please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Four ales on, two Watling and two Farr's brews. The Farr's Pale was ok, the Watling Red seemed far too pale to be a red ale, think it must have been on wrong tap - was about drinkable though whatever it was. The Watling Brown was a bit of a struggle to drink though. The decking area affords views across the Middlesex plains (sans wildebeeste) and it has serious potential. They still need a little work on the ales though.
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Has now reopened under new management. Looks more promising than previous ventures, with a range of local real ales. But virtually deserted on a sunny Friday lunchtime. It will probably take some time for customers to return to this rather tucked-away pub.
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Closed - not sure if it is permanent
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My wife and I dropped in here for a drink during a walk from Bushey to Headstone Lane. We found it a reasonably pleasant place (there was background music -- Kiss FM playing from a flatscreen TV in the corner -- but not too loud, thankfully) that seems to focus more on serving food than drink (not that it was very busy, despite it being a Saturday evening). Two hand-pumps were on: Black Sheep Bitter and Tribute. We tried both and they were decent.
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probably the worst service iv ever seen in a pub,the staff,especially the manager,are so rude,had to wait an hour and 20 mins for food and it wasnt even that busy,£11 for an average burgar and chips,so not cheap either,the beers are not well kept,i had sheriff's tipple and an IPA and both we're bad,it has a nice garden,but apart from that its not a good or cheap pub,and the staff have'nt a clue how to run a good pub.
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Food is good, and the toilets are spotless.
Massive garden.
Lousy beer. Mrs wasn't impressed with the spritzer either.
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Nothing wrong with an Indian restaurant, but there is a very great deal wrong with overcharging for half-pints- in this case �2 for a �3.50 pint. We've never been fleeced in a British pub before and it's a very unpleasant feeling. These aren't even curry house prices.
Not long for this world as a pub. Far better- and cheaper- to go to the Grimsdyke Hotel a 10-minute walk away.
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I was completely horrified when I visited this pleasant English country pub today and found it had been turned into an Indian restaurant. I've got nothing against Indian restaurants, I love Indian food, but having one out here is a bit like having a pork pie shop in Golders Green - it's a lousy location. I've been coming to this pub for almost 30 years, and it's always full at lunchtime, with mums and kids, but they won't come now because there's no English food for the little ones to eat! They weren't serving English food and we didn't fancy a curry for lunch, so we made our excuses and left for the Grims Dyke Hotel, where we had a very pleasant bar lunch in beautiful surroundings. Won't be back to the Case is Altered, and will be VERY surprised if this new venture succeeds.
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Fishy Vishy?
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Went here yesterday on the 7/7/11. I have to say i was blown away by the breathtaking view from there beer garden you can literally see the whole of London! I realized they also had a Indian Menu which looked quite attractive over the English one so i we decided to give it a go. Must have been the best Indian Food i have tried to date it seemed very traditional and fresh. I will defiantly be going back there with my work colleagues !
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Currently visiting a pub at every station on London Overground. Did this for Hatch End. Its a long bloody walk from there up a steep gradient. Lovely location and pub with potential but disappointing. A glorified Indian restaurant. Probably popular with locals plucking up the courage to go dogging.
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Visited this pub on 22/5/11 for a Sunday roast with my elderly parents. Having not visited this pub before, enquired whether the pub served Sunday roast and were told that although not on the menu, they served roast lunches. Our drinks order was taken first. There seemed to be some unnecessary delay and I ended up having to ask if they could serve our drinks. I chose roast chicken. When our meals arrived, we realised very quickly that our meals were not fresh and had probably been reheated in the microwave from frozen. The vegetables certainly looked like supermarket frozen ones. The yorkshire puddings were so hard that we struggled to cut them. My chicken was as dry as a bone and my mother's lamb shank had little flavour. Desserts were mostly bought-in ice cream sundaes. The meal was very over-priced. The ladies cloakroom was grubby. Had it not been my mother's birthday, I would have refused the meals and found somewhere else to eat.
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This pub is currently closed for a refurbishment. Not what I wanted to see after a trek here on public transport.
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Visited today with my family which including a sleeping baby. When we arrived there was one person in the pub so we had a choice of tables. We settled down to read the menu but were interrupted by a member of staff who was concerned with our choice of table. He explained that it would be best if we sat elsewhere as it would be difficult for him to serve other customers due to the position of the pram. We were happy to move the pram but he still thought it would be best if we moved table even though there was only one other customer in another area of the pub! We asked if the pub was expecting a lunchtime rush and he explained that they would soon be full - bearing in mind that it was already close to 1.00 The Case is certainly not a child friendly pub I'd be hard pushed to call it people friendly! We left without ordering and I will certainly not be returning.
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We went in here for a meal with family over the bank holiday weekend.
The food arrived after an incredible hour and 45 minute wait (and several polite reminders from us), and when it finally arrived it was inedible. The taglietelle was foul, while the sandwiches my wife had ordered were hard and dry (presumably from being left out for so long). There was no apology or explanation from the manager, and the "managing director" seemed far more concerned with keeping the barbecue going. Which is fine, but why not close the kitchen down if the barbecue is so much more important? We refused to pay for the food in the end. Two other groups were given refunds, and at least one group of people left after over an hour's wait.
As a last observation, the building is tatty and run down, and the toilets are disgusting.
Oh dear.
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My husband and I have been to The Case is Altered several times for Sunday lunch. Over the winter we always ordered the roast which is a generous and tasty meal. Although I do find the veggie option a bit strange - cous cous with a roast dinner?
We have always enjoyed our meal and so when the sun appeared on Sunday we decided to take my sister and her boyfriend there for lunch in the garden. As it was a very warm day we didn't feel like eating a heavy roast, so we ordered other dishes from the Sunday lunch menu and were unfortunately disaapointed.
I ordered the fishcake from the starter menu with some chunky chips. The fishcake was tasty but very small and looked rather sad sitting in the middle of a huge plate in a puddle of bland sauce without even a bit of salad garnish to cheer it up. Not quite what I expected for �5.50. My chips turned out to be skinny fries.
My sister ordered the squash risotto, which was a again a small portion and rather bland, missing the rocket promised on the menu. Again disappointing for the price (�8.50). The men also felt their sausage and mash at �8.50 was nice, but rather overpriced for 2 sausages and a pile of mash.
I would say that unless you are going for a roast avoid this pub for food. It is very overpriced and you could eat in a decent restaurant for the same money. I expect more than bog-standard pub food for restaurant prices.
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This pub has certainly improved under the new management. Good selection of guest ale at reasonable prices and good service. Hope the improvement can be sustained in the summer time.
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I've always like this pub, but I've yet to eat here - their summer BBQs look good, and smell great! It's a great place to end after a walk up the hill through the fields...
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I guess this place is due for a new report.... especially as it appears to be under new management.
The choice of beer has improved significantly with at least 2 and often three guest ales on offer (along with some lagers and a particularly nice cider).
It seems that the new management are trying to improve the food on offer and have set some space aside for diners - while leaving plenty of space for people who 'just' want to have a drink.
The serving area at the bar is still quite small but the friendly staff do get through the queue quite quickly if it builds up...
I can see this becoming a regular haunt especially as I can justify visiting after a stroll around the common to work upa thirst.
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This is a country pub on a quiet lane between Harrow and Watford with a huge beer garden offering fine views over north west London. Its family friendly atmosphere and kiddies play area in the garden make it an ideal place for Sunday lunch during the Summer months for those with young children. I often came up here with the girlfriend and kids and we never had any problem with the food. The menu was impressive and the specials board was always imaginative. The staff were always friendly. The service could be slow however and getting a drink at the bar was torture. You had to join a lenghtly queue while a lone bartender served one drink at a time to one customer at a time. My idea of a good barman is one who can serve at least four customers a different round of drinks at the same time. (Visit any pub in Galway or Dublin City Centre on a weekend night to see how its done). Such a shortage of staff in a pub with the potential for a large volume of customers is baffling and I believe this is reflected in some of the negative comments posted below regarding service. Maybe Barlady's post reveals more. If budget restrictions from head office result in poor service in a pub with such good prospects then something is obviously wrong with method of budget allocations. As Barlady says The Case Is Altered is busy in Summer and quiet in winter, so a seasonally adjusted budget is an obvious suggestion. I suggest the manager invite the bean counters down from HQ to come and work behind the bar on a busy Sunday afternoon. Finally well done to Barlady for your handling of those customers on 09,July,05. Nobody working in a pub deserves abuse like that.
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I had a few cheeky Heinekens in the huge beer garden on Sunday afternoon and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. The pub is more geared towards serving food, which looked extremely good, but the staff could not have been any friendlier.
My only gripe is being charged three different prices on three separate occasions for the same two drinks.
If I lived nearer I would go back for a couple of nice relaxing pints, but due to the restaurant feel and the abundance of children I would probably give it a miss if I was feeling a little more raucous.
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We ate here yesterday afternoon...what a revelation! The food was nothing short of wonderful, and the service warm and friendly. I can see why it might become very busy and the food prep times get longer...a kitchen can only be so large. But the food we had yesterday, on a quiet monday lunchtime, was absolutely magnificent. So refreshingly different from the usual Brakes Bros freezer crap. Along with a lovely garden, resoundingly recommended.
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There's a very large beer garden, a play area for the kids and on this lovely sunny day there was bbq food outside.
Inside there are decent beers and the food we had (new menu) was expensive but excellent. The place was rammed and we had to wait a long time to eat, though from all the commotion and arguing going on all around it looked like other people were waiting much longer - well over an hour in some cases.
The staff did manage to stay warm and friendly even as the punters got quite tense and hostile.
There are some great views to be had nearby but if this place looks busy you mighy be safer to look elsewhere.
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very close to a well-known dogging car park. Makes a great evening - a drink and a bit of dogging before bedtime
anonymous - 17 Jan 2007 15:59 |
We had a terrible visit here. The pub was nearly empty but we were told there was a 45min wait for food (we only wanted sandwiches). After an hour's waiting we should have left... Then we were told we couldn't eat outside although three other tables were served their food outside! The rude manager told us the other tables must have caused a fuss but he still wouldn't let us eat outside. That was when we left - after nearly 90mins and still no food. Disgraceful.
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I have visited this pub for lunch a number of times and alway been dissapointed. The pubs location and views make it a spot you would love to spend time at but the food and service has always let it down. This weekend we took two of our friend from Bath for lunch hoping that the last few reviews posed here were true. To my relief the place was cleaner and friendlier and the food we had was superb. New menus and a specials board filled me with hope that the new owners saw the potental of this pub to be a great place to eat and drink. All 4 of us had different meals and everyone really enjoyed it ( although the pastry for the pie almost finished my fiance off as it was a little bit heavy!)
Please keep it up, a nice country pub with good home made food is exactly what we need through the summer and winter months.
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Booked a 50th Birthday party here, hence the new gazebo's in the garden. Rob the Head Chef cooked some fantastic food exclusively for my party on the barbeque and had no problem with me bringing some of my own lights, music etc. Need to expand a bit on veggie options, however judging from their sister site, The Wellington at Welwyn, this will be more than catered for in the refit. Good to see the garden bar back in action. The food ordered off the menu will not be delivered to your table within ten minutes, this is not microwaved bar food! Be patient with the new crowd at The Case and book early for Christmas!!
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Had planned to book a lunch time office do here, but when I called to enquire I was advised they had only taken over the pub in June (so according to the posts there have been at least 2 in a year). They were not taking lunch bookings as they were too busy and it made people complain about waiting times. They are shutting for a month in Sept to build a proper restaurant. Will probably still go but will report back on food and service.
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This is a lovely pub if you are looking for a quiet drink and a chat. Staff are always friendly and pleasent and food is good. One of the best summer pubs I know due to a great garden
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What was written on 11th Oct shows exactly what kind of pub this is and the kind of staff it employs!! Don't waste your time going there as there are so many better pubs you can go to.
anonymous - 24 Nov 2005 11:18 |
An Ember Inn. Posts below say it all.
anonymous - 14 Oct 2005 22:34 |
as for the message posted on 9th july, the immature girl and her boyfriend that i served had thrown two glasses of blackcurrant and lemonade over me because i couldnt understand her boyfriend when i served him while he was on his mobile phone, which is why she was charged for those drinks and refused a refund. oh, and you're barred so its lucky you dont want to come back isnt it. as for the rest of the customers, thank you very much for your patience during the summer, we are run by a company, one which doesnt like to give us much budget for staff wages unfortunately because we dont take enough through winter (no local residents to attract) so it was hard for all the staff, but most of you were brilliantly understanding. we have a new manager now who should improve sales and therefore increase staff budget next season.
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Great view looking south over the fields with a good playground. However, no other reason to go. Bad beer, bad service, bad food.
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The last anonymous poster appears to have had an unusually bad experience. This pub certainly isn't what it used to be (I spent many memorable summer evenings playing the garden as a kid), having become a local haunt for chav families sporting a lot of gold and tattoos and swigging strong lager for most of the summer. This is a pity as it should be a fantastic family pub with its enormous grounds and playground. These days, the service is sometimes unfriendly and often slow, but it is still a half decent place for a drink during the week or at any time that the crowds are somewhere else. Haven't eaten at this pub for a while so can't vouch for the menu.
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The service was appalling we got charged for drinks we didn't order and was refused a refund. The managment was shocking and when we asked to speak to the land lady she asked us to leave without even hearing what we had to say. I think this type of service is disgusting and unacceptable and I would not expect such a low standard of service in this day and age. We were not given a refund for the drinks that we didn't ask for or the drinks that we weren't allowed to finish and we were refused a reciept as well. I would not recommend anyone to go to this pub as they do not know the meaning of customer service!!
anonymous - 9 Jul 2005 19:00 |
