BITE user comments - urf
Comments by urf
The Duke of Clarence, South Kensington
Usually when I visit London, I try to eat and drink in a different pub every night. Unfortunately for that plan, the Duke of Clarence was so fantastic a place I just kept going back (7 times in two weeks). The food was the best I've eaten in a UK pub. The ales were beautifully kept--I particularly liked the Sharps and the British Bulldog. The staff was incredibly friendly, as were the locals. I woke up with a pounding headache one morning because the night before some local lads were celebrating something or other, and they bought round after round after round, and of course I felt compelled to drink and drink and drink. I unhesitatingly rate this pub a solid 10!
7 Jun 2008 00:30
Pleasant enough place with a couple good ales. My wife particularly liked the atmosphere--well-lighted and family-oriented. A couple of guys that appeared to be American bikers came in for dinner and drank pints of milk. Apparently, nobody has ever ordered a glass of milk here, as the bartender told the guys--after a moment of quick figuring--that he'd charge them the price of a coffee! Funny!
17 Jul 2007 12:28
Dropped in to avoid a horrendous downpour. Friendly barman, but some of the customers watched us a bit warily. I don't think they get many tourists in this place. Watched a bit of cricket over a pint of John Smith's Ultra Smooth. Perfectly nice corner bar.
8 Jul 2007 14:55
The Crown and Anchor, Winchester
Locals were very friendly toward us tourists. Ruddles Orchard was nice. Beautiful little place!
8 Jul 2007 14:45
This was the last pub my wife and I visited on our London trip, and it turned out to be my favorite. The 6x was a great discovery, and the Best Bitter was so good I went back for a second. The staff was friendly, the crowd was...interesting, and we loved the decor. The Karl Marx stories certainly add to the romance of the place. Overall, the atmosphere was so pleasant I didn't even mind the smoke cloud hanging over the bar like a storm cloud.
On a more personal note, my wife and I are both Americans, and I can assure you that we were not loud or obnoxious while patronizing any pubs in London, including the Museum Tavern. However, on the night we visited the Museum Tavern, there was another American couple in the pub sitting with a group of what I gathered to be Londoners, and several times the fellow held his hand in front of the lady's face to stop her from speaking. Now that was obnoxious! But so was the loutish local who continually tried to engage other patrons in his drunken, obscenity-laced conversation about pointless nonsense. Rest assured, we tourists haven't cornered the market on obnoxiousness.
5 Apr 2006 19:28
Stumbled across this place on a Saturday afternoon, in a neighborhhod where not much else seemed to be happening. Staff was very helpful and we sampled a range of ales, all of which were acceptable. Nice mixed crowd of old guys reliving their youth and younger folks enjoying soccer...er, football.
5 Apr 2006 18:47
The Bloomsbury Tavern, Bloomsbury
I loved the decor, and both the staff and other patrons were very friendly, which created a great atmosphere. The Spitfire was nice, but the Early Bird was completely without taste.
5 Apr 2006 18:38
Had my first taste of fish and chips here, and it was great. Theakston's Old Peculiar was fantastic. Staff was very friendly. I'll be back.
5 Apr 2006 18:34
Worn out old barman frowned at my wife when she ordered a half-pint. That wasn't necessary. We finished our one and moved on.
5 Apr 2006 18:30
This was a terribly uncomfortable place to be. Seats were uncomfortable, smoke was thick around the bar, and the staff was simply not friendly. We left so quickly I don't even remember what I drank.
5 Apr 2006 18:23
The Jeremy Bentham, Bloomsbury
On our first visit to London, this was the first pub my wife and I visited (mainly because I teach philosophy and I was intrigued by a pub named after a philosopher that I talk about in my classes; also, it was close to our lodging).
It was crowded in the middle of the day so we sat upstairs, where we interrupted a couple in business attire that appeared to be just moments away from copulation. Aside from that, the food--a chicken burger and a mushroom burger--was great, and the Guinness was even better. Staff was friendly.
When I visit London again, I'll go back.
5 Apr 2006 18:14
The Crown Inn, Battersea
Watched the FA Cup final here, drinking Guinness with friendly locals Jimmy and Bob. The crowd reminded me a lot of the bunch in my local back home in Philadelphia. A pleasant place.
7 Jun 2008 01:16