BITE user comments - mycetes
Comments by mycetes
Spaniards Inn, Hampstead Heath
End Nov 2016 Saturday Afternoon: No room at the Inn. The Spaniards' has become a Yuppy Grubby Pub for Merchant Bankers. No table to sit at the place is a restaurant with a bar attached, with nowhere to sit, empty tables have a "Reserved" sign displayed. BAH!
Comfort = Zero : Overflowing with too many people
Prices high:= £8.15p for 1pt of London Pride + Half of JBV + packet crisps (Tyrells).
No visible price list anywhere.
26 Nov 2016 16:11
I would have given this pub more if the barman wasn't so arrogant.
I asked if the pub had a pricelist of the beers it had on sale.
They did not. Automatic loss of 2 points in my book.
Ordinary Youngs bitter = £4.05p for a pint. That's pricey in my estimation. I need a price list in those circumstances.
Barman said they didn't have as they had only just raised their prices. Asked when I was told a week before. In that case they have have had ample to write one out.
I was not given a receipt for my purchase of my beer. That's another point off their score.
Arrogance = the loss of another point.
Cr@p muzak blasting away = another point gone.
3 May 2016 17:39
When you go into a country pub in a market town, nay a cathedral city, like Ely, you might expect the best beer and lunch possible.
This place was described on Google as a "Classic old pub with real ales and a sizable menu of British and global favourites" and given 4 stars by them.
I went on a Wednesday. On that day they had an offer on their boards - Order a Pie and you will get a free Pint. On their bar they had a selection of so-called "Real Ales", but none of these was included in their offer. I was offered John Smiths or Carling as beers. I personally dislike both of these.
So I accepted the situation and ordered one of the so-called real ales and the pie - Steak Pie with Abbot Ale, a supposedly yummy sounding combination. Paid over to them £11.49p for the beer and the pie - full price.
When I got the "pie" it wasn't really a pie at all. A pie in my estimation is meat cooked in the oven fully enclosed top and bottom inside a crust of rolled pastry, with loads of its meat juices oozing out into the pastry. A pie is a baked dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savoury ingredients.
That's not what I got. Instead I got this
A completely inedible puff pastry cooked separately placed on top of a enamel dish with some non-descript meat chunks swilling around in a supposedly Abbot Ale sauce, mashed potato made from powder, over boiled peas, cabbage, and carrots and a boat of gravy which seemed to have been made separately from the meat in the pie, probably from a reconstituted gravy shot you can buy in supermarkets nowadays.
Was this a "Classic old pub" - not really!! It had screaming kids playing in the bar, whilst you were soothed from their noisy intrusions by ghastly muzzak!
In my estimation Never Again.
Stars: Null Points!!!!
21 Apr 2016 18:44
The Hoop and Toy, South Kensington
£4.30p for pint of Greene King IPA.
No visible price list. No receipt given for purchase of drinks.
Nothing special.
23 Dec 2015 08:37
No visible price list for drinks: that's very, very poor service with regards to tourists, the principal customers of this establishment.
Famous for its association with Crick and Watson former customers and discoverers of the structure of DNA.
Food not great, acceptable I suppose. Pubs have forgotten how to make real home made food.
Price for 4 meals plus 2 beers and 2 cokes £51
23 Dec 2015 08:29
This pub serves tourists. The main thing wrong with this pub is its management. They choose to mislead their customers by not providing up front visibly accessible price lists for their drinks., namely beers and spirits . There's an accessible price list for coffee and hot chocolate and all kinds of meals. Why not the principal drinks which a pub sells? What are they trying to hide?
They're trying to hide the outrageously huge prices charged for regular beers. BAH!
When asked where the so-called price list was I was directed to an almost invisible notice at the far end of the bar. with drinks prices printed in the smallest possible print, in a darkened corner of the pub. BAH!
Hold out a £50 note if you want drinks here. You might end up with some small change afterwards. BAH!
Two pints of beer. Half of Hoegaarden, a hot chocolate plus one packet of crisps and a small pack of salted peanuts = over £16. BAH!
13 Dec 2015 20:58
The Garden Gate, Hampstead Heath
A Yuppy Bar. How do I know this? It sells so-called "craft beers" with completely unknown names, and heaven knows what they are like until after you have bought one of them. All or most of them are probably yuk, as they sell them with fancy pretty labels and names attached to the pumps. The one I bought was yuk!
Everything about this pub is overpriced to suit the Yuppy market it wants to serve.
£2.50p for plain salted peanuts in tiny ceramic pot. BAH!
No visible price list for the beers sold here. No receipt given to customer after purchase. This pub has lost my goodwill and 4 points for its attitude to serving customers and for the general lack of commercial information.
9 Oct 2015 17:12
A dreadful place.
Do they keep the home fires burning? No! it's freezing cold.
The men's loo hand dryer did not work. An expensive pub should not suffer from this kind of defect or lack of service. After all what are you paying for?
Food grossly awful, the worst I have ever had in a pub. I ordered the lunch time. Burger and Chips. The Burger was wafer thin, just one of those ghastly cheap and nasty frozen ones. They added a slice of cheese [processed of course] with the burger. I did not order a cheeseburger and it was described as such on the menu, so that was outrageous. I hate cheeseburgers. The chips were those ghastly frozen types, cold and tasteless. The tomato ketchup served was just awful. Soggy floppy burger buns. Altogether just plain Yuk! MacDoh's sells better burgers.
Their Facebook page says
"The White Bear the menu goes live serving the best in home cooked food locally served and never frozen ..."
It does not live up to that
And the pub was expensive!
3 Feb 2015 11:32
Crikey, this is a hugely expensive pub. £4 for a pint of London Pride [and the brewery is less than a mile and half away]. £1.15 for a packet of crisps.
No visible price list. Minus 2 points for the arrogance.
Loo ok, but not swish enough for a place which pretends to be an up-market bar. Category C.
Beware. Do not use the "free wifi" offered. You will regret it. This pub provides a service on the O2 platform. O2 do not protect your privacy. They will sell your particulars (email address name, age) whatever to loads of other commercial enterprises and you will be bombarded by loads of spam, and be bothered for the rest of your life. This is the commercial greed of modern times. Maybe the pub fits into this category too. Minus 2 points
Points: 4 less 2 and less another 2 = 0
20 Nov 2014 17:44
This is a yuppy watering hole with prices to match. This used to be the psychiatrist author R.D. Laing's favorite pub. Came here on a Sunday lunchtime after a long walk across Primrose Hill, badly in need of a place to refresh our thirst and rest our weary legs, and perhaps have a Sunday lunch. Nearly all the tables which were empty had "Reserved" labels on them. What? Is this a pub or a restaurant? Pubs generally speaking are first come first served. Only restaurants operate a reservation system. No time to have a lunch here, no available table. And as there was really no time allowed to have large drinks in comfort, so we only ordered two halves: half of Aspell's cider and half of Mosai, cost £6.25. Looked for a price list, which was nowhere to be found. I felt deeply out of pocket after this experience, as we had to go somewhere else to have a proper drink.
28 Oct 2014 11:14
Very pricey: 1 pint beer (London Pride), one apple juice (small bottle), half a pint of Peroni on pump, total £9.50. No price list visible to be able to verify whether we had paid the correct amount. No receipt given.
If those were the prices for self-service beer and drinks from the bar counter, then I would expect to find a high quality loo. No, it was about category D.
This pub does not seem to employ serving people: one barman on a bank holiday monday afternoon, quite insufficient.
22 Apr 2014 16:01
The Old Bull and Bush, North Hampstead
On Xmas day 2013 we walked over 3 miles to the top of Golders Hill park.
There used to be two pubs here. One has died. The Old Bush and Bush seems to have survived.
Is a pub a Public Space or not? Is not the Public bar of a Pub open to the Public 365 days a year?
We were thrown out of this "pub" at 2pm on Xmas day 2013., as not having reserved a table for Xmas dinner.
Is this place a Pub or simply just another mediocre and modern restaurant in terrible disguise?
What is happening to the Pub business in this country?
Minus 10 for pretending to be a Pub when it isn't.
26 Dec 2013 13:48
"When is a pub not a pub?" asked Alice.
The Engineer is not a pub. It's a cocktail bar combined with some kind of restaurant. So why do they allow dogs to roam about? A filthy practice if you ask me. Not enough room anyway.
Snooty waiters with fancy aprons serving drinks at the tables, and expecting tips. This is not the common understood practice for pubs in UK.
Drinks are expensive.
BAH!
11 Nov 2013 13:19
The Garden Gate, Hampstead Heath
Pub gets a prize for having a fully priced comprehensive and readable drinks list on the bar (+2 points). A bit too popular and crowded. Still pay it a visit if you don`t mind the squeeze. Needs to upgrade its toilet accommodation accommodationfor the numbers using this pub (-1 point).
5 Jun 2013 07:51
Old Brewery Tavern, Canterbury
Seems to be owned by Lieutenant Gonville Ffrench-Bromhead V.C. [Michael Caine] of Rourke's Drift fame [Zulu].
6 points.
Plus one point for actually giving me a receipt after the purchase of a drink.
Less one point for no comprehensive drinks list available for customers to peruse.
Less one point for no price list for beers available for customers to peruse.
6 +1 -1 -1 = 5 points
26 May 2013 16:40
The Old Bull and Bush, North Hampstead
St. George and the Dragon £3.40p a pint. Not that i care much for it.
Points for pub 6 out out ten
Less 1 point for no complete and comprehensive drinks list explaining to customers all the drinks, mixers, cocktails and beverages they have available to choose from, together with a summary description of those drinks of what they must taste like.
[They were able to produce such a list for wines, why not beers and other drinks?]
Less 1 point for no drinks price list for customers to use.
Less 1 point for no receipt given after purchase of a drink. All pubs should automatically give receipts, as they do on the continent.
Summary = 3 points
26 May 2013 16:27
Full marks for having a fully comprehensive and clearly priced drinks list available on all the tables for perusal by customers.
When will all other pubs take this up?
19 May 2013 21:58
Went here for Sunday Lunch. The roast sirloin beef was inedible, tough, like eating old boot. It was also very pricey @£12.95. I shall not be going here again in a hurry.
19 May 2013 21:52
More of a restaurant than a pub.
But restaurants should have a fully priced drinks list of what they serve available, for their customers to peruse and choose from. This place did not have one.
A row of labelled pumps on the bar is not a "drinks list". A row of optics on the wall behind the bar is not a "drinks list".
We want a place which serves a bit more than a "G&T, know what I mean?
Expensive.
15 May 2013 20:26
"Nul points."
Had no bitter on pump, only in bottles. What kind of pub is that? Walked out.
18 Feb 2013 20:33
Popped in to have lunch, which, at over �10 for a meal and a pint, is OTT for me with my recession hit budget. I won't be doing that in a hurry again, and certainly not in thias bar. The lunch was disgusting. Ultra cheap ingredients were used. I expected something far better of the Beef and Ale pie on the menu at �7.99. It was yuk. The pie they used was certainly not home-made [long gone are the days when pubs prided themselves on their homecooking of simple meals for workers]. This was mass produced garbage. The pie was of the type you could buy in a local cut price supermarket at �1.50 for 4. The mash potato was made from potato powder, and the vegetables, broccoli and carrots, looked as if they had come straight from the freezer to a microwave then to the plate. Total food material costs I estimate @ �1, If I were to buy the ingredients for the recipe = 800% markup. A nice little earner for Wetherspoons. I won't use their meal service for lunch ever again.
The pie was practically three-quarters empty, with but a few and meagre lumps of meat at its bottom, nowhere near the substantial midday meal a worker requires to sustain himself.
25 Oct 2012 19:47
Wolf in Sheep's clothing: not sure if this is a pub or just an expensive country restaurant: pricey. Its "oldness" is completely hidden under its modern makeover
28 May 2012 12:29
The Court, Tottenham Court Road
�2 for half-a-pint of Aspell's cider - Pricey!
90p for a bag of plain crisps
Loud muzak, not really suitable for conducting business in, if you intend to use your mobile phone.
Some, but not many power points for laptops. IMHO pubs must become more aware of 21st century business user needs.
Price list displayed for customer use, but difficult to read.
28 May 2012 12:08
The Sir Richard Steele, Belsize Park
I can only describe this pub as dressed up "Grunge".
13 Feb 2012 23:22
The Princess of Wales, Primrose Hill
Yep, as another reviewer suggested: the fairly recent installation of the mega screen has destroyed the character of the place.
Pubs ain't what they used to be.
13 Feb 2012 23:19
Yep, pretty place geared up for dining. NOT A PUB really. No room for non-diners. Yuppy-Puppy Pub.
13 Feb 2012 23:13
The Pembroke Castle, Primrose Hill
This is yet another beer joint which you can directly judge its quality of service from the state of its loos.
Their loos haven't been updated for about 50 years. Disgusting considering the price charged for beer here. Definitely no value for money in this department.
13 Feb 2012 23:09
Too full [Friday evening]. Too many clientele. Too many yuppies.
No obvious price list for beers
Wine price list on far wall, not easy to interpret
Menu print face far too small to read, too dark.
About �29 for two meals with starters with 2 drinks [glass wine and beer].
Food not bad
5 Feb 2012 13:18
Highly overpriced for food - avoid.
Car Park? - where was it?
Awful muzak played as you tried to eat your meal.
This place does not know whether or not it is as pub or a restaurant. If it is a pub charge proper pub prices for food. If it is a restaurant it would need to smarten up its service considerably fpr the prices it is charging. Not good value for money.
29 Jan 2012 10:31
Sign says "Food Served All Day"
Not really
If you wait, and wait, and wait, and wait, and wait .... maybe
We waited. Got no food. Got no service. Not nothjing. We left.
Rating = 0
25 Jan 2012 12:07
Any pub in which you might enter and finds oneself immediately beset by an employee saying and asking "Have you reserved a table?" or "Would you like to go to our restaurant area upstairs?", is no longer a pub but has become a restaurant.
This change of use for this establishment should be registered.
31 Dec 2011 13:37
The Three Horseshoes, Bourne End
0inus 2: no pricelist near bar
lus 1: receipt given without being asked.
�9.95p sunday roast
�r.65p half pint of 8ombadier.
0inus ) because waiter said "enjoy" after delivering my meal to my table.
6 Nov 2011 14:09
The Pontefract Castle, Marylebone
A veritable haven from the dreadful experience of Oxford Street, just off the nice area of Marylebone High Street.
I would have given this pub a score of 7, if their price list was readable. Posted on a post/wall by the bar, it was completely unreadable. No bar on the Continent would practice such a scam - tiny 6-point print in a low level lighting. Their prices have to be visibly up-front. I want to know exactly how much a particular pint of beer is before I go to the bar!!!
Otherwise a quite acceptable environment, short of spaces on the ground floor.
�3.65p for pint of London Pride.
28 Oct 2011 13:08
I paid a visit to this pub for a Sunday lunch. I'll quote the price I paid: �17.25
�13.95 for Topside of Beef
�3.30 for a pint of London Pride
A bit on the high side of life for a pub meal! About three to four thin slices of beef. largish Yorkshire pud. Three small sized roast potatoes, minimal amounts of savoy cabbage and broccoli, and a portion of roasted parsnips, smothered in jus.
I had to order this from the counter, as per a regular pub, and pay up front, so I wonder where all the surplus profit goes. I do object to paying what I consider to be restaurant prices in circumstances where the service is minimal, when orders are taken at the bar.
This was one of those Grunge pubs. Ca 1950s cheap tables with their varnish sanded off. Old chairs. Dark inside. Sunny patio. Leather sofas. Some people find that fashionable: I don't.
Men's loos: urinals about 100 years old. Full size sort. Not modernised at all. Very wobbly tap. Category D
All in all: grossly over-priced. But then I suppose this erstwhile Brazilian immigrant area is rapidly becoming an up and coming territory for yuppy families, who were its principal clientele.
14 Aug 2011 20:21
The Coombe Cellars Devon, Coombe in Teignhead
Meal service is slow, a wait of well over an hour after we had been shown to our table before we actually got our meals.
Rhubarb and apple crumble pie minimalistic, very thin and lacking content.
Not cheap.
Muzak interferes with conversation during your meal. Staff not allowed to reduce volume.
This establishment is not really a pub, but a restaurant with a bar attached to it.
28 Jul 2011 22:38
I am now downgrading my assessment of this pub by three points after another second visit to this establishment.
Real Ales or Beers down to a choice of one: Bombardier was off, Only beer on tap was Youngs.
I had asked the barman for a real ale at the counter. The Barmen said that the only "Real Ale" that they had was Fosters. Ignorance is no excuse, I thought.
Anyway I ended up with a Youngs for �3.55 a pint, which I thought was OTT.
I then asked the barman where could I find the price for this beer listed and available easily for me to see from the bar, as I was also ordering a Roast Beef lunch which was very visibly advertised @ �6.95, and wasn't sure how large a bank note to take out of my wallet.
The barmen then told me, very snootingly, and looking down on me, that it was the pub's policy not have a price list for beers for customers to consult.
This was outrageous.
He then went to ask me "What was my table number?"
I said that I hadn't got a table as yet and tried to explain to him that being by myself at that time that pubs who operate that kind of policy when people order drinks and meals from the bar, they are very mistaken in this policy. At busy times, by the time you have ordered your lunch, someone has very frequently taken the table you wanted, behind your back. I explained the pub needed to have a better system, like in a theatre. I should be able to see easily from the bar a list of all the available unused tables, with their numbers.
He again snooted at me. He implied that it was my responsibility to have a table number
-BAH!
Less two points for thinking that customers do not have moral rights when they ask for proper service in a pub.
I consider the lack of a visible price list for drinks in a bar quite frankly nothing less than a con.
13 Jun 2011 13:03
Facts:
Somewhat noisy
Pint Bombadier �3.80p (pricey)
Sunday Roast Beef Lunch (ok) �6.95
Barman was essentially professional in his duty.
No immediately obvious pricelist for beers (I didn't try playing hunt-the-thimble).
Deep and darkish interior, no windows, except on Leicester Square side.
30 May 2011 09:13
This pub has decided that saving electricity is a must. I suppose that was because in the darkness you would probably not miss the very absent price list for beer. Bah! Why are pubs so anxious to cheat of our rights to proper information about the cost of ales?
Timothy Taylor Landlord = �1.70p half pint.
That's why!
23 Nov 2010 00:53
Went into this pub yesterday lunchtime. Ordered a pint of Abbot Ale. Paid �3.40 i think. A bit expensive I thought.
I then asked the barman how would I know much I would be paying for my beer before I ordered it?
He replied that they didn't have visible price lists for customers, and shrugged his shoulders when I suggested that was a very poor and possibly illegal practice,
At the very least it is extremely poor customer service not having a comprehensive price list.
A pub which clearly puts up visibly so prices of expensive wines, but does not have a price list for beers tells me exactly what kind of pub it is. It is telling me that it does not want my sort. It does not want my custom.
As for its catering, selling Thai food, that tells me everything I need to know about this pub.
I will not be visiting this pub again.
20 Nov 2010 13:21
Beer 1 pint Pedigree Marston = �3-07p
Sunday Roast Beef Dinner (Large) = �9-85
Total �12-92p
Genuine William Morris tiles on the wall
Not a bad pub.
18 Nov 2010 11:08
Don't be taken in by the outside. Inside you will find that the pub is devoted to ales which you have never heard of. Half the pub is devoted to a huge TV screen displaying football. I totally loathe such pubs.
To cap it I only walked in [on a Sunday] as a huge sign outside said it did roast lunches:
However in the word of Malina Mercouri: "Never on a Sunday."
BAH
The beer tasted awful.
7 Nov 2010 20:31
This place is what I fear is the future for pubs in this country. It's nice in its own way, but not a pub. It's a bar. It serves lager beer from chrome taps. Its prices reflect its clientele, West Hampstead yuppies, City of London banking and finance industry personnel.
The music will put you off if you don't like that sort of thing.
Otherwise the decor is not boring. Gets very crowded. Popular.
23 Oct 2010 09:42
The Grand Union, Westbourne Park
Went to this pub to have a beer. It's a cold damp October evening. It's freezing outside.
The front door to this pub was open. Inside the pub was very draughty., cold and uninviting.
The bar maid was more interested in chatting to existing customers.
Bye bye. I left the pub in a huff
13 Oct 2010 18:39
It's a cold and dark October evening, a windy and damp one. I'm cold looking for a comfortable place to have a beer. The sign outside this pub says invitingly: "Come inside and warm your cockles by our fire".
Was there a fire?
No there wasn't! It was not on.
Asked why not? The barman said it was because someone complained it was too hot.
I do not believe him. This was a lie. Minus 3 points.
Price of Aspell's cyder = �3.55
I did not find the price list. Minus 2 points.
13 Oct 2010 18:33
Here was a restaurant pretending to be an olde worlde coaching inn. I was driving on my way to Henley and passed this inn on and by the side of the road. I was looking for a country pub which might serve me a so-called traditional Sunday roast, and this looked like, from the outside, just like the kind of place I was seeking.
How mistaken could I have been.
After parking in the inn's car park I noticed it had an AA 4-star rating. The external building and everything else belied this rating. Immediately on entering I looked for the makes of beer it had on its bar counter. There were none. Instead there was a very large wine rack and encyclopaedias on the wines of the world to peruse. 100% of the other customers in the "pub" were not pubbing, but were clearly customers who had booked restaurant tables. I looked at the menu. It was a 4-star restaurant in its prices.
The "barman" said sit down and we will bring you what you want. I sat down and ordered a beer, Breakspears. It cost me �3-50p. There was no menu or price list for the options for beer that I might want.
I decided not to order Sunday lunch as the prices were not what I was expecting to pay for a pub lunch.
30 May 2010 19:54
This pub is beyond hope, beyond redemption
You enter this pub expecting to enjoy a quiet pint of Real Ale, but you find yourself confronted with a noise level that is dangerously above health and safety levels, a noise level likely to damage your hearing. Pop music is blaring out from speakers set all around the pub, people are shouting trying to speak above the ambient noise level in the pub. TV screens screaming at you from all directions. It would be impossible to have proper conversation with a group of frieds in this wretched establishment.
You buy a pint: �3-10p for a pint of Bombardier.
As if that were not enough you look for a price list displayed on the wall or by the bar. There is none. To ascertain how much you have to pay you have to ask the person behind the bar. To me this practice of not displaying a proper price list for beers is wholly unacceptable.
You point out the noise to the person managing the pub, and the lack of a price list. They ask you
"Why do you bother coming to a pub?"
I will now answer that question outright. I will never bother coming to that pub ever again.
This has to be one of the most outrageously unfriendly pubs there are.
21 Apr 2010 22:04
More prices.
Pint of Kronenbourg �3.50
Pint of Guinness �3.50
Clientele generally snotty and rude, pushing and barging past you as they make their way to the uninviting toilets
Noisy beyond belief and deafeningly so.
18 Apr 2010 08:14
The Cat And Canary, Canary Wharf
Too noisy for my liking. Price of beer is �3.25p per pint of London Pride.
HAs free Wifi
14 Apr 2010 18:58
Nearly a year later. Prices have rocketed. Spitfire is now �2-35p a pint. A large glass of house white wine an outrageous �5.
Wine prices are gloriously advertised on a very large board on the wall. But try finding a list of beer prices. (Bad joke, honestly)
The place is a bad joke as far as its decor is concerned which is now one year older.
Loud yuppies frequent this joint.
13 Apr 2010 06:34
This pub had run out of beer today. Only Adnams left at �2-90p a pint.
A 200 ml tiny bottle of Coke in this pub cost �1-40p. A 2 litre bottle of Coke in Tesco Express later that day cost �1-65p. A 9-fold markup!
I call this pub pricey.
10 Jan 2010 22:53
What a pretensious name. What has this pub/bar got to do with poets for godsake? .A bust of The Bard doesn't count..
No price list for its beers, I feared the worst so I walked out. It was too noisy anyway. FIlled with suits in anycase.
Plastic leather couches.
13 Aug 2009 14:11
Hellish noisy. They play muzak. Otherwise as a pub quite nice. Don't try to conduct any business via the phone in this pub.
12 Aug 2009 14:01
The Assembly House, Kentish Town
How am I supposed to know that a pint of Abbot Ale is �3-30p when there is no visible price list for beers in this establishment. They have visible price lists for everything else: wines, foods etc.. What about beer? �3-30p That's about 10% to 20% more expensive than anywhere else. It's little wonder they want to hide it.
They have loud music. And young teenage dolly birds serve at the bar. It's clear to see that they want the younder generation attracted by the bar-staff. Sex sells.
Loos: Category D. Furnishings: shabby Not worth the price you're paying.
Interesting roof light.
11 Aug 2009 18:27
A tired pub with zero atmosphere except for the red brick facade. I would not bother drinking here as it would bankrupt me
10 Aug 2009 15:34
A tired pub with no atmosphere and even less choice of beers. I would only drink here after having crossed the Gobi desert dying of thirst.
10 Aug 2009 15:32
This is not really a pub, but a medium to expensive "gastro-pub". Gastro-pubs are not pubs: they pretend to be pubs in mutton clothing.
What do you have? 70 year old tables whose varnish has rubbed off. Waiters who wear jeans. Shabby decor. A loo where there is no hot water or soap, and only a regular hot air drier. If I am going to pay a top price for a dinner I expect a better level of service.
Spitfire cost �3-15p per pint. Tips were not refused.
7 Jun 2009 19:03
Why did my friend suggest going to this bar [it's not a pub as it doesn't serve real beer] as a place to drink after work?
It left me completely out-of-pocket. 5 small bottles of beer/cider �20. I'm broke as never before. Why pay this kind of money when all the seats were reserved by Morgan Stanley [I thought they were bust]? Why pay this kind of money to serve yourself at the bar? Why pay this kind of money for beer/cider out of a bottle? Complete rip-off!
And the loos? 1 lockup cabinet! I had to go into a rival establishment to relieve myself.
I thought I would give this place a 0, but the glass was nice, so 1.
5 Jun 2009 06:57
So the Alliance? My Rating?
No visibly obvious price list. lose 5 points out of 10.
Drab = less 1 point
Lack of choice of real ales = less 2 points
I've got nothing to say that would recommend this pub at all. Stay well away I say. It's a boring drinking hole for those who like lager, and are prepared to pay whatever the price might be.
28 May 2009 18:06
The Old Bull and Bush, North Hampstead
Why on earth did I go here again? Perhaps because Golders Green is so dearth of pubs. Anyhow got the bar where stood a poncy barman wearing a French brasserie long white apron kit, How fakely Parisien. "How much is a cognac?", we asked him. About �2 he replied.
"ABOUT �2?" I said. "what is the price?" I asked again. There was no price list for regular drinks displayed anywhere.
How much longer did I want to stay in this destroyed establishment? ABOUT 2 minutes.
26 Dec 2008 16:53
When you have bought a pint at the bar, and they push your change towards you on a saucer, you know exactly that you have made a very big mistake. Such establishments should be closed down for the greed they represent.
19 Nov 2008 15:20
As a pub this institution died. We walked in today and the whole place had been given over to large screen sattelite TV rugby, nothing but a rowdy loud rude vulgar crowd shouting their heads off. This once was a real pub. Bah I will never ever go here again. Never. Youngs ordinary bitter in plastic mugs at �3 bah! Never again!
9 Nov 2008 01:25
The Northumberland Arms, Fitzrovia
This pub used to be favorite haunt, but the ghost seems to have deserted it. It's just a drinking parlour. It does a price list, but stranglely in a totally unreadable location in a type face that strains the eyes, behnd some flowers.
18 Oct 2008 23:11
The Prince of Wales Feathers, Warren Street
Went on a Saturday afternoon. Insufficient staff. Loud and ugly customers. No visible price list. Went in and went out again. Thiis a Sattelite TV pub devoted to sports channels - bah.
18 Oct 2008 23:06
Walked in. Asked do you have any real beer?
"We have Newcastle Brown in a bottle."
Walked out.
16 Oct 2008 19:25
The trouble is this pub plays its music very loudly and has a plethora of one armed bandit machines. Too noisy for my liking or for a proper social evening.
It does have a price list displaying beer prices - wow that's unusual nowadays, But they are not displayed very clearly and in a large enough typeface to read it properly.
Has London Pride among other beers
16 Oct 2008 11:47
The staff were really nice. We had Sunday roast �8-95p. They had run out of lamb.
Not really a "pub" No pricelist for beer. No real ales.
Loo has interesting antique pictures.
I would give it a higher score if it sorted out its beer policy and pricelisting and display
12 Oct 2008 20:49
Walked in today walked out again ten seconds later. Couldn't be bothered to queue, and especially when there is nowhere to sit after purchase.
12 Oct 2008 20:45
Messy garden, uninviting loos, we went there for Sunday lunch hoping for a good Sunday Roast @ �10-50p for Roast Lamb. The garden was packed. By 4pm they had no roast left. We ordered other dishes �9 each for Beef Stew in Ale Pie [which was claimed to be home made] and Pan Fried Chicken Breast. They took over 35 minutes to deliver it to the table. It was OK, edible.
On going to the bar trying to order a beer and a tonic water, I had to ask the price as there no clearly visible price list. I complained about this and was told that there was a price list in the other bar on the blackboard, which was illegible. I was told by the lady behind the bar that if I didn't care for this arrangement not to come back again - I might take her advice. I do not care for this kind of attitude at all.
Prices
London Pride �1-45p half-a-pint
Tomic Water, bottle of �1-25p
28 Sep 2008 20:18
Spaniards Inn, Hampstead Heath
This is what you might imagine a proper pub to be. It's dark and seemingly olde worlde.
Outside garden is very crowded. Has a barbeque.
No music, No one-arm bandit.
Hooray!
No price list for beers
Bah!
Doggy wash - keep your mutt clean
No free wifi
�3-25p for 5.5% Aspell's Suffolk Cyder on tap.
OK
�1-10p for pack of Burt's Devonshire crisps
A bit steep!
27 Sep 2008 13:57
The Old Bull and Bush, North Hampstead
This pub died after changing its format. It was one of the best pubs in north london. Now I wouldn't bother to go there at all.
26 Sep 2008 18:16
The Queens Head and Artichoke, Regents Park
You would be forgiven if you thought this was a pub. As there was no price list for beer and as I was handed back �7 change from �10 note after asking for a beer [Marstons 4.5%] I conclude it cost �3.
Champagne prices very clearly list �40 for Veuve Clichot or Moet Chandon. Wine �22 per bottle.
Pretends to be a very expensive restaurant. Will leave you very short of money. Charges 12.5% for service -if you get any.
Stay well away from this rip-off joint
22 Sep 2008 23:54
This is a tired old pub with an Irish theme. How tiresome. That's means the beer will be way too expensive.
I will not be visiting this pub again.
15 Sep 2008 19:38
This is a tired old pub with tired decorations.
Category D loos - not enough provision. As a rule loo provision should match the number of pumps on the bar. I expect the quality of loos to match the prices I am paying for the beer. Beer was not cheap here.
The moment I entered this pub the music hit me. It was far, far too loud. Also the whole lounge bar was turned over to Sky Sports.
No visible pricelist. I paid �2-80p for London Pride. The lack of visible price list in my book means that this pub is run by drinks racketeers.
I disliked this pub intensely. I will not be returning to it. The measure of its clientele, is that it services the workers from the local building sites.
This is one of the only pubs in the Golders Green kosher ghetto. It has no real competition.
15 Sep 2008 19:31
When a public bar employs bouncers you know you want to avoid this overpriced joint. The pub this location formerly represented is dead. This kind of joint kills the trade.
15 Sep 2008 16:01
This pub does not display its pricelist for beers. I consider that poor. I asked the Czech barmaid whether that was the practice in her country. She said that in Czech Republic all bars had to display their price list. That was the law. why is our country so negligent?
15 Sep 2008 15:53
The Warwick Castle, Maida Vale
I think one can judge a lot by a pubs' loos and how they are kept. Category D in this case. A Unisex loo with only sit down with its lid and seat missing. That's poor.
Add to the fact that no price list for beer or lager was displayed - in contrast they have a very large display for wine prices by the glass/bottle etc., this pub was disappointment. That's pure snobbery and probably breaking the law.
Had fish and chips for lunch - ghastly. It's price �6.50. Remind me not to do this again. I could hjave done better buying fish from Tesco.
It advertises Sunday Roast at �8-50
Pub could do a lot better without much effort or expense. We pay huge sums for beer. I expect proper service when I do, and to know in advance how much I am paying.
15 Sep 2008 15:28
The Black Lion, West Hampstead
For a pub to be rated by me they must first follow the law. The law I thinking of is display of prices. This pub does not display its prices. It does not matter how good or bad or pub is, if they break the law then they should be berated about it. The law is there to protect the consumer.
All pubs and bars open to the public must
display a price list of at least 30 items. That price list must be clearly visible and readable from the bar, even by a person in a wheelchair, the purpose of this pricelist being to allow a potential purchaser of drinks to make a informed decision.
I cannot recommend this pub as I cannot guarantee that the prices you will pay there are fair compared with other bars in the same area.
before buying.
18 May 2008 17:16
The Cross Keys, Chelsea
What are pubs? Pubs are public houses which one is supposed to be able to enter without let or hindrance if one's aim is to ehjoy a drink in relative peace.
I walked out of this one. I do not want some individual trying to show me to a table, nor if I do not want to have a meal to a table he wishes to allocate to me, and then offer to serve me a drink at that table. The custom in Britain is to go up to the bar and be able to order one's own drink there and then take it to a vacant table. No tips involve, no begging for a gratuity.
10 Jun 2018 16:06