BITE user comments - itfc
Comments by itfc
The Robin Hood and Little John, Bexleyheath
What the English Pub should be like. We'll miss it when it's gone. A gem. 10+.
11 Jan 2006 02:19
The Royal Oak (Polly Clean Stairs), Bexleyheath
This always was a country pub! I grew up in Red House Lane over fourty (christ) years ago and that was like a country lane - went back a few years ago, and it still is.
I had a pint in the Polly then, and it hadn't changed a bit. Nice pub.
11 Jan 2006 02:17
The Prince Albert, Bexleyheath
I used to drink in here twenty years ago. Is Ben still there, then?
Always was a nice boozer: glad to hear it's a Shep pub.
From memory: 8/10
11 Jan 2006 02:14
1. Horribly overpriced.
2. Good beers.
3. Clientele mostly have heads stuffed up own arses.
4. Nice Garden.
11 Jan 2006 02:00
The Moules menu is almost as varied as the Belgian beers. Good food menu, and exceptional lunchtime 2-for-1 offers (if you like moules).
The pub itself is very old, nay, historic - and very nicely decorated. The belgian beer selection is awe-inspiring and ranges from the merely strong, to brewed-by-flemish-trappist-psychopaths brain freezers. Recommended, but a nightmare at weekends. Try Monday/Tuesday nights.
11 Jan 2006 01:52
It is indeed now The Pitcher and Piano, and I hate it. No real difference between then and now: decor much the same, crap ales and mostly lager. Let's be polite and call it "aspirational". Not my favourite part of town, but at least the more chavvy elements are now down the hill and far away, in the rat-run that is Riverside.
Mostly full of South-Eastern / London ex-pats. Minus 1 million out of ten.
11 Jan 2006 01:45
Agree with the comments - lovely looking pub, plenty of atmosphere - but I've never really had much to say to the staff other than ask for more beer, and then they've managed that ok and given me the correct change. What more do you want? It's a pub, not a speed-dating gig.
What the pub does have going for it big time in the spring/summer season is that it's the starting (and end) point for the very excellent, guide-led Norwich Ghost walks, which are worth a punt.
11 Jan 2006 01:37
Eighties time warp decor. Attractive-ish from the outside though. Apparently has a loyal clientele: mostly harmless and inoffensive, no real ales to speak of and not much in the way of atmosphere. Plonked on the corner of a main junction with a Housing Association block directly across the road. Draw your own conclusions.
11 Jan 2006 01:31
Reputedly a gay pub, although word is that this may be changing. Nothing wrong with gay pubs, of course, he said hurriedly: poor real ale selection, though. Good music, friendly staff.
11 Jan 2006 01:28
They're making a real go at getting this into the real ale circuit. Decent selection of ales and very nicely decorated, all the previous clientele have been hoofed out but reputations die hard. The pub doesn't hold onto its audience once the post-work crowd goes home. So,no problems getting served then. One to keep an eye on and worth a visit.
11 Jan 2006 01:20
Mildly intimidating chav types hang outside in summer, which is a shame as this pub promises a bit more on the inside. Runs the obligatory happy hour promotions and is fairly busy. Mostly lager drinkers with limited ale section.
11 Jan 2006 01:15
A pub that is making a serious pitch for top North Norwich pub, after the Duke of Wellington stole its thunder. There has been some serious rennovation work and a new bar has been added. Result? A Very nice, well thought out extension that attracts a busy crowd and plenty of top totty (ooh err, missus). The beer selection could do with a serious kick, but a interesting start to a major revamp. Especially as it shuts late. Worth keeping an eye on.
11 Jan 2006 01:12
Well, it's an improvement on the Wherry but it left me a liitle cold. Any pub that tries to raise the bar on bringing real ales to the masses gets my vote, but the Duke of Wellington (a ten minute walk away) does it much better.
An inoffensive pub, friendly and attentive bar staff and a reasonable range of beers that's pitching at a younger crowd. Except there are already a lot of young people in the Wellie, and the Wellie already owns its own brewery (Wolf, in Attleborough).
11 Jan 2006 01:07
I like this bar for all the reasons given above, but....
At weekends it's a nightmare. Too busy, too close to the rest of the city to avoid the chavs, and just a touch too small.
Get it any other time, though, and it's excellent. Top moules et frites as well.
10 Jun 2005 17:39
The Duke of Wellington, Norwich
The transformation that this pub has undergone is little short of remarkable, and has stolen the thunder that used to go to the Whalebone up the road. The beer is uniformly excellent, the bar staff friendly and predominantly female, and plenty of space. Cons: frequently over smokey when busy (ie after 9.00pm and at weekends). But the beer festivals make up for this, as does Dougie the Landlord's drunken antics (ie after 6.00pm) as he tries to remember what was said to him mere hours before.
He sure knows how to keep a good pint of beer, though. LOTS of quality real ales and currently giving the Fat Cat a good run for its money. And it's my local.
-2 for the smoke and the occasional inbred sorry local closed brains.
31 Jan 2005 18:35
The Crayford Arms, Crayford
The Lennox Lewis connection is true enough. I used to live in Crayford in the 80s and certainly in 87 - 87 there was talk of him being a contender.
I'm not sure if he trained in one of the rooms above the pub but he certainly lived in one of them for a while. Not sure if he worked behind the bar ever, but I do know that very rarely he would be asked to make an unobtrusive (!) appearance front-of-house if ever there were any issues bubbling with the punters.
15 Nov 2009 20:25