BITE user comments - VictorSmirnoff
Comments by VictorSmirnoff
The Adam and Eve Tavern, Lincoln
Believed to be the oldest pub in this historic city, it lies south-east of the Cathedral at the top of Lindum Road. Extensive beer garden to rear along with what were presumably stables. Warm atmosphere. Wouldn't argue greatly about the 8 someone else has given it, but it all depends on taste. If you have a love of really old inns, you won't beat this one in the city. The Adam & Eve fought off an attempt to close it down and use it for an extension to the Cathedral School a year or so ago. Sacrilege!
27 Jan 2005 21:49
KEYWORDS: Tacky, dingy, grotty.
Oh dear. Well, what's it got going for it? It does have the only pool table in the immediate area, a jukebox and a TV projection system for big sporting events. But apart from that, it strikes one as a sawdust joint that can't afford the sawdust. Service is also poor at best.
Managed, as distinct from Free House, and it shows.
This pub has a real problem with location, tucked away in side streets in Lincoln's West End. What's more, it has to compete with the Vine and, above all, the CAMRA-rated Queen in the West just a few hundred yards away. Get the impression that its owners have forgotten it exists.
What could they do with it if they found it? Well, an excellent and successful off-licence, known as Small Beers, closed recently just a few yards to the north of it, and gave way to student accommodation for the new Lincoln University, leaving the area without a decent off-licence. If I had the Carholme, I'd split it into an off-licence on the one hand and, on the other, provide a really good wine bar, which the area doesn't have and which would mean the hopeless battle against the likes of the Queen would be over.
As it is, I'm going to give it 3, though I think I'm being over-generous. I suppose if you're addicted to pool and you can't walk the 800 yards or so to the city centre, you're stuck with it. It'd drive me to tea totalism!
18 Jan 2005 17:39
This pub has recently changed hands. It was run by the Happy Days pub company who have leased it to its new boss, I presume, as a sign saying "Pub for lease" or words to that effect has been removed from its spacious beer garden. This was about a month to six weeks ago.
It's certainly got lots of unfulfilled potential. It's not just a pub but a landmark, for a start, featuring on national bus timetables. It could do with better projection and some illumination of its big on-wall lettering, while lighting of its beer garden would give it a real boost in summer months.
Reasonable range of lagers, poor range of beers, which include Boddingtons, Worthington and John Smiths. Not CAMRA recognised. Best known for its carvery, tacked on the back, which is (apparently) quite profitable.
Staffing levels have been poor, but the change in control is still in progress so I guess we'll have to give the new regime time to get their act together.
It has a capacious lounge, the downside of which is that it feels very empty when it is. Could do with some cost-effective softening, perhaps with drapes and plants.
It also has the only payphone in the area, but it's been out of order for ages. Apparently management some time ago got wind of it being used for drug trafficking so it was taken out of service. I wish they'd solve the problem or else get rid of it.
Might add another comment in a few months time when things there are more stable.
18 Jan 2005 17:02
The Queen In The West, Lincoln
KEYWORDS: Snug, homely and friendly.
A really excellent Free House in the West End of Lincoln. Real ales: Old Speckled Hen, Timothy Taylor's Landlord, Spitfire, John Smith's Smooth, Bombardier and (often) a guest ale. Run by the amiable Stewart and Mary Holmes. CAMRA recognised and proud of it. Occasional packed-out band nights, but (happily)no jukebox. Stewart's rightly proud of his new pub signs and you can try to discover Mary's connection with Adolf Hitler (yes, really, and it's not just that Stewart shares his birthday!).
Its foot or so thick stone walls contrast sharply with the brick terraced housing in the area (which celebrated its centenary a few years ago) and it is widely believed that it is a former farmhouse. Yet it does not appear on an OS map published at the start of the 1900s. Odd.
Downsides? Well, the gents' WC desperately needs a light and a lock, and a Residents Only parking scheme restricts parking during daytime. But it is worth it.
Darts and board games, but it's not really a games pub. Stewart's a mean chess player if you can challenge him during his rare time off.
To get there from anywhere by road, follow the Lincoln A46 bypass to the A57 junction. Then follow City Centre signs. Take the 2nd left when you reach the built up area after crossing the city's West Common (and former racetrack). This should put you in Moor Street and one of Stewart's flashy new pub signs is staring at you.
18 Jan 2005 01:46
Back to VictorSmirnoff's profile
The Queen In The West, Lincoln
Just to add that on a recent visit I see that a rather tacky skylight at the back of the bar area has now been replaced and tha area renovated, and Voila! Yes, at last there is a nice bright light in the gents' WC! (Still no lock, though) All of which makes the place even better. Beers are largely as they were but the Spitfire was downgraded to a guest ale at the time of my visit.
29 Dec 2005 14:52