please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Now trading as the Buckingham Inn after a period as a steakhouse. It would have been better staying shut. £2.75 for half of London Pride (no real ale) is a total rip off even in Buckingham.
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Used to never go near this pub,however the reinvention has friends and myself coming every Saturday night for food and drinks. Great lively atmosphere on weekend nights,however still is a cosy retreat during the week to do university work. Love it!
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The Whale has long been a typical town centre pub catering mostly for locals, being busy mostly at week ends. The pub has been taken over recently by a couple of lads who have totally refurbished the place. Whereas before it at least had some character it is now just a shell with little or no atmosphere. There are some high bench type seats along one side s you go in, but very little in the way of comfortable seating. It appears that the new Whale is trying to cater for the 'young set' with music at weeks ends. Food is advertised, but on the occasion I ate there (one Friday Lunch time) my portion of barbequed ribs was poultry to say the least and my partners Lasagne, although quite large, was only luke warm in the middle. The chips were good.
I pass the Whale quite frequently in the daytime and evenings and almost without exception it is empty. I can't speak for late Fridays or Saturdays, but it is hard to see how they can make a success of this place. By all means cater for the young people of Buckingham, who don't have a lot of choice as far as entertainment is concerned, but also cater for the wider clientel. Most youngsters head for '13 The High Street' which is always packed on a weekend and the Whale has an uphill task trying to compete. It's a shame that Buckingham has effectively 'lost' another pub. My advice would be to head down Well Street to The Woolpack which is always busy with a good range of well priced meals.
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yet another fullers pub, thus good but unexciting beer. the pub itself is nice and quirky, with a split level feel. nothing wrong with this place, but hard to find anything exceptional about it.
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yet another fullers pub, thus good but unexciting beer. the pub itself is nice and quirky, with a split level feel. nothing wrong with this place, but hard to find anything exceptional about it.
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The very definition of 'meh'. I do wish I liked this place more than I do.
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Geezers need excitement as Mike Skinner of The Streets once proclaimed and given that the atmosphere in this place was quite lairy enough on a summer sunday afternoon, I wonder how 'lively' it becomes of a Friday night. Too loud music permeates the two floor bar although there is a good cubby hole for the arrows and the garden has a trampoline for the kids. A pint of London Pride was tasty and the local boyz were treating us to a singalong of Elvis's 'Suspicious Minds' blaring out of the juke box (the only good song aired on this visit and weirdly replicated in the Nearby King's Head where a solitary gent was providing 'Return to Sender' with the impromptu karaoke treatment).
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Had a couple of pints of very well kept London Pride, spoke at length to the landlord who seemed to know his stuff and at �2.85 well priced for Fullers. Nothing spectacular but a decent boozer.
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Definitely a smokers pub !!
anonymous - 12 Jan 2007 08:17 |
I love the Whale. Apart from its great name, the Fullers beer is always well served, the service is good and the almost untouched interior (dig those wooden floors and split level) are worth a visit alone.
Allan - 25 Aug 2004 12:02 |
