BITE user comments - nomadic_boozer
Comments by nomadic_boozer
Two "Spoons" in Poole - this is the better one.
A limited selection of chilled real ales (cheap, though) for a Wetherspoons.
Don't order food if you're going to catch a bus! The grub is the usual Wetherspoons fare, but I've waited for an hour on two occasions for my order to arrive...
Not great.
14 Apr 2008 14:53
Bankes Arms Hotel and Country Inn, Studland
Ideal walker's pub. VERY popular and busy.
Purbeck ales are good, but the bar staff seem to let all four handpumps run dry, seriously limiting the choice. This might have changed now that the owners have decided to go back to employing Australians, rather than Eastern Europeans.
The pub is "nice" inside, but it needs cleaning up - Lots of wooden fittings and fixtures need repairing. I guess that the pub is too busy to refurbish, which is a pity as it is getting really shabby.
Ordering food is a pain: the blackboard is located next to the front door, so you can't read it with the queue of people lined up trying to order food. Most people assume that you're trying to push in, so they huddle together so you can't see the board!
You get shunted out of the way whilst waiting to place an order at the bar by all of the red sock brigade trying to force their way in - which is not a pleasant experience.
The food is expensive and the quality can be poor, depending on the dish.
Not a bad place overall, but lacking in certain key areas. Try it out of season.
14 Apr 2008 14:41
Good real ales and good, down-to-earth food.
Excellent curries!
14 Apr 2008 14:28
Well worth finding! Really good real ale selection & brilliant, well-priced food.
Very nice inside, with very friendly, helpful staff and a great atmosphere.
14 Apr 2008 14:25
THE best pub in the area. Great landlord and the real ales are excellent.
Food is served most of the time, and this is always excellent and well-priced.
Brilliant atmosphere and friendly locals.
14 Apr 2008 14:09
A great pub - excellent real ale and the fish dishes are the best in the area.
Cosy and attractive.
14 Apr 2008 14:06
The well kept Badger ales are very good.
Food can be expensive, though the quality is generally very good.
It can get very busy at certain times, but the staff are very attentive.
14 Apr 2008 14:00
The Sailors Return, East Chaldon
People seem to rave about this place, but I have visited it on four occasions and thought that the food was expensive and very poor. The ploughmans are very good, though.
The beer is well kept, however.
14 Apr 2008 13:57
The Countryman Inn, East Knighton
Priced and aimed at retired folks.
Beer selection is poor.
Food is not so good, but service is fine.
14 Apr 2008 13:53
The Seven Stars Inn, East Burton
A really good pub with a really nice bar and great real ales, if a bit pricey.
The staff are very welcoming and the food is excellent. Portions are large, but apart from the chef's specials the prices are high.
Well worth a visit.
14 Apr 2008 13:49
St Peters Finger, Lytchett Minster
The recent refurb has turned this place into a restaurant. You are ushered to your table as soon as you walk in. Overall the staff are good, sometimes its a struggle to get service at the bar, though.
Badger ales are well kept, though there is a reluctance to change a barrel if it runs out.
Food is generally of good quality.
Beer & food prices are high-ish, but then again this place is trying to pass itself off as an eatery.
14 Apr 2008 13:29
Huge pub, with a nondescript choice of real ales. Bar staff unwilling to pour full pints, and at the prices they charge, it's not acceptable.
Seems to fill with posh students on Sunday evenings, most of whom are quite obnoxious. Get very busy at other times.
Food can be great or dire, depending on which chef they've managed to employ this month.
14 Apr 2008 13:10
The Square and Compass, Worth Matravers
This is one special pub. Nothing else is quite like it! The beer & cider is superb. The pub is charming, and the attached museum excellent!
Very nice pasties that fit in with the rustic appeal of this place.
10/10
14 Apr 2008 13:01
Badger Best is always good quality. Prices are average for the tourist-trap that is Swanage.
Staff are amazingly rude! They will try their best to ignore you (even though the place is always deserted). They turn on the jukebox to full volume and get a real attitude if you even try to be cheery!
Stunning views...
14 Apr 2008 12:58
Not a bad little pub. Local, friendly and properly priced. The place is beginning to look a bit tired though.
Beer is usually pretty good, but tried the food here on 3 occasions and found it to be either sloppy, cold or uncooked!!!
14 Apr 2008 12:52
Soon to become yet more flats, apparently.
Never been a favourite pub of mine. London Pride has always been sitting in the pipes for the afternoon - yuck.
14 Apr 2008 12:48
Good beer and well-priced for Swanage!
Pub is tidy, but some of the customers they let in!!!
Bar staff aren't always attentive, but with some of their customers I can't say that I blame them!
One pub that I personally avoid.
14 Apr 2008 12:45
The management of this pub has now changed (thankfully!) so it can only improve.
Too early to say what the pub will develop into though.
14 Apr 2008 12:41
The "end bar" is still a pub. Very friendly landlord & landlady. The rest of the building is devoted to being a restaurant. Badger ales, always well kept but shocking prices!!
Never had a bad meal here, always happy with the food.
14 Apr 2008 12:39
At least 3 interesting real ales, that change regularly. Beer is always in excellent condition.
Food is usually good. The New Menu is the same as the old menu, but with less selection and higher prices!
Beer is typically higher priced than other pubs in the area, but this is a good pub.
14 Apr 2008 12:35
1 Real ale: Greene King IPA. Not my fave, but good quality nevertheless. Food is simple and very cheap - but really tasty and of good quality! Odd serving hours, though...
14 Apr 2008 12:28
The Duke Of Wellington, Wareham
Best pub in Wareham - At least 4 regularly changing real ales, of excellent quality and better priced than anywhere else in the area.
Food is very good, with a range of prices from good value to very high.
14 Apr 2008 12:23
A decent town pub that promises from the adverts "up to 6 real ales & 18 ciders". In fact, rarely are there more than 3 real ales (Ringwood Best & Deuchars are usually on). Unfortunately, the place built up a great reputation in '05, but the place has gone downhill since. Food & beer is pricey, and the quality isn't what it used to be. It's a shame that the place isn't managed properly.
14 Apr 2008 12:20
REALLY friendly, local's pub. Possibly the nearest thing to a "proper" pub that there is in the vicinity of Swanage. Friendly young landlord-run pub with good quality London Pride & Ringwood Best, though the prices for an out-of-town pub are rapidly approaching the prices of the already tourist-hyped Swanage pubs.
14 Apr 2008 12:02
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The Lord Wimborne, Poole
What a crap place!
Attracts the worst that Poole has to offer. OK, so the prices are low, but so are the standards.
The place is filled with lager swilling DSS, single mums with prams, etc.
Its loud and dirty inside, so try sitting on the tables outside: They're covered in seagull crap. Only went here once (never again). Whilst sitting outside, a young couple plus baby sat on the next table - The kid was sick all over the table and the parents just moved to the next table to finish their chips. Nice.
14 Apr 2008 15:07