BITE user comments - Herbie
Comments by Herbie
The Black Horse, West Tytherley
WOW!! I hadn't been in here for a few years despite living nearby, but I called in for Sunday lunch a few weeks ago after my dear mum said it had changed hands and things were on the up. I have to say the food was superb, at the time I think i even said it was the best sunday lunch i had ever had, I think I was a little taken a back by the quality of the food on offer.
They have successfully managed to retain some of the old charm and proper pub feel, while making the dining a cosy, friendly experience that is all about locally produced food.
The lamb had already sold out (turn up early or book on the phone if you don't want to miss out) so the three of us had duck, chicken and beef. Each dish was cooked pretty much to perfection and the home made yorkshire puddings were great. Sunday lunch just how it should be!
This pub focusses on local, fresh produce all of which is prepared on site and served in simple, traditional dishes. The menu is short, but in my opinion that is the way it should be, as means each dish excels. It is always so disheartening to find a pub that has 30 dishes on the menu as you can almost guarantee each one will be mediocre. Not the case with this pub.
To top it all off the ales are well kept, the Bowmans "swift one" was a very refreshing pint and anything on tap from Hopback is a safe bet.
All in all this pub comes very highly recommended, great food, nice atmosphere, good beers and friendly service, what more could you want?!
10 Oct 2009 18:32
Thanks Dragon, it was actually chargrilled swordfish (my mistake) and while I'm no gordon ramsey either, I consider chargrilled to mean, well....chargrilled. The food was good quality, but too small portions and cooked badly.
4 Oct 2009 18:51
Went here weds night after walking past a few times and noticing the refurb. I also saw the review in the evening standard so was full of expectation. 4 of us sat in the garden and had food from the BBQ.
Each of us was on the whole very disappointed with the food. We had steak, tuna steak and 2 lamb skewers. The steak was asked for rare but came very well done with chips that were more soggy than crisp. The tuna was luke warm and raw in the middle, it looked like it had been slapped on a radiator for 30 seconds rather than cooked with attention on the BBQ. The lamb was very chewy and fatty.
All in all it was not a good. The portion sizes were all too small, with each dish costing �12-�14.50 it simply was not enough.
Desserts were equally poor:
Lemon tart - very small slice. The table next to us found it very amusing how small it was which made up their mind that they wouldn't be ordring it. The plate was hot, the tart was sweating it was so warm and the blob of creme freche had simply turned into warm liquid and was running off the plate.
Crumble - tasteless but with strange tasting ice cream.
The chocolate tart was good as was the creem brulee, but by this time the experience had left all with a sour taste in our mouths.
The boozer looked good though and the pint of Old Hooky was top notch, I just can't find much good to say about the food which is a shame.
The owner was there taking photos of his busy garden on a hot summer day, but perhaps he should pay more attention to the quality of the food leaving his kitchen as if things don't improve he'll soon be looking at a lot of empty tables.
21 Aug 2009 15:34
The Leather Bottle, Earlsfield
I've got to agree with the last post. The Bottle has been my local for the last 2 years and while the refurb improved things by getting rid of the fat sweaty locals farting at the bar all day and making the place feel far more welcoming, the standard of food has always been an issue.
Despite my always hoping that things would improve, they never have and recently I think they've got worse. Sunday lunch 2 weeks ago was �10 for tasteless beef (I think they boiled it) and soggy veg. A new chef and a new focus on being a quality pub rather than a pub that does Sunday lunch �fast food style� has to be the answer.
A more serious issue is the beer. The Youngs has always stood up well in the Bottle, very often being its saving grace, however in recent times standards have dropped while prices have gone up. Now I don't mind paying a bit more for a pint if it means the giro cashers head for a Weatherspoons rather than my local, but I won't accept it if the standard of beer is not, at the very least, maintained.
7 Oct 2005 15:40
The Dove Inn, Hammersmith
I too am very surprised by the comments about the management of this pub. i have just been here for lunch on a saturday and they were clearly short staffed, just the manager and one girl to run the bar and about 35/40 covers, they were running about like blue arsed flies but still managing to keep everyone happy....just! The manager later said he had had 2 staff call in sick, which had left them struggling, but the two of them were making such an effort you could hardly notice. The manager still had time to chat for a couple of minutes, which is always nice to see.
The experience was really very pleasant and relaxed, it must be the same guy who was mentioned in the other reviews as the grumpy guy with grey hair, but he was nice as pie today, both to customers and staff. He even suggested a bottle of rioja which was on special for �10 rather then the merlot we had chosen at �13, not many people would do that. The ale seemed well kept, the food was OK, can't say it was amazing, but it was good enough for standard pub fare in London.
I'll be back to see if this was a one off, but i'm hoping it was a true reflection of the way this pub is.
16 Jan 2010 18:54