BITE user comments - el_capitano
Comments by el_capitano
"what mad man doesnt serve Strongbow"? Quite a sensible one, I'd say. That's like saying "what mad man doesnt serve Watneys Red Barrel"? Wake up, this is 2014 and cider drinkers don't settle for fizzy pish any more.
6 Nov 2014 13:25
New ownership has made a huge difference. Really good selection of cider, nice atmosphere, friendly staff. Vying with the Plough as the best pub in the city.
24 Sep 2013 23:20
The Horse and Jockey, Knighton
Very friendly pub with decent food. Good real ale, though the cider's shockingly bad, unfortunately.
10 Jan 2013 10:06
Back to its former glory! Good food - and not too 'gastro-ey' or expensive, which is certainly a plus in this area. Good cider, too, and friendly service. It's been pretty busy every time we've visited, which suggests the locals welcome its return.
13 Nov 2012 16:54
Above-average, tidy Wetherspoons. Three (interesting) real ciders on draught at last visit, which other local pubs could learn from. Bar service none too fast, but then 'Spoons never is.
8 Nov 2012 15:53
Definitely above average food. Waitress was a bit miserable though!
8 Nov 2012 15:48
Three comments from "people" (alleged plural) who appear to have registered solely to post their opinion on this pub (with no other reviews posted), two of which magically appeared on the same day after just four reviews in five years. Exactly. Make your own mind up about how likely that is. (You'll see on another reviews site the other side of the curious story about "my elderly parents".)
Still a terrific pub: the best pub food in West Oxfordshire and probably of any I've ever visited (there's one in mid-Wales that might rival it, but that's another story). Excellent cider, friendly atmosphere, and a good balance between locals' pub and food pub. Very heartily recommended.
24 Sep 2011 22:28
Don't recognise the poor reviews for this place at all. A laid-back pub with plenty good food and drink and a really pleasant atmosphere. Service has always been very courteous and efficient whenever we've visited. Similar to its sister establishments the Cape of Good Hope and the Royal Oak, and none the worse for it.
23 Mar 2011 17:05
Proper relaxed pub with comfy sofas, very agreeable food, decent cider, friendly staff. We like.
6 Mar 2011 14:07
It's all right, but not that outstanding. There are plenty of real ale city-centre pubs I'd rate higher than this (the Plough in Worcester, say). I'll stop here for a half, but if I were settling in for the afternoon I'd far prefer the Jericho Tavern or the Cape of Good Hope.
And I'd echo what the previous poster said about cider - simply having keg cider on (even though it is Stowford Press, which is as good as keg cider gets) isn't up to scratch in this day and age. (And I'm a chunky jumper wearer!) Come on guys, even Wetherspoons have a bag-in-a-box of proper stuff behind the bar.
5 Mar 2011 13:54
Cracking pub. Great cider, friendly staff and regulars, comfortable and warm. Last time we visited was after Choral Evensong at the Cathedral and on the next table the resident and visiting organists were discussing choir gossip from around Britain!
7 Oct 2010 11:01
Best canalside pub for a long way. Excellent cider, hearty chips, friendly staff. The restaurant round the back is a bit sterile but otherwise we love it.
20 Apr 2009 19:52
Probably the best pub in Uppingham since recent refit - good beer and cider, standard pub grub, friendly staff.
25 Feb 2009 22:38
How shall I sing that majesty which angels do admire?
The cider, the pies, the benches and stools, the always-roaring fire.
I LIKE this pub.
2 Feb 2009 13:32
Great pub. Good food, real cider, ridiculously picturesque location.
12 Jan 2009 20:35
Sadly I agree with the last two comments.
The landlady appears to be trying for the Miserable Old Bat of 2009 award (and it's still 2008), even at midday. The food is exhorbitant: �6.95 for a thin, chewy steak on a slice of white bread, with a few onions, some Brakes Brothers dip-in-a-paper-pot, and probably ten chips (pretentiously entitled "a pick of chips" - it would be more honest to say "a ripoff of epic proportions"). Our polite enquiry as to whether they had any traditional cider - not unreasonable in an alleged real ale pub - was met with a surly "We have Strongbow on draught".
I wouldn't say it's actively unpleasant... but at �33 for a lunchtime snack for four people and a half each, we won't be returning in a hurry. Great location, great building, lousy attitude.
31 Dec 2008 20:47
Lord Burton, Burton-Upon-Trent
Scruffy; loud music (i t's a "Lloyds No 1" despite the Wetherspoons decor); full of chavs. No thanks.
15 Dec 2008 14:07
Fantastic pub - I could stay here all day. Canoe down the canal from Exeter (holding your nose at the appalling smell from the factory) then get merrily trolleyed on the Gray's Farm cider from polypins above the bar. Decent food too. What's the beer like? Who cares?
15 Mar 2007 14:54
The Grainstore Brewery, Oakham
Best pub in Oakham. Admittedly that's not saying much, but... No, it's a must-visit.
27 Jun 2006 19:13
Good food, though has gone up in the world since previous visit. Excellent perry.
27 Jun 2006 19:09
The Coopers Tavern, Burton-Upon-Trent
Very friendly, good beer and cider, and a lovely little building. Plus Staffordshire oatcakes, which can't be bad.
12 Mar 2006 14:18
Used to be my favourite pub in the area! Very sorely disappointed on a recent visit to turn up well within the advertised food opening hours only to be told "we sent the chef home early"... as we were on foot, there was no chance of anything else to eat until we'd walked to Uppingham. Unlikely to be going back.
30 Dec 2005 20:44
Excellent cider (try the local Ralphs), good ham egg & chips, lovely location even though it's just off the A44.
4 Nov 2005 11:55
Good range of ciders (not as good as the Apple Tree, of course). Friendly staff. Rather smokey and the clientele is a bit dog-on-string but none the worse for it.
14 Mar 2005 19:27
Pretty much what you'd expect for a Wetherspoons, but service is above average for the chain (I've had some pretty unpleasant experiences in other Wetherspoons). Handy for Foregate Street station.
14 Mar 2005 19:25
My favourite drinking pub in Banbury. Food lunchtimes only. Westons Stowford Press cider.
19 Feb 2005 14:41
My favourite pub in Oxford. Good cider, decent bar meals, friendly staff. Worth the walk from the centre of town.
19 Feb 2005 14:38
Nice food but... well, it's not so much a pub, more a restaurant that serves beer. Suggest visiting the Tite Inn in Chadlington instead (~5 miles away) where the food's just as good but the pub/restaurant balance is better.
19 Feb 2005 14:37
Top pub - excellent beer and cider, friendly staff, everyone welcome. Best drinkers' pub for miles around.
19 Feb 2005 14:35
Food is too expensive for what it is. Tends to be heaving in the summer and dead in the winter. Beer looked fairly average, no good cider.
19 Feb 2005 14:33
Not bad for central Oxford, but nowhere near as good as the Reading Hobgoblin - no decent cider and a bit too cavernous for my taste.
19 Feb 2005 14:32
A Wetherspoons like any other Wetherspoons. Tends to be understaffed so you may end up waiting for your food. Don't go on Friday or Saturday evenings as the place turns into chav heaven at that point.
19 Feb 2005 14:31
Pretty average town centre boozer. Food is basic burger and chips and tends to stop at 8.30pm which is ridiculous. Can get smoky. We've given up on this place and now go to the Eagle Tavern instead.
19 Feb 2005 14:30
The Weighbridge, Alvechurch
I'm sure it's lovely but... doesn't open until 7, and no-one answers the phone if you try and ring beforehand to book a table, even though there was clearly a staff member inside sitting at a table. We went down the canal to the Crown instead.
9 May 2016 13:56