The Whale, Buckingham

The Whale has long been a typical town centre pub catering mostly for locals, being busy mostly at week ends. The pub has been taken over recently by a couple of lads who have totally refurbished the place. Whereas before it at least had some character it is now just a shell with little or no atmosphere. There are some high bench type seats along one side s you go in, but very little in the way of comfortable seating. It appears that the new Whale is trying to cater for the 'young set' with music at weeks ends. Food is advertised, but on the occasion I ate there (one Friday Lunch time) my portion of barbequed ribs was poultry to say the least and my partners Lasagne, although quite large, was only luke warm in the middle. The chips were good.

I pass the Whale quite frequently in the daytime and evenings and almost without exception it is empty. I can't speak for late Fridays or Saturdays, but it is hard to see how they can make a success of this place. By all means cater for the young people of Buckingham, who don't have a lot of choice as far as entertainment is concerned, but also cater for the wider clientel. Most youngsters head for '13 The High Street' which is always packed on a weekend and the Whale has an uphill task trying to compete. It's a shame that Buckingham has effectively 'lost' another pub. My advice would be to head down Well Street to The Woolpack which is always busy with a good range of well priced meals.

5 Sep 2013 16:26