BITE user comments - walklim
Comments by walklim
This pub is in a lovely building but that`s about all that is good about it. It used to be a lovely quality pub with a British Empire theme with old prints of The Raj on the walls palms etc.,
But now it is a downmarket basic bar with no frills. It is not really the place to go for a drink unless you wear jogging bottoms and have a tattoo on your neck. The Management could be making a fortune, as there is no competition in the vicinity. I don`t understand it.
12 Feb 2009 12:32
I went last week, and it was so cold inside the pub that everyone had their coats on ! I kid you not. I was told this happens all the time and it seems the Landlord is directing the central heating up to his own apartment and leaving the pub freezing. There was a broken window which has been boarded up for some time now. I was also amazed that a pint of beer cost me �3.20 ! this is 60p more than you would pay in the High Street in a similar style pub.
The lavatories are revolting as well. Why endure such treatment ?
21 Jan 2009 15:23
The male lavatories in this pub are primitive and often dirty. An old toilet with a broken chain hanging down, always pee over the place, and I would doubt anyone has ever bleached the place. Rotten !
It is rather like visiting a third world country.
16 Aug 2006 15:40
The Lamb and Flag, Covent Garden
This pub may claim to be old but it certainly does not have any charm at all. The interior is like a working mans club. No frills whatsoever, the maintenance budget must be less than a pound a year. I have never known such disgusting toilets either. Yuk. Not worth visiting.
1 Dec 2005 12:55
Just feels like a hervester pub grub chain. A once lovely old pub that is now totally devoid of any charm. There isn`t a nice pub in Hayes. I guess if you live there then you just don`t go out locally of an evening. I don`t understand it.
1 Nov 2005 12:25
This is a pikey pub and you feel like you are in a poor part of Margate.
There is a lot of potential here but for many years this has been a charmless,crude pub, whatever the name outside.
What do people do if they want to go out for a nice drink in the area ? They go to Beckenham ofcourse.
1 Nov 2005 12:22
This pub is abit of a problem. It is an old landmark building in an area which has hardly any pubs. But the interior is just horrible. It needs a good refurb with wooden floors and basic olde worlde style. The pub just feels uninviting and naff. I don`t think there is a nice pub in the town. You are better off travelling to Beckenham, just up the road. It may take ten minutes by car but it will be worth it.
1 Nov 2005 12:18
The Bricklayers Arms, Beckenham
Atlast ! They seem to have had a refurbishment. Don`t get too excited though, as the decorating bill came to about �7.50.
I would say this pub is the worst in the area. The place is so basic and lacking in any sort of frills or comfort. One good thing though, now you can actually see in through the windows, before you decide to go somewhere else.
1 Nov 2005 11:59
The bar service here is always bad. I have noticed on a few occasions now, that the bar staff are lazy, and just serve the people who appear directly infront of them and ignore everyone else waiting at the bar.
The pub is nice inside but far too small and crowded to be pleasurable. The toilets are the filthiest I have seen in a pub for ages, with a broken hand dryer and no towels. The tap was constantly running as it was broke, two weeks later, it was still running. Makes you wonder what the kitchens are like...
1 Aug 2005 08:59
The Dulwich Woodhouse, Sydenham
This pub still has the original wooden bar and feels like a real pub should. It is relaxed, if a little basic inside. It is well worth a visit though.
30 Jun 2005 13:21
I went here recently on a saturday night to try it out. There were four people in the whole pub. You know the sort, tattoo, a copy of The Sun and all wearing jogging bottoms. It used to be really busy in here on a saturday night a few years ago. But it has been decorated in the usual bland style, and has lost it`s individuality and charm. It is a unique old building, but you could be in a mock pub at Gatwick airport. It is surrounded by homes full of customers - but it is empty. Say`s it all.
6 Jun 2005 09:23
A great shame to see a lovely Victorian interior ripped out, to be replaced by a cheap 'changing rooms' style make over. The original could have been made funky just like they have done in The Greyhound in Dulwich village, up the road. It can never be replaced. Surely there must be a law about unnecesary vandalism like this. The pub is in a scuzzy area so I guess it would not have worked anyway. Rough clientele, noisy down market bar, zero atmosphere.
19 May 2005 15:44
Cozy and atmospheric dark bar with restaurant attached. Good back yard in the summer, appeals to older crowd generally. Some wannabe Gangsters from Catford occasionally turn up, like Frank Butcher but with less hair. More wine/champagne bar then beer. Always check your change when buying drinks here.
8 Apr 2005 10:49
An imitation Irish pub that is housed under empty flats and was knocked up cheaply with some Irish frippery on the walls. You know, an Irish rugby shirt and some Guinness beer mats on the wall, Hey presto - Irish bar. Seems to get totally packed though, so they must be doing something right.
8 Apr 2005 10:34
Agree with comments from dover1, but would add that the upstairs area is abit dated now with regards to the metal furniture and you feel like you are sitting in an Ikea canteen with a television flickering in the corner. Needs more funky chairs and candles for a warm lounge lizard feel, and people will flock back.
The beer is quite poor here.
8 Apr 2005 10:17
The Coach and Horses, Beckenham
A nice pub really, but marred by the loud television, the retarded contingent who congregate at one end of the bar, and the back yard which could be lovely in the summer if somebody actually cared.
8 Apr 2005 09:47
The only pub in this area, surrounded by homes, and yet it is half empty and has no charm whatsoever.
A most depressing place and the owners could be making a mint, if they only took some care to make the place nice. Some people just don`t like to make money, I guess.
8 Apr 2005 09:42
This is a nice friendly pub with a good beer selection and excellent bar staff.
The pub lay out is cramped and awkward, the space is blocked by badly placed low tables, so you often get jostled, if you are standing. It is a really lovely old building on the outside, but the interior is just a brewery idea of a non descript pub interior, Nan`s swirly carpets and chocolate box prints on the walls. If they got rid of the carpet, it would feel more like a real old pub.
It was recently re-furbished but looks exactly the same as it did before.
8 Apr 2005 09:36
This pub could be great if the new owner spent some money on it atlast. It has a crude working mans club, atmosphere and good beers. But the rear courtyard is like a dump and you can literally hear and smell the toilets being used.
29 Mar 2005 16:07
What a joy to see a pub refurb which actually is stylish and considerate and works. What an improvement to a declining run down pub !
The front bar area, now enlarged, is minimalist and spacious whilst the rear bar is comfy and old fashioned.
A great choice of drinks and even three types of bitter. Friendly and efficient bar staff.
My only criticism is the state of the back toilets which have been cheaply left almost as they were before.
8 Mar 2005 11:03
The Bricklayers Arms, Beckenham
This pub is in dire need of sensitive refurbishment. It is small and very basic inside. You would not really consider going here, if you compare it to the other pubs just up the road.
It could be a real money spinner if the owners made it nice inside.
8 Mar 2005 10:42
This is such a lovely building it really is a crying shame that it has been allowed to become so run down. Builders in track suits and big screen sports, sums this place up.
Being surrounded by so many homes and customers, the owners are just throwing money away by making it so uninviting.
It used to have a British Empire/Raj feel to it, with palms and old pictures etc., They should bring this style back and see the customers flood in.
7 Mar 2005 16:59
The George, Beckenham
Wow - clean and new Gent`s toilets after a 20 year wait....The brewery have spent �5000 on them after taking in �5m. How generous.
12 Feb 2009 12:37