The Wenlock Arms, Hoxton

Yeah...being shoved out of the way is just what you should expect for being so offensive as to proffer your custom. Honestly - a nod would've done. And the place was *rammed*. The excuses people make for outright rudeness in the pub sector in the name of 'character'...

27 Sep 2010 16:59

Jolly Butchers, Stoke Newington

Terrific place, albeit more an English bistro than a pub (you're unlikely to make lifelong friends at the bar; the clientele is middle class, young and in groups). The beer selection is terrific (though beware the curse of the ale-in-a-dimpled-mug, it comes without warning, though they happily serve in a straight glass if asked) and the service impeccably friendly, albeit not chatty. Again, this is a bar-service bistro, not really a pub.

The food is superb and keenly priced given the quality and disposable income of its regular crowd.

As it started out, there were teething problems with beer quality (not range, which has always been superb) and temperature but these appear to have been addressed. Very impressive.

27 Sep 2010 11:03

The Dove, Bethnal Green

Diabolical service, just utterly dismissive. They know they don't need your custom as there are enough hipster groups thronging through to keep them in the cash for years to come.

On a Tuesday evening, we take a table, order some food. It's a bit draughty, we notice, so we tell the staff 'sorry, we're just going to move table'. It's not busy - there must be 15 people in the pub.

'But your food will arrive at that table.'

'Yeah, sorry, could you just have them bring it here.'

The duty manager arrives: 'Ok, your food will come to your new table, but if you move table again, the food will still come to this table - we're not changing it again.' This attitude was just totally unnecessary (seriously - there was 0% chance of us moving again - it was just to be snide). When I said 'is it against your rules to move table?' the guy just lost it and swore - using the f word very loudly - as he left.

Classy.

27 Sep 2010 10:58