The Red Lion, Shoreditch

This really is the best pub in Hoxton. It's great in winter for a fire-side Guinness or mulled wine and has a wonderful roof terrace when the sun comes out. Great music, friendly staff and best of all they have just got a real ale in! (Brains SA). Highly recommended!

28 Mar 2012 13:33

The Red Lion, Shoreditch

A hidden gem just off the main Shoreditch/Hoxton beaten path this a pub with an intimate atmosphere, great music (everything from 80s electronica to free form jazz), good food and a friendly crowd.

9 Mar 2010 16:07

Nectar Bar and Club, Fulham

Everyone knows that if you want to go for a big night out or even a quiet drink, King's Road is not the place to go.

Although there are a few adequate pubs, the clientele is amongst the most uninspiring in London. No longer are the establishments of this once essential artery of London chic simply a hunting ground for coked-up Sloaney Ponies and rugger buggers; The King's Road and its tributeries now attract a more eclectic but ultimately less enjoyable group of people to share bar space with.

At least with The Sloanes you know your enemy and to an extent enjoy their stupidity. Now however, you are more likely to be faced with nouveau pretension, 'smart' suits and shiney shirt/tie combos. No girl is safe from gaggles of pseudo-trendy young men with spikey hair and uncontrollable hormones.

Even more disappointingly, the bar staff of many local establishments has declined in line with this trend.

Nectar Bar exemplifies and indeed epitomises this new wave. The bar has a decent cocktail and wine list and is in a great location but the drawbacks are considerable in number and result in a lack of class in every department.

The doormen beg for a chance to turn you away even if the bar is empty; the cloakroom is poorly managed. However it was the bar staff that were most at fault.

It took over half an hour to be served by a charmless barman who spent a great deal of time answering personal calls on his mobile phone and pinching his colleagues (maybe its the new high-five). It was one of those occasions where the bar staff have that horrible 'Team Crazy' attitude towards one another and seem to think that serving drinks badly and unprofessionaslly is cool and aloof. Just go to bar school. Please.

I was with a group of mates in whose company I rarely have a bad night but Nectar changed that. A combination of an ingenuous clientele and staff that should relocate to Magaluf made my night a huge disappointment.

Avoid.

28 Nov 2006 11:46