The Jovial Sailor, Ripley

I've not left a comment about a pub for years, but I felt compelled to having visited here. The pub looks lovely, and the staff are good. The manager however seemed to be very unwelcoming. He moaned about me using a card, despite spending a fortune on the overpriced food, and I overheard a customer complaint about portion sizes being dealt with brusquely and with little regard for what constitutes goodwill and good customer service. There are so many rules about what you can order at weekends - go for something enormous and expensive, whether you're hungry or not, seems to be the rule. Retrain the manager, and this pub could be a corker.

30 May 2011 13:49

The White Bear, Rickmansworth

I can't believe that this pub has low rating. I go there regularly at lunchtime, and the food is the best pub grub I have ever had. Normally the specials board in a pub is filled with stuff that has been bought in cheap, frozen stuff that really shouldn't be kept any longer, or experiments to be tried out on paying punters. Not in this case - the food in the White Bear is always absolutly fantastic.

Sure, it's a bit basic inside, a little tatty in places and in need of a bit of a makeover, but I bring my wife and 5 month old baby here, and it's certainly clean enough for us all to eat in.

I'm not sure what it's like in the evening. It's probably a bit 'working class' judging by the character of the pub, but we're not loaded residents who live in gated communities (a la Moor Park) and neither should we all aspire to be. Let's look after local pubs with character, or in a few years' we'll only have one choice: Wetherspoons and its clones.

Well worth a visit, especially for food.

23 Oct 2006 16:44

The Sportsman 'Time Well Spent', Mogador

The only good thing about working for an abysmal corporate in Lower Kingswood was its proximity to the Sportsman. My regular lunchtime escapes here quite probably saved my sanity. Having quit from Satan's employ, I now miss this pub terribly. The food was expensive but always fantastic, the ales and wines were exquisite, and all the staff (but particularly the landlord) were incredibly warm and welcoming.

A real gem of a boozer.

25 Jul 2006 19:12