BITE user comments - EskimoJoe
Comments by EskimoJoe
The Marquis of Granby, Cambridge Circus
I like the position of this pub, nice place to watch the world go by. By world I mean ladies, by watch I mean dribble, by position I do actually mean position.
20 Jul 2009 16:45
Went in a few weeks back, dead as a doornail in there and took ages to get served. Was early in the day though so no worries.
Pub has loads of potential and possibly now home to the tiniest dog in the world.
20 Jul 2009 16:40
Blimey what a change to this place!
Previously this establishment was about as enticing as my Auntie Joyce in a flanelette nightie but now - wow its like my sexy cousin Kim in a maids uniform!
The food looks good, the place is buzzing with locals enjoying a happy pint.
It seems to be well looked after and the sort of place you can settle in for a nice evenings drink with a mature crowd.
20 Jul 2009 16:28
Blimey the Intrepid Fox is going downhill faster than a fat girl on a skateboard!
I have come to accept that the toilets will be crap, the glasses filthy and the service diabolical! Over the years these dreadful standards have become par for the course, becoming minor irritations until finally being accepted as part of the lovable "character" of the establishment.
However, there is one falling standard that I cannot appease! On my last visit there were some tremendously average looking people behind the bar, many of whom were wearing far too many clothes!
The truth is I won't mind waiting a few more minutes for a drinky poos if there is a bit of talent to ogle. I believe I speak for all men of a certain persuausion who would agree with me on that one. However, I am not keen to wait for an average guinness when I have to do so whilst averting my gaze from a bit of hairy spanish bum cleavage.
8 Jun 2009 17:32
This pub is now "Flynn's Bar & Diner" after a serious refit a few months back!
The interior got a complete overhaul, as well as a new landlord and staff by the looks of things!
The dart board and pool tables have gone and it looks like they are catering for an older clientele, highlighted by the "over 21s only" signs that greet you on the way in.
There is a much wider menu and a very reasonably priced carvery which, when I went in for a pint last week, was offering a choice of lamb shank, beef, turkey and boiled bacon! It all looked delicious as well!
The ropey old beer garden at the back has been replaced by a covered timber framed seating area which is very cosey and, I assume, has been added for smokers!
Someone has obviously spent a lot of money on this pub, it looks clean and welcoming - although it was a little dark and I'm not a big one for guitars and violins up on the walls! I am sure it will be very popular with regulars and will attract a lot of trade with people working and shopping in West Ealing.
19 Nov 2007 10:27
Small pub catering for fans of rock and roll - (I believe its a style of music popular with the kids)
No beer on draught - but then having tasted that on offer at the other rock pub, the nearby Intrpeid Fox, cans and bottles are no hardship!
Good decor but bet it gets a bit cramped in there on a Saturday night.
The Gents is just wrong but the jukebox is so so right.
Definitely worth a visit
18 Sep 2007 13:47
Drinking Guinness in the French House in the middle of London - who says globalisation couldnt work?
18 Sep 2007 13:42
The Red Lion is smart and clean but manages to maintain the feel of a proper old fashioned "local".
There always seems to be preparations going on in the kitchen, which along with the impressive menu, suggests that they take their grub seriously.
The traditional interior includes a range of nostalgic framed photos and posters linked to Ealing Studios across the way - without being over the top or "themey".
Although in my experience some of the regulars can be a bit cliquey and the bar is tiny, it is a very nice pub with a bit of a mature feel - which contrasts with places further up the road that seem to be more aimed at the student market.The average age of the punters in here would be well over thirty I reckon.
In addition the pub has also employed some very attractive female Australian and South African bar staff over the four or five years I have been drinking in there.
30 Aug 2007 15:29
The Marquis of Granby, Cambridge Circus
Agree that this is a great place to spend a couple of hours watching the world go by. Great pint of Guinness, no nonsense landlord, reasonable food and a window out onto the passing mayhem that is Cambridge Circus.
Lots of sport screened here but they need to sort out the music. I hate the idea of foreign tourists taking a chance and visiting a "traditional pub" in London and coming out believing we all listen to the easy listening pop that too often frequents the speakers in this boozer.
28 Aug 2007 12:24
see, told you all, its a pub for tourist and "sunday best" drinkers.
And I would suggest the canadian drinker frequents a few more boozers in london before posting that all the other pubs in our thriving metropolis are full of football shirted morons wanting a ruck.
I thought the point of the "alternative" scene was to look beyond stereotypes, encourage pluralism and be accepting of each other?
It appears that once the goths get a bit of power in a pub they are just as mindless, biased and unwelcoming as those "normals" they seem to detest for displaying exactly the same traits.
And when the Dev is turned into a Bar One or a block of flats for "media types" they will all blame us "normals" as being to blame for the continuing homogenisation of "alternative London" , rather than seeing that they have been the architects of their demise.
22 Jun 2007 09:41
Psychonaut, yes, I am very well aware of why the pub has this rule, my point is that you should not be shocked if its daft "any colour as long as its black" policy results in its downfall.
In my opinion a lot of this thread appears to be a lot of whining from a bunch of middle class fantasists , oops I mean radical free thinkers, who shun the "identikit" world I apparently live in by frequenting boozers where everyone has to dress the same. Up the revolution indeed!
I am all for alternative haunts but feel it is a shame that goths cant be a bit more creative in keeping out trouble. Other pubs cope with letting in "normals" why cant you lot be a bit more selective?
Maybe its time for The Devonshire Arms and goths in general to stop playing the role of a victim. The blacks did it, the Irish did it, the gays did it, come on goths you can do it as well!
As for "chavs" and "football tops" causing trouble in "my normal pubs", please let me know which of "my" pubs you are having trouble in.
14 Jun 2007 10:16
The dress code is an absolute joke and will be the death of the pub. I am afraid that time has indeed moved on and drinking establishments can't afford to pander to lightweight tourists in their "sunday bests"
It is ironic that none on this thread have made the link between Camden's alternative scene being sold off occuring as paying customers are being turned away or made to feel unwelcome from such establishments.
Discrimination is always wrong and there are much better ways to deal with trouble makers - every other pub has to deal with them so would suggest an alternative policy for the good of your Goth Utopia.
This pub receives my first and hpopefully last 0
6 Jun 2007 14:33
Oh I forgot to mentionm the downside, the ventilation is naff and it can gt very smokey in there!
6 Jun 2007 09:40
The Kings Arms is an old mans pub. It is shabby and dark and always looks like it could do with a bit of a dusting.
My overriding memory of visiting the pub during the day is the theme tune to "At the Races" - I am getting a bit depressed thinking about it right now.
The good thing about the pub is the people in there though. A great bunch of regulars (mainly irish and scottish) but quite a few old grumps as well.
4 Jun 2007 15:35
I had one of the worst pints ever served to me in here.
The place keeps closing and re-opening but the problem is that McCanns across the road is so much more popular with the locals.
Never felt that welcome here and I dont understand why regulars would choose this one over the local legend which is "The Pig"
4 Jun 2007 15:30
Not a bad pub just a bit quiet and dark. The regulars and staff aren't overly welcoming in my experience.
The beer garden is nice in the summer though.
Not a favourite.
4 Jun 2007 15:26
This is definitely a student pub.
The back room is well used for live acoustic gigs, bands and even a comedy night on a Monday evening - They have had a few star turns as well!
There are plenty of screens for sport or "dodgy young persons music videos".
Cheap average pub chain food and drink, loads of non students and a hang out for post work locals means no one feels or looks out of place.
4 Jun 2007 14:31
Great little Irish pub just opposite Ealing Broadway tube station.
Good bunch of regulars, decent bar staff and a great pint of Guinness.
In the afternoon and evening (particularly in the summer months) a seat by the window is a cracking place to watch the world go by.
4 Jun 2007 13:29
This is another traditional little pubs that attracts a few regulars and some very lucky tourists who want a "real pub" experience.
The downstairs bar is very small but the staff and locals are pretty friendly so its never been a problem.
4 Jun 2007 12:39
The downstairs part of the pub resembles a stable rather than a drinking establishment.
It is dark, a bit grubby and at the weekend or evening it is soimply not big enough to met demand. It is common sight to see drinkers outside sat on the road side.
For my money though they serve the best pint of Guinness in Soho.
4 Jun 2007 12:34
Ben Crouch's Tavern, Fitzrovia
Have been in this pub a few times and have loved it!
From the collection of medical equipmet on high shelves to the statue of your eponymous host, the pub has a lovely gothic feel to it.
The decor is well maintained, I especially loved the wonderfully dramatic high backed booths, although the space between the table and the benches could make it impossible seating for the fuller framed drinker!
They also have a range of theme nights , which was explained to me by the manager, who seems sound as a pound.
The one criticism I would have is that every time I have been in there it has appeared that they have the same film playing on a continous loop. Don't get me wrong, Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster is a classic piece of cinema but how about showing Jekyll and Hyde or a bit of Lon Chaney as well?
4 Jun 2007 12:25
Sorry if this is a double review.
The new Intrepid Fox is growing on me.
Wasnt keen when it first opened as the old Fox on Wardour Street had the perfect location in the heart of seedy Soho, felt like a traditional pub and was a fantastic place to watch the world go by without being subjected to The Lighthouse family or some other mindless dross.
The new Fox's location is less traditional, there is nowt to watch out the window except for traffic hurtling by and it is situated at the base of one of those soulless sixties designed inner city tower blocks.
However, inside is coming along nicely. The feel of the Old Fox is almost there with the advantage of more seating and space.
Dont expect excellent servie or even a smile from the bar staff, its not what they do. All of the bar crew would much prefer rummaging through the music files on the antiquated old computer behind the bar than serve a line of thirsty drinkers - and the regulars wouldnt want it any other way.
If you like your music loud, your hair big and you can put up with average tasting beer then your hunt ends here!
4 Jun 2007 12:13
This pub has a bit of a musty old fashioned feel to it inside, its rickety wooden tables and chairs, appaling patterned carpet and vile wood panel effect walling making it look and feel like an OB shot from a 1982 episode of Minder.
The clientele seems to consist mostly of middle aged men or older, so unless this is the type that takes your fancy probably not a good stopping off point if you are "on the pull".
Despite all of this, along with the over sized cutlery on each table, the positioning of the odd poorly flowered vases and not the most friendly bar staff on the planet, it at least has some character.
There are a great selection of bottled ciders, which are also delicious, along with a menu which suggests that food is very cheap indeed. I am, however, unable to report on its quality.
If you can avoid the gents toilets (which absolutely honked the last time I was there) and the dodgy individuals on the scrounge (one of whom has always been in when I have been supping) , it might just be a good pub to while away a rainy afternoon or two.
4 Jun 2007 12:04
This is my favourite pub in Soho.
It has a great group of people working there, fantastic music and a whole host of friendly characters popping in for a few pints.
This is a real pub for "musos" with a great selection of CDs and a load of very unpretentious staff and regulars that play and know their stuff.
It has the feeling of a great local in the centre of Soho.
4 Jun 2007 11:36
I visited this pub on Friday evening for the first time in ages.
A lot of money has been spent on the decor and the "traditionalist" in me was somewhat dismayed that it now looks like a posh pizza establishment once you are in the door.
The bar staff were getting ready for the rush later in the evening but were nice and friendly with big smiles. This, for me, made up for the slightly disconcerting decoration.
The beer was reasonably priced for Ealing and it is right by bus stops on either side of the road, with restuarants and take aways just a drunken stagger away!
Nice touch in the gents with jokes positioned over the urinals for you to read while you have a wee!
4 Jun 2007 11:30
Crobar, Soho
It appears that the hard drinking, hard living crew at the Crobar all had to go home to their mummies over Christmas - very rock n roll!
5 Jan 2010 14:33