BITE user comments - Chief_IDIOT
Comments by Chief_IDIOT
Visited 1pm 29/11/14.
Much improved since my last visit a couple of years ago. Nice pint of MPA. Proof that Lees can brew a decent pint when they try.
29 Nov 2014 16:05
Visited 3pm 29/11/14.
Beer quality good as is usually the case for this local Spoons pub. Not disappointed.
29 Nov 2014 16:03
Visited 2pm 29/11/14.
Usually good quality beer but today, not the case. My pint was cloudy, just about drinkable, and someone else took back a pint of Thwaites Wainwright. And as for the Rtwo Dtwo beer! Definitely home brew quality. Maybe it will improve if they persevere.
29 Nov 2014 16:01
Visited Sunday 8 December 3pm.
Nice interior following the recent refurb. Disappointing to see the beer range cut from 9 to 5 ales, making way for 4 ciders, but I suppose it is now the Ale and Cider house. I have a fear that food will dominate like it has in the Exeter Arms, run by the same owner. The back of the pub looks like a dining area already. How long before the reserved signs appear on the tables? Time will tell.
Beer quality was average on its 3rd day open. The youth behind the bar didn't know the brewery of one beer when I asked and made no effort to find out. Another customer asked the same question a few minutes later.
12 Dec 2013 18:50
I was there last night with my wife. The pub was busy, which I was pleased to see. I ordered a drink for my wife and pint of XXXB for myself. The beer was cloudy so I politely asked the landlord to exchange it. He said there couldn't be anything wrong with it as he'd only just put it on sale. Again I asked for a replacement. The landlord grumpily refused to change the beer and gave me my money back. Of course, he then had to refund the price of my wife's drink as we clearly wouldn't be staying.
This has never happened to me before in 30 years of drinking real ale. Most landlords these days would cheerfully replace the beer for another, and many would take a less then perfect beer off sale until they could resolve the problem with it.
I was puzzled by the landlord's attitude. I hadn't been to the Cross Keys for a long time. I stopped going there at quiet times because the same landlord would constantly complain about how the pub trade was finished, in his opinion. I have now decided not to call there again while he is running it. The pub hasn't been the same since Colin Sinclair left there a few years ago. He was a truly professional landlord who made the Cross Keys one of the best pubs I have ever been to.
23 Jun 2013 11:21
The Prince of Wales, Holland Park
Called on Sat 16/7. This place appears to be permanently closed, as confirmed by the barman in the Castle round the corner.
18 Jul 2011 14:21
Visted 19/8/10, 7.45pm
Cracking little pub this. 3 beers on handpump and 5 or 6 on gravity.
My first pint (Jennings Cumberland) was bad but the Marstons Burton Bitter and Jennings Cocker Hoop were in fine form. Easy to reach on the bus and definitely worth the trip.
20 Aug 2010 11:09
Visited 27/7/10, 5pm
Cracking pub. Quiet at the time I visited but I can imagine it getting pretty lively. About nine beers on offer. The first pint I had was a bit hazy and didn't taste quite right. Maybe the end of the barrel. Second pint was much better. 15p discount for CAMRA members. Will definitely call again.
28 Jul 2010 08:18
The Horse and Groom, New Basford
Visited 27/7/10, 6pm
Excellent free house. Nine beers on. I had a very excellent pint of Adnams Regatta. Lots of brewery memorabilia around the place. I shall definitely visit this place again.
28 Jul 2010 08:16
Visited 27/7/10, 6.30pm
Hadn't been here for a couple of years. Lots of people scoffing the excellent-looking Thai cuisine. About 8 Alcazar beers on. I tried 3 and they were all in poor condition. The first two were too warm, like they'd been in the pipe all day, and the third was clear but undrinkable.
The two sweet young things behind the bar were a bit disinterested in what they were doing. I shall be e-mailing Alcazar to get them to kick whoever runs the place these days. There was no sign of a manager on my visit.
28 Jul 2010 08:14
Visited 29/6/10, 5pm.
Always been one of my favourite pubs in Belper. Beer quality seems to be consistently good these days. The XXXB was on form on my visit. I'll always call here when I'm in Belper.
30 Jun 2010 13:43
Visited 29/6/10, 7pm.
Overpriced gastropub. �2.90 for a pint of the house beer from Derby Brew Co. It was cloudy and tasted like it was near the end of the barrel so I took it back and changed it for Landlord, which was acceptable though not brilliant.
Worth a look but a better beer range in the Kings Head.
30 Jun 2010 13:39
Visited 29/6/10, 7pm.
Much improved since my last visit there in 2005. Five beers on. The Sharps Doom Bar was in good nick. One pump didn't have a brewery name so I asked the barman what it was. A terse reply of "I don't know" was eventually followed up by a visit to the cellar and he reported back with the answer. I would call again.
30 Jun 2010 13:37
Nice to see this place open again, and back to a traditional pub style like it was when it was the St Helens all those years ago. Nine beers on sale and good prices, �2.50 for Black Sheep and most others at �2.70.
It should do really well once the word gets round the beer drinkers of Derby. Hope the CAMRA guys promote it.
30 Jun 2010 13:34
What the hell has happened to this place? I have to agree with the recent reviews. It is filthy and smelly, and was full of tattooed skinhead types who were shouting at the racing on the TV when I visited on Saturday 15 May in the afternoon. I'm sure I got a flea-bite or something from there. The beer I had was ropey but my mate's was OK, he says.
Hopefully someone who cares about pubs will take it on and get it back up to its former glory. It was always the best pub in the Hoxton area, and open at weekends. Perhaps the Old Fountain will take the opportunity to open on Saturdays and Sundays?
16 May 2010 12:09
The Plough and Harrow, Hammersmith
Very modern chrome and glass Spoon�s pub. Very busy on a Saturday afternoon. Difficult to find a clean table. Beer wasn�t bad quality and low priced. Nice to see a Spoon�s pub with toilets on the ground floor instead of the usual two-hour walk upstairs. Don�t think I�d hurry back to this one.
9 Apr 2006 10:01
Young�s pub which seemed more like a wine bar. Nice real fire and wooden tables. Beer was definitely ropey but I expect they don�t sell much. Everyone else was drinking bottled fizz or wine. Wouldn�t bother with this place again.
9 Apr 2006 10:00
Nice little Shepherd Neame pub tucked away from busy Knightsbridge. Beers were good quality. Full of posh gits who look down their nose at you for having the audacity to drink in THEIR local. Been here a couple of times before and beer has always been good. Pricey but that�s to be expected in this area.
9 Apr 2006 10:00
Modern style Young�s pub, very much focused on food, which was expensive (�9 for fish and chips!). Beer was in good condition. Not bad for a quick pint but I wouldn�t want to stay long.
9 Apr 2006 09:59
Excellent little backstreet local, very much in the traditional pub style with bare floorboards and stained glass windows. Limited beer choice but excellent quality. Empty when we visited but it had only just opened. Definitely worth another look when it�s busier.
9 Apr 2006 09:58
Typical Spoon�s pub in the City. Quiet when we visited but it was 11am on a Saturday. Out of the 8 or so beers advertised only 3 were actually on sale, but the quality was good. Probably better during the working week.
9 Apr 2006 09:57
The Jack Horner, Tottenham Court Road
Definitely the best pub visited that day. Excellent Fuller�s beers on sale, reasonably priced for the area. Very busy on a Saturday evening but that helped to give the place a buzz. Hadn�t been in there for several years but I�d come back here again, no question. Traditional style Ale & Pie house with a good mixed clientele. Superb!
19 Feb 2006 10:55
Typical Young�s pub on the South Bank. Had more of a wine bar feel to it but the beer quality was good. I was disappointed by the lack of Young�s bottled beer. They had a large selection of wines if that�s your thing. Wouldn�t hurry back.
19 Feb 2006 10:55
Large ground floor bar in a mock traditional style. Four Greene King beers on sale which were in good condition if a little pricey. Downstairs �crypt� drinking area was more to my liking. Fairly quiet on a Saturday afternoon but places tend to close early in this area at weekends.
19 Feb 2006 10:54
Decent sidestreet pub with good quality beer. Mix of traditional and modern d�cor. Reasonably busy on a Saturday afternoon. Obviously keen on hygiene if the mountain of disinfectant chunks in the urinals is anything to go by. Pricey beer but that goes with the territory. I�d come back again.
19 Feb 2006 10:53
Hated this place. Out of the four handpumps two were labelled as being cleaned and another had run out. Beer wasn�t bad but had to ask for a top-up, even though the froth was a good inch below the rim of the glass. Spiral staircase in the middle of the floor took up too much space in a small pub overcrowded by football viewers. Definitely wouldn�t come back here.
19 Feb 2006 10:52
Olde worlde pub selling Sam Smith OBB and their range of lagers, but no bottled beers as far as I could see. Quiet on A Saturday lunchtime but I imagine it gets busier weekdays, especially due to the low priced drinks. Nice Victorian d�cor complete with swivelling snob screen windows at the bar. Beer was in good nick. Worthy of another visit if I was in the area.
19 Feb 2006 10:51
The George, Great Portland Street
Traditionally styled pub with good quality Greene King beers. The IPA ran out on our visit and showed no signs of being replenished, so we were forced to drink Abbot. Pricey but in keeping with the location. Big TV screens spoiled it for me, not being a sport fan. Worth a return trip.
19 Feb 2006 10:50
The Lord Nelson, Urmston
Visited 2pm 29/11/14.
I love this pub. Dead rough in the nicest possible way. A real local with cracking Holt's beers. Long may it continue.
29 Nov 2014 16:07