BITE user comments - chris.west
Comments by chris.west
A confused pub at juxtaposition with itself and full of contradiction.
On the one hand it is decorated like a gastro-pub but there are horse brasses on the wall. There are also pot plants and leather sofas which almost convey a kind of colonial atmosphere. As a result the pub just doesn't seem to have any real identity and feels fake.
It's a Young's pub, and you are usually in fairly safe hands here, but not in this instance.
The food was extortionately expensive (went on a Sunday) - �7 for a starter and �12.50 for a main course. Both were not good. I had red snapper which was served over-cooked with soggy veg that should have been served with the roasts and did not go with the fish at all. My girlfriend had a portion-control pie-in-a-pot that was more like soup under pastry than anything even worth giving to your mother in laws dying dog.
For the two of us, with only one drink apiece, our lunch bill came to over �45 and I can safely say I would have had a better meal at a Road chef. Not only was it the worst pub lunch I have ever ever ever eaten, it was also the most expensive.
Do your pallet and wallet a favour; stay away, learn to cook, find another pub, whatever, just don�t go here.
The pub also does not let any kids in under 16, even to dine if accompanied by adults, including the beer garden (grass area next to car-park on main road), which gives an indication of the kind of pompous, pretentious market they are trying to fool. How anybody would be fooled by serving up last nights vomitous left overs is beyond me though.
4 Sep 2006 09:05
O'Neills, Kingston Upon Thames
Which taste of Ireland would that be Aleman? The famous commercialised chain pubs of Ireland?
That said, as long as you don't mind the totally cliche'd image it is one of the better places to spend a night out in Kingston if you are not a townie or a pretentious idiot.
Live solo guitar /singing on a Friday and Saturday night and table service. Also late opening at the weekend but you'll be queueing to get in after about 9pm.
11 Jul 2006 08:42
14th June.. Mr anonymous.... you might as well at least say you are the landlord, it doesn;t sound quite so sad preaching about your own venue if you are at least honest.
That said having visited Tiger Joe's, the contents of your review suggest you are not in fact honest at all. Chavtastic indeed!
19 Jun 2006 09:32
Hello Mr Anonymous, you may have seen the previous posters being served and have a valid point - I can't comment on that.
However, I can pass judgement on this place having lived in the area for the past 28 years. Over this time (since it changed from Cars cafe) I've drunk at the Kettle, giving it an opportunity now and again as everything deserves a second chance and sometimes a third and a fourth hoping things will get better.
That said, it hasn't as far as I can see. The decor may change but the obnoxious management does not. I would suggest you'd profit more by printing off the exhaustive list of negative comments about the Saucy and showing them to the management. I think he is happy as he is however and this won't change anything, and people will still complain and you will still get upset by this.
Whether you are right about the previous posters or not, shear weight of public opinion far outweighs the two unjust incidents you witnessed, you must appreciate this.
Thanks for trying to set the record straight, but next time talk to the landlord and maybe you won't have to come here to object when two drinkers share the misfortune of all the other poor sods who thought a night out in the Saucy was a good idea.
9 May 2006 08:45
Not sure whether this place qualifies for BITE but you can get a drink here so I think it should be included, especially when there is nowhere else nearby worth bothering with. If only El Torito was an exception�.
El Torito is part of a national chain of bar/restaurants with a Mexican theme. It has fairly recently moved from Esher High Street to Cobham.
Unless you are rich in ways you hitherto only dreamed of, don't go here. As you are probably not as rich as you are dreaming of being, buying a drink here will only serve to make you very poor very quickly, and all your dreams will go unfulfilled unless your biggest dream is to help with the El Torito aim of re-couping all the costs of their recent move in one single, massively over-priced round of drinks This can be the only justification for their pricing structure. For example:
Bottle of Corona - �3.55
JD & Coke - �8.40. Yes, that is correct. �oooh, but it's a double� they tell you every time you order, probably on the advice of the in-house solicitors/stress councilling/debt management team....
Glass of very poor table wine - �3.50+
Shot of Grey Goose Vodka �6.55
Shot of Lagavulin single malt whiskey �9.40
If it hadn't cost so much to buy a drink I would of course not be able to remember any of the above.
The bar has a good enough atmosphere with dark secluded corners, intimate seating and decent music so the place should be pumping, but it isn't. Even the beautiful people can't afford to drink here so no one else can either I am sure!
The friendly-ish bar serves cocktails and there is a restaurant next door. This serves gooey, stodgy, Mexican tripe that I wouldn't feed to a dying donkey, even if I did own one, which I don�t. The wine at the table is awful and the staff were completely incapable of coping with a large group of people or of calculating the laughably simple bill correctly, which was the set menu for a Saturday at �23 for 3 courses (think old El Paso in a microwave).
If you happen to work there and are reading this, the total amount owing by a customer at the end of a meal is calculated by adding the number of set menu dinners ordered to any drinks bought. There is no need for any division, long multiplication, subtle algorithmic resolutions and definitely no need to use PHD level quantum Physics, even if you are the manageress.
No choice with the food should mean no arguments. If only it was that simple.
On the plus side there was a very good live singer with Saxaphone accompanying her and a backing track for support, just like you get in Kingston high street on a Saturday. People did dance to this, which was fun.
If you do want to go here, I suggest strolling in, getting lost in the uber-trendy sofa-filled lounge area, walking into a couple of walls in the dimly-lit alcoves, ordering a glass of tap water, drinking it, then leaving, never to return. If you want to return and your bank manager agrees that you can, I would advise being a woman and going out with a football player. These poor souls are the only bread alive gullible enough to believe its acceptable to spend �8.40 on a Jack And Coke and have the Coke poured from a plastic 300ml bottle and then be told you can�t have the rest of the bottle. At that price, El Torito should at least have some way of suffering a hang-over on the customer�s behalf.
Clearly I am deeply disturbed by this place. I give this place 2 points. One for the singer and one for the nice lighting. I would love to know what other people think.
21 Feb 2006 14:49
Ye Olde Swan Inn, Thames Ditton
Judging by most people's comments I seem to be in the minority in not being impressed by the Swan's food. I will certainly give the place another go as there are enough positive reviews on here to make me believe I was just a bit unlucky on the day I went.
3 Jan 2006 15:59
Ate their once. Will never eat there again. Ordered lamb, am still waiting for the vegetables. The bar is good if you want to look 'trendy'. This is not necessarily a thing to want to do.
20 Dec 2005 14:56
Pros: Nice looking pub with good location on green, pleasent staff, good sized beer garden and good looking menu, guest beers also on tap, open hearth fire and traditional 'feel' without been completely pretentious about it.
Cons: Increasingly expensive, quality of food is nose diving and has been for the past couple of years (I've eaten there for a long time). Rather abrupt management, long waits for food as it gets very busy, particularly on Sundays and particularly in summer.
20 Dec 2005 12:25
Have had friends kicked out of the Saucy in the past when they wouldn't walk immediately to the bar and order but wanted to say hello to their friends first. A bit odd and we haven't been back until last weekend as a result.
It has since been done up and is now another harmogonised mass-produced downlit off-the-shelf trendy bar. Joy.
19 Dec 2005 16:47
It seemed to smell of sick throughout most of this summer. Did anyne else notice this?
16 Dec 2005 15:21
�4.50 for a bottle of Peroni?!?! Get real.
Bring back Corky's I say. Anything's better than this place.
16 Dec 2005 13:51
Stephan Langton Inn, Abinger Common
Boooootiful. Michellin star cuisine and good beer. tasty!
16 Dec 2005 13:41
Ye Olde Swan Inn, Thames Ditton
Inglenook fireplace is nice. But it failed to make the over-priced Sunday lunch worth it. The puddings were a let down too I'm afraid. �7.95 for the carvery and we got the meanest portions ever with only a couple of slices of meat, 2 potatoes and completely over cooked veg that turned to mush as we dripped it onto our plates. The cauliflower cheese had no cheese and more water than sauce. Won't be eating here again. The fireplace is nice though, and parts of the building date back to the 13th Century.
16 Dec 2005 13:39
The George and Dragon, Thames Ditton
Great pub. Very friendly with good food and warm atmosphere. Live Jazz on Tuesday night (I think). Good beer on tap including Spitfire and Oranjeboom lager, which you don't get much of in these parts. Worth a visit or three.
16 Dec 2005 13:35
Aaaah the Angel. Shame Mr Anonymous had such a negative experience/view of it. The Angel is great. Best pub in the world, although as I don't live in the area any longer I'm not so local and regular to it. Used to drink there a lot when Dennis and Lynne ran it and had many great times. I just wish the present landlords would bring back the huge table football table they used to have! Christmas eve is always fun there and all the old faces seem to come out of the wood work then, so I'll be seeing you soon!
Great atmosphere, nice fire, great location, interesting pub with interesting people. Beer prices possibly a little on the steep side, but you pay for quality I guess!
16 Dec 2005 13:30
Worked at this pub years ago. Should have had a floor staff of 30 but the money grabbing management would only allow 12 which would account for the long service times.
The food used to also be great but went downhill a lot when they introduced portion control. You also need to remortgage your house if you want to drink here.
That said, the views are nice and sitting outside of a summer's evening is a pleasure.
If you do go there, look at how many tables and chairs there are in the garden, then ask yourself how the landlord didn't notice one night when the entire lot were pinched from under his nose. Genius! Or Thames Ditton cover-up.... I wonder...
16 Dec 2005 08:54
Stephan Langton Inn, Abinger Common
Would love to know if the last poster actually ate at the pub as they have merely said it is 'not a food pub' and have not gone into detail as to why they think that.
I don't believe that once having eaten here, one could really justify that statement.
19 Feb 2007 10:10