please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A few of us decided to go in for a quick drink (since looked quieter than the other ones around) to decide on a venue for the evening but instead we decided to stay on as it was extremely pleasant. We eventually moved upstairs to the patio area (which now has an extra large heater!). The music was tasteful and not too loud either unlike most pubs these days and found the whole experience quite calm and pleasant, ideal for anyone my age (thirties!).
The photo on this site could not be a recent one as we found out that they did not show any sport on TV not even Andy Murray playing tennis! I would definitely go in there again for a few more Peronis and just having a nice time with friends without being pushed around by kids and louts. Surprised at the current rating, a perfect 10 for me.
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Extremely dissappointed. After the refurb, we had started to use this as an after work local. Had a few leaving do's there however, just recently, after a two week period, after phoning 3 times, visiting and talking to staff twice, finally got confirmation we could use an area. Emailed and advertised to friends and collegues only to be called Thursday morning to say we could no longer have the are requeseted. Absolutley disgusted in their customer service, especieally when they admitted they didnt care about losing the business of 50 people for an evening.
norts - 10 Apr 2008 11:46 |
After reading older reviews of this pub I can't believe it was the same place I visited this afternoon!
Had wonderful food (2 sandwiches, priced around £4 each with chips for £2-ish) and a few pints of guinness (£2.90 each). The atmosphere was welcoming, the staff friendly and the sofa we sat on was wonderfully soft - we didn't want to leave! The toilets were also better than many other London pubs that I've visited.
Don't live in Hammersmith but if I was ever going past I would go back without a moment's thought - much more inviting than the Wetherspoons across the road.
Giving this 9/10 to hopefully increase the average rating somewhat to reflect that this pub is much better than its previous incarnation!
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Have never wanted to go inside before, but interested in the recent reports suggesting dramatic changes. Certainly looked good inside, but some of the punters still seemed a bit dubious. Only one real ale on - Timothy Taylor Landlord - and they tried to charge £2.65 despite the rather irritating digital adverising displays around the bar clearly quoting £2.45. They claimed that "the price has gone up today", but their bluff was well and truly called when I asked to look at the official price list on the wall. Ho hum! All in all, a mixed bag, but certainly now worth more than the current rating.
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Just been at lunch today and will be going back in the future, it was a pleasant surprise. I suggested it to the guys for the Firday lunch time drink to see how it faired after the refurb and it has been a complete transformation since last I was in there. I have avoided this place for years due to a previous bad visist there. The decor is a lot better than previously, lets hope it stays that way and the general atmosphere is more welcoming.
The biggest surprise was the prices, I expected to get fleeced but most pints were under £3, pint of London Pride was £2.45, which I think is even cheaper than the local Fuller's pub! The selection of beer was good, Peroni (£3.30) on tap which is always nice, Amstel, 1664 etc etc.
My only dissapointment was the bowl of chips we ordered, for £1.95 there was about 10 chips which was far from adequate.
I didn't have chance to explore or use the WC so can't comment on the whole pub, however I'll definetly be heading back there soon. Top marks for the revamp, lets only hope it keeps up the standard into the future.......
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OMG, what a transformation. It's kinda weird, because the Hop Poles used to be *so* bad that it was fun on occasions to go down and experience the worst of chav culture.
Went along earlier in the week, not a chav in site. They've ditched the Sky Sports and now just have quiet background music. The pub has been fully refurbed, making it much more welcoming.
The best bit was going upstairs. There's now an upstairs bar and seating area too, plus quite a large patio area. Only downside was no patio heaters but I guess you can't have it all.
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YAY! Finally there is a pub in Hammersmith that isnt a weatherspoons of full of Chavvy idiots. Renovations are really nice, and the new crowd (And there is one!) seems to be a good mix.
I’m converted!
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7 weeks of lick of paint??? You must be the one painting it than... Right, here's bad news for local hopers and believers... Forget about late night DJ weekends, forget about sports, start looking for a new place to go, 'cos none of that nonsense is coming back...surprised??? make sure you gonna have a couple of extra quid next time you decide to come in for round or two...Cant wait for reopening.
one of the locals...
anonymous - 19 Oct 2007 01:58 |
dont beleave the hype, yeah its having a lick of paint , but will still have the same gormless staff, and the chavy lads and slags will still be i there in primarks finest.once a dump always a dump, more chance of hammersmith and fulham giving free parking then this place ever changing from the biggest dump in london, ps, the kids are not tuff ,they probably post most of this nonsense , they are just mouthy when pissed and they have an underage slag on there lap.a dump
anonymous - 18 Oct 2007 19:34 |
Hip hip horay this dive is having a make over and it could have come sooner!!! How the authorities didnt get this place closed down is a mystery. It was filth the toilets were something else i wouldnt send a rat to this hell hole. Anyway lets hope they do away with the chav style and introduce a bit of class but something tells me not heres hoping.
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THE Worst pub in London.And that is saying something,full of ugly chavvy slags wearing the obligatory 3-4 cheap gold chains from Argos (And one with those cheap tacky clowns is a MUST) it would appear.All waiting for whichever Dwayne or Leroy is sober enough to get them up the duff for the 2nd or 3rd time (To help get those child benefit payments up higher) so that the little whore can spend more time on her arse watching Jeremy Kyle and just dreaming of the day she gets to be on the show.Full of whorish under age slags - and all the scummy blokes from Acton/Chiswick/Ladbroke Grove that it can fit in.
An absolute dive of a pub,even in my younger days of shagging slags and fighting mugs this pub was a shit hole too far
anonymous - 12 Sep 2007 02:58 |
This place is a meat market and if your new in there your not gonna be liked the girls give you looks like they run the place....not my idea of a great night out
anonymous - 14 Aug 2007 16:12 |
It really is rubbish.
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I was walking past the Hop Poles last Friday and glanced through a window. Unfortunately I caught the eye of a couple of neanderthals who mouthed words to the effect of "wotta you lookin at ****, we'll kick your head in".
Quality in a way I suppose, a pub that you don't even have to go into to get into a fight.
anonymous - 23 Jul 2007 13:13 |
Big dive, although I had a good night when I went and some bird got her chats out.
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Shit Hole, avoid like the plague! If you dont you might end up with the plague, or something more serious!
anonymous - 12 Jul 2007 15:55 |
Jesus and Gandhi would end up getting into a fight in this place. Old chinese proverb say: cheap pint is no consolation for shattered skull
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walked in there and within minutes saw a fight at the bar and a crazy old guy came and sat with us. It was extremely dirty and gross. But cheap for a pint. I would suggest you go somewhere else though.
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Another dive. On an evening you can smell the testosterone as boozed up thick chavs hunt for another tart to get up the duff. It gets full of the dreaded School Disco crowd on a Saturday night, which says it all realy. A shitting hole. Take note of the rating of 1.3/10 by 73 users.
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Went to this pub on a Thursday night. Blaring music made conversation almost impossible, but the three old men that made up the entire clientele didn't seem to mind.
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Most comments here consider this pub to be shit. It is. It's fairly large and roomy, and pretty much slap-bang in the centre of Hammersmith, yet it is let down by the Fri/Sat night clientele. Most people would feel unsettled by young boys and girls looking to either fuck or fight, or their more aged counterparts drinking heavily with their mates (or doing the doors to charge people coming in.)
I - remarkably - came here on crawl during NYE 97/98 where the staff were good enough to be doling out free cheap sausages, so that's a plus point I guess, from almost 9 years ago.
At a given time, 10.30 or 11pm, the lights go down and a DJ appears, making the Hop Poles the Daddy of shitty little late night RnB Chav holes that are more or less the only option in Hammersmith from 11pm onwards. With 90% of reviews saying similar, don't say you haven't been warned.
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I really should have paid more attention to the comments below before agreeing to meet a friend in here for lunch!!
Every table was filthy, and the anonymous poster is correct - the sausage and mash does resemble dog's shit in a moat of vomit.
The girl behind the bar was quite sweet though, think she'd do better elsewhere though!
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This could quite possibly be the worst pub in London.
Came here late on a Friday evening with some friends looking for a late drink. Firstly they weren't selling wine, great start. The cheesy music was in full swing which is kinda to be expected late at night, but then there was some awful MC rapping all over it.
Like the other posters have mentioned, seems to be full of underage drinkers, proper chav magnet as well. There was an absolute ton of broken glass on the floor, a couple also had sex on the dancefloor when we were there and there were loads of people snogging around the back of the bar. Many of the chavs were so drunk you had that slightly nervous feeling that a fight could kick off at any moment.
The pub falls into the "so bad its good" category; we intend to return there just for the hell of it at some point in the future.
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This pub is just dirty, when i dared to go in one time, the bloke on the door had the nerve to tell us that it would cost us 2 quid to get in. Me and my mates walked away in disgust. 2 whole quid to get into the Hop Poles?!?!?! Decent enough staff i'll grant you and I know some pretty decent clientele too. It's just old, outdated, with creepy, pervy blokes sitting by themselves waiting for the School Disco girls to have that one Reef too many. Not to mention that they don't seem to ask for ID very much either.
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i don't think I'd be too far wrong if i were to say that this serves the worst beer in Hammersmith. The nicest thing is the toilet and only because there was a man squirting you with perfume and drying your hands. This pub is wrong.
anonymous - 4 Jun 2006 20:08 |
Oh dear. I went in here for the first time in a couple of years a few weeks ago and it was as bas as I remembered. Packed with lairy blokes and underage girls by the looks of it, and the beer was poor. This kind of place is an example of just how a pub shouldn't be. Save for the late license it has nothing going for it, and given the standard of the pub late at night at the weekend it's debatable whether or not this license is a positive thing.
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Avoid this sh**hole. i had the severe misfortune of coming across this pub when i used to work in the area. Almost checked myself into A&E after eating their sausages and mash which resembled a whippets turd lodged on a bed of congealed baby puke. shocking!
anonymous - 20 Apr 2006 15:10 |
I am assuming that (Ms) Anonymous is referring to my report and I just want to expand on my comments. Being of a more mature status (ie middle aged git), I am the last person to rave about pubs full of “sick vile underage drunks” and I deplore any pub that serves these wasters or even lets them through the front door. I tend to steer clear of pubs aiming at a young customer base but The Hop Poles is not some glitzy, modern, trendy bar. It is a traditional and long established pub and former hotel and is the sort of building that warms to old fogeys like me. My comments were meant to be a realistic and fairly detailed account of the pub on what I saw and felt at the time I was there, not a pre-conceived report based on a closed viewpoint or on previous comments or reputations. The Hop Poles may well be the worst pub in Hammersmith (or anywhere else for that matter) but I went in with an open mind and reported on my experience. I did state that I was there early in the evening, was served quickly (albeit not particularly efficiently), had a decent pint and generally found the place hassle free, hence my “nice comments”. I can’t say I’d spend a whole night here and certainly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone else given the previous reports but to close it down as Sebastian’s in depth review would suggest, would only shift the problems to other nearby pubs. There is nothing here that a decent and strict management should not be able to sort out (the other pubs in the area do not seem to be attributed with these problems in such depth) and with some (considerable) effort this could be a decent enough pub. Personally, not coming from the area, if the Hop Poles closed down tomorrow I wouldn’t care one jot, but from my experience of Hammersmith pubs, there are several more that probably deserve the same fate. I am not expecting anyone to agree with me but hopefully I have clarified the reasons for my apparently glowing report!
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I cant believe that anyone would write nice comments about this toilet. Unless you worked for them!!! So much money has been spent on redevelopment in Hammersmith and i think it looks great. Lyric Square looks fantastic and king street in general is a much cleaner place. Shoppers travel for miles to visit the shops. Just look at primark. But what is the point when after a great day shopping with the girls you end up in the Hop poles. It is full of sick underage vile drunks who drink 10 pints of stella a day and then try to have sex with every girl that walks in the pub. I think that hammersmith Council have got it wrong. If hammersmith is to be back on the map, then places like this must be closed down. Just look at the photo above. Why would you want to sit on Lyric square having a coffee and look at that. Close it down.
anonymous - 9 Mar 2006 14:34 |
A friend of mine suggested meeting here. I went to the bar and asked for a glass of red wine for her and was told that they didn't have any. They were also out of whiskey and another customer was complaining about how long he had been waiting for his food.
Inept.
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Good for a Saturday night if you want to carry on drinking and can ignore the raucous and unpleasant elements within the clientle. Or better yet - laugh at them.
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A rating of 1.9/10 from 54 people deserves investigating so I took the opportunity of paying the Hop Poles a visit prior to a Hammy Apollo gig.
The pub is a former hotel situated on the busy Kings Street which, to the uninitiated, is the main shopping and eating/drinking road in Hammersmith. The original hotel rooms have been converted into one main drinking area that totally surrounds the bar although there is a more secluded area at the back. The main drinking area is quite spacious with both carpeted seating areas and a wooden floor standing area. There are 3 TV’s (mainly for sport), games machines, cash machine and a large screen towards the rear of the pub (not very good quality picture). There are several traditional features (etched mirrors, fireplaces etc) combined with more modern art prints. The carpeted area at the back is more geared for those eating. There is a decent food selection (burgers, steaks, salads, jackets etc) with special offers (2 main meals for £6.50). I was not expecting any Real Ales but they did serve a decent pint of Bombardier - £2.60 a pint which is OK for the area but expensive compared to the lagers (Fosters was £2.05) so it is clear at what market they are aiming at.
Apart from a lick of paint and a bit of varnishing here and there, I found nothing untoward regarding the pub itself (although the bucket beneath a leaking radiator was full of fag ends, tissues and waste paper so clearly it had not been emptied for some time). I did not find the pub particularly smelly or dirty as some reviews suggest. The (foreign) barmaid was welcoming although I did have to request a top up for my extremely short measure (this was done without any problem). The real rub seems to be the clientele and whilst some people clearly have an issue with this, I found nothing adverse. There were no chavs, underage drinkers, council estate tarts, slappers, morons or any other undesirable types that I could see, just a usual mix of locals, shoppers and workers. This was still early evening and I dare say the atmosphere changes later on, especially on a Friday and Saturday night but then I wouldn’t go in a pub like this at these times. As an early evening meeting place I would be quite happy to go back again.
The bottom line is that despite the previous comments, the Hop Poles is a no nonsense, down to earth, friendly pub with some merits if you go there at the right time. It is certainly not the “avoid at all costs” pub that the ratings signify. In normal circumstances I would probably give it 6/10 but as I was deliberately looking for bad things to say and was pleasantly surprised, I will go for 7/10, not that it will make a lot of difference overall.
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what has happened over the last few weeks,this pub has become a dump.bring back the women who run it before this terrable S.A bloke!!!!
anonymous - 19 Oct 2005 21:55 |
"If this place is so bad why's it always packed at the weekend?"
Because the staff turn a blind eye to all the seedy, nasty behaviour that occurs in there, that is why. This place is HELL ON EARTH.If you have never been in - avoid.
In all my years of visiting boozers in West London I have never been so dissapointed as to what has happened to the Hop Poles.Yes,you do get a few decent folk in there,but mostly it is full of the worst kind of trash immaginable. Lousy DJing,crap food,piss poor karaoke and disgusting beer make this place a prime contender for the bulldozers (in my humble opinion of course!!)
Passing by it yesterday (Monday) afternoon,I saw about 4 police cars & numerous on foot officers all piling into the Hop Poles.This is a regular occurence at this very unpleasent rat hole!!!
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If this place is so bad why's it always packed at the weekend. Just because you dont like it, doesnt mean others cant. If someone likes this venue does that automatically make them a tart or chav?!
And if you dont fancy here, you can always check out Club Richmond in Earls Court. Under new management and new DJ's, it's getting busier each week.
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Well said Mr.Raffles. In an area like Hammersmith,where 99% of the pubs are shite,this one gets the award for being the crumbiest pub of them all. No style or class. The bouncers are a waste of space, the under age slappers are pursued by slavering townies eager to put another tart up the duff & drain the welfare state even more. This pub should have a Biohazard warning palced on every window.
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To the poster below,I have no problem with people getting drunk & having a good time - except when being drunk & having a good time involves insulting and threating behaviour aimed at others within there line of blurred vision. The Hop Poles is one of the most unpleasent pubs in the area. The food is revolting,the beer is piss poor & the atmosphere is heavy with menace. A cancer on the face of Hammersmith.
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this pub is not as bad as people say,don't analyse the customers,just the good time you'll have. i visited the pub,despite the comments and enjoyed myself,and so did my mates.it's a pub for gods sake not an office,people get drunk and enjoy themselves,which is what i suggest to the last e;mailer!..a good pub 4 a piss up and a laugh,especially on a thursday to saturday.
anonymous - 19 Jun 2005 22:17 |
An absolute hell hole.I can think of no worse pub in the area.It is full of thick chav types and council estate slappers without any brain cells.This pub should be forceably closed down for the sake of the good folk of Hammersmith.
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it is really bad in there, i agree full of really young looking girls who put themselves out there. Gets really really busy and far too hot. The staff are ok and the bouncers are generally quite friendly. If you want to actually talk to the people you rae with dont go there.
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Ignore my comments below. This pub is awful, awful, AWFUL! It's loud, crass, vulgar and filled with the shittiest people in Hammersmith.
Visited last night and it was so loud I couldn't even hold a conversation with someone I was standing next to. All the other people looked so young they'd get asked for ID purchasing cigarettes. Young girls masquerading like they're queens of the catwalk, but look more like common tarts, chewing gum and talking dirty.
The bar staff looked like they couldn't wait for closing time so they could chuck everyone out.
It's the worst pub I've ever been in.
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At least they've stopped charging on the door for the sweet hell of it.
I've never been a lover of this pub, but it's always reasonably busy, mostly with the folks who work at King's Mall. Get in early if you want a table though, especially on Karaoke/Disco nights. The karaoke isn't particularly good, but it is busy. Don't expect to get a song in if you arrive after 11pm. You get a few dickheads, but they don't completely ruin the atmosphere. Not a good pub for watching the footie though.
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i would like to say that the person who complained about not singing on the karaoke has since been in and sung,see we do know who you are!it's because it's such a good night that alot of people want to sing.i suggest come early to avoid disapointment!!!!
anonymous - 4 Feb 2005 14:03 |
went to the karaoke last thursday, tried to put a request in to sing about half an hour from the end, I was told no, she couldn't take any more requests. I hadn't sung a song all night, and there were the same people singing song after song (appeared to all be her mates) she could have easily ignored one of their 10 songs to let me sing my ONE. Played far to much music between people singing, no idea how to run a decent karaoke. And if she reads this good, and before you say I've no idea what I'm talking about, I've been doing karaoke for 8 years, at one point I even used to do this pub, and have done the after party for the brits....where I sang songs with Kylie and Robbie, and various others. I do like this venue though, just dont like the karaoke woman.
anonymous - 1 Feb 2005 13:58 |
Avoid this pub like the plague, it's terrible, but to be fair to it no worse than most pubs in Hammersmith.
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Soon 2 b referbished. Nov 04. get sum air con.
Monsterboy - 19 Oct 2004 06:03 |
Dodgy pub, full of leary thick blokes. Avoid.
TheGP - 21 Sep 2004 13:51 |
Atmosphereless place which used at least to have the occasional cute Japanese tourist. Even they seem to go somewhere else now. I had possibly the worst bangers and mash I've ever had in this pub.
beeronaut - 6 Sep 2004 22:55 |
No atmosphere - virtually empty during the week. One of the most unfriendly barmaids I've ever encountered, to put it mildly!
Ellie - 15 Jul 2004 14:50 |
Absolutely appalling place with no character and no atmosphere apart from the threatening one from the constantly mashed up failed city boys in suits who stagger from one end of the bar to the other in this place looking to spill their pint of lager-top on someone. Only one thing to be said for the place - you can always pull.
fingers_malone - 5 May 2004 06:46 |
a crowd from work go every saturday,its brilliant especially if ur into 80's music,wouldnt go anywhere else!!!!!!!!!!!!!staff are friendly,bouncers can be a bit rough but otherwise a brilliant night out b4 going onto a club!!!
sam - 3 Apr 2004 11:59 |
Did used to okay if a little draughty. Now gone the way of the Bull and Bush in Richmond. Could almost be an Edwards. Avoid.
Good for: Possibly during the day, I don't know.
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it is go good the best pub its more like a club then a pub fridays are good and saturdays really good u should go
gina - 6 Jan 2004 21:18 |
dont recommend karoake night unless you intend on getting serious drunk other nights can be better
Alex - 21 Dec 2003 19:39 |
Used to be ok if not special, now very much a pastely clone of a lot of other places.
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Scary karoake in that the purveyer of tunes and speakers looks like he has escaped from a maximum security prison. I've only seen one person taken out on a stretcher from here. Good service, reasonable prices, nothing to really recommend it. Apart from being near a cash machine.
Ron Malibu - 13 Dec 2003 18:50 |
this is a fun pub excellent nights,late licence and good bar staff that can remember your order no matter how many drinks you order!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
chris - 7 Oct 2003 23:42 |
Good busy pub,friendly staff,open till 12 on thursdays,fridays and saturdays,and the south africian lady don't work there any more!!!(also they have a good sized roof terrace,which is tucked away from the drones of kings street,and a sun trap on a nice day)
happy customer - 25 Sep 2003 20:56 |
stinks of old beer encrusted on carpet! dont sit near the loos the doors BANG loudly everytime someone enters or exits. strange lack of seats at front of pub. can find much better in hammersmith
millym - 26 Jul 2003 21:06 |
in my experience, the doormen have being very strict on ids, which is a good thing, however despite being 22 and not looking a day younger, i have been rejected, whereas girls who barely look 16 have being let in no probs. if u complain to them about this, they'll threaten to phone the police. then again, whats new?
jim k - 2 Jun 2003 20:12 |
Bit of an ACME pub now, used to be more original. Lacking in atmosphere, but cheap food and loads of screens.
beer - 13 Feb 2003 12:15 |
Loud boozer full of obnoxious blokes, plus the School Disco crowd on Saturdays.
SK - 12 Jun 2002 11:12 |
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