BITE user comments - SMW
Comments by SMW
The Alice Hawthorn, Nun Monkton
Apologies for such a long rant here, but it's well deserved!
The Alice Hawthorn is without a doubt in the top 5 pubs I have EVER visited in my life! (And that's quite a lot of pubs)
In the idyllic village of Nun Monkton overlooking the village green complete with duck pond and maypole, and highland cattle if your lucky, it is the perfect setting for a perfect pub.
I visited on Saturday of Easter weekend to meet up with friends.
We were relieved to find it had a good sized car park with plenty of space for our huge estate we had for the weekend.
The two bars are nicely done, (great wallpaper!) the lounge is very comfortable with leather chairs by the fire.
It was quite quite when we visited at lunchtime.
Low beams, so remember to duck if your over 6 foot! Friendly and helpful staff.
Good beers on tap; Black Sheep and Landlord at the time.
Large dining room, (one of two) also nicely done & fantastic food, with a steak done how I asked for, rather then over cooked as is usually the case in a pub, and a reasonable price too.
Service was a little slow, not that it was a problem, but if it was busy, I can imagine it may take some time, but it was certainly worth waiting for.
The only possible criticism was the house white wine was rather sour, but that may have been a one off.
It may be 240 miles away from me, but I'm looking forward to my next visit already.
As you may have guessed.... A very well deserved 10 /10!
5 Apr 2010 10:48
Always a pleasure to sit in here on an afternoon and talk with friends when I'm back up North, Especially when its warm, (admittedly not very often in York) when they open the windows on to New Street - which is virtually the whole wall, almost giving it a continental feel.
Skinny chips are a must and their range of own sauces are very nice.
8/10
12 Nov 2009 09:50
An excellent pub.
Still a pub rather then a "Country House Restaurant" as there are several areas to it, so you can sit and have a quite pint, or a proper sit down meal.
Weather you sit by the open fire, the stove or in the conservatory style area, they are all very pleasant.
Despite being a chain pub, this is certainly a unique place as it is still a working mill with two waterwheels grinding flour.
If your lucky they may bring some freshly baked bread out for you to try!
Good range of well kept ales, Ringwood Best & Fortyniner and Timothy Taylors I think.
Best place I visited for quite some time.
9 / 10
12 Nov 2009 09:11
The Fur and Feathers, Herriard
Visited for a Sunday roast;
Nice pub with traditional looking wooden tables and chairs. nice open fire and friendly, helpful staff.
Quiet, only 4 people in, but it was fairly early, and it did start to get busier by the time we left.
The food however, was far from local produce. It was frozen, re-heated stuff, and the beef was pre-sliced, wafer thin slices.
The gravy was very nice, but that didn't really make up for the soggy meat and veg' it covered.
Just get some fresh veg and a decent joint of meat, and it would be a great place.
6/10
15 Mar 2009 22:33
Pub number two ticked off the 'Strangest Pubs in Britain'
300ft well and massive tread mill. Skittle Alley too, but that was closed.
Fantastic old building with wooden staircase and balcony.
Well kept ales - Ringwood Best and Fourtyniner at the time and something else I can't remember.
Sausage and onion baguette was very nice and reasonable at about Four Pounds Ninety Something.
Friendly cat despite the drinkers with dogs!
8/10
2 Jan 2009 12:43
The Haunch of Venison, Salisbury
I visited a while ago so see the mummified hand. It's a shame it's getting burried under brick dust, but still worth going to see.
Decent old pub too, with good real ale.
7/10
2 Jan 2009 12:37
A great little pub with some decent real ales.
Some studenty up-their-own-arse types constantly at the bar, but it has many little alcoves to escape in to.
I liked the second hand books for sale in the back room - Sod the library, I'm off t' pub!
26 Dec 2008 08:13
After another refurb' it's cleaner and brighter, and they've even re-tiled the toilets! Hopefully they'll keep it clean this time so you can breath down there!
But... They've only got 2 hand pumps, and one will always be GK I.P.A. It seems they got their way and are getting rid of the real ale as they tried to in April 05, Now trying to be much more of a 'trendy bar' then a pub.
26 Jun 2008 07:32
Very busy on a Saturday night, Good music, decent beer. a good place to start before going to the club.
4 Mar 2007 19:13
Very smokey, quite dirty and the carpet is a health hazard.
The service is very slow, and when you do get served only half of the beers are available.
4 Mar 2007 19:11
Very smokey and a bit dirty.
Glasses not particularly clean either. A local pub (everyone turns to look at who's entering)
- Rough as a badgers....
4 Mar 2007 19:09
A typical old English pub. Hidden away down a quiet road.
Very quiet the sunday we visited. A nice open fire and lots of toby jugs!
Good ale. The landlord was a bit miserable though.
4 Mar 2007 19:06
This pub is always in my pub crawl when I go back to York.
Pretty good beer and the foods quite good too, but a fantastic and unique building, as the name suggests, it is a converted cellar so don't try to visit if the Ouse is in flood.
15 Dec 2005 11:55
This is a great pub with excellent beers. Beer festivals in the street in the summer were fantastic. Not sure if they still do them.
It's defiantly worth a visit. Full of character. And while your down that way carry on to the Black Swan, a little out of the way, but defiantly worth the walk to another traditional English pub full of history.
15 Dec 2005 11:50
I frequent this pub more and more now since the refurbishment, though still refer to it as, and prefer the name, Hogs Head.
Upstairs is a lot warmer, the beers are still excellent and the food is good.
Definitely the best pub in Basingstoke.
15 Dec 2005 11:41
Very nice pub, well kept real ale and changing guest ales.
the Barley Mow caters for everyone with the main part being a usually quite lounge bar for the 'older' drinkers and eating with a seperate bar with t.v and pool table for younger drinkers.
18 Oct 2005 11:40
A good clean pub, Large bar and eating area. Good hand pulled beers and good food.
The only bad point was the constant stream of waiters swanning around the tables looking out for an empty glass or plate which I found a little off putting as we tried to eat lunch.
There was also a small bit of plastic in the salad which, when I told one of the many waiters, he thanked us rather than appologised. but otherwise it was o.k
29 Apr 2005 10:19
This isn't a 'local pub for local perople' at all (certainly at the moment!) Its a very nice pub with excellent bitters, large dining room, full of families eating Sunday Lunches, skittle alley, beer garden, sports shown on T.V and pool. The food is good and resonably prices, the beer is well kept,,, but the price is currently a sore point.
Gales brewery have forced extortionate price rises, 30p on a pint of Guinness and arount 20p on every pint of bitter.
Most locals are currently drinking elsewhere in protest, and the Landlords arn't happy about it either.
Hopefully Gales will see sense and bring the prices down a little, then this pub will go back to being a nice Local pub, All welcome.
4 Apr 2005 12:12
Good food, great beer, real ales and they frequently change them. Friendly bar staff and fairly quick too though i've not been in when its really busy.
A decent big screen for sports but it can get quite cold upstairs.
They are closing for refurbishment soon so maybe they'll mend the heating?
21 Feb 2005 12:58
I've never been keen on this pub after having to work my first ( and last) night on a packed satuday trying to make stupid cocktails for teenage looking youths.
as i only worked one night i didn't get paid and had to pay �30 taxi home for the privelage as i wasn't allowed to leave early to get the last bus!
As a pub its o.k, very busy at weekends but you tend to get short measures.
24 Jan 2005 12:49
Reasonable at the best of times.
I know i should expect it to be a bit shoddy being such a large chain pub but my last visit there will be my last.
The service was very slow, the beef burger was under cooked, then the next one, cooked but very greasy, then the fire alarm went off and by the time we were allowed back in it was cold.
The manager had told his staff they were "not doin refunds" but we did manage to get our money back.
All in all, a very unpleasent experience
rated 2 for heving drinkable beer.
24 Jan 2005 11:15
The Barley Mow, Oakley
Since the last review the pub has changed management again, and one side of the bar let out as a Thai Restaurant, which, despite my apprehensions, is quite good.
He seems like a decent landlord, who knows what he's doing and is keen to improve all aspects of the pub, and is gradually getting there and whipping the staff into shape!
They've reduced the hand pulled pumps from 4 down to 3 as there was not enough demand to keep them all flowing; 2 regulars - Doom Bar & London Pride, and one guest that changes every week or so, depending on popularity.
Certainly worth a visit.
18 Jun 2013 00:27