BITE user comments - thethompson
Comments by thethompson
The George and Dragon, Heighington
Great food - at least the last time i ate there a year and a half ago!
12 Jul 2010 15:15
Always enjoy a trip to The Bridge... staff are great and the beer is always just right!
Used to pop in for food quite often but have given it more of a wide bearth of late. Still good, just not great. The menu is a little bloated and feels a bit like a good honest pub menu that has been perverted by a gastroponce ethos but without having the capacity to deliver...
The menu scribe is hilareous - embarrasingly over the top: "A quails perctoralis major cheekily perpindicular to a pillow of pomme petit pois", "A trio of cash and carry sausage playfully adorning a cloud of fluffy mash with a rich onion jus"
If only they put the same effort into the food as they do describing it...
12 Jul 2010 15:07
Good pub - even better beer garden!
The beer never lets me down and i dont ever feel uncomfortable in here: nice balance of people, ample seating, long and inviting beer garden, laughably "local" selection of sandwiches - north east and a bag of chips!
The service can be a bit lethargic but i wouldn't chalk that down as a problem... never made to feel like you're a hinderance, as the "student" staff of many Durham pubs make you feel. Between The Swan, The City and The Half Moon you have a great little trinity of quiet(ish) boozers for a school night...
9 Jul 2010 17:09
Never had a problem with this place - can't say it makes my shortlist too often but you'd not hear a peep out of me if someone suggested it. Fair enough, it is like the cantina bar from Star Wars but so are all Spoons pubs so this is no different!
I've always found the staff to be pretty good - most of them longserving "faces".
9 Jul 2010 17:02
Amazing selection of products - there will be something for everyone here!
Staff are great - fast and friendly - and the Pub itself is a good standard all round. Pop in for a pint, see what you think... all i can say on this one!
9 Jul 2010 16:55
Excellent beer - always had great service too
The seats out the front are an amazing sun trap if you get lucky with the weather - i have been frazzled sat out here nearly every year! For these seats alone I'd recommend this pub as an out of the way drink for those hot sunny days when you just want to take a load off and have a cracking booze
The food has gotten noticably worse over the last few years - actually, i'll get off the fence here and suggest that they get rid of the tallentless joke that runs the kitchen. They can't cook at the same standard that the front of house staff present and really let this (otherwise) fantastic business down. Let's just say that this person loves their deep fat fryer but hates cleaning it. Don't let the quantity of diners fool you - this is the North East remember.
9 Jul 2010 16:50
Great beer selection, and all well kept...
Food - never tried it: but I'd imagine it to be terrible
Never had an issue with the barstaff - dude with longhair is great, a proper Durham "face" and Pearl Jam aficionado!
I love the Jukebox - easily the best Jukebox in the city; although that is obviosuly a taste thing (but hey, this is a review site!). Loads of old rock (the kind of which everyone in a pub like this probably loves - by the look of folk), pleanty of Indie classics (new and old) and some jaw droppingly random "hits" by the likes of Mastodon and The Mars Volta. All they need is Jupiter by Cave In and i'll never drink anywhere else ever again!
9 Jul 2010 16:36
The Shakespeare Tavern, Durham
Good little pub for a quick stop-off providing it's not too cramped. Just as pretty much every reviewer has mentioned, it's size makes for a claustaphobic affair if even a gaggle of folk turn out!
The "old bit" is what you come in here for - the "new bit" just looks out of place and tagged on. Although this shouldn't be a problem if you just want a couple of pints as it makes a great addition to a pub crawl. Besides, I like the toilets which feel like they have been carved out of a cave... lol
9 Jul 2010 16:28
Incompetent bar staff ruin what would be an acceptably average crawl spot - seriously, the staff are the single worst aspect of this place. Absolutely no idea who is next in line and absolutely uninterested in learning. Typical: "I'm better than this" student bar staff mentality... avoid if at all possible!
Beer is "Meh!" at best
9 Jul 2010 16:17
The Swan and Three Cygnets, Durham
Great pub - a favorite for fifteen years
Great pub with a great atmosphere... it may not strike newcomers like that but there is a perfectly good reason why this place gets the trade it does!
I love the cheap and cheerful booze but many choose to complain: if you expect a glass of Crystal for �1.70 you need to give your head a shake to be honest. Food: yes, they sell crisps - i do beleive they sell other food but in all honesty if you're the kind of person who would buy a meal in a pub like this then your opinion is likely worth ziltch to most people! You don't expect fine dining in McDonalds, don't expect it here.
Toilets can be a shocker but thats the brewery and their budgets not the staff...
9 Jul 2010 16:13
The George and Dragon, Heighington
Great food - at least the last time i ate there a year and a half ago!
12 Jul 2010 15:15