BITE user comments - jesusjohn
Comments by jesusjohn
Jolly Butchers, Stoke Newington
Terrific place, albeit more an English bistro than a pub (you're unlikely to make lifelong friends at the bar; the clientele is middle class, young and in groups). The beer selection is terrific (though beware the curse of the ale-in-a-dimpled-mug, it comes without warning, though they happily serve in a straight glass if asked) and the service impeccably friendly, albeit not chatty. Again, this is a bar-service bistro, not really a pub.
The food is superb and keenly priced given the quality and disposable income of its regular crowd.
As it started out, there were teething problems with beer quality (not range, which has always been superb) and temperature but these appear to have been addressed. Very impressive.
27 Sep 2010 11:03
Diabolical service, just utterly dismissive. They know they don't need your custom as there are enough hipster groups thronging through to keep them in the cash for years to come.
On a Tuesday evening, we take a table, order some food. It's a bit draughty, we notice, so we tell the staff 'sorry, we're just going to move table'. It's not busy - there must be 15 people in the pub.
'But your food will arrive at that table.'
'Yeah, sorry, could you just have them bring it here.'
The duty manager arrives: 'Ok, your food will come to your new table, but if you move table again, the food will still come to this table - we're not changing it again.' This attitude was just totally unnecessary (seriously - there was 0% chance of us moving again - it was just to be snide). When I said 'is it against your rules to move table?' the guy just lost it and swore - using the f word very loudly - as he left.
Classy.
27 Sep 2010 10:58
Saturday night. Very busy, people spilling out into the street. Some terrific, Chas & Dave-style music - loud and fun. I'm at the bar - it's seriously noisy - and I hear behind me 'Susie!!'. Naturally, I don't reply. 'Susie!!!' I think someone's calling to a friend. 'Susie!!!' At this point, I'm barged out of the way by the bearded, long-haired bar man (landlord) - 'EXCUSE ME - jesus, are you f***ing deaf?' A tap on the shoulder and an 'Excuse me, please' and I'd have got out of the way instantly. Later, presumably still pissed off at a perceived slight, he opened the fridge door in such a way as to deliberately shove me out of the way (the fridge is outside the bar and the pub was full).
The pub has 'atmosphere' and a classy range of ales but it is mercurial in the extreme. One day you go in and it's sweetness and light - a real propah Lahndon boozer. Next time you go in, the locals look at you like dirt and you're insulted - nay, manhandled, but the staff.
Bizarre place; not inclined to return.
27 Sep 2010 10:52
The Duke of Cambridge, Battersea
*PLEASE INGNORE MY REVIEW BELOW!*
I've asked BITE to remove this review twice, as it was intended for the Duke of Cambridge Islington, not Battersea. My apologies to the proprietor of this establishment.
25 Aug 2010 09:38
The Duke of Cambridge, Islington
A mixed bag, on the basis - admittedly - of just one visit. The large open space, while likely sparse if empty, was buzzing on a midweek night and had a very convivial air. The main meals looked splendid and the snacks we enjoyed (humuus, homebaked bread, etc.) were excellent. The wine selection was terrific and the sips I nabbed out of others' glasses confirmed their quality.
The beer, however, was another matter. Three Pitfield beers and the St Peters Organic Best. I tried all four, but not one had decent condition - flat as the proverbial pancake. Two beers - fresh on - were soupy. I think the casks had been rushed - we're talking green beer, not stale beer. Worse, all the barstaff (there were three on, I recall) poured the beer without holding the glass but placing it below the tap on the drip tray. This means the beer falls the best part of a foot into the glass. It delivers a frothy head but knocks out condition even in a decently kept pint. With beers in less good nick, this is a real headache. I tried as delicately as I could to mention this - one always comes across as an unbearable arse when geeking out about stuff like this - but the surly reaction from one staff member was OTT to say the least.
Stick to the wine and the food and try not to cross the staff, it would seem.
12 Aug 2010 10:11
The Duke of Cambridge, Battersea
A mixed bag, on the basis - admittedly - of just one visit. The large open space, while likely sparse if empty, was buzzing on a midweek night and had a very convivial air. The main meals looked splendid and the snacks we enjoyed (humuus, homebaked bread, etc.) were excellent. The wine selection was terrific and the sips I nabbed out of others' glasses confirmed their quality.
The beer, however, was another matter. Three Pitfield beers and the St Peters Organic Best. I tried all four, but not one had decent condition - flat as the proverbial pancake. Two beers - fresh on - were soupy. I think the casks had been rushed - we're talking green beer, not stale beer. Worse, all the barstaff (there were three on, I recall) poured the beer without holding the glass but placing it below the tap on the drip tray. This means the beer falls the best part of a foot into the glass. It delivers a frothy head but knocks out condition even in a decently kept pint. With beers in less good nick, this is a real headache. I tried as delicately as I could to mention this - one always comes across as an unbearable arse when geeking out about stuff like this - but the surly reaction from one staff member was OTT to say the least.
Stick to the wine and the food and try not to cross the staff, it would seem
12 Aug 2010 10:09
Definitely suffering from there being only a few scorers - this is a super pub. Greene King, but always with a real guest, the landlord is friendly and the atmosphere convivial. It is a classic-style pub, with no pretence. Sunday lunch is gloriously satisfying and the beer superbly kept. Even the GK beers (not my favourite) are very enjoyable here. This pub forms a superb component of a crawl down King Street and towards Parker's Piece: Champ of the Thames, Radegund, Clarendon, Elm Tree, Free Press.
8 Dec 2008 10:23
I like this little pub and its mixed crowd. Beer is good and well-chosen. The Theakston's Old Peculier is not always on during the summer months but always makes a welcome appearance in Autumn/Winter. I do have only one gripe - they serve all ale through a sparkler, regardless of its origin (OP tastes very good through a sparkler, but Woodforde's Nelson's Revenge could do without it). I asked the barmaid politely to take it off for my pint and she did so thoroughly willingly. She said I hadn't been the first to ask and the landlord insisted on it. Odd. But don't let this anorakish beerdom put you off - a super pub and (rare for Cambridge) a city centre pub of note (St Radegund the only other - though further afield there are super pubs).
19 Aug 2008 14:14
I find the confusion regarding this excellent pub-restaurant odd. Those of you with long memories will remember the term 'pub-restaurant' as distinct from the gastropub (ghastly term) in that this place has a bar area and bar menu, where it is more than acceptable to just have a jar and a separate restaurant area.
Having used both, I find the whole operation very keenly priced for the quality. The fish cooking is exceptional. The bar menu is very good indeed and everything is freshly prepared.
The Goachers ale is absolutely first class (I have to say, I prefer pubs serving one beer well than 4-10 beers ok-ish).
An astonishingly good pub-restaurant that will be whatever you wish it to be - a dozy afternoon pint-stop, quick-bite emporium, or even top-rate fish restaurant.
18 Aug 2008 11:22
The Live and Let Live, Cambridge
An excellent pub, with a splendid selection of 8 real ales (Nethergate Umbel, Adnams and Everards Tiger as regulars), real ciders and Belgian bottled beers. Ever changing Belgian guest draught. Lovely wood interior and real 'pubby' feel.
The drawbacks for this particular drinker: the regulars are not at all engaging and can just look through you if you arrive just after opening. Also, for some reason the Sunday lunches stopped about a year ago. They were excellent and the place is pretty empty on a Sunday lunch now. The menu is much reduced generally recently - a real shame as this was one of the finest exponents of genuine pub grub I've ever seen, turning ham, eggs & chips into an art form. The food issue is a real disappointment, especially as the management has not changed.
Nevertheless, an essential stop on any Cambridge crawl for the sheer quality of what it does offer. Go with friends and you're guaranteed an agreeable time.
22 Apr 2008 15:59
I go here frequently and find the beer well kept, with excellent regulars from the Hopback staple and Timmy Taylor Landlord supplemented by excellent guests. Food good, if pricey (though where is not pricey these days?), though it can - on occasion - feel less of a pub than a restaurant (especially as it is routine to find whole swathes of tables booked).
It is *not* exclusive, but it is rather chummy middle class and does not have the friendly banter of the 'dream' pub. My reservation is a rather vague one: it is a great place, Good Beer Guide entry, excellent grub, nice decor...at the end of the day, just a bit soulless...
22 Apr 2008 15:36
The Wenlock Arms, Hoxton
Yeah...being shoved out of the way is just what you should expect for being so offensive as to proffer your custom. Honestly - a nod would've done. And the place was *rammed*. The excuses people make for outright rudeness in the pub sector in the name of 'character'...
27 Sep 2010 16:59