St Marks Tavern, Surbiton

I live in Surby and up until last night had never ventured into this pub.

I now know why.

Hungry and looking for somewhere to watch the footy we thought we'd give it a whirl.

The food is cheap so wasn't expecting much, but we waited 35 minutes for bangers & mash and fish & chips only to find that the bangers were still not cooked (red inside! {what WERE you doing in that kitchen if you weren't cooking?]) and the fish and chips were bland as anything. Then when we said about the uncooked snags we were told we could only have crisps as the kitchen was now closed. Nice!

Couple that with the work-shy manageress and stroppy barmaid who spent most of the night outside smoking fags leaving just one girl on - you'd have to say "pile o' shite".

Only good thing about the place is that it's got a vending maching thingy to charge your mobile so maybe worth a pint if your battery was dead and you were waiting for a life or death phonecall (although you probably wouldn't be waiting for it in this chav-den), but otherwise go to Bosco's accross the road.

10 Apr 2008 13:26

Fred's Bar and Grill, Hastings

A great place to stop for no frills food (try the rib eye!), a few drinks and a good laugh.

One of the few places on the island to serve Scrumpy too so the Dorris was happy as well.

28 Feb 2007 13:19

No.88 Bar and Grill, Kingston Upon Thames

Hello Rosq, hope you're well darl'. I think Steph went home. Simon is still about though. Last I heard he was working as a heating engineer and living at the Cocks. I've got his number, if you want it let me know [email protected]

Updating my previous comments, the place is starting to feel like the old Tup again, but Massive - �3 for a pint of Guiness?! You may as well get your staff to wear a tri-cornered hat, a mask and two flintlock postols - daylight robbery.

10 Oct 2005 11:05

The Bridge Lounge and Dining Room, Tower Bridge

I visit the Camel after work or at lunchtimes quite regularly and I have to say it's one of my favourite bars in the area. Admitedly that's not saying much as the rest of the bars around London Bridge are pretty dire, but the Camel's a welcome acception.

The staff are friendly, the food's good, they've got big screen TV for the sport and the Guinness is bang on. What more could a boy want?

23 Sep 2005 12:38

No.88 Bar and Grill, Kingston Upon Thames

You know, I've been a patron at this place for over 10 years now and think of it almost like a member of my own family. I've had some great nights down there, met some of my best friends there, not to mention my beautiful girlfriend. I was there when it used to be the Flamingo and pint of Fairfield & black was �1. I was there when it changed to a Hedgehog and Stump. I was there when it became a Tup. I was there through all the landlords from Jamie through to Greg, so it pains me to say this � don�t go to this pub.

What this place used to be great for was creative managers (Blazing Saddles night, Life of Brien, The Beach Party etc), friendly bar staff, an inviting atmosphere and a fantastic regular local crowd. We could look past the high prices and the slightly out of the way location because we always knew we�d have a good time and feel welcome.

The current manager there however seems to be going out of his way to kill the atmosphere of the place. No regulars here please. Don�t try and talk to the bar staff. Don�t even think of trying to meet up in a group of more than four. I mean, what are you doing? Without the atmosphere that made this pub what do you have? You have a basic run of the mill pub that is charging central London prices when it is not even central Kingston.

Every pub has beer (most at cheaper prices), many have a large screen TV for watching sports and many have a pool table (some of them aren�t even wonky!). What is going to make me want to come here? The answer is - nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I don�t think that sole blame can lie with the current manager though, by the looks of things I believe the Massive Group, the company that owns the pub, is running it down until the end of the lease to then sell the place for development. They�ve already sold the car park and one set of toilets for property development.

I�m boycotting this place and a lot of the other regulars are too. My advice if you�re in the locality and you fancy a drink but don�t fancy central Kingston:

If you want to play pool go to the Fighting Cocks or the Six Bells.
If you want to watch the sport go to the Norbiton Dragon or the Six Bells.
If you want a quiet night to chat go to the Refectory or the Cricketers
If you want live music go to the Fighting Cocks.
If you want a Sunday roast go to the Bricklayers Arms (honestly, do, it�s the best in the area!)

19 May 2005 16:59