BITE user comments - Moderate_Nige
Comments by Moderate_Nige
Visited yesterday for the first time. Large open plan pub with very large pleasant garden. Ringwood bitter was OK but nothing special. Our food was just about OK but very bland and certainly not worth a special visit. Main fault with the pub was the terrible music, and I do mean terrible, playing everywhere, even in the 'smokers' lounge' covered area in the garden.
9 Aug 2013 13:49
The Betjeman Arms, St Pancras International Station
Dropped in here for the first time the other evening about 9pm. Friendly staff and very tasty, well-kept Betjeman Ale but it cost £3.90 for two halves which is frankly too expensive. Still, we would have stayed for another one but for the very loud and unpleasant music being played everywhere so you couldn't get away from it. Why can't pubs put a bit of thought into this and just have speakers in some areas and leave other areas quiet?
18 Dec 2012 17:36
What a fantastic improvement. Lovely pub, friendly and efficient staff, large garden, extraordinary range of beers and ciders. Haven't tried the food yet but it looked lovely.
Like other posters, I'd be surprised but happy if they could keep such a range going but, as meurglys says, it would still be fine if they lost a few. I'd also be very happy if they kept the current price of �3 a pint beyond their reopening period.
17 Aug 2011 21:40
Like the other postings, I'm very pleased to see the Rifleman open again. A friendly pubby pub.
We had the Twickenham beer which was delicious (but too expensive at �3.50 a pint and the half pint meanly rounded up to �1.60). Will come again occasionally but not as often as we would do if the beer was the same price as the Prince of Wales round the corner.
22 Apr 2011 17:41
The George And Dragon Hotel, Dent
Very good beer selection and very well kept. Good food as well. Well worth a visit.
We call the landlord Ray, short for Little Ray of Sunshine. He's very angry with Camra for not making him Pub of the Year and has very strong and quite frankly bizarre opinions on other pubs' beer. Apparently, there are only half a dozen microbreweries anywhere whose beers are worth drinking. But still, bless.
The barman was really friendly and helpful.
22 Apr 2011 17:24
The Twickenham Tup, Twickenham
This pub has now been tarted up, renamed the Royal Oak (its original name) and had its personality surgically removed. Went in last night and was charged �5.50 for a pint and a half of Twickenham Naked Ladies. �5.50! And there was deafening music. About an hour beforehand I'd been in the Antelope in swanky Eaton Terrace and was charged �3.50 for a pint of strong beer and �3.25 for a pint of London Pride. If a Belgravia pub can charge that for a pint, why can't an ordinary suburban local like the Royal Oak?
14 Nov 2010 22:56
The Twickenham Tup, Twickenham
The self-appointed pubcritic (17 Apr 2010) obviously isn't a beer drinker or, if he is, has no discernment. My partner and I were in here the other night and drank the Twickenham Sundancer and Naked Ladies, both very good, tasty, locally brewed beers, now widely available in Twickenham and beyond, and hardly "random and crappy beers". They were both fresh and well-kept and always have been when we've drunk here.
I don't know what to make of his bizarre assertion that the staff were "dirty". A couple of days' stubble doesn't make someone dirty. Perhaps it was a typo for "young and friendly".
4 Jul 2010 00:44
What a lovely pub. Stopped in here with my partner after a long country walk and we both drank the Young's ordinary - very fresh and well-kept and an incredible �2.09 a pint. Friendly staff too.
4 Jul 2010 00:14
Our first visit here. Delicious well-kept beer (�3 a pint), friendly people. Will come again.
8 Jun 2010 20:28
Lovely pub apart from the television, but �3.50 a pint for Young's London Gold (4%) is stupidly over-priced. Stick to the Ordinary (3.7%, �3.10) or even the Special (4.5%, �3.30 - cheaper than the Gold even though stronger). Bizarre pricing policy.
8 Jun 2010 15:31
The Twickenham Tup, Twickenham
I come in here for a drink or two every now and again. I'm no sports fan but I like the atmosphere, I've always found the staff friendly and the music is more interesting than many places. Never tried the food but the Twickenham Ale is always well kept and tasty (and exceptionally cheap which is a bonus).
3 Mar 2010 21:36
St Margarets Tavern, St Margarets
Very handy if you get off the train bursting for a pee. Not much use for anything else.
3 Mar 2010 21:22
Tried the renamed pub this evening. Very nice well-kept pint of Young's Kew Gold (�3.10 - expensive but typical for this area). It's still one large barn-like room in three sections, each unfortunately with its own TV so you can't get away from it indoors. Outside in the garden area, there are covered booths which would be OK but they have piped music. Does anyone anywhere liked piped music? It was like sitting in a hotel lift.
Getting rid of two of the TVs and the piped music would be a big improvement. But tasty beer so we'll try this place again in a few weeks to see how it's going.
5 Sep 2009 20:03
The Coach and Horses, Covent Garden
A lovely friendly little pub. Well-kept beer and delicious freshly-made sandwiches - try the salt beef on rye, you'll be back for another.
20 Jan 2009 14:46
Went to their panto the other night. What a fantastic night. Great fun. How many other pubs organize and put on their own panto? And the beer is still fabulous (and only �2 a pint on Monday evenings). Have one of Erin's curries - you won't regret it.
20 Jan 2009 14:40
A fantastic pub. Big choice of tasty fresh beers at low prices. Larger than it looks from outside, with the space split into several rooms/partitioned areas so you can always find somewhere to sit.
15 Jan 2009 21:37
The Vat and Fiddle, Nottingham
One of the best pubs in the known universe. Can't speak for the unknown universe, obviously. Always a fine range of beautifully well-kept beers. Quiet, friendly and Kipper the pub cat. A joy. And very convenient if you've only got 15 minutes before your train goes.
15 Jan 2009 21:27
Nice well-kept Twickenham ales here but don't drink halves because they cost �1.75 as opposed to �3 for a pint. That's a markup of 50p a pint. Why? Tacky greed, I suppose. My partner usually drinks halves and I don't think we'll be back until the management changes.
The other irritating thing about this place is the crappy music the bar staff play all the time for their own benefit. You can't get away from it.
Shame. Could be a nice pub.
15 Jan 2009 21:15
Not tried the food but the beer is always well-kept and the selection always interesting. The staff are also friendly and the prices reasonable. Would drink here more often but they have a policy of playing music throughout the pub even during the day. You can't get away from it - it's terrible. Why do otherwise good pubs do this? It's obviously always for the benefit of the bar staff, not the customers.
15 Jan 2009 21:00
A wonderful, wonderful pub. A fantastic range of well-kept real ale and cider served by friendly helpful people. Drop in on Friday evening for a delicious home-made curry.
23 Sep 2008 20:32
This has been one of my favourite pubs in London for some years and I go there whenever I'm in the area but I went in the other night and was charged �5 for a pint and a half of ordinary. What's going on? Is this greed or necessity?
Even more grotesque is that the pub has been renamed 'Kevin Moran'. I believe he's the landlord. How incredibly arrogant and self-aggrandising is that?
Another pub spoilt...
21 Apr 2008 17:16
Back to Moderate_Nige's profile
The Royal George, Euston
£6.82 for a pint and a half? That's taking the piss even by London standards. Adequate beer, crowded dull surroundings. Avoid. Go across the road to the Doric Arch at the front of Euston Station. Much greater choice of delicious beers with a 15% Camra discount.
24 Aug 2016 21:55