BITE user comments - MurkyGrom
Comments by MurkyGrom
At a show in Earl's Court, came in for lunch, glad we did. Friendly bar staff served us happily 5 minutes before food ended, and my steak was actually worth the �15 - especially since work was paying. Free bread and stuff before the meal.
Beer I had was Skinners Cornish Knocker and damn nice it was too, great temperature and fresh. Wish I could have stayed for a few more. Prices are London Gastropub level but they're not taking the piss and the quality is actually up to it.
15 Jun 2010 19:39
Similar to The Crown, just refurbished less recently. Beer is better though; the Harveys is usually ok. Food not too bad but don't expect miracles. Service is usually friendly and quick. Pretty busy with the 20-30 town crowd on the weekends, not really my cup of tea.
19 Mar 2010 19:15
Pretty much a student / young persons pub, seems like they stumble between here and the Lynd Cross until they've drunk enough to fall over. Bouncers and loud music on weekend evenings. If you've been to commercial pubs in the centre of any british city, you'll know exactly what to expect...
19 Mar 2010 19:12
Lovely pub, great exterior. Beer is ok, it's all Badger, but overall one of Hall and Woodhouse's better efforts. Thankfully the conservation area means they haven't been able to change the exterior. Unspoilt interior as well and friendly relaxed barman. Great place to slip into on an afternoon, an oasis of calm in the centre of the town. As a free house this would be a spectacular pub.
19 Mar 2010 19:07
Huge beer garden is great in the summer. Food is ok but a bit bland, like it's part of some sort of 'add food to your pub!' package from a caterer. Sunday Roasts a different beast and very nice indeed, with good value offers.
Harveys always well kept, think I've had one of my best pints of the stuff here. Good jukebox too. Nice atmosphere inside. Would visit more often if it was closer, and if the food during the week was more interesting.
19 Mar 2010 19:03
Interior not very inspiring and not the friendliest atmosphere for some reason, but I've had some good beers here - they deserve praise for often having Horsham brews from Hepworth, WJ King and Weltons. Bar stuff are always friendly, prices a little high. Needs a bit more to become my local even though it's the closest to me.
19 Mar 2010 18:59
Probably my favourite pub in Horsham. Almost always a good selection of beers. Harveys Best and Deuchars IPA are the staples, with four other guests on offer. Best I've had was the Butcombe Brunel but there's normally something interesting, and the turnover is fairly swift. The beers are kept reasonably well - weeks of great pints are marred by occasional tired or rushed beers. Worst I've had was some room temperature Mild, that didn't seem to have been settled for long enough either - pretty grim.
Sometimes tough to get a table, and the food although very good is fairly expensive. Ambience is great - busy, but the right kind of busy. Bar service is good and friendly. Anyway I usually visit twice a week and always feel happy there, so 8/10 from me.
19 Mar 2010 18:54
Modern interior - a good place to meet friends as there are hundreds of seats. For the real ale though... well, last time I visited, out of 3 pumps 2 were off, one the Greene King IPA (can't believe they managed to run out of that) and the other a pump without even a clip on it. The remaining Abbot Ale was in poor condition and I didn't have a second, having to switch to lager. I imagine this is where most of their business comes from, that and bottles. All the drinks seemed ridiculously expensive. Town centre prices.
Food is ok ish and cheap ish, about wetherspoons quality. If you can get 20 friends in they'll bring out a free buffet of hit and miss sausage rolls and things.
Good place for meeting up with friends but that's about it. There are far better places in Horsham for everything else.
19 Mar 2010 18:39
Spectacular beer drinkers pub - and obviously a well-loved local as well. My father in law and I went in on a Friday lunch time (directly as the pub opened at 2pm), and found 12(!) real ales on tap. Apparently Monday to Thursday they run 6 pumps, with 12 for friday to sunday, though turnover is high (40 casks a week I think they said?) so I can't imagine everything was still on by Sat/Sun. On the plus side this means all the beer is fresh. The pumps are split between a lower bar and the upper lounge side, with boards at each side telling you what's on at the opposite bar. We were the first customers of the day, and each beer we tried the barman took care to pull through any of the beer left in the pipes so we got our beer fresh and at the right temperature. The beers I tried were superb, I think I had Tom Wood Classic Bitter and two others which I confess I have forgotten - I had never heard of them before anyway, which is always a nice thing when visiting a pub.
Watch out for the fat doberman which has a sixth sense for crisp packets opening (hence I guess its barrel-like appearance), and will obligingly lean on your leg to stop you falling off your bar stool. Had some great conversations with the bar staff and one of the owners, they obviously care very much about the beer they serve, and the rest of the pub itself.
On the food side, I think it's pretty intermittent so don't count on anything; this is more a pub for drinking. Curry night is still Thursdays according to the signs but mostly I think simple sandwiches are the order of the day. Free wi-fi if that matters to you! Can't wait to go back and spend some more time there.
19 Mar 2010 18:29
Black Horse, Nuthurst
Walked over the fields from Horsham on late may bank holiday to visit and have lunch. Really busy, but staff were honest and said we could eat if we didn't mind waiting. We were in no hurry so stuck around, sitting in the rear garden. Shame there wasn't a huge choice of beers, but the Harveys was good. Both my pints were pulled short though - maybe inexperienced staff?
Food came earlier than advised and was very good although a little pricey. From the selection of cars in the carpark I don't think many of the clientele minded about the prices though. Definitely a country gastropub and doing well with it. Nice spot to walk to and a good option for food if you're feeling flush.
15 Jun 2010 19:57