BITE user comments - vicarofdarton
Comments by vicarofdarton
The British Lion (the Pig), Crewe
What a disaster! I arrived for a regular Sunday evening pint, last week, and found it firmly locked and bolted. Crewe cannot afford to be without a characterful boozer like this. Yes, the ambience had changed a bit with witless bar staff who know nothing about real ale, but the regulars were all there, and the beer was well kept. How long must we suffer this closure?
12 Aug 2012 10:02
The good news is that it has re-opened under the management of the same people that own the Pheasant at Higher Burwardsley. The emphasis is as a gastropub and place to stay. The good quality of the food is matched by the exemplary standard of service. This is a professional outfit, but not so sharp that you would feel out of place if you just came for a drink. Good range of cask ales.
26 Aug 2009 18:22
Agreed. This is the only real drinkers pub in Addimgham. Well-kept cask ales, a good mix of regulars, genial landlord. It's exactly what it says it is.
26 Aug 2009 18:18
This place used to be a superb local back in the good old days when David and Janet Harrison ran it. It's still a good place for a drink in the early evening (good selection of well-kept ales) or a light lunch with a pint. The gastropub it has become has rather changed the character of the place. The prices are indeed on the top side (not just the food - a pint of Copper Dragon cost �3.10 last week!). I have found the food (and the service) to be less than consistent, not always helped by the slightly sloany and arrogant comportment of the younger staff.
26 Aug 2009 18:16
At the time of writing (August 09) this is probably the best pub in Selby if you are looking for a traditional boozer with two good cask ales, a pair of landladys who know, and care about, their regulars. A nice mix of customers with character. It's worth the walk out of the twon centre (5 mins along the river). It's a welcome relief from the the rather non-descript managed pubs in the centre of town.
26 Aug 2009 18:07
The First and Last Inn, Exeter
krs360 has obviously got it in for the F&L as well as the nearby Green Gables. When I was curate of St Thomas's Church, just down the road in Cowick Street, the F&L (under the previous stewardship of John & Di) was one of only two places I would drink in the parish (the other being the Green Gables). I was made incredibly welcome, got to know all the local characters, and never experienced anything of the behaviour krs360 describes. It' s a place where, if you're prepared to muck in and become part of the locality, you will make friends for life. The beer was always in tip-top condition, and Sunday afternoons in the company of the Exeter's Irish community was a real home-from-home. Get out of your car, krs 360, walk through the door and find out for yourself. Then have the good grace to revise your comments on this site.
4 Jan 2009 14:43
A real gem. The pub used by Chippenham Morris Men. The lounge, on one side, is inhabited by lots of folk music fanatics, drop-out intellectuals, and Guardian readers. The bar, on the other side, is full of local characters (including a genial giant called 'Masher'). Good selection of regularly changing real ales. Live folk session on Sunday evenings. It's very hard to leave.
24 Apr 2008 15:43
I was the curate at St Thomas's Church, just down the road from this pub in Cowick Street, a few years ago, and (apart from the First and Last under the previous management) I wouldn't drink nowhere else other than the Green Gables. It's full of characters (a lot of Exeter's Irish community drink here). Bob, the landlord, is a very likeable bloke, and you will never be short of conversation. This is classic spit and sawdust: a pub just as it should be; without constant Sky TV and juke boxes. It was a real home-from-home for me. Thoroughly recommended.
24 Apr 2008 15:37
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The White Knight, Pound Hill
Spent a few months around this part of Crawley and watched this place go further and further down the plughole. What should be a cracking community pub is often a venue for fighting dogs, alcoholic drop-outs and worse. Monday nights, there's a great Irish barmaid who is attentive to customers. Since the last couple left, there's a bloke managing it who, frankly, couldn't give a damn about his customers. He regularly allows his dog to fight with customers' dogs, and generally chooses who he will - and will not - speak to. One Saturday evening, he spent a whole hour on his phone without even pausing the conversation when pulling drinks. His attitude stinks. The place looks run down and looks like it could close any minute. I wouldn't go there again if it was the last pub on earth! Plenty of better options within walking distance (Snooty Fox for example).
28 Apr 2015 15:44