please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Should be a good pub but it aint. I was overjoyed when I saw Black Sheep on tap. But sadly the barman tried to get away with topping up a pint glas that had been sitting there. A cardinal sin! To make matters worse he tried to justify himself
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I'm liking this pub more and more. Staff are friendly, food is OK although the beer is a bit hit and miss which really lets it down. Good hide away from the office.
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The last time I came in here was prior to the recent refurbishment. The basics were intact but the place was rather tatty with worn seats and a rather tired feel. The sympathetic refurbishment has given the place a modern trendy buzz without ruining the historic ambience. The elegant main bar area has a dark and rich feel to it and features some superb Victorian tiling, large mirrors and a fireplace with an ornate wooden surround. The pub narrows to the rear where the décor is a bit lighter and doubles up as a photo gallery. A couple of model WWI biplanes dangle overhead between a couple of coloured glass skylights and at the rear a small, bright, open courtyard is ideal for the nice weather that we frequently enjoy! The beers (Black Sheep, Old Hooky and 1 off – Pride looking at the shape of the clip) are well kept (they are cask marquee accredited) although you will experience the steeper end of “London” prices. The ambience is generally relaxed with easy going music and when it isn’t too busy, it is a great place to while away a few hours. Definitely recommended if in his area.
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The decor is very nice, spot on, not too tarty.
They have a little sun trap out the back, but if you want to get a seat out there this summer you will have to be there about five o clock to beat the office rush.
Good place for a lunchtime beer. The food is nice, the beer is good and the barmaids are spot on.
My current favourite Holborn watering hole.
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The ale was good – Old Hookey and Deuchars IPA – although very busy for a Tuesday and nowhere to perch inside other than by the bar. As such, we were forced out onto the street like dogs.
When I went, it seemed to be full of Hooray Henry students, which wasn’t too appealing.
Even so, a pretty decent place and a solid six, assuming I’m not standing in the street engulfed by the posh unwashed.
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Visited on Saturday 17th Feb. Hook Norton Old Hookey was in great nick. The other two beers available were London Pride and Deuchars IPA.
No intrusive music on my visit and the staff were pleasant and efficient.
As many other posters have pointed out, the refurb is pretty good and hasn't devastated the old victoriana.
Hope to visit again late March.
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I have to agree with wordhard. Nice enough pub outside and in, but even when you expect a busy, noisy pub on a Friday, this was way too much.
I have never been in a pub where the music was that loud (or that bad actually: Tina Turner, Take That, not sure what else - I ended up standing outside in freezing December just to hear someone talking). It's nightclub volume, yet the punters seem to put up with it (though most are office-types drinking alcopops and lager).
When will pubs realise most customers are there to drink and either chat, or have a quiet read etc. Not listen to your appallng music.
(Before you dismiss this as the whinging of an old man, I'm under 30 and work in music).
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Agree with the refurb comment.Yres,it looks contempary,but retains the victorian look of a city of London pub.Guinness superb,service very good(and with a smile)Crowded,but a fun type ,wind down on a friday type crowd.A good pub, would definatly go back.
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I hadn't been to the Enterprise for a while and, whilst I generally loathe refurbs, I must say they've done a top job. They have an evening tapas type menu which looked appealing and we had a very relaxing evening. However I returned two nights later and it was a completely different atmosphere with some sort of annoyingly loud dance music and full of city types falling over (to be strictly fair I only witnessed one calamity but we left early, tired of the shouting). Seems to depend what part of the week you visit to what kind of evening you'll have. Overall though, good service, good beer and plesent surroundings.
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Visited The Enterprise for the first time last week, on the strength of the reviews in BITE. Really, REALLY good pint of Broadside, decor impressive, atmosphere welcoming despite the lack of lighting and staff charming. Seems to be very popular with couples.
But why the DEAFENINGLY LOUD music? Fair play, by sitting inside but as far from the bar as possible, my friend and I could just about hear each other talk (loudly) but it wasn't condusive to conversation.
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I went in this pub for the first time in about 6 months last Tuesday and I was stunned at the changes. It has been beautifully done up with the victorian features kept instead of being ripped out like they seem to be in old pubs these days. It has a wonderful cosy atmosphere and makes a nice change from all the bland looking gastro pubs with their modern usually uncomfortable furniture, which all look the same and seem to be springing up everywhere. I found the Victorian features quite stunning especially the old tiles and ceiling lamps. It was a lovely hot day and sitting out in the garden was a real treat. I like the small fountain on the wall. I felt like I was on holiday sitting out there. The owner was extremely pleasant as were the staff. Also as a woman on my own I felt very comfortable going in there. The wine was tasty as well. I really think this pub deserves 10 out of 10. It has been very lovingly restored and it shows. I will most certainly be going back there again many times! In fact next time I will try the food.
Alex6 - 14 Jul 2006 22:05 |
Refurb has been very sympathetic and brings the best out of the place. All the victorian features are there - the place is just a lot cleaner.
Perfect pint of Adnams Broadside. Nice landlord. Classical music created a nice atmosphere on a rainy Saturday afternoon.
anonymous - 27 May 2006 21:14 |
I wouldn't have thought so Stonch, as I believe the pubs you mentioned are managed houses, whereas following the change from managed to franchise, M&B are no longer the driving force behind the direction of the business. The new host is.
The thing to bear in mind is that pub franchises are completely different from fast food & high st. retail franchises. They are not uniform. It's only really in terms of the office side of things that there's any involvement with the company.
It's not my place to say what Nick may or may not do, as I no longer work there. Having met the man though, I'm confident that any changes he might make will benefit, rather than detract, from the pub and its character & atmosphere.
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OK. I am quite a fan of certain Mitchells & Butlers pubs - the Crown Tavern (Clerkenwell), the Castle (Farringdon), the Island Queen (Islington), the Eagle (City Road) and the Crown & Sceptre (Fitzrovia) are all favourites of mine. Will the Enterprise be receiving the same kind of "shabby chic" make-over as those pubs? Not sure if that would be appropriate.
anonymous - 6 Apr 2006 17:17 |
Mitchells & Butlers. Don't worry about this changeover impacting on the atmosphere though. It won't become more chain-like, in fact this is good news for the pub because Nick, the new host, has total autonomy in how how he does things. For example, it is his choice as a franchisee which ales he offers in the future, whereas as a manager, I was told what to offer.
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A franchise of what pubco exactly?
anonymous - 3 Apr 2006 08:30 |
Last week the pub changed hands. It will now be run as a franchise operation. That means the new host will be able to operate as he sees fit, rather than having to follow a rigid set of guidelines.
Thanks and farewell to you all.
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Yes, unfortunately that's exactly the case Stonch. For example, Hen will be replaced with Bombardier shortly after the 15th, and I have no say in the matter. The reason for it being so tightly controlled is that we are not only a managed house, but branded too.
If it were my choice, I'd have Adnams as the house ale, and two regularly changing guest ales, one weak and one strong. I'd also stock one or two bottled ales at times, from the Shepherd Neame's Christmas variety for example.
Afraid the best I can do is to ensure the quality of what I am given, and try to have all three on without significant downtime. Others have said to me what you have, and I'll pass the feedback on in the hope it might cause a ripple in the corporate pond.
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Hi James. Out of interest, when you say you can only offer guest ales in accordance with your pubco owners, do you mean they tell you specifically what beer you are getting and you have no say? I thought that publicans were generall given a beer list and some guidelines but as long as they chose a good rotation from that list they were ok?
If this isn't true, it should be! Not your fault obviously, but I do think having "guest ales" like Bombardier and Old Speckled Hen which are unexciting and very widely available is not a good way of providing customer choice or getting more people into drinking real ale.
Surely a better strategy is to do what, for example, the Island Queen in Issy does - have on TT Landlord and Pride as standards, but usually have something very unusual as the guest ale - Blackadder stout last time I was in, a very welcome discover for me.
Just my view obviously but interested to hear from a publican like yourself what the policy is.
Cheers.
anonymous - 9 Mar 2006 15:10 |
Stonch, we now have Speckled Hen as an alternative. This is part of a year-long guest ale plan the brand recently decided on. As I understand it, we'll have a new one every two months. I'll see if I can find out what the next ones are, and in what order they'll arrive. (I have a feeling it'll be Bombardier next, but I'm not certain.) Afraid I'm not allowed to offer any ales other than in compliance with their plan though, sorry.
Update on the lighting: no luck finding the mantles, but I've heard murmurs about replacing the gas lights with electrical replicas sometime later in the year as part of a small tidy-up.
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Nice locals pubs. Friendly and service was excellent. Pub you wouldn't mind to live next door too.
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James, any chance of having Adnams Broadside along with the bitter? Its a great beer that always seems to sell well in pubs that have it. Although I am sure you keep both your cask ales perfectly, at the best of times Pride and Adnams bitter are rather bland.
anonymous - 6 Feb 2006 14:49 |
Thanks for your kind comments George and John.
I agree that the walls are in need of work. I'll have a word with my boss, see if we can sort out something in the near future. The lighting should, in principle, be easier to address. I've been trying to source some mantles which our out-of-service gas wall lights need. (They safely contain the naked flames, and also prevent the glass shades from cracking due to overheating.) That is the reason the rear half of the pub has been dim in recent weeks. I was recently informed of a company that supposedly sells them though, and I'm hoping to get hold of some by the end of the coming week.
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James, you're doing a cracking job so far - The Enterprise is used by my firm as its watering hole, and slowly you're luring back the drinkers who headed to the Old Nick.
The whole atmosphere of the pub seems so much brighter after the previous cretins behing the bar departed. The service now is far more cheery and efficient, and devoid of extremist rantings from previous, oh-so pleasant barman. The Adnams is great, and I now look forward to heading to the Starship after work.
A lick of paint and some better lighting would be great though, if you're making any headway in your battle to improve the feel of the pub.
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Quite a pleasant visit yesterday evening for just the one pint after work.
Nice ornate bar back and wall tiling, which is always a plus with an old school traditionalist like me.
There were several large Xmas party office groups in the pub - but they were fairly civilised. This pub is much bigger than The Dolphin over the road, which is also worth a visit.
Yes, I'll definitely pop in again when I'm next in the area
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Forgot to mention that we are no longer part of the Nicholsons chain as it says above; we are now part of London Pubs, which is a more subtle brand, better-suited to this type of pub.
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Hello I'm James, the current host of The Enterprise. If you have any questions please ask.
In response to the previous comments, we have not had fruit machines for over a year. We have a SWP quiz machine, but it is kept in an unobtrusive corner and it does not emit sound.
Our current selection of ales consists of Adnams and London Pride. I am pushing for a third, rotating guest ale, but am currently meeting resistance (this is a managed house). Both ales have the Cask Marque mark of excellence, and I was trained in cellar management by Fullers of Chiswick.
The pub is indeed closed on weekends, because the bulk of our trade comes from people working in the area. We are willing however, to open on the weekends for private parties.
We provide the pub to your group of friends/colleagues exclusively for a Saturday or Sunday evening, free of charge. We ask only that you guarantee a minimum of fifty people. We will be able to provide 12 o'clock closing automatically for these events after 24th November, and would be willing to consider applications for later closing depending on the circumstances.
There is still much to be done to allow this pub to reach its full potential, and I am trying to achieve as much as I can, despite it being the age-old uphill struggle of manager vs company.
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Closed on weekends
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Used to be run by a (plainly open about his political views) neo-Nazi, nicknamed Gollum. As such, you would expect brutally efficient service, but that was never to be.
Now it appears to be run by a much more genial, if ponderous chap, who's doing well at regaining disillusioned ex-customers. The place has also been cleaned up, although the fruit machines remain. Can get very crowded in the evenings, what with the law schools and barristers turfing out. Couple of good beers, notably the Sussex.
anonymous - 30 Aug 2005 16:48 |
Fairly cosy but unsurprising Central London pub which serves the ubiquitous London Pride and Bass. It was either this one or the Dolphin opposite that was hit by a bomb dropped from a Zeppelin in WW1.
chrisa - 18 Nov 2003 16:50 |
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