BITE user comments - Mason25
Comments by Mason25
this pub has a VERY well known reputation for all surrounding towns/villages. its just a shame that they seem to be loosing it.. the chef seems to have gotten bored with cooking.. it just tastes like the chef has lost the love of cooking he/she once had.
the pub has changed hands a fair few times in the last 5-6 years i believe its now a mother and 3-4 daughters running the place.
i believe its undergoing some building work not sure its its structural work or just general improvements, but admittedly i forgot to ask. they do allow children and have a play park out the back - but i believe its closed at present due to the building work.
the pub its self is split into 3 sections; the main "conservatory" type area, the main bar and the side room.
the main bar :- BE WARNED if ur TALL prepare to duck down.. the roof is VERY low, a very present area - with the bar spanning the side of the pub, nice selection of beers/bitters/ales and the usual soft drinks, nice large fire place nicely decorated.
the "conservatory's area":- is a bit more what i would class as being like a tea room, if u understand what i mean - its a small out section with small tables in a very open and bright area, just reminds me of those little tea rooms you see scattered around. this is your main door to the bar from the car park, rather nice to come in from a cold day/night and smell the food. though i think it can be a bit off putting if u were eating, draughts etc..
the "Side-bar" a small room at the end of the pub, u wont see it unless ya aim for it.. follow the bar to the end and viola.. its a nice small room, easily fitting 20 people seated for a meal,
the pub food seems to have gone down hill since i last had a meal there, i had a chicken dish which i must admit i was seriously annoyed about.. the chicken was so over-cooked and tasted like rubber.. i mean - come on.. how hard is it to cook a chicken... the vedge was very nice admittedly, not overdone.. not underdone.. so perfect and there was also the option of more vedge if we wished. so have to give them credit for that.
the staff :- some seemed very friendly and some a bit hostile.. maybe she was having a bad day.. cant really judge 1-2 people if you have only seen them for a hour or so. but overal they are quite friendly and helpful,
They have "Club Nights" which are from what i have been told a very good event, i forget the full list but there was a "Pudding Club" and a "Curry Club" from what i can remember, both of which people still speak highly of.. and a few others - so give them a try.. just dont order the chicken :)
i just hope that the management reads this site and understands the criticism's i have and hopefully work to reclaim the pride they once had.
5 Jan 2007 01:31
neil williams is spot on to be honest,
the views.. incredible to say the least.. if your lucky enough to watch a sunset from the garden it will make the experiance 30 times better as the views are astounding..
parking - gravel carpack - but lots of spaces, just be careful pulling out of the carpark as its a blind turn to the left, and right..
its location is very middle of no-where really - you have to know where your going to get there really - but it is sign posted in kedington, you just have to be confident that your going the right way when the signs stop and your out in the open country roads.
again as neil said - the food is very nice, the chef cares about the food he makes and he does it extremly well, and again the Hunky Lamb.. gorgous..
you have 2 types of food - the general pub lunch bar menu featuring all the classic pub meals, and lots of daily specials on the boards. and the resturant food, which really is high quality, and the portions are plentyful lots of great dish's loaded with herbs and spices which complement the food to give it an even better feel.
this pub has a very good name locally for its food and its well deserved..
the pub is quite small and is oftern populated with many locals, most of which drink & drive there and back, so i must warn you to be careful on the long twisty contry roads, stick to your side of the road at all times... there are many blind turns and high bushes either side of the roads so be very careful..
the hotel side is also very good, the rooms are small but they are packed with everything you will need and again as neil said - 4 posters for the romantic weekend trip away.
there is a piano in the corner of the resturant - though i have yet to experiance someone playing it, though it might just be for those special occassions like christmas, valentines, weddings etc etc
the beer, always a good standard of beer, pipes cleaned regularly and cleaned well, a small selection of ales and beers but there is always a guest ale on the menu, plenty of spirits and soft dirnks also - a bit more expensive than in haverhill, but then again its a bit more luxury so it evens out.
the staff can be a bit fikle.. sometimes you will get them on a good night where they are very friendly and happy others they will look misserable.. and u will feel a bit out in the cold..
generally a great place to eat..
Highly recommended for the food alone..
20 Dec 2006 12:22
i think both these comments are rather harsh..
they havent said what time of day they visited or if it was a weekend.. come on guys.. give the place a chance..
this is not a bad pub, its more of a sports bar than an actual pub with what id class as proper pub meals, but i havent eaten there latly so i cant comment on the food at this time.
the beer is not flat.. it may well have been when johnsmith visited but did u talk to the staff and get them to check the gas ? maybe you did - maybe you didnt.. you cant really complain about it if your not willing to talk to the staff and ask them to rectify the problem.
as i said above.. its a sports bar.. so if your a football fan then this is the place for you over match days - they have sky sports and 2x projector systems at both ends of the pub - so you dont have everyone crowding up next to you to watch the game.. they have a few pool tables - bit expensive but the tables are kept clean and are covered up on match nights so thats good.
the staff are a little slow serving on busy nights - but its not a huge bar - so give them time guys.. dont expect to be served immediatly.. we are english after all - we love to queue :) the glasses are normally spotless, this is one thing i always look for as my 1 bugbear is lipstick smears on glasses.. i cant stand it..
to be honest - you either love the place or you hate it - depends on how much you like sport really..
go and have a look for your self, but be warned the place is like any other on a weekend..
busy nightlife.. so you have been warned..
20 Dec 2006 11:58
to be honest i can partly agree with these other posters, but they seem to have forgotten the fact that its a Weatherspoons...
i oftern have a quick lunch here with friends, the food is ok, nothing over the top, but when ur paying litterly �3-�6 for a meal you cant really complain.. the food oftern seems pre-prepared, and oftern spends a few mins under the hot plate, but at least it comes out together so you can all enjoy eating at the same time rather than that 1-2 people who sit there watching as you finish your meal so you have to give them good points for that..
the beer is good, the pipes seems to be very clean as you get a very crisp beer constantly - where in some pubs the pipes depends on if the bar manager gets up in time to actually bother cleaning the pipes.. but generally a good selection of beers/ales/lagers/spirits and obviously soft drinks - its a weatherspoons so ovbiously cheap food & drinks
yes it is oftern in-habitited a lot with the local lay-abouts, but its cheap beer what do you expect..
its the same with all weatherspoons pubs, u will always find them in there so dont complain about it..
the staff are always very friendly and always up for a laugh, so it makes it a very plesent atmosphere.. they are oftern short staffed but they still do the best they can.
its a weatherspoons after all.. you cant expect greatness if your not willing to spend the money..
for the price of the food and drink its a good pub, if your expecting a higher class of drinker then why are u going to a cheap pub..
20 Dec 2006 11:41
in my opinion - ignore the 2 posts below..
The food is always freshly prepared, and always comes out piping hot, so you know its not been sitting on a hot plate for 20 mins like u will find in many places. The chef oftern comes out to check how the meal was and oftern helps deliver the food on busy lunches, which to me shows that the staff will help each other out - unlike in some pubs where the chef does nothing but cook, and to me it adds the "personal" touch that many places miss out on.
the beer is good, the pipes seem to be cleaned regularly which helps maintain a good pint, and i do mean "pint" as i have been to many pubs where u get more then an inch of head on your beer, so u are actually getting your moneys worth, a good selection of beers/largers/bitters/spirits and obviously soft drinks, reasonably priced.
The staff, are always very freindly and always enjoy a chat if you talk to them, mostly female staff but being male i cant really say anything bad about that, its always nice to see a good looking woman behind the bar u can attempt to chat up in a drunken mess :) she will probably laugh but hey its all part of the pub scene :) young and old.
Over the weekends the night life is very busy as the bell is a pub/club at weekends.
This is one pub where ID is oftern checked so you dont find yourself drinking next to 16yr old children like you find in most pubs, the security guys operate a strict 1 in 1 out when the pub is full, and these guys are oftern able to contain any outbreaks and evict the trouble makers rather quickly.
they have won the Greene king awards a few times i forget which ones exactly but it shows that they know how to run a pub.
20 Dec 2006 11:28
Robin Hood and Little John, Cherry Hinton
i was in a christmas party group from the addenbrookes hospital, around 30 people in total, the organiser booked a 3 course meal for us all - i belive we paid around �17 per head.. i think most of us now belive the motto "u get what u pay for..." as that certainly wasnt worth what we paid.
Firstly the food, some of the food wasnt fully cooked, very badly organised in bringing the food out, as some people had almost finished before 1/2 of us had been served, the chef doesnt seem to believe in using herbs/spices to give the food a bit more flavour as the food its self seemed to be lacking. the portions where reasonably sized - dont get me wrong there was plenty of food on the table, just there wasnt much flavour.. during the meal we noticed some cork had settled at the bottom of the glass, i took this to the bar to get a fresh glass rather than an apology and a fresh glass of wine i recived a an exact measure of what was left in the glass, not to mention that the glasses had not been washed properly and most had a nice smoothering of lipstick.. good to know these things are noticed..
secondly the staff.. all seemed miserable, its a christmas party.. yet we felt like we had interupted there night.. yes we probably where loud and annoying but its christmas.. its a pub.. its a staff do.. at least put on a smile... when we finished the meal a few people went to the bar to stretch and let the food settle, shortly after they were asked to return to the tables rather than standing in the corner talking and drinking.. excuse me.. we just put a hell of a lot of money in your bar and kitchen.. and ur telling us where we can stand...
myself and my girlfriend eat out a lot in many diffrent places. but i can assure you there will not be a return visit.
15 Dec 2006 23:44
The Bell, Haverhill
i believe that the bell has been taken over again, i will talk to the owners and ask them to pop over to this page and update it with there new information.
2 Sep 2009 16:38