The Village Hall, Chalfont St Peter

The Village Hall (nee Jolly Farmer) has been my local for the past decade, so I feel well placed to comment.

Ignoring the ridiculous name for a moment, the biggest issue with this place is the sheer unpredictability of it all:

The beer, food, atmosphere, and staff can all vary between pretty good and rather mediocre - unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.

Although not necessarily a problem for beer (although many evenings have involved us relocating elsewhere after a swift first round - lack of atmosphere, surly staff, or the start of a poorly-advertised "Battle of the 3rd-rate Death/Skate/Thrash Metal Bands"), for food the randomness of the quality is a complete disaster.

Having said all that, the location is reasonable with pretty views over Gold Hill Common - although even this is often marred by trademen's vans parked haphazardly obscuring the view.

The car park is barely adequate (although not a problem for me), and the adjacent roads can get quite busy - which again detracts from the outside space.

All in all, the Village Hall is something of a confused establishment - most of the ingredients are there, but successive managements have largely failed to get everything to gel together.

If it wasn't my local, apart from a swift pint or two - I'd probably give it a miss...

7 Apr 2011 11:14