The Charles Lamb, Angel, Islington

Completely spoiled by a rude, arrogant and disinterested barman. I took my dad here for a beer last night as he was visiting London and I wanted to take him to a nice pub. I had been once before and liked the place - it's cosy and serves decent ale which is well kept (Butcombe and Dark Star). We sat in the side room, with access to the bar. Having been served a first round by a very pleasant barmaid I made the mistake of ordering the next round from a barman who was more interested in talking to his mate drinking at the bar than in providing customer service. He didn't bother to tell me when my drinks were ready (given my dad drinks Guinness I had returned to our table to talk to him while his drink was settling) and then refused to bring my drinks to the section of the bar where I was standing, forcing me to come round to pick them up from the other room. A shockingly petty thing to do. When I complained he was incredibly rude. I have genuinely never had worse service in any pub I have been to. Incredibly disappointing and, actually, I was pretty furious when I left. I will certainly not be going back, particularly given that The Island Queen and Duke of Cambridge, two of Islington's nicest pubs, are round the corner and staff there have NEVER treated me with such disrespect.

17 Nov 2009 14:40

The Merchants Inn, Rugby

This is, quite possibly, my favourite pub in England. An excellent selection of 9 ales with a regular rotation of beers from regional breweries and microbreweries (I was delighted to see an ale from Oakham, my favourite brewery which I find so hard to find in London, the last time I visited). The quality of the beer is excellent, the staff are knowledgeable (more than that they positively friendly and clearly enjoy / take pride in their work. Nice to see), The customers are a mix of age ranges and seem to get on well creating a really genial atmosphere. As mentioned in some of the posts below, this atmosphere is enhanced by the brewing memorabilia, stone floors and traditional surroundings. I actively look for excuses to visit Rugby almost solely so I can visit this establishment. An almost flawless pub. My only criticism - why no Guinness?

5 Nov 2009 16:02