BITE user comments - followedthrough
Comments by followedthrough
How this place gets a higher rating than the Bear is beyond me. The building itself is pleasantly antique, but the clientele appear to be mostly millionaire builders or similar. Was a bit surprised to find such a rough-and-ready place in Oxshott. Unfortunately the pleasantly old interior doesn't quite make up for the shouty types watching football.
29 Aug 2011 12:29
Great, quirky old place hidden down an alleyway, excelent selection of drinks and a good atmosphere.
29 Aug 2011 12:24
Shocked that this dive actually gets 6.2 out of 10, I expect the landlord's had a bit of a whip round and enlisted all the locals.
And this really is a locals place- red-faced old men shouting across the room to each other in some unintelligible dialect, and unfortunately even out in the beer garden you're not immune... some mad woman came out, babbled something that was impossible to understand and then promptly departed.
It's also directly over a major flight path.
The barmaid was quick and efficient, which is about all I can say in defence of this place.
29 Aug 2011 12:22
Is this actually a pub, or a mini Cargo homestore that happens to have a bar in the middle?
Plus points: original decor, clean and bright, exterior building looks great
On the down side, the barmaid didn't appear to know what Southern Comfort was until we pointed at it.
Looks like it might be a decent restaurant, but I'd say the jury's out as to whether this really qualifies as a pub at all...
29 Aug 2011 12:17
Nice location, good patio area and a decent enough place, usual Youngs' menu, not tried it here but have tried the exact same menu elsewhere and enjoyed.
29 Aug 2011 12:14
Surprised this pub only got 4.1 average score. As a 30-something I really don't care if they bar a lot of 20-somethings and teens. The drink selection seems really good (excellent choice of ciders). Didn't sample the food but the menu at least looks a bit different to your usual pub fare.
Nice location near the pond as well.
29 Aug 2011 12:11
Creaky old place, certainly not lacking in character. Barman took about 20 minutes to make a cup of coffee... maybe it was the first time anyone had actually asked him for one. Beer was fine. Great big beer garden outside. Dog-friendly which is nice.
29 Aug 2011 12:02
Went there about a month ago, nice clean place with a good restaurant area. Beer was fine, food was good. Shame about it being in the drab East Street area but if you're nearby I'd definitely recommend popping in.
5 Jun 2011 12:56
Updating my review and rating on account of having eaten here. This place keeps going from strength to strength. The food is fantastic, not cheap but why should it be when it's this good. Recently I had the best sausage and mash I've EVER tasted. Staff are always on the ball, and the restaurant area is excellent. The waitress even put up with my dad flirting with her, which believe me is the hallmark of a true professional. Top marks. 10/10. It's the best pub in Epsom.
5 Jun 2011 12:53
Jack George Phillips, Godalming
Dingy, yellow and brown and the lighting was the sort that really does your eyes in- what wattage are the lamps? 5? 10?
Can't see why people are saying it's light and airy- the only windows seem to be at the front. It felt like one of those awful airport lounge bars. Zero atmosphere.
Only plus point was that the staff seemed to be fine, but 'Spoons staff generally are.
5 Jun 2011 12:50
Fantastic selection of real ciders and a quirky place with an interesting conservatory area at the back. Be warned, the seats do try to eat you.
Had a slightly "local" feel but not in a bad way. Staff were friendly and efficient. Will definitely go back next time in town.
5 Jun 2011 12:39
My girlfriend and I went there the other day, have to say it was a very positive experience so I was surprised to see the previous comment. Waitress was friendly, cheerful and efficient, and as it was the bank holiday they had a special offer on the pizzas, which were excellent. Definitely recommended.
5 Jun 2011 12:33
Will someone please, please burn that place down. It has to be the worst pub with the worst "clientele" in the whole area. I use the word clientele loosely, it should I believe normally only apply to human beings.
24 Dec 2010 10:25
This place is grim- in fact it's put me off ever going back to Balham. Me and my girlfriend went there one Saturday (afternoon I hasten to add) and without exception every patron of this establishment was stranded between middle age and senility, had at least six teeth missing, and was staring vacantly into space or talking with their friends whilst using as few consonants as possible. We had our share of baleful, yellow-eyed stares as we cautiously took our seats in the corner.
It was like a halfway house or day care centre without the carers.
To top it all, several of these delightful characters started swaying and singing and leaning against each other in the opposite corner.
It was like being on a pirate ship, no I mean a real pirate ship, not the Hollywood stereotype.
Don't go to the dark place.
9 Sep 2010 22:32
The Hand In Hand, Wimbledon Common
Pricey but very good, and they serve Addleston's cider, always a plus. Great area, atmospheric interior, nice little garden area.
Also tried their Sunday roast. Bit of a mixed bag. Veg were average, pork was pretty good, stuffing and gravy average, roast potatoes fantastic.
Worth going back to though, probably just for drinks.
9 Sep 2010 22:26
Was stranded in Motspur Park one night for an hour or so (trains on the blink) so ducked into this place for a few drinks.
Not too bad, given that walking into the one-street wonder that is Motspur Park is like riding into town on the set of a bad western. "Looks like it's just you, me and the tumbleweed".
Pool table. A bit local but didn't get any trouble. Looks a bit rough but all in all ok, just as well as there's seriously nothing else in this place.
9 Sep 2010 22:19
It's actually pretty debatable whether or not this place should even be on beerintheevening, as this is a strange place that's can't decide if it's a gastropub or a restaurant. In fact, it's neither.
Food is average at best. You have to get a table, then like in a restaurant you order drinks and food, then you get the bill, and yet they're trying to be a sort-of pub. The place has an icy, grim feel to it, I could be kind and say at least it's clean but so are operating theatres (NHS notwithstanding).
It's not a pub and it's not worth visiting.
9 Sep 2010 22:14
The Vestry has about as much atmosphere as the Moon.
The best way to describe it is really to compare it with the Assembly Rooms- both biggish chain pubs, both a bit lacking in atmosphere, however the prices here are a lot more than the Assembly Rooms, the food is inferior and the decor is vile, dark and miserable. Just you wait, as the nights draw in they'll start putting all the punters on suicide watch.
9 Sep 2010 22:07
Good place with character but really not much range of lagers and ciders- very much a professional real ale drinkers' place. Upstairs bit is interesting and often not even occupied as the aforementioned gather at the bar. Can be a bit cramped. Also not cheap but then this is Covent Garden after all.
29 Aug 2010 15:11
The Square and Compass, Worth Matravers
Probably the best pub for real ciders I've ever visited. The choice was stounding, and the Westons still organic was fantastic. Very odd place in the middle of nowhere but therein lies the charm. I have also never seen so many dogs wandering happily about the place as when I went here. Wonderful.
29 Aug 2010 15:07
The Running Horse, Leatherhead
Nice creaky old place, probably the best pub in Leatherhead even if it is a bit "real ale enthusiasts" for me. Can be difficult to get to the bar sometimes with all the locals sitting at it, but the bar staff seem attentive and switched on so not a major issue.
29 Aug 2010 15:01
Good service, nice snug seating areas at the back, and really not that expensive for Richmond, so well worth a visit even if it is a tad on the small side.
Not always easy to get to the bar with the big army of bar stools to wrestle with, but that's a minor detail.
29 Aug 2010 14:50
Went there the other day- food was good, portions quite big, and the location really nice. Yes, it's a bit odd that you have to order food, but if you know in advance then it isn't a problem. For some reason they decided to shut early (around 9 or 9:30), not sure why.
Oh and the pretzels were really nice (and complimentary).
I'd recommend it and will go back there.
29 Aug 2010 14:47
Went there yesterday. Good choice of drinks including an excellent pear cider I'd never seen before anywhere. Barmaid was friendly and helpful. I was surprised there weren't more people there. The place looks beautiful inside and there's a nice big garden area round the back as well.
The food was really good, the only black mark being that they managed to turn my order for a medium steak to a well-done one, however it tasted great and aside from that perhaps the menu needs to have a few more options.
All in all a really nice place.
29 Aug 2010 14:35
Great place full of character (as opposed to "characters", thankfully), and plenty of cider options.
29 Aug 2010 14:28
I honestly can't see why this pub has got very average marks overall. It looks fantastic, the bar staff were attentive, professional and friendly and although I didn't eat there I certainly didn't see anyone complaining about their food.
I'd certainly go there again.
29 Aug 2010 14:27
Went there once- never again. Like many others I immediately noticed the smell of vomit and piss intermingled. I guess it must be ingrained into the carpet.
As for the locals... no teeth. Clothes inside-out and probably grown into their skin as they clearly never change them. Worryingly incontinent. Half of them seem to speak gippo lingo and the other half talk backwards as far as I can make out.
This pub needs one thing and that's a visit from the local wrecking ball.
21 Aug 2010 12:51
Awful, truly awful place, but the very fact that it's open does at least mean the lobotomized nutbags that frequent it tend to stay there and not stray into the Assembly Rooms or Marquis.
15 Aug 2010 13:27
Went there yesterday with a load of friends. Friendly service and Aspalls on tap. Had a burger which was excellent. Not the place for you if you're a real-ale snob, but recommended to everyone else. Convenient for the tube too.
15 Aug 2010 13:24
Don't know what it's like these days but I hope it's the same as a few years back when I had one of the largest and most delicious meals ever at this place. Good service too. Not sure if that would have extended to cutting a wider doorway for me to squeeze out through afterwards, however.
Really good and recommended.
31 Jul 2010 11:13
A footnote to the last comment- the toilets have ALWAYS been terrible in the Dev haven't they? I've been going there on and off for well over fifteen years.
Anyway yes it has changed, not sure whether for better or worse really. Not sure at all about the porn pictures all over the tables- a bit schoolboy / childish. Drinks are ok. Toilets utterly vile. Luckily the Dev doesn't do food (to my knowledge). Music always very good.
31 Jul 2010 11:06
The Rose and Crown, Wimbledon Village
Went there back in February, I was surprised to see some bad reviews about the food because the Sunday lunch was really nice. A bit expensive but good. The place itself is nice and big inside with various nooks and crannies- my kind of pub. A bit of an "up it's own arse" feel but then that's Wimbledon Village for you, the kings on the hill looking down on the filthy minions of lower Wimbledon.
31 Jul 2010 11:01
A bit pricey (no obvious reason why) but good enough. Went there for a quiz evening a little while back. Ok place but nothing special.
31 Jul 2010 10:53
Went there on Derby Day with a few people. Cricket was on (excellent). Second time we'd been there. Once again, bar staff / owners cheerful and friendly, one of the more welcoming pubs in Epsom- not a "locals only, outsiders be prepared to feel uncomfortable" type place. Recommended.
31 Jul 2010 10:50
The Lincoln Arms Hotel, Dorking
Last time I was there (and actually yes, I hope it was the LAST time) it was full of pissy chavs with funny eyes, talking backwards and eyeing up the pool table as if they were about to stuff the balls into socks and start skulling people.
Like many "next to the railway" type pubs it's a dive. The owners know they're going to get a certain amount of custom just because of the convenience (it's right between Dorking Main and Dorking Deepdene stations) so why should they even bother.
Best avoided.
31 Jul 2010 10:46
One time I was passing this gods-forsaken place and a local Fennite burst out the front door, wandered into the middle of the road and started mouthing off to the traffic. A typical day at the Kings Arse. It always looked condemned from the outside...
6 Mar 2010 16:09
Small and very local, you can hear the creaking of necks and feel the inspection of two dozen suspicious eyes the moment you walk in. However they did have a decent cider on tap so we stayed for one. Not too bad but not my sort of place.
6 Mar 2010 16:06
Decent enough pub, not eaten there so can;t comment on that but drinks and atmosphere were fine, efficient service.
Nice view into London too, good place to come on a sunny clear day.
6 Mar 2010 16:04
Awful, truly awful. Zero atmosphere. Poor choice of drinks. Stroppy waitresses and bar staff. A terrible place to come at the end of a great wlk. The Derby Arms down the road is much better and you can get a nice view of London.
6 Mar 2010 16:00
The Skinners Arms, Machynlleth
Good cosy pub, drinks always fine, never eaten there but have seen others and never heard any complaint. Really good to go in and sit by the fire in the winter. Recommended.
22 Feb 2010 20:22
Have been here several times, food has always been good, some of the atmosphere has come back to the place as well. Lovely scenery / views as well.
22 Feb 2010 20:20
The best pub in Putney along with the Half Moon. Great food, great service and the prices are slightly lower than the stupidly inflated river view pubs which without exception lack any sort of atmosphere.
22 Feb 2010 20:05
The King Street Run, Cambridge
Yes it's grotty and a tad expensive but they play good music upstairs, the place has two pool tables and it has a much more atmospheric, alternative vibe to it than almost all the other pubs in the overvalued, overrated hellhole that is Cambridge.
22 Feb 2010 18:37
This is a local pub, there's nothing for you here. You don't understand our ways, our customs...
From the forbidding looks from the locals as you enter, to the bar "tapas" being added to by old men coughing their guts up at the bar, to a pool table where you can't just turn up and put your money in even if no one else is playing. No, one of the local yokels will chime up with "You 'ave to play me next, all-roight?". I was having none of that old testicles so me and the missus played a frame, although we did leave after that for our own health.
Fair enough though, I mean we spent 10 minutes playing on an unused pool table.
What a complete and utter dive.
22 Feb 2010 17:55
It changed some years back from being a good atmospheric creaky old place with a pool table, into dreary gastro hell. It lost everything it had going for it apart from the location, and I'm sure they would have lost that too if they were able to.
22 Feb 2010 17:47
They charge way too much for their drinks, then again they probably feel they can get away with it because so many people (myself included) use it as a place for a quick one before heading down inton the Underworld for a gig. Music is fine. The place is so vast and the ceiling so high though, it always feels really cold. Useful if you're heading to the Underworld, apart from that it's nothing to write home about.
22 Feb 2010 17:44
The Mucky Pup, Angel, Islington
One of the very best pubs in London. Pool table, great (FREE) jukebox as has been well documented. A bit tucked away but well worth seeking out. Brilliant.
22 Feb 2010 17:34
Haven't been there late in the evening but it was fine when me and missus went there on a Saturday afternoon. In fact we've been back several times and not seen any trouble yet.
There's also a nice friendly pub dog always running about the place.
And it has TWO pool tables so if you're into pool like I am you should be able to get a game easily.
Have to say one of the pub dog's mates shat on the floor one time and it wasn't cleaned up for a while, on that basis I'd feel a bit uneasy about eating there- but it's not really an eating pub as far as I can tell.
Everything else about it seems fine, good bar staff and good range of lagers and ciders.
19 Feb 2010 13:47
Like this pub a lot. It has a pool table (which oddly seems to be a tad small with small pockets... but it makes for good practice) and dartboard, good atmosphere and attentive staff.
Haven't sampled the food (didn't know they did it!) so can't comment on that, but everything else about the place is great.
19 Feb 2010 13:29
Have to say I don't find it too much of a "locals only" place, bar staff have always been fine. Good range of lagers and ciders. It is a tad expensive, and has a tatty / studenty feel about it, but that's not a problem. And the slightly inflated prices seem to have the effect iof keeping the chavs out, so even better.
Food is ok, eaten there a few times. But I probably wouldn't at the moment, not because of the food but because the place smells really pissy... think there's a problem with the toilets.
So if the manager or member of staff can confirm that that's fixed, I'll gladly eat there again.
Certainly one of the better Epsom pubs.
19 Feb 2010 13:22
So the Cricketers is child-unfriendly... GOOD!
Most people don't want to hear squealing brats when they go out for a nice quiet drink and I'm no different.
I like the Cricketers- a good place to stop at after a nice walk around the common. Nice scenic location. Food is good. Fairly good choice of drinks. And because they're an Ember Inn they have fires in the winter. It has a nice cosy feel without being too much of a "locals" pub.
19 Feb 2010 13:16
Decent enough food, good choice of drinks and one of the better pubs in Epsom. The only beef I have with it is that they often don't have enough bar staff on so be prepared to be patient.
Their roasts on a Sunday are nice and big (no idea what that person was talking about "minimalist portions" for), curries are good too.
You get a few chavs in every now and then, they catch the smell of cheap beer on the wind, however by and large the clientele are just ordinary folk.
Recommended.
19 Feb 2010 13:10
I suspect this pub has got high ratings from the cabal of locals and "real ale" snobs- it's very much a locals pub so if you're not one of them then it can feel distinctly uncomfortable. Drinks were fine, and on the plus side they were showing the cricket when me and the missus went in. But still the sort of place where everyone turns their head round and "inspects" you the moment you walk in the door...
19 Feb 2010 13:05
Back to followedthrough's profile
The Bear, Oxshott
We had a couple of fantastic roasts there this weekend- one lamb and one pork. The pork belly was just amazing. Second time we'd visited, and it was great to see the food was still up to scratch.
Interior is clean and spacious, staff are friendly and seem to know what they're doing, there's a nice area outside if the weather permits- shame it's quite close to a busy road but not much they can do about that. Good choice of drinks.
29 Aug 2011 12:34