BITE user comments - flat3
Comments by flat3
Ideal for afternoon coffee or early evening drink. Not too awful if the latter stretched out until closing time. Nicely tucked away on d'Arblay st in one of the more original areas of Soho (rag-trade, ironmongers and indie record shops, rather than ad/media companies). Cool without trying too hard to be.
23 Nov 2005 10:54
Typical Sam Smiths pub. Close proximity of magazine publishing companies means that friday nights it's full of young graduates in their first job looking for a cheap pint. So lots of kiddies shouting loudly and trying to impress each other. Which can be fun if you're a) one of them, or b) looking for someone to laugh at.
Downstairs area manages to feel cramped even when it's empty but upstairs is a bit more spacious.
23 Nov 2005 10:50
Allowing for the fact that it's a 'trendy' bar and not a pub, this place is not nearly as bad as one might expect, especially earlier in the week when it's a nice place to chill out. I can remember it when it first opened and amazingly enough it hasn't declined too much. Good vodka & orange with really freshly squeezed juice. More laid-back than the Sun & 13 c*ntons, even though that place pretends to be a pub.
If the previous reviewer thought the Alphabet was so awful then they should try some of the other 'bars' in the area. Or perhaps not.
23 Nov 2005 10:45
Best in the immediate locality. Not too many of the loud meedja types that have so blighted this area in the last ten years. Usually excellent ales.
23 Nov 2005 10:08
Ghastly. If you like this sort of thing then you really should be living in Hoxton. On the other hand the existence of the Sun & 13 C*ntons does at least serve to keep the more tiresome types out of the Old Coffee House. For which we should all be gratefull.
23 Nov 2005 10:05
The Atlantic Bar and Grill, Soho
Expensive, sad and tacky. When it first opened, it was expensive and vulgar but at least it had a certain novelty value. Now it's only worth going for the sight of drunken suits trying to get off with low grade gold-diggers. If you live in a really quiet provincial town and have never been anywhere flash then you might be impressed. But I doubt it.
23 Nov 2005 10:01
Truly awful. Always has been and perhaps always will be. Used to hate this place but hadn't - so I popped in recently to see if it'd had improved. It hasn't. Avoid.
23 Nov 2005 09:57
Went last night for the first time since the revamp. What a mess! Loud music, useless staff (you don't expect to have to exlain what "Stones Ginger Wine" is to a barman - worse still, when I asked what bitter they had on tap, he proceded to list the lagers) and too many tiresome young wanabees - presumably from the ITV offices nearby.
The decor looks as if they've tried really hard (far too hard) to create a 'trendy' space while retaining some 'pub' character. As a result it doesn't work well in either category. To be fair, the Bombadier was not the worst I've ever had -and it was reasonably priced - but that's not really enough to redeem the place.
3 Nov 2005 11:16
Early in the evening it's not too bad for cocktails or bottled beers - but once the wannabees start arriving it's time to get out quick.
4 Oct 2005 18:00
Lots of people will hate this place. Thank God - there's little enough room for us as it is. It's a good place to be thin.
Personally I don't like the John Smiths beer so I stick to the Pastis here - they have the excellent HB as well as the usual Ricard. Not to mention the cider - though I don't know whether they're still going to be serving Gavin's Christmas Pudding Vodka, which used to be such a seasonal treat. Best approach to the French is to get pissed quickly and regard the whole thing as a kind of site-specific performance art experience.
One of a kind.
4 Oct 2005 17:59
I wanted to like this place cos I used to live directly opposite - but it was truly awful. Early in the evening it was almost ok in a bland sort of way but by about 9pm it was dreadful. Music too loud to converse, lights too low to see the decor, drinks way too expensive to drink and mysterious service charges emerging out of the gloom. Being overcharged is almost OK if there are compensating factors but here there just aren't any. Rip-off london at its worst. Sadly though, the number and nationality of the drinkers last time I was here indicates that there's money to be made from ripping off foreign tourists. I just hope no locals would ever be foolish enough to come here twice. Really sad, since the Red Fort has always been such a great restaurant. Shame they had to sully their good name with such dross.
4 Oct 2005 17:51
Often referred to as the "Gateway to Soho" for reasons which are obvious if you approach from Foyles. If you can catch it at a quieter moment (or better still when the famous DJ is in residence) this is a surprisingly decent pub, given its location and owners. Beer's usually excellent and they normally have a good range. Internal layout means it can feel cramped at times but the best in the area.
4 Oct 2005 17:41
Dreadful pub and always has been. I live within a hundred yards and have done for the last ten years - so every year I pop in to see if this place has improved. It hasn't. Only thing that can be said in its favour is that its big screens keep some of the sadder sports freaks out of the One Tun. For which we should be thankful.
4 Oct 2005 17:34
The Rising Sun, Tottenham Court Road
As part of the latest refurb they've added large screen televisions add a grotesque note in what was once a fine victorian interior. They also serve as a reminder that these days, the Rising Sun caters mainly for passing shoppers buying electronic status-symbols on TCRd. Used to be a great pub but for the past five years or so it's been on an ever-downward slide. Beer quality (and staff attitude) tends to be very erratic. At least it's not as bad as the Jack Horner across the road.
If you don't mind Sam Smith's beer, the Fitzroy, just a short stagger down Windmill St is vastly preferable.
4 Oct 2005 17:27
The Cutter Inn, Ely
The ales are usually in excellent condition, the music's never too loud and you get a nice mix of customers - boaters and yokels and everything in between. I pop up to Ely a couple of times a year and always end up in the Cutter 'cos it's a good reliable unpretentious local pub which isn't trying to be anything else. Particularly like it in the winter when you can sit in the warm and look out on the icy river.
25 Nov 2005 09:34