BITE user comments - malkythealky
Comments by malkythealky
Excellent pub with great landlady - Tina.
Came here tonight after a brief visit to Antic's new pub, The Sylvan Post where I spent �8.50 on a pint of cider and a large glass of wine.
Then went across the road to The Bird in Hand and the same round cost about �5.50!
A bit noisy which is what you expect on a Friday night but this is always a good pub - only negative comment would be about quite young children running about... not sure if this pub is the right environment for them.
2 Mar 2012 20:46
Now called The Morden Brook, definitely an improvement and they now also do Poker on a Sunday night courtesy of The Poker Tree.
6 Nov 2011 13:25
Good news everyone - see below direct from The Morning Advertiser...
Brighton pub freed from Greene King beer tie
By Ewan Turney
25/08/2011 10:12
Greene King has released the beer tie at a famous Brighton pub in order to keep two well known and successful licensees at the venue.
The Hop Poles: will be renamed the Spotted Dog and get a new range of handpumps
Tony Leonard and Dominic McCartan had been in the process of selling the lease of the Hop Poles but were made a free-of-tie offer by Greene King when the deal fell through.
The pub � to be renamed the Spotted Dog � will now only have to stock one Greene King beer. Rent re-mains the same, but there will be an extra payment of a set percentage of turnover, which the licensees asked to keep confidential.
�It came as a bit of a surprise to us � it is something we put to them a while ago,� said Leonard. �In the end, Greene King said they did not want to lose us as operators.
�Under the tie I felt we had reached a dead-end at the pub. We had reached a turnover of �1m but trade had dipped since, because the market and the area had changed. We had the same drinks as everyone else who were doing happy hours and while we were not necessarily losing people through the door, we were losing spend as people went elsewhere for cheap drinks first.�
�It is so frustrating knowing what you want to do but not being able to achieve it.�
Leonard is now planning to introduce a range of eight handpulls, mostly from the local area, and is working on a special Gooseberry IPA with Dark Star Brewery.
Notably, Greene King has also released the tie at two Craft Beer Company sites in London.
Simon Longbottom, managing director of Greene King Pub Partners, said: �We are happy to consider innovative agreements where appropriate that recognise the talent of highly-rated licensees and help them to revitalise their pubs.
�The focus for Greene King is to get the right deal for the right pub at the right time and that�s what we believe we have achieved at the Hop Poles, where the licensees will be getting greater flexibility in return for a percentage of their net turnover.
�We are happy that the pub will continue to offer its customers our quality beer and look forward to seeing the business thrive as a result of this new agreement.�
25 Aug 2011 17:38
Now under new management and is called Centrals Bar and Lounge.
New manager called Steve.
I popped in today and was impressed with the wide range of lagers including Asahi and Oranjeboom. Only ale was Spitfire.
Seems an improvement on the old Caz bar and is I will revisit.
12 Aug 2011 15:26
Your prayers have been answered, the Tigers Head is now under new management....
Not a lot has changed yet but give them a chance and I'm sire it will improve. I had a nice beer with Keith and Lee and they seem to have some good ideas such as Poker evenings that should help.
10 Jun 2011 18:52
Yet another change in management! Ian and Suzanne are the new tenants and want to reverse some of the recent changes implemented at O'Connells
So give them a chance - by the way they are starting poker every Thursday night!
14 Apr 2011 12:39
I can't comment on the service Independantreviewer (surely should be independentrevieweer!) received - even the best pubs make the occasional cock-up. However whatever burger he had is nothing like the burgers I have tasted at The Cambria which have always been brilliant. I actually decided to have the steak for a change recently and, although good, wasn't a good as the burgers I normally have. And The Cambria is definitely an oasis in the middle the completely depressing Loughborough Junction area.of
29 Sep 2010 14:59
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The Capitol, Forest Hill
Very sad, but this excellent pub will close soon and revert to being a cinema....
26 Jun 2014 14:53