BITE user comments - Gerschenkron
Comments by Gerschenkron
A lovely pub, this - named after William Lamb who made arrangements for cleaner water to be brought to this part of the city from Holborn - hence the name of the street on which the pub sits. The bar staff still make use of the Victorian snob screens (originally intended to spare the upper classes from having to look at the lower classes) when punters get too annoying.
The downside is that it gets very busy in the early evening. My recommendation is to go there for lunch (get one of the tables without a brass railing - you'll see why) and stay until the crowds become too much for you.
There's a good chance that Dickens would have drunk in here which adds to the charm.
12 Apr 2007 17:05
The Coronation Hotel, Southport
A pitiful pub ruined by your usual moronic pine-obsessed renovation. To be avoided unless you like looking out onto McDonald's opposite.
4 Apr 2007 16:55
Dreadful bar situated in between some accomodation for older people (lucky them) and the site of the former cinema. The beer garden has the benefit of overlooking Southport's famous boulevard - Lord Street. Otherwise it's the very definition of towny.
4 Apr 2007 16:53
The Reef manages to win the accolade as the worst place to go for a drink in Paddington. This includes the toilets on platform 1 that cost 20p to get in. If you must drink in the station then get something from Simply Food, or go one floor up and drink at the marginally better Mad Bishop and Bear. Otherwise use your head and decamp to the excellent nearby Victoria boozer.
3 Apr 2007 13:36
There used to be a Boots the Chemist at the end of Platform 11 at Paddington and now there's a pub. That, at least, must be applauded. The strangest thing about the pub is that despite being only months old, the decor is resoundingly old school. It's almost as though the owner bought everything that was to be had from an auction after another old boozer had closed down (including dodgy carpets and toilet doors with security codes to go for a leak). The Mad Bishop and Bear up the nearby escalator is a better bet than this place or better still - get out of the station and go to The Victoria which is but a five minute walk from Paddington.
3 Apr 2007 13:33
The Mad Bishop and Bear, Paddington
If you were planning on initiating a pub crawl around the pubs located within Paddington station then this place would be the most anticipated.
Given that one of the golden rules of pubs is that all pubs in (or closest to) a train station are terrible, this one is better than the average in this dubious category. Admirably, you can use the toilet in this place without asking for a security code (an affliction from which both nearby Reef bar and Isambard's both suffer).
If you really need a drink and you really can't bear to be away from the station then this is your best bet (though if there were more seats on the concourse of the station then getting a can of something from Simply Food would run it close). If you can tear yourself away then do that and head off toward the nearby Victoria - a lovely pub.
3 Apr 2007 13:29
Tucked away in the shadow of Milton Manor, this friendly little pub is frequented by the upwardly mobile residents of Milton village as well as escapees from "Europe's largest business park" Milton Park.
The pub serves good honest home made pub grub which is one of its main attractions. There used to be a jukebox and a pool table but the owners have (unwisely, I might add) decided to get rid of these in recent months.
Another attraction is the landlord who once fought for the British Light Welterweight title - you can see him holding a championship belt in the photo behind the bar.
27 Mar 2007 16:50
For years this was a great little pub with a nice line in food. The downsides were that the staff were not always friendly, though this has been remedied recently. Unfortunately these days it breaks another of the golden rules of pubs in becoming a pub that is actually a restaurant. As such, mere drinkers can feel like we're in the way. I'd recommend it for a lunch if you're not paying as the food is very good indeed.
27 Mar 2007 16:41
This decent little boozer is tucked away in East Bloomsbury and serves a decent pint of ale as well as some cracking Thai food. There is, thank the lord, a jukebox as well as a couple of pool tables upstairs and the staff are always friendly. Outside the summer months it can be very cold and for such a standard pub it is quite pricey. Overall, it's well worth dropping in if you're in the area but not a detour pub. An afterthought - pubs which have sky news on at all times are breaking one of the golden rules of pubs. Stop. It.
27 Mar 2007 16:37
This pub/restaurant is close enough to Didcot Parkway train station to ensure that a visit to The Prince of Wales is not necessary for the desparate drinker. It is a good rule of thumb to say that any pub labelling itself as a "family" pub is best avoided. Certainly, this is the case here. However, the competition in the area is pitiful and the owners of this establishment can happily label this pub as the best in Didcot without fear of rebuke. There is, shamefully, no jukebox. Were this to be remedied patrons would be spared some unfortunate tastes in music (or not, as the case may be).
20 Mar 2007 15:10
My mother always told me that if one hasn't got anything positive to say then one should keep one's mouth shut. Thus, the positives should come first. The staff at this establishment are never anything other than friendly and efficient. The pub is sloce enough to the train station that one can enjoy a pint until a minute or two before the scheduled train back to London (or wherever).
Next door there used to be another pub which has been turned into a carpark. One might say that this has got a better atmosphere than the venue in question. That would be unfair. The Prince of Wales is an unreconstructed boozer which is marginally preferable to enjoying a can of gin 'n tonic from the Pumkin cafe on platform 2 of Didcot Parkway train station. Marginally.
20 Mar 2007 15:02
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Prince Of Wales, Didcot
Unbelievably, this pub has got worse since my last visit. They now have regular male and female strippers on Fridays and Saturdays. It's almost as though the managers are actively trying to become the worst pub in Didcot (a tricky competition to win). This latest development means that it is now definitely preferable to drink an open can of Stella you've picked up from the track just before you hear the words "the service approaching platform 2 is a non-stopping service, please stand back from the platform" fizzing from the tannoy into your soon to be smashed up head.
28 Jun 2007 10:57