The Hoop, Stock

Never before have I visited such an openly hostile and rude establishment. It is my opinion that if they continue down this route, they won't have a business to run and good riddance! It started when we first walked in. I was with my brother and his friend who are both gay. The service that we got behind the bar was unhelpful and disheartening. The guy didn't crack a smile and was the moodiest and least jolly barman I've ever met...still, at least he was just bad at his job, as opposed to being vile and confrontational.

We sat down in the corner away from the majority of the people in the pub. One of my friends wanted some pudding. When he called over the waiter (again he was ridiculously moody) he turned round and said that the kitchen was now closed. To be honest, this was a load of rubbish. They were still taking food out, including puddings. Straight after he left, we asked a waitress who said that they were still serving and she'd bring the menu over. She was the pub's one saving grace. She was good humoured and friendly, which is exactly what all pub staff should be like!

The waiter then proceeded to glare at my table all night. My brother and his friend went out for a cigarette and they were locked out and had to be let in by customers sitting by the door.

When I went to order drinks, I was going to play a joke on my brother (seeing as he was making me buy all the drinks) and so I asked for the most disgusting pint they had. Then this bad natured woman who was at the bar said 'we don't have disgusting pints here', so I said I'd have a Guiness. I just thought this summed them up. I'm from London and if you'd said this in any bar or club, it would have opened up some banter. Not here. Apparently they only acknowledge scowling and grunts.

Also, the pudding that we ordered was eggy. I'm sure the other food they do is nice as it looked it but god, with service like that, why would you want to eat there? I'd rather eat my own arm off than go back.

Finally, we got chucked out. My brother is a bit naughty sometimes and wrote his mate's number to give to the waiter as we were leaving (the one who was horrid all night). The lady who said they didn't do any disgusting pints (who I later found to be the owner so she should know better!!) told us to leave. Bloody hell. I felt they were rude at best and incredibly homophobic at worst. If a straight girl or guy had gone to give their number to someone to be passed on, would she have asked them to leave? The simple answer is no.

In sum, go somewhere else. The food, not that great but passable....the staff were just appalling (apart from the lovely waitress I mentioned earlier). Rude, homophobic, unwelcoming, unsmiling and no banter to be had.

24 Dec 2009 10:51