BITE user comments - JohnMcC
Comments by JohnMcC
I was quite surprised to see that the reviews for this place were patchy at best. I came here about 4 months ago and was pretty impressed with a lot of things they do pretty differently. The milkshakes is a great idea, I rarely do not drink alcohol when in a pub but I'd like a better choice if I don't want to. Also the crepes were ace and a great pub food, all sorts of flavours and dietary types catered for and really cheap. I didn't think the tattiness (which is only slight anyway) was a tendency to be hip but there again who knows. I guess a lot of people go to gastro pubs these days and whereas it is true that the service and the food and drink in those places is generally excellent I often find that there is no vibe whatsoever and sometimes the whole experience is horribly clinical, the Torriano was a welcome opposite of that. Also great, great tunes being played.
24 Dec 2009 21:00
Read the postings for this and really was not surprised by any of them. It really is an odd place, things happen in here that do not happen in other bars. The one I used to regularly have was them running out of beer (I swear they actually ran out of Guinness one night, or at least that was what they said). However, I still feel warm to the place because the staff are really nice, the clientele is friendly and neither chavvy or poncey and they put on good stuff, certainly a lot better than the toilet venues on Camden High Street.
6 Jun 2009 04:01
I came here after the My Bloody Valentine gig at The Roundhouse and they had the most ridiculous indie disco I have ever seen. And I've seen 100s. The DJ actually threw some hula hoops into the dance floor at one stage of the evening. On the plus side, no pretensions, everyone was friendly and the beer was reasonably priced.
6 Jun 2009 03:46
Funky house really is the music preference of the clinically dull. I like a bit of house from time to time but this was just sterile house by numbers when I was in here on a recent Thursday. Not that the crowd seemed to care, lots of office boys, label whores and smooth types lapping it up. They were all drinking bottled lager, you know the kind of people who think a bottle of Asahi is classy. Camden does need somewhere that plays good dance music as the indie schmindie nature of the area is so tiresome but this ain't it. It is facking terrible. No wonder the cool kids go East.
6 Jun 2009 03:41
Possibly the pub in Camden where I have been more than any other, either here or The Dublin Castle. However, the clientele is getting rougher and rougher. I run a pub and I spotted a no mark that I barred in here the other week. On the plus side the staff here are pretty good at stamping out nonsense and are generally really good at spotting who is next at the bar.
6 Jun 2009 03:31
I don't get out enough these days but popped in during a night in Camden recently. The layout, the flooring and the jukebox are all crap. However, there is a definite charm to this place. I've been here over 100 times so there must be something, just can't put my finger on it. A few ales on tap was a long time coming and very welcome.
6 Jun 2009 03:26
Hooray for The Magdala. Popped in here a couple of Sundays ago after walking in and straight out of the hideous Garden Gate around the corner. We were a crowd of 6 very tipsy people and probably a tad loud but the staff and the clientele (even the ones with young kids) didn't bat an eyelid. Ace food, fine range of ales and alcohol in general and smashing staff. Genuinely friendly, very laid back and charming. It looks a bit rubbish from the outside, like it may be a coffee shop or something but it truly is a treasure, my congratulations to the people who make it what it is.
6 Jun 2009 03:14
Indeed Lyncroft, QPR.
Cheers for the kind words Gumpy. In respect to the comments re the gig venue I guess you were in for the acoustic night or Digital which weren't the best nights. When The Needs and The Smyths played however it was ace. The pit only works when there is a good crowd in; obviously we are a new venue and everyone doesn't know about us yet. It will get there, particularly check out the Milk and Scissors nights starting in December when we will have some of the best new bands in the country playing.
cheers
5 Nov 2005 19:56
That's scurrilous. I am the landlord there and we did have certain problems on Friday, not least with a group who were thrown out within 5 minutes of our being alerted that they were irritating all and sundry. The fight took place outside and it is the first fight we have had there and I know that for an absolute fact so please do not make comments that you cannot substantiate. Also if you allow me to be petty that is our fourth Friday.
We are an extremely peaceful pub, all the staff are exceptionally friendly and hey, we are even the meeting place for the local Green party. We are also very reactive so we have decided that we will have a membership system in place for the weekends as the enjoyment and safety of our customers are our two biggest priorities.
If anyone has any suggestions or comments or anything then please feel free to contact me via this site.
cheers
John
25 Sep 2005 21:07
I probably use the Corrib about once every two months and often come away thinking that I really must come more often. There's loads wrong here, ridiculous staff uniforms, overcharging for hiring the function rooms, really bad bands booked at the weekend however there is so much more right about it. The staff are generally very friendly, there is a very wide range of people in here, an excellent pool table and it actually feels like somewhere you can relax and unwind, unlike any other pub on the Salusbury road.
Agree strongly with the comments from "kmcs" about the football here. I have seen people in here watching a game without a drink and then the minute it is over going to the Salusbury to buy one. Unbelievable. Indeed the pub scenes from Spaced were filmed in here.
20 Apr 2005 01:04
If you are interested in the history of this pub then let me tell you that when this opened in 1988 it soon became one of the best pubs I had ever been to. I never liked the governer, sullen Irish guy who didn't like the fact that lots of people in the pub made it the local watching England pub of choice but he was out of sync with the other Irish people and staff in there who were super friendly and the atmosphere was so good that it done wonders for race relations if you ask me. It was populated by lots of local teens, and 20/30 somethings, Aussies who worked at Moves, Danish girls from the nearby hostels and some new Queens Park residents who didn't mind mixing with the proletariat.
Alas in about 1994 it went properly downhill like so many boozers do and it was actually a relief when it was taken over by its current owners.
Five years later I have to say they have done an ok job, its obviously successful, but no longer is it a pub with a welcome glow. You occasionally get a good member of staff, the baldie Brazilian lad is ok and the range of beers is admittedly very good but it is populated by the kind of people who would be scared of going to Kilburn High Road (give it a go, in twos if you must) and are more into the area for their rising property prices than any sense of community. As for the music..well everyone knows reggae has got to be played with a bit of bass. It is basically a pub for people who are scared of meeting people who are not like them.
20 Apr 2005 00:56
The Mad Hatter Hotel, Southwark
Do not be fooled by the very inviting exterior. Unlike some pubs with hotel in the name this literally is a hotel pub and my does it show. My girlfriend even got chatted up by some lonely French businessman who must have been staying upstairs. It is sterile, simple as that really. Not unpleasant but nothing to really recommend it.
20 Apr 2005 00:42
The Clifton Hotel, St John's Wood
Hmmmm, living in nearby Kilburn this is the pub I use most regularly when trying to let people know I am not just a Kilburn casual. Ok, crap food when I was last in, staff who literally grab your drink a minute or two after drinking up time and occasionally a few too many Hooray Henry types. (Funny I though they had all disappeared in the 80s). However the young bar lady did apologise for her indiscretion, they have great ales, you can have a quiet one or a rowdy one in here and they put on a guitar duo on a Sunday which to my surprise was not too boring bluesmen but a couple of chaps who were excellent and very versatile. So, I'll give it a 6.
20 Apr 2005 00:37
Oh dear, to the power of 6. This pub has got progressively worse over the years, in fact I think it has gone down incrementally equally each time which is satisfying mathematically. I remember 7-8 years ago meeting Morrissey here and my Dutch mate being highly impressed and saying he would buy him a drink. I said get Morrissey to get you one instead, a much better story and Morrissey didn't oblige but at least provided a good tale by telling him to f off. Those were the good old days, I went there on a Friday in March, full of office wallies and the most ridiculous staff. 4 admittedly attractive young ladies but who were more concerned with their image than serving people, I caught 3 of them checking their reflection within an hour. Shocking. They sell ok ales and have a great beer garden, should be one of the best pubs in the area but lets itself down terribly.
20 Apr 2005 00:30
I am in general agreement with all the positive posters here which is rare, but then most multiple thumbs up ratings stink of being written by the owners. Quinn's though is truly a gem. I must admit that I usually only find my way here for a late one when in Camden but having visited maybe 30 times I can honestly say I have never had a bad night. Sometimes it has been quiet, occasionally a tad dull but sometimes it has been banging, its always friendly and with a great range of ales and Belgian beers. They like alcohol in here, they like people, they like people having a good time. Knighthoods for the jovial old couple I say.
20 Apr 2005 00:12
I know I shouldn't but I can't help liking this place, notwithstanding the ridiculous national anthem rubbish at the end. There is no glamour, average age is about 50+, most of the people are off their tits and if you can understand what they are saying its a miracle. However, it is exceptionally friendly and strangers (if they can get over the other worldliness of the place - most pop their heads in and straight back out) are always welcomed.
19 Apr 2005 23:42
The Defector's Weld, Shepherds Bush
To me Travis's post was an honest assessment. I would be surprised if Stokleygreen doesn't have a stake in the place, viewing his comments. Frankly I'd like to know what Time Out mean by this. Like the Evening Standard they constantly slag off working class areas as being undesirable and their reviews are always along the line of oh what a great bar in oh what a terrible area. Anyway I was in there on the same day in question. George Melly was there which was nice but there is nothing to recommend the pub at all beyond the fact that it was comfortable If you want this style of pub, with similar food, real ales and broadsheet newspapers in the area you will find a better atmosphere in the Goldhawk or The Crown and Sceptre. Lastly the music was rotten when I was there. Who is it that sells this light reggae/ vaguely latin muzak to these pubs? It's the biggest crime since lift music in the late 70s/80s.
30 Nov 2004 19:59
The Claddagh Ring, Hendon
I was chatting on Facebook to a friend tonight (I am so modern) who had just come back from here and not having been here for 6 or so years I thought I would pop on to have a look at what people had to say. The pub is terrible of course but the real find was Snarling Mallard...Exterior : 30's English Roadhouse Style Pub with mock Irish adornments. Haha, he could not be more accurate, read the rest of his reviews, the man is a genius.
14 Aug 2010 05:15