BITE user comments - Trethias
Comments by Trethias
Hiding behind the adjective "traditional" is a bit of a smoke screen. Similarly "country" raises an impression which belies what is really going on. Traditional pubs don�t have children in them according to some grumps. Not so, says I. Hogarth's gin lane appeared to welcome inebriates of all ages and depicted traditional inner London scenes. The country is not, as some suggest, a sleepy backwater in which the natural order of things means closure in the afternoon. The pubs closed, at first, in the afternoons so the munitions workers would get on with bomb making. If folks suggest that traditional pubs bar children and people of all ages for random reasons at random times of the day, think up something more original than "tradition" or "the country" whilst you blithely excuse these lazy and ill-conceived business practices. Well run pubs allow families, even grumpy ones, through their doors all day long. Badly run ones don't and are closing, sometimes forever. Not all pubs will be saved like the Bugle, Twyford, which is a shining example of how a pub welcomes all regardless of age and drinking and eating habits.
16 Sep 2012 09:50
Yes, I tend to agree with the poster who aired frustration at the opening at six business. In addition, to that how does a country pub serving food justify the nonsence of a no-children policy. Apparently, it is fine for children to sit outside but not in. Come on Flowerpots prove yourself to be part of the hospitality business. Send your management up to the Bugle in Twyford and observe how local beer drinkers, gastronomes and God forbid, children happily co-exist in a pub. Cast away the curmudgeonly crys of the old time nicotined stained, city boozer next to the bookies "We're not open yet" and "No children". Its nothing to do with the law, its just bad manners.
13 Jul 2011 10:08
shhhhhh don't tell anyone is the impression you get when you find this country boozer tucked away in a small village surprisingly not very far away from the rest of the world! This is the high water mark of country pubs. Well kept beer and cider in well worn, slightly fraying at the edges comfortable surroundings will keep you coming back time and again. The welcome is genuine and accommodating no matter whether you came in your tractor or your generic suburb mobile. If that isn't enough the menu is so good you turn up without a booking at your peril at popular Sunday lunch type moments. If anyone ever comes to visit me in South Hampshire I will always find an excuse to come here and enjoy the Brush. In the handbook on how to reach pub perfection you will find this marevellous place spoken about in reverential tones. So the story goes, the brewery wanted to sell the pub to developers so the good folk of the village got together and bought it in the spirt of anarcho-syndicalist affection, installed the manager on the basis that he kept a good range of beers, wines and spirits and made his money on the food. Sounds good to me whether its true or not (I advise you to research yourself at the premises). Other pubs who pretend to aspire to such lofty ideals take note and come to the Brush to see how it's really done.
26 Feb 2008 13:48
The Square and Compass, Worth Matravers
I have set myself the challenge of spending the rest of my days in pursuit of a pub that surpasses the Square and Compass. I fully expect to fail in my quest but it is a noble and fulfilling cause. If for some bizarre reason you are in any doubt as to the absolute supremacy of this wonderful pub, after reading these reviews, go visit for yourself.
24 Jan 2008 10:47
The Albion is a shining example of how a busy city pub is a great place to be. Good quality beer. Friendly and agreeable bar staff and customers with a wide ranging demographic make this a near perfect example of what makes a pub the great social experience that it should be.
24 Jan 2008 10:38
Interestingly, the pub up the road reportedly lost money last year. Was this due to the corporates at the Bridge getting their formula and target audience right? Or was it due to the strange and failed attempt by the competition to become a food boozer (mixed meat curry on the menu for the Monday night curry trough is never going to impress). Throw into the pot the impending re-opening of the Bugle in Twyford and something is likely to give. If the Bugle re-opening is not the sham that was intended under its property developer previous owners then the options in the area appear to be bucking the current national trend of depubification (of what are seen as potential building sites) and instead increasing. Good news for the comers and locals alike. If the Bugle wants to tap into the potential market it should check out what the Bridge does well and what the other local pub which shall rename nameless does not do well. Here are the Bridge positives:
1. Good selection of revolving, reasonably well kept, beers - you need the drinkers to keep the real ales turning over at the right pace.
2. Remember adults also are only welcome in pubs if they are well behaved but you don't need a sign to remind us. Lets not have any more nanny state patronizing messages about who is or is not welcome based on age. Fake Victorian morality has no place in a local/destination country pub (for instance the Twyford Social Club, a private club, is a perfectly pleasant place to drink and socialise even though it has invariably made the whole family welcome).
3. Food - a reasonable choice of (some) not over priced or over fried food.
What does the competition for the Bridge up the road do wrong? Well here are the main complaints:
1. Beer is not dependable. The barrel can't be "needing changing" every time surely.
2. Landlord - careless as to who takes offence to his old style (but charmless) landlording style which suggests that you are barely tolerated. After all this is not a service industry is it?
3. Indiscriminate policy over allowing children in the pub.
4. Food - post war Berni Inntastic but not quite as good.
Just to keep an even mind about it. The Bridge has burnt its bar stools whilst the competition in Twyford has kept them. Do you cross the Rubicon from pub to restaurant when they go? Lets see what happens when the Bugle re-opens and see whether there is one more pub back in Twyford or a new restaurant to rival the Bean Below?!
22 Jan 2008 15:00
The Bugle Inn, Twyford
Hiding behind the adjective "traditional" is a bit of a smoke screen. Similarly "country" raises an impression which belies what is really going on. Traditional pubs don�t have children in them according to some grumps. Not so, says I. Hogarth's gin lane appeared to welcome inebriates of all ages and depicted traditional inner London scenes. The country is not, as some suggest, a sleepy backwater in which the natural order of things means closure in the afternoon. The pubs closed, at first, in the afternoons so the munitions workers would get on with bomb making. If folks suggest that traditional pubs bar children and people of all ages for random reasons at random times of the day, think up something more original than "tradition" or "the country" whilst you blithely excuse these lazy and ill-conceived business practices. Well run pubs allow families, even grumpy ones, through their doors all day long. Badly run ones don't and are closing, sometimes forever. Not all pubs will be saved like the Bugle, Twyford, which is a shining example of how a pub welcomes all regardless of age and drinking and eating habits.
16 Sep 2012 13:49