Mary Janes, Aldgate

Hideous decor, clueless staff, annoying customers. Gets painfully crowded in the evenings. Avoid at all cost!

3 Jan 2009 00:26

Ye Three Lords, Aldgate

Quite ordinary except for the staff. The barmaids are very fit, although it's creepy watching the landlord treat his staff like they're strippers.

3 Jan 2009 00:19

The Brown Bear, Whitechapel

A simple but good little place. Your options are very limited in the area but you could do a whole lot worse than this place. Lunches are decent and ths staff is friendly.

2 Jan 2009 23:59

The Mint, Tower Hill

I work down the road and am forced to come here often with colleagues. Horrible staff! They act inconvenienced by every order. Also a cold atmosphere with absolutely no character.

On the positive side, the thai food lunch is good and they have 2 or 3 pool tables upstairs that are relatively easy to get on.

I'm not sure how they stay in business.

2 Jan 2009 23:53

The Roebuck, Borough

A great looking pub from the outside, although a bit tired on the inside. Still, a comfortable place with a friendly vibe. Sometimes gets overun with the students from the Kings College housing across the street, but for the most part the more annoying youngsters head down the street to the Dover Castle and its student discounts. Laid back on a weeknight or during the day, but can get very crowded on a Fri or Sat night.

First started going there a few years ago when the food was excellent. They changed chefs a while ago and the food went downhill, but they seem to be back on track lately. The roasts in particular are very good.

Beer selection is just ok. Bottled beer is consistently served too warm but give them credit for serving Meantime.

All in all a very good pub - definitely worth a vist if in the area and maybe even worth going slightly out of your way for.

2 Jan 2009 23:32

The George, Bermondsey

A fairly standard local. Not in great shape - could use a good scrubbing. They've made some curious changes lately including pulling down the great old glass rack and installing bizarre church pews (I think that's what they are?) on one side of the pub.

A popular place with the locals, most of which are not overly friendly. Some of the bar staff are welcoming but others are rude to any non-regular. This is especially true of the young barmaid with dark hair - I've been in numerous times and not seen her smile once to customers other than the ones she is obviously friends with.

If you're in the area and need a pint, may be worth a shot if you're feeling adventurous. Otherwise, move on to the next ordinary pub.

2 Jan 2009 23:15