BITE user comments - Gagriff
Comments by Gagriff
The Barley Mow, Englefield Green
A pub with history, but you wouldn't think so if you looked at the decor; now, it's just another upmarket family pub development at the end of the day. Still, you can't take away from the lovely location on Englefield Green-- a bit of 'little England' that inspires ill-founded nostalgia.
21 May 2005 02:36
The Armstrong Gun, Englefield Green
A nice pub with a good balance of students and locals.
21 May 2005 02:28
The Happy Man, Englefield Green
Student favourite; snuggish atmosphere but at the same time you could say that its small and pokey, and no great shakes for beer. Whatever I think, though, The Happy Man has many, many fans, among students, academic staff and locals alike...
21 May 2005 02:27
Back in the early nineties had an evil reputation but now is a well-run but generic suburban pub. Clean, good for the footie, but don't expect anything new.
21 May 2005 02:20
Nice little village pub taken over by the suburbs but still tucked away on a side road up to Englefield Green from Egham Hill.
Always a good variety of beers and regular real ale festivals, and on most days a quiet, contemplative atmosphere. Well worth a visit!
21 May 2005 02:18
Crap, crap, crap, crap.
The Royal Ascot might have been pretentious and stuffy, but at least it didn't think it was some kind of greco-yuppie-student hangout. Aspirational. Dull.
Mind you, the staff are nice though.
21 May 2005 02:14
Plusses: Right in the centre of town.
Minuses: Very busy in the evenings, quite expensive, and pretty characterless despite its seeming age.
A Plus or Minus?: A quiet, nondescript clientele.
12 Apr 2005 19:41
Good, central pub to meet up with large groups of friends; large stalls and seating areas- and of course, very cheap beer... but don't touch the bitter. In my experience it ain't kept too well.
12 Apr 2005 19:33
'The Crown' is a very large old coach house / inn, and has been a traditional fixture in Cricklewood for donkeys years: hence the old London rhyme beginning, "The craic is good in Cricklewood, but the beer in the Crown is bad...!".
The beer's not bad now but no variety unfortunately- just the usual Fosters, Grolsch, John Smiths, etc., some decent bottled beers. What really sells The Crown now is its impressive decor, variety, and its come-as-you-are weekend attitude.
You've got a gin-palatial lounge room, large, tasteful, modern bar areas at the front of the building and upstairs, and, on Fridays and Saturdays, a dancefloor area I wouldn't be seen dead on but plenty of others seem to like. As someone else here says, there's a nice degree of seperation between all the areas so the place has variety.
Mainly mid-20s onward custom, I reckon, which may explain why there's no aggro. Late bars on Thurs / Fri / Sat (The Crown is attached to a hotel): arrive early and the lounge is a relaxing place to get plastered with mates.
12 Apr 2005 19:21
The Museum Tavern, Bloomsbury
Considering its location-- immediately across the road from the British Museum's spectacular neo-classical facade-- I think it's fair to say that Joe Bloggs has no right to expect that this will be an enjoyable pub to drink at. Tourists, tourists, toursits, easy money for the lowest common denominator... well, no, actually. Of course there's tourists, but to The Museum Tavern's credit, it manages a snug but welcoming atmosphere, a great selection of real ales underpinned by Youngs, while retaining the kind of traditional London pub decor that here signifies 'charm' rather than 'dirty, couldn't care less flea pit tourist trap'.
Not a bad place for a pint in Bloomsbury at all.
9 Nov 2006 21:46