BITE user comments - Luongo
Comments by Luongo
The Old White Lion, East Finchley
As other reviewers have noted it can take some time to be served at a not particularly busy bar here, but at least the rude staff seem to have been replaced.
Aside from slow service, it seems to my eye that they offer a somewhat better than average selection of ales and lagers, the food is good and the atmosphere convivial. Nice to see Brooklyn lager and Meantime pale ale, a shame they've got rid of the Kriek though.
31 Jul 2011 19:41
Classic back street pub, received a friendly welcome on entry. Decent beer (4 reasonably well kept real ales), decent prices, lovely decor and patio at the back. The Thai food looked pretty good but "pub does Thai" seems a bit pass� these days and in this kind of environment I really hanker for some traditional solid pub fare.
31 Jul 2011 19:31
I popped in here to quench my thirst on a recent warm Wednesday afternoon. The clientele, reassuringly, were mostly old men reading the newspaper with a pint or two, though there was one unsettling family chain-smoking around their toddler daughter in the outdoor seating area (the lack of foliage precludes it being called a garden).
Drinks are the usual Sam Smith's fare, though I don't recall seeing any hand pumps, which is unfortunate. It is, however, always nice to see a wheat beer and a stout other than Hoegaarden and Guinness available. The prices, as always like the brewery, are pleasingly Northern.
As I was leaving a group of students were stocking up on rum and cokes at the bar. That both the young and the old can enjoy this pub I found reassuring.
9 Apr 2011 23:51
Something of a frustrating pub: it has an incredibly ornate Victorian ceiling and generally impressive interior decor (but why are the chandeliers painted bright blue?), but the drinks selection is poor and the prices are hugely inflated. Also, the staff, friendly though they are, need some training in a) the drinks selection and b) how to serve quickly. I was left standing at an almost empty bar for around 5 minutes while several staff pottered around polishing glasses and adjusting the lighting.
On the other hand, the high ceilings and grand interior do make for a pleasant drinking environment, and as their is an alarming dearth of quality boozers in this part of town it is no surprise that, despite the scrotum-shrivellingly high prices, this pub continues to be a success. I give it 6/10, with potential for 9 or 10/10 if there was an interesting, quality selection of beers and spirits (I am unqualified to comment on the wines) and the staff were a bit more clued-up. It would justify the prices too!
9 Apr 2011 23:38
The Three Horseshoes, Burton Bradstock
At the risk of sounding like the ignorant London tourist that I am, I feel that this pub represents nearly the quintessence of the British country pub experience. I went in here three times on my visit to the area, and each time it was busy, but not excessively so, with an eclectic mix of dyed-in-the-wool West Country locals, pensioners and rich folks down visiting their second homes for the weekend, and out-and-out tourists such as myself.
This pub is housed in a fine old building, complete with thatched roof and roaring fire. The full of range of local Palmers beers was on offer, and I can report first-hand that all were in excellent condition. The excellent food, to my eye, was very reasonably priced, and the staff were friendly without being overbearing.
In short: If you find yourself in the neighbourhood a visit is well worth it.
31 Mar 2011 16:08
The Anchor Inn, Burton Bradstock
A mysterious place. Popped in here on a sunny Sunday afternoon thinking it might be a nice local pub, but the only patrons were a pair of incoherently drunk old chaps and a bored looking pre-pubescent child playing bar skittles on her own.
Tribute was the sole ale on offer, which is a bit of a slap in the face considering its extreme proximity to Palmers Brewery. The other pub in the village stocks the full range, which may go some way to explaining its much greater popularity. Scrumpy came out of a box on the bar despite it being advertised by a clip attached to a hand pump, but was actually surprisingly palatable.
Not particularly revelling in the indoor tumbleweed ambience I sat outside, which was reasonably pleasant although you are right up against the made road through town. To my mild surprise this pub also contains a rather swanky dining area, with tables bedecked with white napkins and shiny wine glasses. This area was also empty.
All in all, my experience was eerie and somewhat depressing, and it wasn't long before I headed down the hill to the bustling alternative of the Three Horseshoes.
31 Mar 2011 15:55
The Anchor Inn, Burton Bradstock
A mysterious place. Popped in here on a sunny Sunday afternoon thinking it might be a nice local pub, but the only patrons were a pair of incoherently drunk old chaps and a bored looking pre-pubescent child playing bar skittles on her own.
Tribute was the sole ale on offer, which is a bit of a slap in the face considering its extreme proximity to Palmers Brewery. The other pub in the village stocks the full range, which may go some way to explaining its much greater popularity. Scrumpy came out of a box on the bar despite it being advertised by a clip attached to a hand pump, but was actually surprisingly palatable.
Not particularly revelling in the indoor tumbleweed ambience I sat outside, which was reasonably pleasant although you are right up against the made road through town. To my mild surprise this pub also contains a rather swanky dining area, with tables bedecked with white napkins and shiny wine glasses. This area was also empty.
All in all, my experience was eerie and somewhat depressing, and it wasn't long before I headed down the hill to the bustling alternative of the Three Horseshoes.
31 Mar 2011 15:55
I came here on a Saturday, early evening, as my girlfriend was tired and began demanding booze.
Initial impressions were a of a generic chain-operated faux-authentic pub, and indeed the client�le of this establishment predominantly consisted of foreign tourists looking slightly underwhelmed by their "authentic British pub experience", which is hardly surprising given that this place is entirely devoid of character or warmth. Indeed, despite a large number of wooden fittings, old clocks and quaint brass fixtures, not the faintest whiff of authenticity can be detected here, the entire set-up clearly having been designed to fool unwitting tourists into parting with their cash.
The available beers, predictably uninspired, were Bombardier, Greene King IPA and Abbott Ale, with the usual selection of indentikit lagers + Guinness and Strongbow on the taps. The prices, also predictably, were high.
On the other hand, there isn't anything actively disagreeable about this place (except that the toilets were flooded), it's just that there isn't anything to like either. The staff seemed efficient if not exactly friendly, and there was a buzz of conversation in the air that came close to resembling conviviality.
So, if you find yourself in dire need of refreshments while in the vicinity, or you are a connoisseur of the bland and mundane, you could do worse than to patronise The Albert, but if you have the time and inclination to find somewhere better, I recommend you do so.
28 Feb 2011 12:32
I haven't much to add to the previous posters except to that if I'm in there, I'll be drinking the bourbon at least. Pretty busy when I visited on a Saturday night, but the music was enjoyable - an eclectic mix of forgotten indie and rock tunes from the last 40 years or so. I'll probably come back if I find myself in this part of town again.
2 Feb 2011 19:46
I guess this place has become a victim of it's own success. Once a quietish pub with a decent and occasionally interesting selection of real ales, it now tends to be packed on any night of the week, to the point where you'll struggle to get to the bar on a Friday between 5 and 8 (and woe betide you if you try to come here when it's raining and nobody wants sit on the kerb).
Presumably due to its popularity the prices have also gone through the roof (�7.50 for a double vodka, lime and soda, anyone?), while the choice of ales is now mundane (Pride, Tribute and Landlord last time I checked) and they are not always well kept. A final gripe: the staff don't seem so friendly no more neither.
On the plus side the food is basic yet affordable and surprisingly tasty, and their recent refurbishment seems to have consisted of replacing the worn out old carpet with a slightly less worn out old carpet, so the character (if you can see it through the sea of drinkers) has been maintained.
In summary, handy for a covert boozy lunch, not so pleasant for a few drinks of an evening. If I could convince my work chums to patronise another local pub, I would.
Pedantry corner: As evidenced by the photo, it's actually "Ye Old White Horse", not "Ye Olde White Horse".
28 Jan 2011 16:54
Ye Olde Cherry Tree, Southgate
Soul-destroying in every way. Lacklustre and inept staff, uninspiring beer selection (the only ale on was Greene King IPA), bland hotel d�cor, uncomfortable furniture, glaring lights and a self-important, small-minded 'X-factor' client�le.
Bizarrely, three quarters of this sizeable pub was reserved for diners, of which there were exactly two, leaving everyone else crammed into a small, overcrowded area at the back.
You know times are bad when you find yourself decamping to Caf� Rouge next door for some relief.
4 Aug 2011 00:28