BITE user comments - xaventaner
Comments by xaventaner
The two best pubs along the river in Richmond are The White Cross and this one. It’s slightly tucked back from the riverside compared to the Cross, the benefit of this being that you don’t have to purchase a tide clock in order to guarantee entry and exit! Also, not being in eyeshot of the Thames path means that the tourists are fewer in numbers. The pub consists of two main rooms, the front one being the original and the back room an extension. There is also an upstairs dining area which I’ve not seen in use and maybe for hire only. It has a lovely homely atmosphere in the winter affected in no small part by the fire (high end imitation, not real coal or log unfortunately) and the lack of music. It’s a lot smaller than the Cross and can get crowded in the evenings.
Beers include Tim Taylors Landlord but not a great selection in all honesty. There are always a couple of real ales although nothing adventurous, the usual selection of high-street ciders, and not a great deal else. I’ve only eaten there once but had a very well prepared poached Atlantic salmon with sweet potato and goats cheese mash. The staff are generally very polite and helpful although I will say they tend to be a bit over zealous at putting the reserve signs on the tables in the main room; they seem to be moving more and more towards treating the whole place as a restaurant in the evenings which leaves little room for the drinkers. It’s a shame but I imagine being tucked away as it is it needs to attract a good number of patrons for more than just a couple of pints.
In summer I’d always stick to the White Cross, but as the afternoons darken in the winter I think this place really comes into its own and is well worth a visit particularly late afternoon.
20 Dec 2012 11:31
Nooooooooo! It�s been ruined. The rustic d�cor and olde world artefacts that adorned the walls are all gone. The original tiling on the floor has been removed and replaced by some synthetic material. Crass spot lighting is now used everywhere giving it the illumination of a STD clinic. Not a cosy corner or candlelit nook has been left unspoiled. Even the prints from old copies of Vanity Fair have gone from the toilets. All charm and individuality has been ripped out and replaced by dull formulaic dullness. This used to be a place I would bring people from outside the area as an example of a quality well run pub with a special unreformed atmosphere. Not anymore. Whoever signed off on this should be sent to Hague for crimes against humanity.
8 Apr 2011 09:29
The Coach and Horses, Isleworth
Came here a couple of times before it was refurbished and thought it was fairly average. Went back last night as they had put a �10 off food voucher through my door. Really impressed by what they�ve done with the place and had an excellent meal. The amount of cash splashed on the refurbishment has clearly been considerable. There is now a larger beer garden and a new dining hall which is connected to the old building by an annex which has a glass front allowing lots of sunlight in. Particular praise goes to their use of lighting which achieves the not inconsiderable feat of combining a bright welcoming place for groups of drinkers with ample nooks and crannies for quieter times. They had Bath Ales Bitter on tap where I was there and also had Youngs Double Chocolate stout in the fridge which is always a bonus.
The food on offer looked tremendous, generally generous portions and very well put together. I had the fillet steak which a little steep at �20 was worth it with every bite. My only minor gripe being the chips which were a little on the thin side and tended towards being more like crisps than chips. Very pleasant bar staff and all round an excellent evening. It�s a shame that the pub is right under the Heathrow flight path and next to the main road. Sadly these facts would lead me to seek one of the pubs closer to the river on a hot day, but for dinner, quality atmosphere and good drink then I�ll be frequenting this place more often.
8 Apr 2011 09:08
Lovely place. Given that there must be an incentive to turn the place into one of those soulless gastropub abominations that are appearing courteously of folks like the Capital Pub Company the White Cross continues to be an island of tranquillity in a sea of mediocrity.
The location alone makes it worth a visit as it is situated along Richmond�s picturesque river bank where rowers mingle with tourists wandering over from Kew gardens and locals from well to do families converse with casuals from across the river in Isleworth (that�s me). It�s a Youngs pub so you get their bitter and special (shame there�s no Chocolate stout or Kew Gold but no-one�s perfect), and today they have Bath Ales bitter which is a rarity on tap round these parts.
Food prices are decent. Main meals all for under a tenner (minus the epic Cumberland sausage platter) and a good selection of sides and deserts. The Milano salami platter seems to have been shrinking of late; cut it out folks I can feel the diminishing thickness! (said the choir boy to the priest). Anyways they also have a nice upstairs lounge with views over the river and a large beer garden out the front which has a bar open during the summer months.
It�s a pub that wears its history comfortably without need for gimmick or pretention. This isn�t uncommon for the area. Richmond is a genuinely affluent area and has been for decades. This has the effect that places like the White Cross don�t have to try very hard to evince an air of prosperity and authenticity. This sits in stark comparison to the new temples of artisanal beer culture who seldom seem satisfied unless their monument to middle class disdain is predicated upon an approximation of slum clearance. Make way for the McLaren buggies and desk killers of the future! The White Cross needs none of this and as such it combines local familiarity with genuine openness. Xaven says yes!
5 Apr 2011 17:15
The London Apprentice, Old Isleworth
Located in the ye olde part of Isleworth right on the river next to the converted Norman Church (Have a walk around the graveyard at the back if you get a chance, it�s like a mini Highgate). Good selection of beers, usually have Doombar or Summer Lightning on as well as common stuff from Youngs. Food is pretty standard but reasonably priced. Had steak and eggs on my visit, well cooked and plenty of chips and salad.
Has a fantastic outside area which stretches out over the river so you can watch herons in the summer. There is also a little grass section on the side with some benches. It�s pretty quiet here during the day which makes it a great place to chill out during the summer months. Cosy during the winter.
Nice mix of locals and adventurous tourists. Well worth a visit.
5 Apr 2011 13:28
Came back here a year after my last visit. They�ve expanded their empire to include a cr�che area at the back and the food is now a bit more reasonably priced. There is still a good selection of beer, but as always it's hideously overpriced. It�s bad enough paying �4 a pint at London Bridge let alone in this area. The monkey beer (Bonobo?) which they brew is very pleasant, they also have London IPA (Meantime) which I swear is getting more and more bland each year, and the Pilzner from the same brewery. They have the Blonde and Dark from Budvar and a mixer tap if you�re a prick and want to put them together. Whenever I see this I�m reminded of that scene from Alan Partridge: �Still or sparkling?�..�errr half and half�. As for their pricing policy; economic apartheid is a phrase I�m fond of using to describe these places.
As the below reviewer points out there is a curious disparity between the supposed family friendly atmosphere and the loud aggressive music piped around the place. And indeed the waitresses are very attractive. However one has to ask the question why the managers feel it acceptable for families with small children to be served by young girls dressed as lap dancers? Perhaps a bit of research into the practices of Capital Pub Company towards their waitresses might shed some light on this. All this is only rumour you must understand, but it is a prevalent one. The rich banker class do enjoy being surrounded by young flesh. This is a practice with a history traceable at least to the mixture of couture, cuisine and brothels of Mayfair�s Shepherds Market. That this model may be infecting the suburbs should be a concern for anyone interested in social justice. Perhaps we might even see a correlation between the increase in family friendly provisions and the cohabitation of affluent sleaze.
The Florence knows its market, they build these places and they come. I pointed out to several people who were drinking with me that there was not a single black or Asian face in the building, the reaction was one of surprise followed by trotting out a few cultural stereotypes about �they� not sharing our cultural practices and other such ideological nonsense. If this is your bag then I heartily suggest you fill it with what the Florence has to offer. If not then I�m sure you know what to do.
5 Apr 2011 13:07
Like many people I have witnessed the transformation of the London Bridge area from a neglected destination on the perimeter of the City of London into a trendy hub of tourist and after-hours social activity. The cause of this transformation can be traced to the opening of the Jubilee line extension at the end of the 1990s which for the first time allowed fast transit to Westminster and the emerging centre of Docklands via London Bridge. The convenience this brought to those living in the southern outskirts of the city has led to an ever increasing tide of commuters passing through the barriers at London Bridge. Couple this with the offices and financial institutions of the square mile continually encroaching across the river and you begin to appreciate the forces at work in this transformation. From the local to the transitory, from the market porter (literally) to the international conglomerate; the range of drinking establishments have been mutated by the same material market forces as the rest of the area. Substituting rootedness and authenticity for simulacra and vacuity.
Brew Wharf, an extension to the Vinopolis empire which owns an immense block of former warehouses and arch spaces (bought at a relative pittance before the boom years) has been around for about 5 years. It flogs the now staple format of the gastropub but with the added incentive of a small microbrewery and a nebulous relationship with the brilliant Meantime brewers of Greenwich. The bar is itself comprised of a shell built around the already existing structure of two railway arches. High roofs, minimal d�cor and plain benches result in an atmosphere akin to having a drink in an abattoir or continental art gallery. You would assume this place is appealing to the style of German beer halls, but the large standing area near the bar and the irritating trend of the suited clientele to stand in groups around the tables rather than sit at them negates any possibility of communal atmosphere.
They have a wide range of ales, even supplying the occasional rarity or seasonal exclusive from the likes of Meantime. But as most reviewers have noted the prices are prohibitive to most but those suited denizens of office cubicles who traipse across the bridge after 5pm. When even the Floris range of sickly syrup based wheat beers (Belgian, like Fosters is Australian) go at �4.80 for their paltry 330ml bottles you may be in need of a financial advisor before buying a round. Their own brewed beers are passable and are the cheapest of the beers on draft. However given the choice I would go for the Meantime London Stout if they have it on draft, which even at �4 a pint is vaguely worth it. Barring that, get it in bottles at �1.60 a pint from your local supermarket! The same applies here as it does for The Rake and so many other establishments in this area; fantastic range of beers served at restrictive prices in an environment that is an insult to the craftsmanship of the brewers involved. Artisan produce consumed by spivs as if it were swill.
Again I can only echo the comments of others in saying that the bar staff are far from knowledgeable, generally quite rude and often borderline contemptuous, particularly if you wander in wearing anything less than a shirt and suit jacket. Table service for the food which is variations of standard gastro-faire with a mark-up of 20% for the privilege of dining amongst so many fallen masters of the universe. I have also sampled the mussels which were bland and no better than you would get at Belgo or other faux Belgian chain.
In short Brew Wharf exemplifies everything wrong with the contemporary drinking experience. Environment, price, customer service, quality, all superficial or absent. A play of appearances that picks your pocket while you sit moaning about falling property prices. As you exit the bar the soon to be completed Shard of Glass is an ominous sign that this situation is only going to get worse. When will someone liberate us from this toss.
30 Nov 2010 17:22
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Fleet Street
Was in here last night. More students in the pub than behind the bar. Very rustic looking and has several floors. Service was OK, pub was fairly clean, beer was good. A message to Mr Dartwolf, I think you will find that Sam Smiths Taddy Porter was described by the beer hunter M.Jackson as (and I quote) A British Classic. I had two last night and can report this is still the case. The Alpine lager and Wheat beer are passable and the draft stout is as oakey as ever. In short you are a beer philistine squire. I recommend the pub heartily. But obviously as with most things like this in zone one, go off peak to avoid said tourists and general crowds.
17 Oct 2010 19:02
Been dropping in to this place on and off over the last three years. Unparalleled selection of bottled and draft beers, including many esoteric brews on draft. As most reviewers have pointed out it is small and during the winter the outside doesn�t quite reach the cosiness levels of the inside. Also it has to be said that the prices are highly prohibitive with many pints and bottles reaching the �6+ mark. Not that there is anything wrong with paying extra for finely crafted beer, especially when bars and clubs sell the most commercial crap often at similar prices, you must also think that their rent must contribute to this. But this fact combined with the prevailing crowd being made up of city types does rule the place out as somewhere I�d go to in the evening. I tend to visit mid afternoon when you get a seat and can have a chat with the admittedly knowledgeable staff (although they do seem to employ the occasional stroppy Shoreditch art student). It is not a comfy community pub but does sell tremendous beer however at prices that will rule out the majority of the drinking public in this country. When will a pub come along that combines the quality of beer and staff knowledge at The Rake with the atmosphere and community spirit of the traditional pub, at prices that don�t make it the preserve of the spivs?
30 Sep 2010 11:16
The only chip on my shoulder is the fact that when I was going out in this area ten years ago (back when most of these Shires folk, were back in their Arga heated country cottages) the pricing and atmosphere was inclusive of the vast majority of the population. Now it's a haven for the well healed desk killers of the square mile. I have no problem affording the prices, what I have a problem with is the quality and ideological perversion of my home, and the facade of choice/diversity that masks the truth of class/ethnic division.
13 Dec 2009 19:36
Lat visited Friday 13th November.
The Florence is another in the ever expanding list of establishments being set-up by the Capital Pub Company in the London area. They fall firmly into the gastropub genre, however their take on the form is a particularly exclusive brand of upper middle class myopia that has resulted in nothing less than a form of cultural and economic apartheid emerging in a once vibrant multicultural part of London. For those not accustomed to being greeted by a large room full of Caucasians in a borough with an over 40% non white demographic, this disparity will hit you immediately. The bar staff and waitresses one all three on my visits were also exclusively white. The food is a upmarket variation of British gastropub staples; fish and chips, burgers, sausage and mash, etc, and is decently prepared for what it is. They have an excellent selection of draft and bottled beers if you are prepared to pay the grossly inflated prices, they also brew their own on a small scale; I�ve only tried the Beaver beer, which was a passable IPA with a light citrus finish.
As other reviewers have commented, you cannot order food at the bar and are positively chastised by the pretty waitresses if you try. The emphasis on sit down eating and drinking where you are encouraged to stay at the table to be waited on is highly detrimental to the social aspect of drinking and gives the place a haughty, overly formal aura. The offer of setting up a tab is mandatory, and the look of disdain on the girls face when you answer no is also I imagine overdetermined. She did not utter another word, or even make eye contact with us for the rest of the evening, treating my friend and I as if we were filthy soot covered commoners fresh from the local pit. Herein lies the second aspect of the divisive nature of the these kinds of establishments; Lambeth is one of the UKs most deprived boroughs and yet in all of Capital Pub Company�s outlets the price for food and drink is prohibitive for a great proportion of the local populous (and as we know, it is those aforementioned minorities that make up the bulk of those on lower incomes).
Viewing the attitude of the staff as relative moodiness is not satisfactory, their attitude reflects the ideological constellation of the pub and it�s parent company, and is reflected in the majority of these kinds of establishments I have visited. That is an emphasis on exclusivity, primarily economic, catering to the independent new wealthy that have moved into south London boroughs over the last ten years, that is primarily white and middle class. They are intolerant of difference and institutionalise the sort of conservative apathy and cultural vapidness that is the signifier of today�s financial services industry. Building enclaves of sameness and sowing division into the social experience of once integrated communities. Pubs like this are the drinking equivalent of gated communities.
14 Nov 2009 14:48
Well and Bucket, Shoreditch
A mixed bag really. I’ve visited the Well and Bucket half a dozen times or so over the last two years and the experience is generally the same, conforming to many of the positive and negative reviews of other users. The music is often way too loud even in the late afternoon / early evening period and the staff can sometimes behave in a borderline contemptuous way towards customers. If you happen not to come from the trendier demographics of East London that attitude is especially acute. The staff downstairs are a lot more attentive, but then again given the “showmanship” aspect of cocktail making that’s not surprising. Upstairs however the level of service declines sharply as the place fills up and it’s not for being rushed of their feet.
The beer is good but then this is the neighbourhood for good beer. They have a good list of London brewers and a spread of interesting and lesser heard beers from across Central and Northern Europe. I’m not a fan of sliders. It seems like a quick and easy way to charge people £12 for three very small rolls containing three very small, perhaps vaguely interesting fillings. Blackened Catfish is certainly not as interesting as it might sound on paper. The other seafood on the menu does look enticing however I’ve yet to try.
In a way this place is somewhat undone by its location in one of the more vapidly hip parts of town. Put it a little more to the East or West, somewhere off the main streets and I think they could perhaps have something really great. As it is however it imbibes too much of the locale and too little of the quality and degree of service that would justify their prices.
4 Aug 2016 15:55