BITE user comments - ThirstyMing
Comments by ThirstyMing
Nice looking pub , nice layout . Very unhappy staff (swearing and saying how they were on the verge of walking out) , poor cellar mangement leading to trouble pulling ale every time . Generally slow service .... should be so much better . My friend called me later in the evening to ask if my stomach was as upset as his .... this cannot be definately linked to the beer but it is highly probable in the circumstances .
On another note I did see some food being served and it looked quite good .
I do think that as it is a pub they should get the basics sorted first .
18 Jul 2011 09:49
Popped into his place early one evening . It is a Shepherd Neame pub and I am not the biggest fan of their ales , they were in good nick and the locals were very friendly . Nice atmosphere and everyone was happy to talk to each other .
The decor is a bit ropey , the layout of the pub is not great and it is just a bit tired . I did enjoy myself but it may put off some people . I will be going back in the near future .
Overall a nice place , needs a lick of paint .
22 Oct 2010 10:58
The Grasshopper on the Green, Westerham
I have been to this place a few times now and overall I would say it is quite good . There is a selection of 5 or 6 ales including local favourites from the Westerham brewery as well as Harveys , Adnams Broadside and sometimes Timothy Taylors Landlord .
It is only small but has three bar areas , usually a good atmosphere and the Landlord/Landlady have put a bit of work in and have been here for years . There is a courtyard type beer garden , but I have not ventured out there as the front of the pub is the place to be .
The menu looks interesting , have only had a lunchtime snack so far but it was nice .
When the sun is out you can sit on the green with Mr Churchill and General Wolfe and watch the world go by .
Overall ... location , decor , beer , food, atmosphere and staff make this a real good pub , and I now live a short walk away :-) .
18 Oct 2010 14:33
The Rose and Crown Sevenoaks, Sevenoaks
This has been recently refurbished . They now have two areas to eat and a bar area where drinkers are still welcome . There is "a la carte" dining in the conservatory , pub grub in the main bar area and a decking area out in the beer garden . The landlady is always welcoming and goes out of her way to make sure your requirements are fulfilled .
The food is well prepared and served by delightful local young ladies .
There is a good selection of beers , with Adnams Broadside , Harveys and Pride regulars plus good chilled lagers and a rather good wine selection .
The Sunday lunch is becoming more and more popular , book early to avoid dissappointment . There is a quiz on Wednesday evenings and occasional events , music , mystics (If not cancelled due to unforseen circumstances) or the latest is 40+ speed dating .
In the age of pubs closing for good this place is a shining beacon of how a little effort , imagination and customer service can help win the day .
Well worth a visit
23 Sep 2009 15:03
This place is a shocker and is all bad about "chain" pubs . We came here for a family meal to celebrate a birthday and the poor poor food became the only topic of conversation .
I will not dwell on the beer as this is really only a food pub .
The wine to be fair was OK but the food was really really poor . The portions are very small , everything is microwaved and the results are so unappetising . My sister sent her main course back straight away (Pasta microwaved to death) . The vegetables were a disgrace .... my meal had four of the smallest new potatoes I have ever seen and some uncooked onions .A dessert spoon size portion of soggy cabbage (Selection of steamed vegetables on the menu) was the main side . The chicken was microwaved to a firm rubbery texture as was the garlic bread which when allowed to cool became a test for any dental work .
A quiet word with the manager led to an immediate stricking of the food bill . We went to another nearby establishment for deserts and coffees and had an enjoyable end to a bad evening .
I seriously would not eat here if it was free every night .If you want to know where to go locally e-mail me and I will tell you .
Avoid .......
23 Sep 2009 00:23
This is under new management . They seem to have their work cut out to sort out the kitchen to their liking and add their own touch to the bar.
The Ales ... Greene King IPA , Speckled Hen and Ruddles County are in good nick .
The staff just seem a little distraced at the moment with other jobs and it felt a bit cold inside .
Fair play , they seem to be putting in a huge effort to get this place up and running . It needs a few more punters to create a bit more atmosphere ... and maybe the fire lit !!
1 Apr 2009 15:54
Visited about a week ago , a proper pub without a doubt . A very good selection of Ales and all served in good nick as well.
I think this pubs default is a blokey local . Could probably do with a bit of redecoration but to be fair it could lose some of it's charm .
11 Sep 2008 16:38
This place has been refurbed in a specific style ... and it just doesn't work . The beer is good , there are not many places where you get Fursty Ferret on draught, service is average but the whole place is a bit ..... Crossroads Motel for the new millenium ... a bit Harvester done good .
11 Sep 2008 16:33
The George and Dragon, Ightham
Popped in this week , it is a Shepherd Neame pub , not my favourite brewer if I had a choice . However , Bishops Finger ....off . Spitfire.....off , Whitstable ....off . So only the cooking bitter Masterbrew was available. Either this pub has been over run by beermonsters this week or the cellar management needs a bit of work .It should be a nice pub , great location ,looks fab from the outside , an interesting mix of locals , diners and other passers through but there is something just a little bit plastic and souless here.
11 Sep 2008 16:26
A lovely little pub , out of the way and lots of character . There are two bars , one is mainly food and the other is a basic bar with a low ceiling . This pub seems to have a good spread of local customers from early doors and throughout the evening .
Shepherd Neame beers in good nick and well served by friendly staff . The food looks good and appears to be enjoyed by customers .
There is a huge well kept beer garden , you have to step out onto the narrow lane and then cross the small car park to get to it .
The bars do not have much elbow room and it is therefore not a proping up the bar type pub .
15 Jul 2008 11:21
Visited this pub on Sunday lunchtime , sunny ... fathers day ...... very quiet .
There was a good range beers on offer and my pint was in good condition . The service was good , as there was no one else at the bar .
The menu that used to read like war and peace is now down to a size the kitchen can cope with and would suggest a degree of freshness .
Almost no customers inside , outside a few tables occupied , however the tables are actually rotting and have bits of wood literally falling away .
On the opposite side of the road neighbours have grown some Leylandii which now obscures what used to be great views over the orchards .
This pub used to be really busy and had a great atmoshpere , it is now so quiet you can hear a pin drop . If this is fathers day in the sun , midwinter could see this place close down . A real shame as it should be one of the best pubs in the area .
16 Jun 2008 12:56
I used to live near here and used this place quite a lot . Yes the beers are usually in top condition and the location is great . It is though to be fair a place for eating ...if you want a pint and some atmosphere you do tend to just be in the way . The food is usually good , they do have their off days but generally good . It can take an age to get served sometimes as food orders are taken over the bar as well .
In my opinion this is not a classic country pub but it is a well run busy restaurant with a bar .
8 May 2008 15:49
A gem of a pub , out of the way so it remains mostly a wateringhole for locals , "Tourists" that have found it will be more by by luck .
The garden is not a classic beauty but the pub itself is full of character .
In the winter the fire is warming up the bar , often needed more by gentlemen as the toilets are outside .
In the summer the flower display makes it a classic picture postcard country pub .
Always a good selection of well kept ales and ciders . Beware of the Westons it creeps up on you !.
The food is hearty and unsophisticated , this is no gastropub .
The Landlord is a real character , not to everyone's taste but he is one of a kind . I am pleased to have a place like this as a local pub , as far from the sterile plastic atmosphere of Wetherspoons and their ilk as you can get .
6 May 2008 15:05
Went to this pub the other evening . What a gem , great range of Harveys beers all in good condition . Friendly welcome , two fires burning . Great atmosphere with various groups of locals putting the world to rights .If robust language is not your thing then early evening may not be the time for you to visit. The gardens look like the will be nice when the sun eventually comes out .
Only downsides , the carpets look like they had seen better days about 10 years ago and 200 pineapple chunks in the gents trough was a little overpowering. Overall a proper country pub and I will definately be going back.
1 Apr 2008 09:19
I have been to this place four times in the last six months . Overall the service at the bar is fair to poor . Patience is a virtue for customers here .
It is a venue with a feel of an upmarket Harvester .
First time I was there , ordered food (Two dishes), what turned up was not even close to what I ordered but I chose to eat to so as not to ruin the evening.
On my last visit I ordered a pint of Broadside and without any degree of expertise I could see this was not the beer coming out of the pump , it was the wrong colour . A quick taste test confirmed that they had their pipes mixed up . None of the bar staff had the seniority or the knowhow to deal with the situation , even the fact that I was paying for the most expensive beer and being served a cheaper one ....
This area has a shortage of decent pubs and The Hillside is popular due to no real local competition .
Not unpleasant but nothing to write home about...
27 Mar 2008 12:28
The Swan on the Green, West Peckham
Popped in recently , helpful staff , beer in good condition .Great atmosphere with a nice crowd and a good fire going. Had the steak which cost around �14-15 , rather poor . Well presented with nice vegetables but for the quality of the meat it really should have been half the price .....shame .
As previously mentioned this place should be scoring 9+ but they always seem to manage to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory . A mystery.....
22 Feb 2008 15:21
This has improved a lot since the smoking ban as it used to suffer quite badly . They usually have a good range of ales on though a lot of the staff don't really seem to know much about it.Good range of wines , nice atmosphere when the fire is going . Have not tried the food yet .Some interesting new furniture creating different areas within the pub.
Sevenoaks has suffered the closure of several local licenced premises over the last few years and it is good to see this place staying open as a non chain , non themed , clean proper pub .
22 Feb 2008 15:11
The Beacon Hotel, Langton Green
Went to this venue last Saturday . The first bright sunny day of the year . Sat out on the decking with great views across surrounding countryside .
We were invited to sit and order everything from our table . The waiter was friendly and had a great knowledge of the wines and beers available . The drinks orderedwere in great condition and well served . The food was very good and though a little expensive , with the service and the views the overall experience is a very good one . I have seen some other reviews and don't doubt that there have been some poor service and products delivered but on this occasion it was a pleasure to be there .
15 Feb 2008 11:45
St Leonards Hotel, St Leonards
Visited this venue for a Saturday lunchtime family meal . There were about 16 of us and so they asked us to pre order which we did ....a month in advance.
This is not a venue that you would choose for a casual /relaxing drink . The real ale is OK but is on the verge of being as cold as a lager ..and unfortunately the bar staff are not from countries that have real ale so it is difficult to get the message across . I don't wish to appear picky but they are charging top dollar for badly served drinks .
The food was the real let down . My salmon starter had a quarter of a slice of toasted bread which they had managed to burn to completely black . The soup was nice according to people that had it but again a serious bread shortage, requests to staff did not remedy this. Luckily one of our group had been to the shops earlier and had a Deli France stick which was shared out .
From our pre ordered meals they completely forgot one main course. After having to go to the bar to point this out to staff they then managed after 10 minutes to serve the missing meal half cooked . Once again a trip to the bar to summon staff , the meal was replaced 5 minutes later with what was supposed to a grilled salmon steak that had just been micro-waved , the plate was glowing ......very poor. It was not overly busy ...good luck over the festive period !!
The food that did turn up should be described as average . This is a venue with all of the atmosphere of a doctors waiting room ...
Overall opinion .... do yourself a favour and choose a venue a little less plastic and with a little more idea how food and drink should be presented .
17 Dec 2007 13:40
This place has just re-opened after a full refurbishment. They seem to have done quite a good job , stone floors , good lighting and what I was informed a nice selection of "Laura Ashley" furniture . The ladies in my party were also impressed with the toilets (Very important).
The drinks are a little on the expensive side but the atmosphere was good .
A few teething problems ....lights going on and off , tills not working and the ocasional fire alarm . All dealt with in good spirit by staff . These problems will obviously be ironed out .Beer garden is still a work in progress . The menu looks interesting .....
there will be an update soon re that and the beer !!
Overall first impressions are good.
7 Jun 2007 09:19
The Swan on the Green, West Peckham
As previously mentioned the location and setting of this place are as much as anyone could ask for .
Quality food and a good range of beers brewed at the rear of the pub , the Ginger Beer is a great summer drink . If there is Cricket on the green you may never want the moment to end .
However I really have to agree with TWG the Landlord is consistently a man with other things on his mind , he can be abrupt and dismissive and rude to the point of you not wanting to stay . This if a very "foodie" pub and trying to get served is a battle with people wanting to order drinks , food and pay with their credit cards. Another thing to beware of , if it is a quite evening the landlord will simply close due to lack of interest . If you have arranged a Cab to get you home later this can cause some problems as there is no where else to go from here.
Overall location , setting and local beers would give this a 9/10 or more . The foodie gauntlet and staff attitude are the levellers that bring this down to a 7/10 .With different staff this could be one of the best pubs in Kent.
17 May 2007 14:51
The Royal Oak Inn, Meavy
I have visited this pub several times in the last four years since first being taken there . No matter what the weather , time of year or anything else it has the feel of a proper country pub . Fine selection of ales , always in good condition , food looks good and the staff are always friendly . Locals and tourists seem to mix easily and overall a great place to go . I make a point of it every time I am in the area .
20 Jul 2011 11:37