BITE user comments - spit
Comments by spit
Good pub with decent food (particularly good roast Sunday lunch), well-kept ale (though the standard-issue dull choice of Exmoor Ale) and a reasonable atmosphere. A bit restauranty, but that's inevitable in this location. Great place to stay except for the fire alarms in the small hours.
30 Sep 2008 19:59
Very good all round - beer, food, ambience all excellent. Well worth a visit.
6 Mar 2008 08:30
Shocking beer quality; wanted my card kept behind the bar for a lunch tab; sold me a pint of beer that was sitting 3/4 full under a tap; staff were eating Gregg's sausage rolls and leaving them half-eaten on the bar counter; manageress completely bemused why I wasn't happy about all this. Food was pretty good but I wouldn't go back. Appallingly unprofessional operation all round.
6 Mar 2008 08:28
This place has many of the attributes of a great pub, but falls just short in a couple of key areas. Comfy, cosy, roaring fire in winter, interesting food selection specialising in local suppliers, reasonable real ale range and decent wines. Nice atmosphere, decent and unobtrusive piped music, occasional live music, friendly locals and staff. Good location by the bridge over the Barle river.
The biggest let-down however is the real ale quality - occasionally in poor condition, but *always* freezing cold. Can be sub-lager-temperature. Lack of knowledge? Lack of care? Don't know - the owners are not often to be seen. The food specials can be disappointing, so stick to the excellent pies, burger, etc. A nearly great pub - just needs a little extra care.
4 Mar 2008 13:23
Ditto the previous review. Was a great ale house, but lost interest. Did have great food but ambitions outstripped capability. Good atmosphere when there's a decent crowd of locals, but that's all too rare unfortunately.
10 Jan 2008 21:00
Surgical removal of character to create some Londoner's idea of what a trendy country-yet-contemporary pub should be. Incredible aura of smugness, yet food and service are well below par. A tragic waste of a good building - the locals must be crying into their beer (in another pub somewhere).
10 Jan 2008 20:52
Almost perfect. Comfy, chatty, great ales and wines (ridiculously good-value bottles), local cider, local info, newspapers and magazines, cinema upstairs (no, really), sun-trap garden to watch the swifts feeding, regular talks/events, sofas, big fires, interesting art, unusual music selections, great community feel. And the food - just brilliant. Puts most so-called gastro-pubs to shame without pretension or vast expense. Modest menu of quality dishes with lots of local ingredients. Fantastic Sunday roast.
Only complaint is typical of many country pubs - it's bl**dy freezing if you're early, as they never get the fires going properly unless there's a crowd.
Others take note - this is how to do a Real Pub.
10 Jan 2008 20:49
Outstandingly good pub for real ales and friendly welcome. Eclectic range of music (sometimes over-loud) from home-brewed PC jukebox. Can be a little quiet, and the refurb must have removed some character, but can't fault the landlady's good honest pub ethic.
Simple short menu of good home-cooked food Fri-Sun only. Well worth a detour for the real ale alone.
10 Jan 2008 20:40
Trying hard, but missing a few basic points. The sort of place that needs the lighting turning down several notches and the heating turning up lots of notches (*freezing* cold last time I visited early on a cold winter's evening). Food fair to good, but inconsistent. An outstandingly rude older barmaid, but the younger barman very friendly. Ales well-kept - but are Exmoor, which is fine but something else would make a change in this area.
There's an old-fashioned feel about this place that draws an OAP crowd for lunch but which doesn't help the general atmosphere.
Worth trying but don't go out of your way.
10 Jan 2008 20:34
A poor effort by Wetherspoon's mediocre standards. You can elect to sit in either choking smoke (roll on July 1st...); the family area; or under a giant TV screen which as they've paid for it is on 24x7 regardless of whether there's anything on that anyone might be at all interested in. Real ale in Wetherspoons is usually good, but this one ruins all it's beer by serving it through a sparkler. Staff are usually more interested in each other's conversations than the punters. The manager seems on the ball but he's up against it frankly.
14 Jun 2007 19:06
The George Inn, Dulverton
Not sure what this place is about. Once you've made your way past the 1001 signs telling you what you should or shouldn't do (with particular reference to boots and/or children [and if you can decipher exactly what their policy is regarding children/meals/rooms then you're doing well]) you'll find a pleasant olde worlde country pub interior. Sadly run by novices (I'm being kind). Poor beer quality and terrible food. Trout in herb butter arrived swimming in flavourless melted butter - really off-putting. My partner was sick after her scampi. Avoid.
30 Sep 2008 20:05