please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A small character public bar with outhousing when i visited in June 2012. loved the wood decor around me and the draught beer. Very cosy, very safe. People lunching seemed very friendly - at ease and sociable.
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Well, Mr Smiley got his wish and the pub was indeed closed soon after his visit.
And it has remained closed until it reopened under new Management on December 1st. Whether its under new ownership and those helpful people from Marstons have given the freehold to someone else to run it to its true potential remains to be seen.
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bizarre visit. went in about 7pm, 3 blokes sitting at the bar turned around as i walked in as if i was intruding. clearly i was. no beers on tap or hand pull. the landlord said they were closed except for regulars due to dispute with the landlord (marstons) ! if you're closed, close, as for any non "regular" being made to feel like an interloper means i wont be going again !
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four of us had a meal here last night (16/09/20111).
The food was of excellent quality. I had a steak saute potatoes and veg.
There was no need to use the steak knife provided as an ordinary Knife cut straight through it - well impressed and very tasty it was to.
My fellow diners all had different dishes and all equally enjoyed theirs as well.
The service was both friendly and efficient, along with an excellent choice of real ales and the semi rural feel the Woodman has. It all made for an unexpected pleasant evening.
If this standard and value for money is maintained the Woodman is set to become a very popular dining venue.
Well recommend
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The Woodman has had its ups and downs over the years, which is why I can't bring myself to recommend it. The last 3 visits to the pub have been good, average and disappointing (so disappointing that I decided to walk out without even ordering a drink). If the landlord and staff could get their act together, this could be a great place to come for a meal, but as it is, it's the kind of place I would go to only if it was close to last orders, and I happened to be in Bourne Hill at the time. It has the potential to be so much better than that.
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Had my first (and last) visit to this pub on the May Day bank holiday. I went with my partner for lunch and was met by a surly young lady who seated us on a table in a very stuffy conservatory. Note to pub, open windows on warm days. We had our drinks order taken by a young man and naturally expected them to be with us within a few minutes as is the norm. Whilst waiting we place our food order, nothing fancy just a ploughmans. You can imagine our frustration when 30 minutes later we STILL didn't even have our drinks. When we questioned the young man about 15 minutes in, he said that the delay in our drinks was caused by the fact that the bar area was very busy. Why should this make a difference? Surely the wait staff should be organiseing the diners drinks as opposed to the bar staff who have enough to do serving the bar patrons. I have never been to a pub, bar or restaurant whereby drinks are organised this way. We could potentially of waited all day for drink if it was dependent on how busy the bar was. Very disappointed. Ended up walking out. Shan't be coming back for a second go.
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I�ve been in the Woodman a few times for an evening beer as it is close to my gaff, but have never got round to posting a review. So feel I should do now to support the previous review as Strongers has done a crawl of my N21 patch and has covered it quite well.
The Woodman is a solid little pub in the Winchmore Hill area which usually serves a decent pint, and was actually quite famous several years ago for being one of the smallest watering holes with a London post code, until commercial forces made them stick the large conservatory on the side for a dining area.
Can�t really comment on the food as, although I have had a couple of decent Sunday roasts in the conservatory, that was a few years ago. And as a previous reviewer surmised below the Woodman will always be for me at its strongest on a cold Winters evening, when you can tuck yourself into the back bar with a decent pint of Youngs..
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I quite like this pub with its three seating sections and separate bars front and back. The bar man was polite and the drinks on offer were Young�s Special, Marston�s Pedigree, Marston�s Smooth, Banks�s Bitter, Stella, Carling, Guinness and Kronenburg. I did find it a little dark inside, but then I had just walked in from blazing sunshine.
There is a small grassed area to the side of the pub with a few benches in and a much larger garden to the rear with a children�s play area (both of which close at 21:00 by request of the council). Maybe on the wrong day it could turn into a bit of a cr�che, but it was fine whilst I was there. To the right of the beer garden there is the �Smoker�s Inn� which is a covered wooden structure for those rainy days.
I really liked it here and would go back if I was passing.
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Didnt like it as much as I thought I would.
It's very much a winter pub. It's too pokey and dark for a summer drink.
The ale was good quality but the food was too expensive. staff very nice.
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If you are into olde worlde pubs, ie 50's and 60's style then check this place out. It's not a huge place so its character is really concentrated on what it's got. Hope they never change the place.
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Excellent Pub, Brilliant Food (Enormous portions of quality home cooked food!, �11.95 for three proper courses), above average wine list, which isn't a rip off.
The best pub in the area by far. Non smoking back bar is a god send, as is the small outdoor area for kids.
Book early for Sunday lunches and special occasions.
Thoroughly recommended.
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On a hot sunny afternoon we found this little treasure of a pub. Good draught beer and like walking back in time to a 50's pub. I'll go there again.
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Great juicer. Absolutely nothing bad to say about this place. Food is excellent and service with a smile is the norm. Good selection of well kept ales always available. Almost on the entrance to Grovelands Park if you fancy working up an appetite afore your visit
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excellent small traditional pub, originally much smaller. Bar staff always friendly
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Really nice old pub. great food.
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Like a scene from emmerdale
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Very nice pub, excellent food (there is a restaurant attached)and children friendly with a patio area for the summer as well as a small kids play area, good beer selection (though a bit pricey) A great Pub for an indiscreet drink, a relaxing sunday afternoon. Or an evning with friends.
Gavin Cooper - 26 Oct 2004 14:06 |
lovely atmosphere, great food, beer and wine, lovely staff-friendly and helpful! traditional local pub in a lovely area.
anonymous - 22 Sep 2004 15:13 |
maybe pedro just simply is not a pub person and prefers modern designer bar-type establishments, so any pub that's a traditional pub, he'd think of as dull and horrible . there are pubs that are very traditional, but in the worst way, very intimidating to non-locals, tatty and dismal, this is without question, a pub's being traditional isn't a virtue in and of itself: however some pubs are very traditional in terms of interior and atmosphere, but in a good way . this pub when i visited was very clean and tidy, professesionally run, friendly and welcoming . it is definately a locals pub, not a passing-trade pub, that was clear straight away, but even though i was on my own, i didn't feel uneasy . this is very good pub, i think that Pedro simply isn't a pub person, so any pub or bar that he might happen to go to which isn't ostensibly modern is automatically a tired,passe, outmoded old boozer that isn't relevant to to-day . this isn't in my local area, i chanced upon it when out on my bike, and was only there for one pint, which has been my only visit, i'd never heard of it until about 30 seconds before entering, so i've no bias towards this pub, pedro's synopsis simply is not accurate .
dan - 28 Jul 2004 12:33 |
Simple old boozer, stuck in a trad time warp of horse brasses gruesome dark furniture and hideous red carpets. The sort of place which makes you want to drink to forget!
Pedro Setteeman - 15 Jul 2004 16:20 |
