The Keystone, Guildford

Yes, it was once the Cannon and they went through a phase of not being too strict with their ID checking. I quite liked it back then, I must admit. But that was a good ten years ago, and it's been through at least two changes of management since then. It is indeed very different now, just see the description above.

30 Sep 2005 17:47

Charles Holden, Colliers Wood

Loki: good point about the ratings, I've removed the ones from before it changed. I'll try to get a new photo up soon too.

9 Sep 2005 16:50

Filthy McNasty's II, Twickenham

Well, we plucked up the courage last night to check it out. Not that it looked too scary at the time. In the dark (we went at about 9:30) the outside wasn't really very noticeable at all, and the candles on the tables inside made it look quite pleasant. The atmosphere once we got in wasn't intimidating in the slightest, although it would be hard to feel intimidated in a pub that was so empty. There were a couple of tables of people watching a bloke sing covers, two old-ish guys having a chat, and us.

The layout is pretty much identical to how it was in the Hobgoblin days, although they've removed all the fruit machines, TVs, quiz machines, etc. They seem to be going for the live music angle in quite a big way, with stuff going on most nights. The barman wasn't particularly friendly but wasn't unpleasant either, just rather disinterested. My Guinness was fine, and prices seemed fairly average for Twickenham; I think it was �5.40 for a Guinness and a Fosters.

All in all - a bit early to tell how it will turn out, but I'd definitely recommend giving it a chance. I suspect a lot will depend on what sort of people end up going there regularly, so if you don't want it filled with the old Hobgoblin crowd, now's the time to get down there. Oh, but one word of warning: I don't think it opens until 4pm, so you might not want to head there for a lunchtime pint.

26 Aug 2005 10:42