please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
what a shit hole the cocky bar manager put us out because we were singing out on the balcony is this a pub or a restaurant come on like
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My local, but becoming less so, the price of beer seems to leap up suddenly , recent 15p rise for a London Pride is an example.
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This is a large, well run Fullers place. The landlord, Dave, is a decent sort, the staff are young and quite helpful and all the beer is kept in good nick. My one complaint (and it's to Fullers) is get the toiltets sorted, the stale smell has been there ever since the refurb two or three years ago. Between the two bars, the hotel and the always-used basement this has got to be their flagship pub, yet the problem hasn't been addressed. However, it is worth a visit and, I'm told, the food's decent as well
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Not a bad place but a bit too expensive for my liking
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I've been here twice in the last six weeks specifically to watch ESPN. Although all the Sky channels seem to work, they constantly have interuption to ESPN. The channel isn't received on their satellite, so the screen just goes blank (with the message "no satellite signal received", or if the signal works the picture freezes.
Not ideal when you've made a special trip to the pub and then pay west-end prices to watch a game which you can't watch because the bar staff don't bother to do anything to rectify it. In my example they had six weeks to bring in an engineer, but hadn't bothered to contact one.
The moral of all of this is that if you want to watch something on ESPN then go to another pub.
Staff are young and smiley. The food is efficiently served, but you would find it hard to argue against it being expensive. The beer garden is great and you can take your bike into the garden by using the side entrance that is accessed from Gordon Road.
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TOP CLASS ROAST.
THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST ROAST I HAVE HAD IN WEST LONDON
LONG MAY IT CONTINUE
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Great pub and perfectly located up the road from the station, always have a pint here after work before going home. One of the finer pubs in Ealing by a mile
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Huge Pub with an awesome garden. Well worth a visit for the ales (Mostly Fullers with the occasional Guest) which are well kept. The food is a bit hit and miss but the nibble plates are worth a look if theres a group.
The pub is very child friendly and sunday seems to be the busiest of all, so if you are not fond of the idea of kids pubs doing kid type things then i would advise against going there for sunday lunch. I personally dont mind, however i did notice some scowling looks and overhear a few dirisery words about the number of kids in the pub from some of the other patrons.
Also a good pub for all the usual sports.
Worth a look.
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The Drayton has an utterly ridiculous �no hat� rule. If you�re spotted wearing any sort of headgear you�ll be pounced upon by one of several officious jobs-worths, who will demand its removal (or yours) immediately. No explanation will be offered for this bizarre enforcement; you�ll be merely told: �it�s policy�. I don�t wear a hat, and neither do any of my friends. But I have seen a middle-aged, perfectly respectable looking man in a fedora (or some such hat) subjected to a nonsensical attack on his liking of the milliner�s trade.
I can only assume that they (the staff) once had a spot of bother from a hat-wearing customer and in true health and safety style (that of over-reacting to a one-off, highly unlikely incident) thought that banning hats would prevent it ever happening again. Who knws?
That said, it�s possible for the exposed of head to visit the Drayton without being drawn into this debacle. Manage that and you�ll have a pleasant enough time, with good beer, reasonable food and friendly non-hat wearing bar staff.
As recent refurbishment has made improvements, though the olfactory evidence in one toilet suggests aesthetics was put ahead of (literally) underlying problems.
Worth a visit (the pub, if not the toilet).
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great beers, love this pub plus had some fantastic food there as well, really looking forward to trying their sunday roast this week
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At the risk of irritating other reviewers i wasn't that impressed. Bored looking staff, overpriced beer and an okish at best menu. Garden is awesome though!
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Great beer garden for the summer, but just a pity the place is so overpriced!
mrbee - 10 Feb 2011 19:22 |
Really enjoyed our visit here yesterday before rugby and found the quality of Ale outstanding. Beautiful building and the hosts informed us that it will also return to Hotel status in the near future. Absolute travesty that it's not in GBG but will be rectified in due course. It offered 4 Fullers & Butcombe was their Guest. Thoroughly recommended.
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Huge pub, two minutes from West Ealing station. Rooms all over the place, with a main bar, 'games' bar with pool table and screens for sport, separate 'quiet room', disco/live music/theatre downstairs and a massive garden with both covered and open seating. Beer is always good, service attentive and food is top notch. Another bonus is late weekday hours, as it's always nice not to be hurried along in such an impressive venue. Try it!
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I went to this pub yesterday for a friend's birthday party which was held in the enormous beer garden. There were two big screens for Germany v. Argentina and Spain v. Paraguay: we could keep in touch with the football while continuing birthday celebrations! Although it is a Fuller's pub, it was convenient to get a jug of 4 pints of Foster's from the outside 'garden bar' (no real ale available here, you would have to go inside the pub then bring it back out to the garden). However, we did have some Chiswick later on (I prefer this to London Pride). We had a selection of food which was very good (nachos, houmus with pitta bread, olives). The staff were very good.
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Top boozer. Good for watching the football without the football taking the place over. One big bar doesn't have a screen. Huge garden and goodish food. And they keep the Fullers ales well. Highly recommended. Second only to the red Lion in Ealing.
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best pub round here by far 3 sections big screen in garden under terrace bbq in summer fullers chiswick nuff said
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I like this pub. It has recently become my local and it ticks all the boxes. Big beer garden (full of kids mostly when it's warm) good selection of fuller beer, nice staff, food ok.. but I've had better versions of the same thing in other fullers pubs so maybe the chef need to buck up his ideas. I don;t go there to eat so that doesn't bother me. Amazing/unusual looking building and just good all round.
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Best pub in Ealing!
HUGE beer garden, massive inside as well, has a pool table and nice Fullers beers. The staff is friendly and always ready to help.
On the other hand it's a bit expensive and the food is not great...
But still, very nice!
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one of west ealing's best boozers. great place to come and watch the footie, particularly if you like taking the michael out of man united fans with exotic accents (a manchester accent is NOT exotic)
a big central bar with plenty of seating and a side bar with a pool table. also has an epic back garden and a separate room with sofas and no music.
there's even a downstairs room that is used for a variety of purposes, including a comedy club, band rehearsal and jam room, dance school and a night club.
the beer is always good and the food is well above average. the landlord is a cheerful friendly guy and his staff are normally on their toes. i think it has been used as a fullers training pub in the past and the service suffered as a result but nowadays it's not a problem. the rather threatening chelsea fans at the bar are a friendly bunch once you get to know them.
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Where to begin - undoubtedly the best beer garden in the world (disagree - then send your alternatives to my tray marked 'couldn't give a damn')
The comedy is hit and miss (mostly miss) but at least this is one of the few pub's that is catering for this kind of entertainment. Also there is a disco afterwards which i cannot complain about (pulled a lovely redhead). Watch out for mad pizza girl!
My only real gripe about this pub is the price of the drinks which put the West End to shame.
Overall 7.1/10
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I come here a couple of times a month. The pub is huge, food is tasty, uncomplicated and fairly decent amounts. The staff always appear to be helpful and I cannot fault them. Only suggestion would be to clean the toilets more regularly.
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I love the fact that this place is open after 11pm. You can get a beer and a seat in a normal pub atmosphere until 1am and don't have to pay entry fee or be searched by doormen on the way in - and all the staff seem to know what they are doing which is a nice change for an Ealing pub!
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its pretty good pub. The assistant manager is a bit big headed huh?
anonymous - 28 Dec 2007 09:42 |
Nice leafy beer garden with stuff for kids, impressive old building, but otherwise a pretty average pub. We go there a lot though as it's near our house & it's so big that you can nearly always find a table free to sit with your mates & chat the night away. Aparently it's open stupendously late sometimes now; some sort of disco-type-thing downstairs (or at least that's what my other half said when he staggered in at 3am the other Fri). Have eaten there a few times & enjoyed the food.
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USED to be the best pub in london when don and Mif ran it. Went down hill rapidly after they left. Has improved a bit after the grumpy Napoleon complex landlord left.
staff are either excellent or crap, to be expected of training pub I guess. Too often have found my self wearing an invisibility cloak whilst waiting to get served.
still drink there on a regular basis.
Have always resented the Fuller pricing structure. because of the rateable valve of the pub the beer prices are high- even though much of this massive pub is off limits to the public and are used by fullers for training etc. We therefore subsidise fullers' staff training. don't be surprised to find cheaper fullers pubs in central London.
Overall a pub with unlimited potential
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Is it just me or are Fullers wine prices extortionate; �5.20 for a large glass of Pinot Grigio blush!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It might be a semi decent pub but this is outrageous!!!!!!
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I only went to comment on this pub cos I was outraged by exactly the same thing as the last commenter (spooky): �3.05p a pint of Guinness,this isn't the West End you know! In all other respects apart from Fuller's outrageous pricing policy this is an excellent pub.Large,spacious,comfy,clean.Cosmopolitan non-violent customers,helpful friendly staff,excellent standard pool table (both in cloth & player),good place to watch big footie games.Decent food arrives prompt and hot.Lovely wooden interior with tasteful sporting pictures on the wall.But sorry Fullers all this excellence is not worth a 20% premium on the price of a pint.
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�3.05 for a pint of Guniness! We are not in the West End you know.
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I love it!!! Foods gorgeous and staff are friendly. Lots of space and beer garden is excellent. Thumbs up!!!
anonymous - 29 Mar 2007 18:55 |
Has declined over the last 18 months or so. It's still a good pub with a great garden and you can have a good time in here, but unfortunately now you're less likely to than two years ago. Some of the customers seem to spend as much time looking for an excuse for a fight as anything else which doesn't help. There always seem to be a few aggressive people with permanant scowls on their faces glaring at everyone who isn't a regular by the bar. Shame as this could be a top pub as it once was.
anonymous - 20 Feb 2007 23:02 |
Does make me laugh when someones mind works in a small minded way that there are two categories of people those who are 'decent' and those who aren't.. Hmmm would a decent parent take their kids to a pub??? Dunno, however the Drayton has declined badly in the recnt years, used to love going to their monthly 80's discos but you can't even get a decent pint in here anymore..
anonymous - 16 Feb 2007 11:39 |
mixed feelings about this place, stinks of chavs and looks a little bit like a pikey palace but the garden is nice and the beer is good. totally agree with the comment left by someone about the kids. i used to work in the Kent, another Fullers pub with a nice garden ruined by a combo of children and atrocious new manager. PUBS ARE FOR ADULTS. one woman in the kent actually asked what we were doing to stop paedophiles and dangerous adults in the garden?! i bit my tongue to refrain from telling her removing her children from climbing half way up the walls and hitting other children with garden furniture might be a good start to protect her 'darlings' from coming to any harm. if parents are going to turn to alcohol, they should at lease fork out for a babysitter-stop being so cheap!!! let people with normal lives enjoy a nice drink in peace without worrying about tripping over a football or a barbie on the way to the bar! nuff said.
anonymous - 10 Dec 2006 21:28 |
Mixed feelings about this place. On its day it is a cracking pub with well kept beers. Also, I like the way that it still feels like a pub, especially bearing in mind the horrendous refurb of the kent. However, there are a few too many chavos for my liking.
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Heres an idea, Bernard: If you dislike it so much here, take your kid to the local park to "play", rather than the local pub. Drayon Green and Walpole Park, for example, are nearby. And you can't really complain that other people let their kids play when thats what you're doing too. Lets leave the pubs to the grown-ups, eh?
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edible food(just),seems to be a post hangover recovery center for most revellers.Annoyingly its the only place with a garden for our daughter to play ,that is in the immediate vicinity of our home.Second annoyance is that most other families who let their kids(and i use the term lightly) play,have no regard for others people and just let their children get on with it.Usually breaking glasses and causing general upset to the pubgoers who are half decent.Avoid like the plague on hot days,or bank holidays as these are the most likely times when whole families turn up all with their football shirts on looking for a fight.
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I nearly got punched and glassed by a young drunk parent thug last summer in this place. Stupidly he was playing football in a garden full of families. The ball hit me right in the face and smashed my glass and when I asked him to stop playing as I mopped up blood from my arm he seemed to want to start a fight with my boyfriend who actually hadnt said a word. This is a rough pub and there are regularly drunks and fights when we walk past. Such a shame as this is where we live.
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Like the last comment wasn't by someone who works here. Well kept seasonal ales, like Jack Frost, in the middle of August. You forgot to tell us this pub is filthy and the service appalling. Best avoided, even on quiz nights!
anonymous - 12 Aug 2006 02:34 |
Well kept Fuller's beers inc seasonal offerings - Discovery, Red Fox, Jack Frost etc. Spacious rooms with leather armchairs, nice large garden, friendly staff and average food. Best thing about the pub is the Quiz every Tuesday night - this is definitely the highest quality quiz in the area but not competitive and suits everyone. Come along and you won't be disappointed!
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This is an excellent pub with a brilliant garden, the biggest beer garden in London. Unfortunately, they have now started serving Foster's here, which is never a good sign, but nonetheless the pub remains it's qualities. Very spacious inside with two bars and three rooms including a sitting room. I've generally experienced good service here, though things can get a bit hectic when it's crowded, and the food is pretty nice. Well worth a visit, especially with summer on the way.
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Oh dear oh dear what has happened to this pub. Went in here last night to have a pint and relax in the humungus beer garden, by the time I got served the sun had gone down, (got in at 7pm). Very few staff working and unable to cope with the number of customers. Back of the bar was disgrace, glasses, ice,etc all over the floor. What a shame for for such a nice pub.
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Excellent pub - has the best beer garden in Ealing, if not the world.
But to echo the reviewer below - the comedy is like watching a car crash - very painful.
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hmmm ok need to be honest here and try not to allow last nights visit to the pub to affect my review. OK the pub...good service, nice staff (although dont ask what malt whisky they have as the staff offered me a JD!) Really decent Guinness which is always a sign of cleanliness and quality - rare in a managed pub! interesting mix of people. from a few chavs, to some 16yr olds trying to get served which thankfully they werent, to some arty farty posh people. so overall pretty alright BUT, DO NOT GO TO THE COMEDY CLUB. i have never ever seen such cack in my life. all the acts died on their arses. even the compare admitted it was cack. go for a pint but dont pay your fiver to get bored all night!
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An excellent pub and a worthy contender for Pub of the Year - would have got my votes if I had been on when voting was still on-going. Nicely set-out with a good choice of places to sit and a good pint. Also it's out of the way, which makes for a more friendly atmosphere. Definitely recommended.
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This year's Pub Of The Year competition ends here.
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One of Best Pubs Around Ealing
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I drank in this pub druing the 80/90's cannot ever remember it being called "Draculas Castle", some of the bar staff maybee!
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Big pub but not an especially great one. 3 rooms, one with a pool table in, plus a large room downstairs that can be hired for parties etc. It's difficult to say why this pub isn't great, has a good selection of beers, wines and spirits and the food is ok and not too badly priced. basically it's just a bit souless somehow and the chav element that frequents it doesn't help. On the plus side it improves markedly in summer when you can sit out in the exceptionally large beer garden and it has a couple of large screens so it's good for watching footy in.
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Used to drink here ,'83-'95,when it was nicknamed Draculas Castle due to the OTT exterior. Aparentley ther aws a Masonic temple hidden somewhere inside. I certainly remember seeing all of the insignia of the local lodges in the old front bar. Very large, very curious place.
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This is a great Pub, delicious, imaginative and reasonably priced food. Great downstairs disco's and also accommodates chess and rotoract clubs. The beer garden is amazing with heated lamps for when it gets a bit chilly and a play area for children.
The only downside is that there isn't much of an atmosphere and the staff can be quite rude.
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Great pub, should have a higher rating especially as all the comments are positive. I give it 10 out of 10, every time I've been here the staff have been friendly, the drinks have been good and the atmosphere's been good too. The beer garden is incredible - has to be seen to be believed, no-one would expect one that big in London. The food is also good, you can choose from standard pub food or something a bit different. The beer garden is a must for the summer but it's also big inside. The only thing I'd suggest is perhaps a bigger non smoking section.
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I have only been here once but I thought it was a very nice pub. I love the traditional pub style, with carpets and wodden floors, nice furniture etc. they have different rooms, including a family room which means children can come in there as well which I think is very good.
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Went Sunday, nice crowd and good staff. The beer garden is fab, very safe for children and families.
However due to the crowd the food took an hour (barmaid told us 45 min wait), and was rushed, incorrectly.
The manager needs to sort the food out, Sunday was the first of many hot days and it went pear-shaped. More staff needed perhaps??
anonymous - 16 May 2005 22:07 |
Great pub with friendly staff. I can't comment on the food as I've never tried it bu the helpings are certainly big. I don't drink Guiness but my mate said they do the best pints of Guiness he's had in London here.
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There's nowhere better to drink than here.
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Was frequented by chavs for an alarming period last year, however, has been re-classified to what it was originally, which is a top quality pub with fairly good food, nice customers and good staff. Quality.
anonymous - 7 Apr 2005 22:38 |
It's all been said but it's a class pub, and you'll be hard pressed to find a better one anywhere. I wonder if 'alcohol' who has criticised actually likes any pubs as it seems every pub he/she has commented on has been "rubbish". Anyway, this pub's great.
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its rubbish! what are all these people on about!?!
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An all round great pub. Nice friendly staff and a good pint.
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Quality pub. Not my local but go there whenever I can, great for some leisurely drinking. Friendly bar staff, not too expensive and loud, and massive beer garden. You will not find a better pub.
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Great local pub. Fantastic size beer garden and good atmosphere. Only problem for 'outsiders' is that you'd have to get an overland train to West Ealing station to appreciate its greatness!
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Class pub this one, has real character and the beer's top quality. Another major advantage it has that no-one else has mentioned is the non smoking area. Should be great when open till late on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve and the huge beer garden is perfect in the summer.
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I love this pub - very big and bar staff are welcoming and friendly. One of the best pubs i've been to and perfect for unwinding after a hard day at work.
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Went in this pub the other night for the first time in 13 years, talk about a change! Have they managed to shrink it, co's it seemed to be a lot bigger way back then. Glad to see they still got the garden, good times were had in the summer, (were they better 80/90's).A reasonable conversion, a bit exspensive though. One or two old faces still knocking around.
gerry - 18 Nov 2004 15:19 |
Great pub, also has a pool table which is always good fun even if I never win!
John - 5 Nov 2004 22:19 |
Far too loud in the evenings
Sam - 1 Nov 2004 14:42 |
Top pub and much improved since the refurbishments of a few months ago. Top food too (though it is a bit on the expensive side). Very lively in the evenings, good crowd too and none of the townies who blight town centre pubs.
Rob - 29 Oct 2004 18:05 |
Nice pub since it's been refurbished. Has a comedy night every other sunday which is great for forgetting about work on Monday.
David - 14 Sep 2004 14:33 |
Excellent, best pub in London during the summer no doubt - what a beer garden! Definitely pay it a visit during the hot summer days and enjoy the sun with a pint in the best beer garden i've ever seen. Great pub.
Adam - 25 Jul 2004 22:52 |
Recently refurbished and much improved. Transformed from a tatty, smoke-hole into somewhere that's actually quite nice. Food is good too, nice size portions.
Joe - 13 Apr 2004 15:45 |
Great local pub, OK food, fab beer graden and good wine selection. Definitely a nice change from generic wine bars! Currently being refurbished- but apparently the plan is to keep the "proper pub" atmosphere and just smarten the place up a bit. Oh- and the 70s/80s discos on the last Friday of every months are classic cheezy fun and absolutely packed!
Alison - 17 Mar 2004 13:18 |
Top pub, just next to west ealing station. Biggest beer garden i've seen, theatre where local groups perform, live jazz on thursdays, dedicated sport tv room, games room. Friendly staff. Bit pricy for a local though.
David Preston - 6 Nov 2003 19:52 |
Great traditional English pub, looks great on the outside and on the inside...amazing beer garden, a pub well worth visiting regularly!
Sam - 28 Oct 2003 16:04 |
Would definitely echo all that has been said about this pub - it's a top place, best beer garden i've seen, lively and atmospheric, good facilities (theatre, live music, big screen TV for sport, pool table) and the barmaids aren't bad either!
Matt - 21 Oct 2003 23:06 |
Top class pub. Quality atmosphere for all sporting events involving England (was electric for Turkey V England). And as everyone's said - the best beer garden around.
Dave - 20 Oct 2003 23:30 |
Brilliant pub, i can genuinely say. I don't even live locally but it's the best pub i've been to in a long time - got a lot of character and great atmosphere which is sadly lacking in many city pubs!
Ben - 20 Oct 2003 23:25 |
the one and only place to watch a footie match! cool people cool garden cool staff and tasty food
daf - 9 Oct 2003 12:15 |
Top pub, best beer garden in London. Live music and amature theater. They have all the sports, but they're in a different room so even the women are happy.
David - 25 Sep 2003 17:46 |
Think people have been laeving comment but not slected a rating? Is exellent pub as per comments, sio come it's only 6/10?? Giving 10/10 to averge it a bit but really I'd say about 7 to 8 /10. Looks cool on outside, inside bit grotty. Staff pretty cool, beer garden fantastic incl BBQ , food comes in very big portions and good selection of beers, drinks relatively cheap. Best in summer.
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Absolutely top pub. Chatty staff, OK prices, earthy fellow boozers and the biggest beer garden in the world! The weekend barbeques are fantabulous too. It's a bit out of the way from the main Ealing drag, which is often a good thing as Ealing can get pretty townie.
chopperbomb - 26 Jul 2003 09:48 |
EXCELLENT
Went on the Weekly Wind-Up here on 3rd July - well kept Chiswick. Lovely beer garden. The bar staff have a refreshing sense of humour which is great to see!
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My local it has a great collection of geezers who are regulars. I miss the travellers being there though. The pool room boys live it large. No fagits welcome, strict!
anonymous - 7 Jul 2003 12:09 |
Excellent pub, huge, and got the biggest beer garden I've seen in London, at least 20 tables (not all squashed up next to each other either. Have a few child swing sets, so is kid-friendly, but is not over-run with kids. Pool table outside sometimes too. Got good food, bit on the expensive side, but good sized portions. Sundays can be BBQs. Also do theatre here but I've never managed to catch it. Is within 1mins walk from West Ealing Mainline train station; or Ealing Broadway tube, then 5mins on the 207 bus westbound.
Gwen - 2 Jul 2003 18:24 |
great pub, very old english local, looks like an old church/castle from outside. Great bar staff and awesome food. Best experienced on a warm summers afternoon when you can take in the huge beer garden
Sarimah - 27 Jun 2003 05:18 |
