The Bridge House, Paddington

What began as a pleasant experience knocking back a couple of refreshing Peroni with some friends, turned into a travesty of an afternoon with useless bar staff and clearly an even more incompetant chef.

I ordered Bangers & Mash (called something fancy but at the end of the day, it's still Bangers and Mash) with a large group of people. After an hour of waiting and everone else getting thier meal long ago, I inquired as to the whereabouts of mine.

"Oh, we forgot to tell you. We have a new chef and he's run out of Mash" WTF - go to Tesco's, buy a bag of potatoes, clean, cook then mash - it's not rocket science, he had an hour!

After this unpleasant experience and refund, I opted for a simple bowl of wedges for a simple Chef. 45 minutes later I inquire as to the whereabouts of my Wedges? "It appears the Chef forgot to cook them"

Needless to say at this point, I wasn't to happy and staff didn't seem to care. I wasn't the only one to have food issues in our group so I will never be back to this pub again and nor will the large group I was drinking with.

15 Sep 2008 12:11

The Old Thameside Inn, London Bridge

I had an interesting experience last weekend in this unfunny joke of a bar next to the Thames. I ordered 4 drinks from a grumpy looking barman who had just finished arguing with one of his colleagues and another customer.

He got the order wrong, and poured an extra one away. He then overcharged me for the round. I said no problem. He then started hurling comments like "you'll get your money, just wait!". I looked around at the other confused customers and asked what he was going on about. Apparently, I had "raised my eyebrows to him" and he had "read my face". He gave me the money as if it was a excrement filled nappy and proceeded to behave in the same manner to the next poor people after a drink.

A barman who apparently should be an inspector with the police, a would-be human lie-detector with an uncanny ability to judge someone by the expression on their face. A rare skill nowadays that must surely be preserved and encouraged.

A rather ordinary experience that won't be repeated by me ever going there again.

27 Apr 2007 15:01

The Maple Leaf, Covent Garden

Talk about a Pub losing its way! The New owners have torn the heart and soul out of the place.

I whole heartedly agree with Topdog and Ganger. This pub has gone from a part of Canada in London to just another tacky Sports bar wannabe with the only thing making it "Canadian" now is the name (which the new owners will probably change) a couple of token bottled Canadian beers and a stray Hockey Jersey on the wall.

The Muppets (that'd be the new owners) even had the audacity to cull the only thing good left in the Maple Leaf. Monday Night Wings! And, the only thing Canadian left on the now run-of-the-mill Pub menu is a section of Canadian Fare located in a small section of the menu where I think they want you to miss it! I think this is thier last ditch effort to phase the Canadian Soul out of the Leaf.

After being a regular here for 3 years - you won't be seeing me back through the doors!

9 Mar 2007 10:03