BITE user comments - halfbee
Comments by halfbee
Wonderful location but ruined by the surly welcome from the locals, who have not quite come to terms with the fact that 99% of their income comes from tourists and have perfectly balanced chips on both shoulders.
Think of the Slaughtered Lamb scene from Amercian Werewolf in London!!!
Beer 7/10, Ambience -5/10
2 Aug 2010 13:46
Expensive Gastro bar downstairs, drinking without eating will get you turfed out of your seat. Upstairs quieter bar with sofas with outside area for the nicotine junkies. Cannot remember if it sold beer of any note as since i didn't want the Devilled Chicken Livers i wasn't allowed to drink any.
Most interesting point is unisex toilet resulting in lots of scowling women if the last male occupant has left the seat up!
20 Jul 2009 14:32
The Lincoln Lounge, Kings Cross
Super little place well away from any tourists, service was exemplary which is so refreshing in central london. Can be a bit cramped on busy nights, sofas are not the greatest use of space which adds to the problem but overspilll onto the street helps (Until the council puts a stop to drinking outdoors).
Excellent graffiti in the loos, obviously some local resentment to their new neighbours from the Guardian newspaper.. very funny! !
3 Jun 2009 09:25
A total hell hole! Indifferent food and worse staff.
Imagine one of the tourist tat shops that selling toy london buses etc, turned into a pub...AVOID
14 May 2009 08:51
This used to be a real gem within the dross pubs of Bromley. Ale kept properly, good food and sport on good sized screens. One of the few pubs you could be guaranteed to get to see a Rugby International without endless Football.....
But now for some completely inane reason, real sport is banished to the rear screens with no commentary and the front screen is used for Sky Sports News???.... only to be watched by a few saddos, clutching their racing post and losing betting slips..........
Madness!!!
4 Feb 2008 15:53
Thankfully this place is very closed, with little sign of any refurb!
22 Jan 2008 17:43
Quite simply the best pub in London. Proper beer and therefore few chavs. Not the largest place in the world but who wants to drink in a train shed!
4 Jan 2008 10:20
Great Location, Excellent Beer!
Try to avoid on Bank Holiday Sundays with the place full of beered up Scousers trying to celebrate the dying years of their youth.
Always Drinking Beer!!
23 May 2007 16:41
The Harrison, St Pancras / Kings Cross
Another back street haven away from the KingsX flea pits around the train station. Food was very scrummy if a touch tardy in arriving. Place had a slight student union feel about it, that is probally just the furniture. Very pleasant place to spend an evening
11 May 2007 14:12
Pool Table??? It is 10 years since the place had a pool table.
1 May 2007 10:06
Real old fashioned dive! Lots of high-vis fluorescent testosterone and menace. Avoid !
27 Mar 2007 10:07
Most people think of Kings Cross as a dump, full of drossmonkeys and horrid boozers but if you hunt around you can find some real treats. This is one!!!
It looks a bit skanky from the outside but inside, a big and roomy bar, big wines list, couple of real ales and the food was very palatable. This was a weekday lunchtime visit so cannot comment on evenings... but i would not feel uncomfortable drinking the night away in the comfy sofas!!
6 Mar 2007 13:49
The Princess of Wales, Charing Cross
I used to frequent this place all the time while waiting for a train to somewhere better..then it took longer and longer to get served. 15 minutes seemed about par...now i find out why...
...The barmaids are recruited for being "Cute", maybe they should be recruited them for being efficient and industrious ....
..plus the recruiter must have been drinking because they weren't that cute either....
20 Feb 2007 09:55
Boadicea, Charing Cross Station
I am quite shocked to see this place got 3.5/10. Maybe some aliens (or ozzies) landed and thought this was the perfect english pub.
DO NOT GO HERE, it is awful. go down the steps on the left hand side to the real world where you can find pubs without Hobos and Lushes grabbing a half pint of rancid sherry on a sticky floor while dying of passive smoking...
The Black Hole of Calcutta is a very valid illustration 0/10...
20 Feb 2007 09:48
The Theodore Bullfrog, Charing Cross
I suppose the convenience of being very close to Charing X train station goes someway to explaining why it is always mobbed in the evenings. Other pubs that have obnoxious, amateurish and inarticulate staff tend to be empty, for very obvious reasons!! I didn�t much enjoy the very heavy smoky atmosphere either �
Can I think of any good things to say about this place?????? No 1/10
20 Feb 2007 09:43
Smithy's Wine Bar, Kings Cross
What a place!! In the West End this place would be quite unremarkable but in Kings X a real gem. Food was quite scrummy, wine list at ok prices and TWO real beers on tap and a Live Band!!!! I was in heaven and the earth moved (OK, that might have been the Thameslink train running in the tunnel underneath).
Was quite lively for a Wednesday night but i imagine getting a seat on a busy Friday might be a struggle but considering the local alternatives very worth while.!! 8/10
15 Feb 2007 14:05
If all locals were like this maybe so many wouldn't go bust. Really tasty beer, properly kept without that horrid yeasty aftertaste. I felt the people who run this place were actaully happy i was there, what a joy!!!!!
Definelty not in Bickey, about 2 mins up the road opposite Bromley Common bus depot..
14 Feb 2007 15:42
As an example of typical CAD and manufactured PubCo type of place, this aint bad. Beer was pleasant enough, served by smiling, happy person and it can be drunk in comfort. At atmosphere was relaxed and the other punters were inconspicuous. (it was sunday, however).
Food choice looked normal nuked pub grub but then you probally would look elsewhere for fine dining. 6/10(though not Chapter One at the top of the road)
14 Feb 2007 15:34
The Change of Horses, Farnborough
I want to like this pub, it is very close to home but it never makes me feel very comfortable or want to return in a hurry.
Lots of space but the decor is real old school, bar staff have the all too common indifference they reserve for non regulars, almost central london prices, a proper clique corner around the TV so don't even think about trying to view any sport. Nice garden is a plus butvnormally full of spawn being allowed to run riot, thus spoiling the pleasant outlook.
Just one of those places best forgotten, which explains why it always is nearly empty as i go past.
14 Feb 2007 15:18
The Shortlands Tavern, Shortlands
Like all pubs near train stations, this place is an absolute dive. I did not see any redeeming features or reasons to return. A big fat 0 here..
30 Jan 2007 11:09
Dull Dull Dull. Typical PubCo bar, square uninspiring room, nuked food and a couple of sofas thrown in, presumably to make you think you are in an episode of Friends.
Train and Bus stops are right outside so just about acceptable for a cheeky beer while waiting for next one to somewhere nicer......
30 Jan 2007 11:03
Not a huge fan of Shepherd Neame but a perfectly OK place for a cheeky lunchtime pint or a evening session. On a bit on a side street so minimal tourist trade (a huge bonus). Food was typical pub grub but edible, friendly and attentive staff and room to sit and enjoy.
Only downside for me was it got very smoky after a couple of hours but come July 07 that will be a thing of the past...What joy!!
11 Jan 2007 17:26
6 St Chad's Place, Kings Cross
Don't eat here..ever
Just hang around in what is a huge shed, BUT it is expensive enough to scare away the drossmonkeys of KX.
24 Dec 2006 13:03
The British Queen, Locksbottom
No idea why i like this place. Very uncomplicated and unpretentious place.
15 Dec 2006 14:59
Pokey pub with tiny bar area, add to this a Mafia of locals guarding their precious barspace, therefore getting served is a real chore. Shepherd Neame house so not much choice of ales.
Nice looking garden but you will be spending most of your time waiting to be served.
Shame cos i could walk home from here.
15 Dec 2006 14:55
The Waiting Room, King's Cross
Not sure what is worse, the flea pit pubs surrounding this hotel bar or the sterile amibience of TWR.
Food expensively average, feels like a chain pub and staff are exquisitely rude (some even can communicate with their clients), but reasonably clean and you can spend all night without the threat of being glassed. Head south � mile to Queens Head on Acton road for a bit more class
14 Dec 2006 12:43
The barstaff here undergo a vigerous, 3 weeks training workshop to learn how to be the rudest, most arrogant and laziest in the Capital. It obviously works because no one can be naturally this bad.
Very popular with Management Consultants, which is fine by me, i'll be in the Lamb or Rugby Tavern only 90 seconds walk away
27 Nov 2006 13:06
In a town of chavpalaces serving alcopops, aftershocks and pissylager to 15 year olds, what a delight to find this haven. Top quality ales with friendly service and devoid of the scowling locals normally found in other back street locals.
24 Aug 2006 17:27
Very quaint pub far enough off the main streets not to be full of tourists! Reasonable food at lunchtimes only spoilt by being a Youngs Pub and hence serving the most insipid ale in London.
24 Aug 2006 17:02
The Ivy House, Holborn, London
OMG!!
What on earth happened here, half this very average is now a thai restuarant (nothing wrong in that) but is totally out of place in what is at best, a grotty pub.
Plus, if you are going to employ east european bar staff (the economic advatanges are clear) please give them an english test. Taking time out to explain what "ice" is, after waiting 15 mins to get served in first place, really does kill my happy mood!
Used to rate a 6 for friday nights out...now, i struggle to give 2
14 Mar 2006 21:14
Being located smack opposite the Brunwick Centre, it is hardly any wonder this "pub" resembles a drug rehabiliation centre. Real low life inhabit this place, encouraged by the cheap booze and hideous food.
Avoid at all costs!!!!!
23 Feb 2006 11:52
A real gem tucked in small passage close to St James's Palace. A traditional boozer in the real sense, warm and friendly welcome, panelled walls, no electronic distractions, old gits on stools, limited but tasty sandwich menu (no idea about evening), a real adventure to have a wee, snug bar upstairs (sadly you have to return downstairs to get more beer).I suspect would get crowded but perfectly pleasant for a Tuesday lunchtime.
21 Feb 2006 15:17
Very friendly staff, excellent local ales and a real happy atmosphere even with children running around. Food looked good but dont try to get any after 4pm on a Saturday afternoon.
30 Jan 2006 10:43
The Prince of Wales, Cheltenham
About as far away from a chain pub as possible to get, very very "local". 6pm on saturday night and karaoke/disco looked like it had been going since midday as did the punters! Cramped and distinctly unfriendly atmosphere.
30 Jan 2006 10:25
Without doubt the most agressive, obnoxius bog trolls in London. Overpriced and seriously unfun place. The chav's and tourists keep it going so no one really caes if they get ripped off, they deserve it!!
28 Nov 2005 16:55
Top Marks for this Pub. Good vibe, gets crowded at weekends but quick table service is huge bonus. Only drawback is pool table which seems to be magnet for local chavscum.
27 May 2005 16:13
What on earth has happened to this place? Walkabouts are normally fun places. This dump is a war zone, full of Chavs. If you want to pull Vicky Pollard types. This is the place for you.
7 Mar 2005 13:49
Large pub with excpensive beer served by surly staff. Mostly tourists especially in summer. Cannot really think of any reason to return.
7 Mar 2005 13:39
Reasonable food, good beer, excellent venue for after work beers or lunchtime. Gets a bit smokey but you can't have everything
7 Mar 2005 13:29
The Ivy House, Holborn, London
Excellent after work venue, busy without being mobbed. Proper pub,far nicer than the goldfish bowls of Kingsway aka Fine Line, P & Piano etc
4 Mar 2005 15:22
Huge Pub, several bars, good sized garden Lunch time food good if a tad pricey. Youngs beer excellent. Average age of punters at least 45 so not really a lively place.
7 Feb 2005 12:25
The Sovereign of the Seas, Petts Wood
One of the worse examples of a pub ever. Delightful aroma of fags, cheap perfume, vomit and stale beer with nice sticky floor. Keeps the dossers warm while they spend their dole money.
7 Feb 2005 11:53
Recently introduced large no smoking area. Food very very basic, microwaved or deep fried about your lot. Better than the alternative Wetherspoons pub across the railway line.
7 Feb 2005 11:43
The Ivy House, Holborn, London
This place is closed due to CrossRail development.....
1 Oct 2010 13:54