College Arms, Walthamstow

There are very few community pubs left so at least they are trying! Always very friendly, good for one or two of an evening...

22 Jul 2010 22:19

The Castle, Walthamstow

Blimey Jon Murphy - you're a proper little cheerleader for Ross and Ria, aren't you? Like a frisky little Jack Russell who Ross and Ria have been giving Good Boy drops to. Did you get your steak free? And �16 ain't that cheap for steak and chips pal. The garden is like a shoot from a glossy mag? Er, perhaps if the mag is from 1980 when this sort of thing was cutting edge, otherwise it's what we call decking these days. Perfectly pleasant but a yard is still a yard (sorry, patio) so anyone reading your review who heads here expecting the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is going to be extremely disappointed.

"The Castle now has a big fan in me, I will be telling all my friends about it. I�m looking forward to trying the rest of the menu, I�ve heard the roast is also fantastic." Christ, are you for real jonmurphy? If you are, and are not the owner posting good reviews about his battle cruiser, you really are an obsequious little brown-nose, aren't you?

The truth is The Castle is an OK pub - too dark and gloomy for my tastes with all that heavy wood panelling and dead on weekday nights - I took a mate there on a weekday and we were the only punters. It was excruciatingly embarrassing to be outnumbered by owners and staff, the upshot being we talked in very low voices out of self-consciousness, drank up and left after one pint, heading to the Nag's for a bit of life.

So there we have it. An OK pub, bit pricey, often dead, sometimes not, backyard with decking.

A lot of these glowing reviews are very stilted - either they are by Stepford customers or by the owners and their mates. Pop in for a pint - it's OK. They can use that as their slogan if they like.

20 Jul 2010 15:37