thing of beauty and great value. The cabaret and disco on a saturday night are brilliant fun and the Halloween party we went to was very lively with great music. They have an outdoor smoking area and drinks are varied and a fair price. I love the fact they do Brothers pear cider and some of the shots are deliciously cheeky.

For any LGBT people in the area it is worth making it your local as the staff are friendly and it has a cool, relaxed aura.

8 Jul 2008 13:10

The Approach Tavern, Bethnal Green

This place used to be my local and I definitely miss it. It's probably my favourite pub in London and it is well worth a trip to Bethnal Green if you don't live in East London. Of course there is nothing nicer than having somewhere like this just over the road...

The atmosphere is warm and friendly, staff usually good and seemed quite settled at the time we frequented it. The food and nice range of continental beers is not cheap but I would say it's worth it. I fondly remember their all day breakfast, burgers and nachos, sleepy evenings spent outside the pub which is covered and has patio heaters. I never went to the gallery upstairs but was aware of it and it just added to the overall trendy but not snobby feel of the place. You must visit!

8 Jul 2008 13:04

The Ferryboat Inn, North Fambridge

We chose this pub from a number of others because of the positive reviews and the picturesque setting... What a disappointment! Firstly, don't bother using google maps to get directions as they were very poor and sent us off course. I would try AA route planner or just use an A-Z.

Onto the pub - we passed a few pubs on our extended journey, but decided to push onto the pub of choice. That was our second mistake! We eventually arrived at The Ferryboat Inn at 2.30pm. It just so happened that they finish serving food at that time on a sunday so we just got our orders in. The pub is very unappealing from the outside, on stepping in it seemed to have a good atmosphere, but avoid sitting in the conservatory as it is very dated and sterile.

I am willing to give them a slightly easier time over the food as it is never good to arrive just as serving is ending. However, it was certainly not the plain home-cooked food we had been expecting from the reviews. Plain, yes, but more like home frozen and microwaved than anything. My starter of calamari was nothing special, a very basic salad no dressing and stringy calamari. The batter seemed fresh and the bread and butter was tasty so that just about saved it. My partner had a 'tasty garlic and tomato soup', which appeared to be homemade.

I opted for the beef roast dinner as my main. Considering the price, approx 7 pounds, it was not good at all. I compared it unfavourably to Harvester meals, and it was certainly well below a Toby carvery.
They was a piece of string in my meat, the veg was plain and the potatoes hard. The best things about it was the beef, flavour and quantity good if a little tough and yorkshire. I left quite a lot of the veg as it was so dull to eat. My partner chose the only vegetarian main meal option which was garlic mushrooms, chips and salad. Well... I came back from the toilet to find my sorry looking roast and my partner gulping over a HUGE portion of battered mushrooms, overdone chips and basic salad. 20 mins later it still looked as if they had just bought her plate out... a ridiculously large portion that would have made Gordon Brown have a panic attack. There was no way she could finish it.

We each had a pint of coke, so I can't comment on what the booze was like. However at around 25 quid for both of us it was overpriced. As for the friendliness of the staff, they were decidedly lukewarm to us. Not recommended.

8 Jul 2008 12:47