BITE user comments - ChrisF
Comments by ChrisF
Pub aimed at the stuffy-old-fart brigade, serving some good ales, decent bar snacks, and expensive restaurant-kwality food. Sunday roasts excellent, though don't expect much change out of a purple beer token. Currently serving Hogs Back T.E.A., K+B Sussex bitter, and one other sassion ale which I can't remember. Unusual in having no Poles behind the bar, just a load of old geezers in bow ties.
16 May 2007 14:26
Coach and Horses, Fleet Street
Classy-looking from the outside, not so classy on the inside, but still a respectable boozer. Unfortunately the only Ale on is Greed King IPA, but at least there are 2 nice pool tables and a dartboard. The one oustanding feature of the pub is the dumb waitor ('Magic beer chute') upstairs in the games room.
7 Mar 2007 13:27
A pub having the usual advantages and disadvantages associated with Sam Smiths pubs (cheap as chips , beer drinkable but not good). Major plus point is the perfectly situated dartboard.
12 Feb 2007 09:19
For a pub with ambitions of being a quality gastropub, it seems rather strange to be closed on Sunday lunchtimes. Did I say strange? I meant stupid.
12 Feb 2007 09:14
The Grouse and Claret, Belgravia
On a Sunday morning I did a 7 mile walk around some of the London parks, and arrived at the Grouse and Claret at just after noon, gagging for a pint of Tanglefoot.
Unfortunately, it turns out the pub doesn't open on a Sunday lunchtime. So I didn't get my pint of Tanglefoot.
P.S. Is there really a dartboard?
12 Feb 2007 09:10
Whilst this pub has many good points, I consider that the lack of any drinkable beer is a bit of a downside. The current score here of 7.7/10 is a bit of a mystery when you consider that this web-site is primarily concerned with BEER, but I suppose that if you like cheap lager, then this is the place for you. As Cathy McGowan used to say, Oi'll give it foive. Or was it Janice Nicholls.
7 Feb 2007 14:11
Marquis of Cornwallis, Bloomsbury
I have to say I am impressed. The ales aren't exactly inspiring (house beers are the increasingly ubiquitous TTL and Spit, with Black Sheep as guest), but the range of drinks available is very good, a decent wine list, abbey beers, wheat beers, fruit beers, real ciders, unusual lagers. The food is exactly what I like in pub food, better to have a quality burger, sausage or cottage pie than a poor attempt at restaurant food. Prices are OK too, most meals around the 6-7 quid mark. Good to find a pub with no TV screens, I just hope they don't pay for it on midweek evenings. For all I know though, there might be a big screen upstairs now.
5 Dec 2006 14:57
As usually tends to happen when a relatively small brewery has a pub in london (think Royal Oak at Borough, Ship+Shovell, Sultan, Shaston, etc) this is an excellent pub with very good beer. For the sake of pedantry, note that the two previous posters mean Hertford Best and McMullens County. If anything, the pub is a victim of it's own success, as you can struggle to find a place to even lean if you go in at a busy time (pre-show).
4 Dec 2006 22:41
This is a superb pub. The full range of excellent Harveys beers, Old/Armada/Sussex Best/Mild/Pale. No distractions like music or TV screens, just the quiet burbling of contented beer-drinkers. The food is exactly what you look for in pub grub, nothing poncey, just stuff like overcooked roast beef and murdered vegetables. More pubs should be like this.
27 Nov 2006 11:00
Marquis of Cornwallis, Bloomsbury
Obviously I'm going mental, it was the Goose and Granite and then dropped the Granite.
21 Nov 2006 13:51
Marquis of Cornwallis, Bloomsbury
I hate to contradict Mr Stonch, but I think he may be wrong about the new name being 'Marchmont Street'.
Clue 1: The pub sign, featuring a picture of Charlie Cornwallis
Clue 2: The words 'Marquis of Cornwallis' on the front of the pub (Coram St side, granted it does say Marchmont St on the other side. My guess is that this is the address, what with the pub being on Marchmont Street and all)
Clue 3: The pub did used to be called the Marquis of Cornwallis, before changing to the Goose and Garnite and then eventually dropping the goose.
Anyway, maybe Stonch will turn out to be right. As long as the beer and food improve, that'll be a start.
21 Nov 2006 13:49
I too can offer a before-and-after perspective on the new Wheatsheaf.
Plus points: The new pub frontage is a huge improvement and was badly needed. Despite living very locally I could never persuade my girlfriend into a pub which she couldn't see into. You've only got to think of the Vauxhall Tavern or, even worse, the Queen Anne, both just up the road, to imagine the sort of things that lurk behind pubs which you can't see into.
Food is also much better than it was, although not fantastic. I find it to be over-priced.
Minus points:
The quality pool table has gone.
I feel that also the soul of what was a traditional London pub has ebbed away.
If I can be self-indulgent enough to suggest what I would have liked for the re-furbed Wheatsheaf (they would have made a fair few quid out of me):
Food midway between the old and new, a quality home-made burger, a lasagne with a fresh salad, a bangers-and-mash made from good quality sausages, Caesar salad, that sort of thing; I'd like to be able to have a game of pool and preferably darts too (the pub is probably big enough for both); Most important of all, I would like to have a decent pint of beer. I haven't mentioned the beer until now, but I feel the refurb would have been a great opportunity to sort it out. There might have been a slight improvement, but if they could have just had on one good session beer (maybe Deuchars IPA? Harveys Sussex?), one good strong beer (Broadside? Tanglefoot?), one seasonal/guest ale, and actually kept them all in good condition, the place might have become my second home.
15 Nov 2006 13:31
Top notch Youngs beers. Like a reviewer below I found the beer to be a degree or two colder than usual, and in extremely good condition.
As a bonus, has a dedicated darts area, with a very nice throw.
13 Nov 2006 12:27
I went to the Hope several times about a year ago and found that there was generally an excellent selection of ale, usually about 5 or 6 on, including a couple of unusuals. Reviews here seem to indicate a serious decline on the beer front, and my recent experience echoed this. I was faced with a choice of Broadside or a past-its-best Youngs Ordinary. Being forced into drinking Broadside is something which I would never complain about, but somehow I was hoping for better. Allegedy a gastropub, I was expecting some decent grub at least, but what I saw and tasted of the food was frankly dreadful. You'd struggle to find a worse pub roast, even though the Hope charges a tenner. A paltry amount of fatty meat, potatoes almost the same colour as when they went in the oven, I could go on. On a positive note, which isn't easy, the wine list looks pretty good.
13 Nov 2006 12:23
The Canton Arms, South Lambeth
An update on the beer situation: A year ago the Canton was a place which appeared to have everything you'd want in a pub except drinkable beer (I'm overlooking the lack of dartboard for a second), but on a recent visit this appeared to have changed. 2 new hand-pumps had appeared, a TT Landlord, and a Deuchars IPA. I feel a bit blase about TTL these days, but it is an excellent beer. Deuchars IPA is a superb choice for a session bitter, it beats GKIPA hands-down and I found it be be well kept. I might actually start going in there to eat again, as the food has always been pretty good.
2 Nov 2006 12:08
A fairly good little pub. I'm not sure if it is officially tied to Greene King or not, but the three ales currently on are Ridleys Old Bob, GKIPA and Abbot Ale. The pint of Old Bob I had was excellent, as was the half pint I had bought for me when a bloke knocked the dregs of my beer over. Low efficiency of bar staff led to quite a long wait at the bar, and when I was inadvertantly over-assertive and got served before some stroppy bird, she exclaimed 'for f***s sake' extremely loudly, which amused me no end. My female toilet correspondant thought the pub was a bit too noisy, but I didn't mind as the music was pretty good. The large framed picture of Joe Strummer did leave me feeling rather melancholy though.
20 Oct 2006 10:10
Enormous. Expensive. Nowhere to sit. Poor selection of ales (Courage Directors; Charlie Wells Bombadier). Architecturally interesting, but few other redeeming features.
20 Oct 2006 09:58
The Exmouth Arms, Exmouth Market
I go here quite often and am surprised by how bad the reviews here are. A pub with Harveys bitter makes a pleasant change in London and I have found it be be of a generally good quality. The bar staff know how to do their jobs, and prices are more than competitive for the area. A pretty good place to throw darts, though I do suspect the board to be a half-inch too high.
19 Oct 2006 09:54
This is one of those pubs where time stands still. It appears to be unchanged from a ime when smoking was good for you, all pubs had the same manky carpet, pub food meant a bag of nuts pulled off a bit of cardboard with a naked woman on (until you bought all the nuts and discovered she was wearing a bikini), and a beer garden consisted of a concreted over area round the back with a couple of picnic tables. The wheelie-bins in the 'beer garden' are the only modern feature. Having said all that, not a bad place really.
13 Oct 2006 14:18
Small but perfectly formed boozer. Tanglefoot on tap which is a favourite of mine and I also enjoyed a pint of the Badger/River Cottage nettle ale, which I believe is strained through a pair of Hugh Fearnley-Wostits old underpants.
4 Sep 2006 12:26
Good-sized pub which is part of the Nicholson's chain, this means a reasonable range of well-maintained ales, with a 'try before you buy' policy. My better half was pleased with the wine list too. I would have liked the bar staff to have been a bit more clued-up, but you can't have it all.
4 Sep 2006 12:19
Cosy little Soho pub, part of the Nicholson's chain, which means a reasonable range of well-maintained ales, with a 'try before you buy' policy. Usually very busy, with the clientelle possibly swelled by punters hoping to kop a view of rumoured customer Madonna. I don't usually spend a lot of time in womens toilets, but my girlfriend reported that there was only one cubicle in the ladies, with a queue and no toilet roll. In fact she reported that she had to use the cardboard inner tube for wiping purposes. I somehow doubt if Madonna would put up with that.
4 Sep 2006 12:14
Typical city boozer, full of suits who don't mind paying 3 quid for a pint. The beer wasn't in particularly good form when I was in there either. A good place for the homeless to go at about 5.30 in the afternoon to see how much many of the free bar snacks they can eat before getting kicked out.
18 Aug 2006 10:47
The Vauxhall Cross area has for some time been crying out for a good new mainstream pub. This place is huge, with a decent outside area as well. The full range of Youngs beers can be found on the bar, though the two I tried were served way too cold for my liking. I also had to ask for top-ups both times, and the wine I ordered for my girlfriend mysteriously transformed into a different (and more expensive) wine. Most of these staff-related gripes will hopefully be ironed out shortly (my visit was in the first week of opening). My gripe which may not get ironed out is that the place is extremely poncey. The prices are astronomical, and I found it hard to keep a straight face when counting up the number of times the word 'jus' appeared on the food menu. No doubt the Riverside is aimed at the people who live in 750K apartments overlooking the Thames, which is fine if it keeps them away from where I drink.
27 Jul 2006 13:17
Another character-less Spirit Group boozer. OK selection of beers, in OK condition, OK food. OK. Thats about it.
25 Jul 2006 13:50
The Jeremy Bentham, Bloomsbury
Another character-less Spirit Group boozer. OK selection of beers, in OK condition, OK food. OK. Thats about it.
25 Jul 2006 13:48
Although many of the reviews here talk about bad staff in the White Swan, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and wrote a positive review. Unfortunately after a very bad experience I now see where those bad reviews are coming from. I spent a saturday lunchtime in here recently. I ordered a 'Big Ben' burger, allegedly a delux burger containing everything except a kitchen sink. It cost �8.45 on the menu, but as the pub didn't have a working fryer, they couldn't give me the chips which were on the menu. The pub manager kindly knocked 50p off the price, even though chips were on the menu at �1.45! When the burger turned up, also missing were the fried egg, onions, tomato relish and mayonnaise mentioned on the menu. I complained but no joy. Actually I thought they should have given me about 4 quid back, as all I really got was a standard cheapo burger.
I am fast developing a dislike of pubs in The Spirit Group. They seem to be taking London over, and although they usually have a fairly good selection of beers which are kept quite well, I don't think I have had a single pint which I would describe as absolutely spot on.
25 Jul 2006 13:44
Considering the excellent location and large size, inside and out, this boozer is a disappointment. Has pool and darts, food menu seems pretty good though I haven't tried it. Major problem is that the beer quality and range are both below average.
17 Jul 2006 14:28
The Scarborough Arms, Whitechapel
Good beer, friendly staff, darts, decent grub. Do you need to know anything else?
17 Jul 2006 14:03
As Stonch says, unpretentious. Food and beer both being honest and reliable and not trying to be anything more. Heavy emphasis on sports, both to watch and play, and in fact if you wander in on a weekday evening you're very likely to find a darts match going on. Some people may not be too impressed with the male-to-female ratio here, but if you are more interested in totty-spotting than drinking, then you will most likely be elsewhere.
17 Jul 2006 13:58
Certainly the best pub on the walk from the river up Vauxhall Bridge Road towards Victoria. Above average selection of real ales, kept in good order. Food reliable if unspectacular, much as you would expect from a chain pub. Has a vaguely Wetherspoony feel to it, but the prices not being Wetherspoon-like means the assorted solo-drinkers, dregs and 15 year-olds stay away.
17 Jul 2006 13:41
The Surprise at Pimlico, Pimlico
Reasonable pub where you can get a perfectly acceptable pint of Greene King IPA. Attracts mostly a local clientele.
17 Jul 2006 13:35
The Lord High Admiral, Pimlico
Grotty housing-estate boozer. Two decent pool tables, and plenty of seating inside and out. Little english spoken behind the bar, and in fact when I recently visited I was served by a barmaid who didn't speak english at all. Of the three ales on tap, Bombadier, GKIPA, London Pride, only Pride was available, and it was very rough indeed, being severely oxidised. The food menu looked reasonable, but I make a point of not eating in pubs where the toilets are an inch deep in piss.
17 Jul 2006 13:32
The Pakenham Arms, Clerkenwell
This place has a seriously good selection of real ales, in good nick too. Unfortunately, the Pakenham Arms is one of those pubs where you feel that by being there, you are causing inconvenience to the staff. Maybe a nice place for a summer lunchtime sitting outside breathing in car exhaust fumes, but I'm not sure I would want to spend a friday night in there.
11 Apr 2006 10:29
The Royal Standard, Wandsworth
Unspectacular but adequate little boozer. Youngs has recently replaced GKIPA as the only bitter. A reasonable place to throw darts, watch footy, eat your chips, and avoid the public schoolboys of the Alma/East Hill.
20 Feb 2006 16:39
This is a pleasant enough pub, with a good selection of beer, often including an unusual real ale or two. Food is pretty good though a bit on the pricey side. Unfortunately the place is inhabited by assorted former public schoolboys, including some Tim Nice-but-dims, some hairy rugby boys, and some foppish fathers with tarquin in a three-wheeled baby buggy (weekends only). Also contains the female equivalents.
30 Jan 2006 14:38
A good selection of ales which are invariably in excellent condition. Great atmosphere, particularly on a darts night.
9 Dec 2005 10:46
This pub may not have a prime location, situated as it is on a backstreet amongst the Stockwell housing estates, but it is a real gem. The major selling point may be the beer, superb in both range and quality, but the food is also excellent. The Sunday lunches are unusually good for a pub roast. The wine list is also extensive, including many fruit wines too. If you live in the Stockwell or Vauxhall area and like your real ales, then you won't do better than the Priory Arms. I fact, I only wish there were a couple of other pubs in the area which sold beer half as good.
5 Sep 2005 09:55
Nice little pub, very much in the traditional style, and mostly populated by locals.
28 Aug 2005 11:58
Good traditional pub mainly populated by locals. Spacious and with a good pool table. Probably the best pub in the immediate area.
28 Aug 2005 11:54
The Canton Arms, South Lambeth
This is a pleasant pub with a good wine list and excellent food. Unfortunately they don't seem to know how to keep beer. I have given up even trying the London Pride and I have often had a bad pint of the session bitter.
28 Aug 2005 11:29
Seduced by the 'under new management' sign, I visited for a swift pint early on a saturday evening. Unfortunately the only bitter, London Pride, was off. Deserted, expensive, no beer. Not good.
28 Aug 2005 11:21
I had walked past this pub and decided it was well worth a visit, the seats outside looked very inviting on a hot summers day. I turned up on a sunday lunchtime at 12, expecting that it might get busy and I'd need to be there early to get a good seat. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that they didn't have any bitter on. The food was good and the wine list was perfectly adequate, but I couldn't help thinking (like I often do when i'm in a London pub) that a pub with no beer is like a library with no books. I was wrong about the pub being busy too, there was only one other dining party that lunchtime.
28 Aug 2005 11:11
The Lord Moon Of The Mall, Whitehall
Superb selection of beers, and the bitters are generally well-kept. Very cheap considering the excellent location. Decor is of the standard you would expect of a Wetherspoons pub, as is the clientelle. Unfortunately the food is also of the standard you would expect from a Wetherspoons, i.e. poor.
28 Aug 2005 10:57
With sumptuous decor and good selection of wines, beers and food, this is a very classy pub. Prices are a bit steep, but this ensures that the riff-raff stay elsewhere, so you can usually find a seat. Good outside seating area, and the toilets are as lavish as and you will find in a pub.
28 Aug 2005 10:51
I visited this pub on a Saturday evening and, given its prime location, was surprised to discover it was almost completely empty. On closer inspection I found that although a wide range of lagers were available, they sold no bitter at all. In my view a pub without beer is like a library with no books, or a zoo with no animals. I won't be going back.
28 Aug 2005 10:40
The Ship and Shovell, Charing Cross
A fantastic traditional English pub, serving the full range of Hall and Woodhouse beers including one of my top 5, Tanglefoot. Food adequate but not great. Generally standing-room only early evening and full of tossers in suits, but the beer is so good that this is usually tolerable. One half is cosy and with a dartboard upstairs (they have a team in the Trafalgar Dart league - Google it) and the other half in spacious. Me and my partner-in-crime recently derived immense pleasure from feeding the pub mice with dry-roast peanuts, late in the evening when the pub was emptying out.
20 Mar 2008 11:33