Founders Arms, Bankside

Went in here a few weeks back and rather enjoyed it. The place was rammed, and I dare say there were one or two tourists in there (in London...imagine!!!) But I have to say that the service was great and we didn't have to wait too long for our food at all. The pints of Special I had went down well and the food was very good. It didn't seem any more expensive than the other pubs we went to when we were in London. And while it's not one of the historical pubs it's a perfectly decent place for a pint by the river .

20 Jan 2012 23:01

The Tap and Spile, Birmingham

Went in here just before Christmas. It's in a great location with nice views of the canal but I get the feeling it doesn't make the most of it's assets. It was pretty quiet when we were in there on a midweek afternoon. I had a pint of Hobgoblin (IIRC) which was OK. The bartender wasn't very communicative (but not unfriendly as such). It was all just pretty average. The furniture was old, creaky and broken and looked like it had been retrieved from an abandoned hotel. The toilets were a little messy and the whole place was just a little scruffy and worn (and not in a charming way). The big TV on the wall seemed out of place and was set at an odd angle and nobody seemed much bothered to straighten it up. Maybe the place livens up later in the night? I can imagine it would be nice on a summer's evening to have the canal view.
I wouldn't say avoid it, but don't expect too much for a pub in such an ideal location.

12 Jan 2012 02:03

The Mayflower, Rotherhithe

Visited here one evening during a trip to London between Christmas and New Years. A lovely cosy little pub that was very friendly. I was surprised at the relatively low rating for this pub but from the other comments I gather that there has been a recent change of landlord.

We didn't plan to eat here but saw the food that was being served on another table and we decided to go for it. We're glad we did as the food was superb. I had the Lamb burger and my wife had the fish and chips and they were both excellent and good value. I had a few pints of Titanic Iceberg which went down well and while it's not the cheapest place to drink it's a place we'd definitely go back to. I'd imagine due to it's riverside location it could get very busy in the summer.

Lovely pub in a great historic location.

4 Jan 2012 17:01