BITE user comments - steveo
Comments by steveo
Never fails to dissapoint! Awful meal, slow staff, half of the stuff on the menu unavailable. 50 minute wait to pay bill. Lest we forget. I did, so will now wait another two years before going there again, and being dissapointed once more.
Oh, and save yourself the money for a comedy boxset this Christmas - just have a look at the prices they charge for a pint of Carling!
2 Jul 2013 17:10
This place s on the way back up! It's taken 10 years but finally there is a landlord and landlady team worthy of this fine building. It's becoming a proper pub again - fantastic!
21 Jan 2011 15:38
The Sun could still be great but I have to agree that it is starting to slip. Food getting pricey and not quite what it was. Supervision midweek is poor with younger staff at the bar and landlord nowhere to be seen. This place has had long enough and the staff should really switch on � it�s awful being left waiting to get served. It�s still a great place and one of the best in Carshalton but it is no longer clearly the best pub and it may slip further if the management team are simply sitting back and counting the money � a la Woodman.
21 Jan 2011 15:35
Just when you thought The Greyhound couldn�t get any worse�it has! Went in the other day and they had one bitter on! One! So called coaching inn and only one ale. Hopefully CAMRA have disowned the place just like most of the former punters. Swan Bar unstaffed with a note telling you to go to the main bar to get served � what a joke. Main bar really is a pit now with football shirts suspended from the ceiling like some kind of chav semaphore. I wish they�d turned this place into flats and kept the Texaco garage � at least the petrol station had a bit of atmosphere.
21 Jan 2011 15:27
Acorn 20, Kingston Upon Thames
Went in here with a mate the other week at about 8pm and had a couple of beers. Went for a bite to eat and came back at 10.45pm and the brain donors behind the bar had decided that they were closed! Obviously not closed enough for them to be enjoying shooters with their friends, but closed enough for returning customers willing to spend the cash that pays their wages! This place seems to have a serious management problem during quiet weeknights if staff are allowed to turn business away. We weren�t drunk, were smartly dressed and the pub was very quiet. I did kind of get the feeling that decent folk aren�t welcome though. Such a shame.
14 Jun 2010 16:56
If the Greyhound wondered where all the people who used to drink and eat in their pub had gone, they should take a look through the doors here. Nice pub and food is very good. They're not perfect, but mistakes are quickly rectified and all of the staff seem to be keen to retain custom rather then fleece them on the first visit. Let's see how the first full summer goes...fingers crossed that the good show continues!
14 Jun 2010 16:42
Read it and weep Swan Bar! It seems The Hope is not a flash-in-the-pan and between it and then new Sun it has blown The Greyhound out of the water. I wish The Hope another successful summer and look forward to holding a pint of mild in one hand whilst the other gives the finger to the clowns by the Pond!
14 Jun 2010 16:39
This is a great pub and one of the best 'spoons around. Staff are a bit hit and miss though - either brainy or brain-dead. Beer is good and changes frequently. Great mix of families, Saga card-holders and dodgy alchies. Never any trouble, food is fast and generally good and pub is kept clean. Only problem is the Naz parking which makes it impossible to leave a car overnight.
14 Jun 2010 16:32
They could do with sorting out the eating side of things. Just make it a bar that does food rather than the awkward split that currently exists. Considering the prices they could do with tarting upthe outside a bit - most of the tables are more pissed than the wanabbes who drink there.
14 Jun 2010 16:27
This is now a pretty safe place to drink. Just mind your step if it ever opens again.
14 Jun 2010 16:21
Cracking boozer, almost makes it worth visiting New Malden!
14 Jun 2010 16:18
Made the mistake of going back. The clowns running the place have converted half of Carshalton into an empty restaurant. Pop in and have a look at the few customers that remain as they stare with disbelief at the amount of change they are holding in their hands after buying a drink.
If you don�t have time to visit the Greyhound you can simulate the experience by going into any bad overpriced restaurant, opening a can of Heineken, throwing five quid at a passing idiot (any South African will do) and then using your rolled-up empty wallet to shaft yourself up the botty.
14 Jun 2010 16:14
This place used to put up little A4 posters reminding punters that their beer prices were realistic. These posters have gone. Sadly so has Matt who ran the once-excellent quiz. Overall owner/management remains the same though. Looks like they are trying to milk as much cash as possible out of what is left of the lease on the place. Now a very ordinary place to drink and easily surpassed by the pubs the other side of the bridge. Now who would have thought anyone would ever be saying that! Sadly North and West Streets now make the offerings along the Pond look pretty poor.
14 Jun 2010 16:05
Ah, Emmy86, what exactly are you trying to justify? The �4.15 (yes, �4.15!) for a pint of beer, or the fact that the Greyhound has become the biggest backpacker hostels this side of Earls court?
I�ll tell you what is insulting � being charged what are easily top-end prices for a pint of beer and then the second the bell goes, some Munster starts pushing a hoover around. That is rude. Bloody hovering in front of customers a few seconds after closing time � not even after drinking up time. Go in there any night of the week and witness it for yourself. It�s fast becoming the highlight of a visit to this once-great boozer.
13 Jun 2008 15:22
Tartan carpet is a disaster, single sink in ladies an oversight and health risk. �12.95 for a Sunday roast - give me strength! There are economies of scale when doing roasts, but a limited choice of chicken or beef and lazy unpeeled potatoes make the pricing even more laughable. The mid-week steaks are good though and the service in the restaurant has now improved and the early delays seen soon after the refurb now seem to be sorted. The starters remain inventive and almost justify their �5 average price. On Sunday 11 November, a selection of cheese was offered as a starter! I can only assume that some uncultured Aussie made a mistake when typing up the menu. Still, the place was full with a queue for seats. I doubt that many will return for the �13 roast though, so eventually prices will have to drop as there are only so many people in Carshalton that can be mugged. Go during the week and enjoy the occasional inspired starter and excellent quality steak.
Beer prices now approaching four pounds a pint and almost a pound more expensive than similar local establishments. If you�re pout for a few beers it�s almost cheaper to buy a Travelcard and go to central London!
The refurb is great though. Will have cost a fortune and all areas are clean and well looked after. They must have run out of money and picked up the tartan carpet on the cheap � I only wish there were more incontinent customers in the Swan Bar to help along the speedy purchase of a replacement. In the meantime you get staff sat at the bar eating breakfast and you begin to wonder if it hasn�t turned into a hostel for the benefit of Australian backpackers subsidised by the local beer-consuming community.
The Greyhound is still a collection of compromises. Good beer, bad prices; family atmosphere, but only in you�re on a gap-year from Brisbane; great food, overpriced food; amazing d�cor; tartan carpet.
I still like going there though and I hope that the new landlord is the messiah that some allude to. Hopefully he�ll capitalise on his successes and buy the kitchen staff a calculator and potato peeler. I look forward to reporting back!
12 Nov 2007 14:11
The Bridge Bar, London Bridge Station
This bar has now closed. This and the surrounding units, along with PwC's office building next door are being demolished to make way for the Shard of Glass Building. It's a shame to see the Bridge Bar go as it was one of the only decent station pubs, probably in the country.
11 Jul 2007 15:55
Pretty good for Bromley with an acceptable view of the green 'park' area. mostly geared up to be a food place with an interesting menu, specials and a really good choice of continental beers. Strangely full of blokes pushing prams in the late afternoon which can result in screaming kids - very odd and not something you'd usually associate with a place like this. Service is fast and pleasant and the only thing that lets it down are the poorly-maintained bogs which need a good clean and locks on the doors etc - if it's a food place then you should really be providing a better class of khazi.
26 Jun 2007 17:37
The Queen Victoria, North Cheam
As soon as Ken Livingstone offered free bus travel to the under-16s, this place was doomed - there is no way the Queen Vic could compete with the range of walls to graffiti and opportunities for violence that public transport offers. I heard that news of the closure prompted bigger street parties than were seen on VE Day. I strongly believe that this place should remain undeveloped and serve as a memorial and a reminder that the people of south London never let something like this happen ever again. The Queen Vic � Shit Bin Extraordinaire, lest we forget.
8 May 2007 14:23
The Bridge Bar, London Bridge Station
It's crap, but it's in a station. Compared to the Bridge Bar's peer group it's probably the best station pub in the country. That's a bit like picking a favourite brain tumour, but you get the idea. It's probably at its best in the early morning when one of their surprisingly tasty bacon baps accompanied by a decent pot of tea combine to become one of the finer points of a commute to London.
8 May 2007 14:03
The strange arrangement for Thai food is, well, strange. An almost utopic fusion of real ale and takeaway - all in a pub. Brave, and it almost works too! Well worth a plate of noodles and a few beers, give - give ti a try!
8 May 2007 13:48
You'd be safer queuing for a beer at a Police recruiting office in Baghdad.
8 May 2007 13:45
STOP PRESS!! Recent and unexpected change of landlords! New regime have immediately stamped their seal on the place by moving two chairs and buying a sofa. This is big news for Carshalton � possibly the most significant change the village has experienced since the one-way system was abandoned. The Greyhound�s food area has shrunk � as has the apparent level of trade with prices still way above where they should be. Most beer also remains well over the three quid mark which is equally unfortunate. It�s still a great pub though and it will be interesting to see if the new guv�nors change much. Sadly the latest tranche of Australian and South African bar staff are about as responsive as Professor Stephen Hawking on a flat battery. Waits of over ten minutes are quite common which is the average time it takes for the antipodeans wonders to work out that there are two sides to their, um, two-sided bar.
8 May 2007 13:44
If you aren't sure where the Whispering Moon is located, turn left out of Wallington Station and follow the smell of piss.
8 May 2007 13:32
Review below is pretty accurate, but remove 'Although' and delete all text after dive.
8 May 2007 13:30
I still remember the many evenings spent a this once-legendary establishment. Sadly it has now gone so far downhill, you can see people mining for coal in the souless pit it now occupies. Tragic.
8 May 2007 13:26
The ribeye steak was shockingly expensive, but also really quote amazingly good. I hate paying top-end money for beer and scoff at this kind of branded chain, but it is quality - for the moment at least!
8 May 2007 13:22
Remains one of the best pubs in the High Street. Perhaps becoming a little too popular though as can be crowded at times.
8 May 2007 13:21
There is little likelihood of anyone who drinks here being able to read and write, let alone post three positive review on the same day. This can be a nice pub, it can be a big-time aggro pit � the trouble is it frequently switches between both without a moment�s warning.
8 May 2007 13:19
I have been posting comments about this pub for ages. It's a favourite of mine and I go there quite a lot. However, however, however, however. The prices have now reached astronomic levels. Food is still very expensive and clearly geared towards the passing hotel trade rather than regular return local trade. The food is good, but not quite what it used to be. The main thing that has changed though is the price of beer. Bugger me sideways and call me Alice - �3.10 for a pint of Kroney! Three pouns f'ing ten! Let me remind you that this pub is in Carshalton, not in the trendy centre of London. The cost of beer here is now through the roof - some 25p a pint more than other similar establishments. The management have gone too far this time and too greedy - I'm off elsewhere!
22 Apr 2005 18:42
Staff upstairs need a slap. Downstairs is recently re-vamped and nice though. There is however no natural light down there, which may or may not be a good thing if you're on the lash!
Still probably the best place near Victoria Station, although the other places make Tikrit look appealing.
22 Apr 2005 18:38
I hate Guiness - horrible Irish muck...but, here, it was nectar! I had several pints of the black stuff and then downstairs for a dozen oysters. Do something different and check this place out! If you're in jeans and T-shirt though you'll feel a bit out of place as the majority of punters are in suits.
22 Apr 2005 18:35
Further to my comment on 1st Sep, I now think this pub is changing. It's getting better. There are still some scary faces, but it's becoming a nicer and nicer place to have a beer.
7 Dec 2004 13:59
The Bonesgate, Chessington
Now called the William Bourne. Was good, then went awful awful awful. New landlord and landlady team this year have turned the place around. Now a great place to drink and eat. Easily the best pub in the 'Chessington North' area. A fantastic result to have a boozer run so professionally and in such a customer friendly manner - I really hope they stay!
2 Jul 2013 17:12