BITE user comments - ChapmanBaxter
Comments by ChapmanBaxter
I'm a regular visitor to Mabel's. Not a bad pub. A bit sanitised, but a good selection of beer and as others have pointed out, compared to nearby competitors, it's very good.
However, a couple of occassions when I've been in when a big match has been on TV has seen the place woefully understaffed and seemingly completely unprepared for the (entirely predictable) increase in staff and food orders. This isn't out of character as service is pretty average on a normal evening.
So, if it's quiet or you're not in a hurry, and you're in the King's Cross area, it's worth a visit.
26 Oct 2009 22:37
Good news: the Laurel Pub Company, owners of Slug & Lettuce and Yates's are going out of business. Maybe there is a god afterall.
31 Mar 2008 22:25
The Market Place, Oxford Circus
Truly awful. Loud, pretentious, over-crowded, badly designed, useless barstaff, populated by people who are too ignorant and self-absorbed to know any better. There are a dozen places within a ten minute walk that are far superior so I've no idea why you'd go here.
21 Mar 2008 21:01
This pub is to close after its license was revoked, largely due to the shooting there last summer, but also due to regular reports of criminality on and around the premises.
14 Jan 2008 00:25
The Old Suffolk Punch, Hammersmith
I can only agree with RogerB really. You will not find a more soulless, ersatz, 'youth' orientated bar in London, right down to the huge, awful prints of fashionable young people on the walls. Terrible place, no atmosphere, medicore beer, alright service. Probably better off in the (only slightly better) Duke of Cornwall up the road.
12 Sep 2007 16:40
Went here some time ago, and like others on here, am completely baffled by its sudden status. It's thoroughly mediocre; a typical, characterless modern bar.
I'm surprised (and relieved) the idiots didn't take over a good pub in an attempt at appearing authentic. I suspect that says something not just about the patrons, but about the world in which we live.
19 Aug 2007 23:09
The Springfield Bar & Grill, Bounds Green
Agree with Goatboy - a good, proper local, especially compared to the awful middle-class pretentions of The Ranelagh up the road.
There's a good, regulars atmosphere, many of whom are Irish (hence the half-decent Guinness and regular screening of hurling and Gaelic football). But this ISN'T a theme pub in any way.
It's spacious, so if you're watching the football, you should be able to see. They've even installed a TV in the beer garden for die-hard smokers.
1 Aug 2007 12:32
What is the point of bars like this? Other than to make vast profits on over-priced food. Soulless and corporate establishments for soulless and corporate people. It's telling that amongst the modernist clutter of Canary Wharf, that monument to the rapacious, consumerist, money-obsessed '80s, all of the pubs and bars in the area are monuments to the selling off of pubs to investment banks in the '80s.
I assume some of the other posts on here are from people who aren't too picky about where they drink (or what), that don�t go to pubs very often, or are in the pay of Bar 38/The Spirit Group.
25 Jun 2007 14:23
The Crown and Sceptre, Fitzrovia
Rubbish pub. Didn�t used to be.
I hadn�t been in here for a couple of years when, in need of somewhere showing the football, I noticed they had it on a small TV in the corner. The place had changed since I was last there; the designer leather sofas and wine lists have moved in. Always a bad start.
There were two members of bar-staff serving two customers when I got to the bar. One of them, having served a woman, then just walked off leaving me waiting for the other member of staff to complete a big order. Once I�d been served, I started watching the game, as were a few others despite the sound being turned off in favour of non-descript �funky-house� music (fair enough, it�s not a football pub, I suppose). Ten minutes after kick-off, one of the staff walked up to the TV and switched it off, with no apology or consultation with customers. Regardless of your opinions on football and sport in pubs, this is just rude. I walked out without finishing my drink. I won't return.
For those so inclined, they do seem to have a good selection of continental lagers though. And it does get very busy on Friday evenings. However, don't expect character or good service in here.
12 Mar 2007 12:19
Probably the best pub in Brixton if you want a quiet drink in a proper pub rather than noisy, fashionable bars.
I agree with those defending Brixton. I lived there for a few years and experienced no trouble at all. People are too quick to buy in to the Evening Standard propaganda about the place.
1 Mar 2007 14:33
Slightly odd place. Trying for a prohibition-era theme. Shutters on the windows make it feel enclosed, not helped by the long, thin lay-out. Usual selection of beers you'd expect in a bar that's not that bothered as long as people are drinking. Not really a relaxing place to be, but not bad for a function/party, especially if you also hire the downstairs room.
31 Jan 2007 19:09
The Prince of Wales Feathers, Warren Street
Reasonable for a swift pint but no character. Conversely, nothing to get really angry about. For the better read out there, this is suspected of being one of the pubs that was a principle inspiration for The Midnight Bell public house in Patrick Hamilton's classic novel Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky.
31 Jan 2007 18:54
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).
17 Jan 2007 21:02
No question that there was an element of people putting up with mediocre beer and over-inflated prices just to drink in the legendary Coach (though I suspect many didn't really know why it was/is legendary) but now Norman's gone there's no doubt even the spurious air of mythology has started to fade. The quirks have gone and generic wines have appeared on the shelves. It's pretty much all over for landlord-run pubs as this last bastion has fallen, but there's no point crying over it. Just move on to a better pub and hope for the best.
5 Sep 2006 23:04
Good pub. Really nice, genuine, intimate interior. Good beer, but I agree with some of the comments about the service. Best to go during the day for a quiet pint. Go on a Friday night, especially in the summer, at your peril.
5 Sep 2006 22:57
The Crown and Sceptre, Kensington
Good beer. Reasonable, unpretentious, plentiful food. Relaxed atmosphere. Usually (but not always) good service.
21 Aug 2006 16:42
A sorry tale of a decent pub trying to be a fashionable bar. Too little seating, 'funky house' music in the background (at least it wasn't too loud) and too much focus on selling modern cuisine.
Beer's not bad but you wouldn't want to stay all night.
21 Aug 2006 16:37
Back to ChapmanBaxter's profile
Molly's Bar, New Southgate
It's a locals' pub, but once you're inside, you don't feel intimidated. Almost everyone in there knows each other, but if you're a stranger, they won't care and will either talk to you (especially if you know your football or horse racing) or leave you alone.
Staff are always good: quick, good memories, and even though there's rarely more than one person on, they're always on top of things.
Furthermore, the Guinness is good (it's an Irish owned pub and many regular are Irish or have Irish backgrounds) and beer is cheap (for London).
26 Oct 2009 22:44