BITE user comments - Thirsty_Jonny
Comments by Thirsty_Jonny
I'm going to add to the "it's not very pleasant but (apart from the toilets which are an outright disgrace) I cannot put my finger on why". It has it's share of idiot customers as do most the pubs around the haymarket station area. It's staff range from polite to downright surly. It allows customers to prop up the bar at the expense of new prospective customers getting served. But it isn't any of those things - it's just the sum total of the pub doesn't fit for me. It should, the potential is there, but it doesn't work for me.
15 Nov 2010 13:47
I visited the Bridge Hotel for the first time 2 weeks ago. I was going to BITE rate it when I saw Princeofdenmarks comments and thought he must have been to a different pub. So I went again this weekend and checked it out again before rating it and deliberately visited the toilets this time given PODs comments.
I cannot agree with many of his observations. I found the pub to have a new carpet - clearly fitted between our two visits so that is understandable. The toilets were fine by my standards. The beer was excellent and people who were eating seemed to be enjoying their lunches. The views are tremendous and the outdoor terrace is a treat. However I won't be going back. The staff were nothing short of dreadful. 3 people on 'front of house' to deal with the Sunday lunchtime rush and the bar lady of senior years dealt with her first customer and straight away she screwed up the till. Instead of writing down the error and getting on with serving, she distracted another barmaid to help her. So one person left serving a growing host of people and unsurprisingly getting it wrong e.g. serving people out of turn, wrong pint pulled etc. When the till incident was resolved, barmaid number 2 was fine and got on with the job but the bar lady of senior years was outright rude to customers - me included. Guess she'd got the huff after making a schoolboy error on the till - but that isn't my, or any other customers' fault. I don't have to put up with it and I won't - I'm not going back.
Not what you would expect from SJF's pub chain's normal high standards in these areas.
15 Nov 2010 13:39
This is truly an excellent pub. Nice blend of locals and beer tickers. Nooks and crannies galore - tons of interesting tat and keen interested bar staff. Negatives? It's a tough one but if I tried really hard I would moan that in a narrow 'galley' bar - allowing customers to sit blocking access thru the bar area AND to the bar itself could be considered short sighted. Oh and the toilets were tiny given size of pub and therefore smelled - not in a nice way.
16 Jul 2010 18:31
I'll give this pub a 2nd chance but when I visited they had run out of beer. Didn't even have Guinness. That's really bad form - especially when there are better pubs really close by. Lovely friendly welcoming pub dog tho. Won me over - otherwise the pub would be written off and never re-visited.
16 Jul 2010 18:23
Very pleasant, light and airy pub close to North/South Shields Ferry berth. Excellent choice of ales, and judging by the couple I had - really well kept. Only note of caution would be that when I visited - late afternoon - some of the customers had clearly been in a while and were somewhat loud and raucous. But not at all threatening. Each to their own. Still somewhere I'd go back to - justified by the views and the excellent beers.
16 Jul 2010 18:19
Popped in on a Friday teatime. Fine if you like being confronted with sweaty hairy crevices the owners of which appeared to be divorced builders all moaning about how much the 'ex-missus was taking them for'. Language was beyond choice and very loud. Distinctly offish bar staff. Got a definite feeling of 'we don't like strangers around these parts' - but the locals appeared to get served easily enough. Very average pint of Fullers London Pride. Pity as the building seems to be a proper old style Pub - gernerally speaking the sort of place I would go out of my way to visit. Won't be going back here for a while though.
30 Apr 2010 08:44
Couple of observations on Mr Bonsar's comments. Right of reply etc.. I am qualified to comment as I was in the Rising Sun on the day and at the time in question - he may recall that I was the customer who told him where White Horse Brewery was located when he asked.
I personally think he is being harsh on the Barman who was clearly (to me anyway) having a laugh when asked about real ales.
The pub WAS quiet at around 3-5pm as I am sure every other Pub in Sheffield was at that time on a Monday afternoon - had he hung around for a couple more hours he would've found it standing room only.
And a word of caution - always be wary giving Bus Fare prices: he obviously caught the 120 Stagecoach service from town; if he offered the 40 First Mainline service bus driver �1.20 for the same journey from town to Nether Green he'd get stabbed in the back of the hand.
11 May 2009 13:48
Great Pub, great views, excellent ales. Has an imaginative and constantly changing selection of ales and lagers. Often non-mainstream stuff - always well transported and kept. A little more on the edge than some 'Ale-Houses' and I have heard of troublesome customers. There are notices in the pub warning customers that they will not be welcome back if causing trouble - but I have only ever witnessed happy, friendly, helpful and chatty client�le. And I've been a lot recently!! Tough to beat in Sheffield.
9 Sep 2008 20:48
The Corby Bridge Inn, Great Corby
Lovely welcome, great beer and friendly locals sitting around sharing the banter. Interesting art work without being high-brow or pretentious. Really nice 'forget-the-outside-world-and-lose-yourself-for-a-few-hours kind of place. Precisely my cup of Earl Grey.
30 Jul 2008 16:49
On my first visit in 30 years I sort of thought I would make it my last first for another 30 as the pub seemed to stand for what I detest: gastro-pub/restaurant, unwelcoming to locals and fawning over tourists with appetites. However the inevitable second visit made me soften my view. Chatted to some of the customers, beer was good and sitting outside in the sunshine looking out over the village green it was difficult not to like the place. Not my cup of darjeeling but I wouldn't write it off. If you do drink here - save space and time for the Bridge Inn down the road - proper pub, proper people.
30 Jul 2008 16:45
This is a rough diamond of a pub - with some colourful locals but don't dare let that make you pass it by: quality Oakwell Ales and Lagers - including 5% lager which would beat Stella in an 'blindfold find the Stella' competition @ �1.95 a pint!! And those colourful locals I hear you ask? They will welcome you with open arms and a genuine interest. Expect quick humour and laughs abounds. Beautiful bowling green out back if you have the time to spare. Handy for God's Green Garden aka Brunton Park - but I would be wary if you are an away supporter. Sorry no offence - just, well I wouldn't lets put it like that and stay quiet shall we.
30 Jul 2008 16:39
The Pitcher and Piano, Newcastle
Under normal circumstances I would rather chew a second hand butt-plug off Ebay than visit a bar like the Pitcher and Piano: - overpriced drinks, surly staff with no sense of who to serve next, or believing that it is more important to attend to napkin folding when a substantial queue is forming at the bar. My clasic comedy moment here was the barperson who tried to serve me and a guy next to me both at the same time and mixed up the drinks and the change. Why bother? If you want to sit down at a table be prepared to clear the empty glasses and coffee cups yourself - the barstaff are not going to bother. First chair I sat in nearly dumped me on the Quayside due to its broken back. So what has it got going for it? On a summers day sitting outside is a remarkable experience -watch the world go by against the amazing and fantastic backdrop of Sage/Baltic and those fabulous bridges.
Tip for summer 2008 - be there early on a Saturday morning - they are tilting the Millenium Bridge at 12 noon every Saturday and it is spitting distance from the Pee and Poor er I mean Pitcher and Piano. Well worth a visit.
11 Jun 2008 13:36
Excellent pub. Go with an open mind and a raging thirst and you won't be disappointed. Excellent selection of real ales in terms of both quality and breadth of choice. Brilliant food well priced and well presented. Cheerful and colourful staff. Interesting building in a wonderful setting. For those that know of these things - this is the same management as Tilley's, Head of Steam etc. I for one am chuffed its off the beaten track - we wouldn't want everyone knowing one of Newcastle's best kept secrets would we?
11 Jun 2008 13:14
The Newcastle Arms is right up there in my top ten pubs of all time. Never had a bad pint. Imaginative use of guest ales and unusually these days - proper, quality ciders (ask for them as they are often stored in the back room out of view). Helpful, friendly, knowledgable and informative staff. Humour by the bucketload - whether it is the staff, customers or the quirky notices and references to Sunderland Supporters. Lovely ambience and interesting light contrasting with the dark wood usually associated with pubs of yesteryear. Reservations? - I have two: pity about the telly but guess being opposite a bookies means the NA is serving a need and I have only ever seen Sports News or Horse Racing on the box - its not intrusive, I'm just fussy; and, there is a One Armed Bandit which looks wierdly out of place in a pub of this genre/quality. Each to their own. Top pub - worth a detour to check it out but - and I can only guess at this - watch out for Match day, its not a million miles away from St James'.
An observation: Matt_Wilkins' 'Newcastle Desert...etc' comment is so wrong - if he wants to hook up with me one Saturday afternoon - I could spend a couple or 12 hours showing him.
11 Jun 2008 13:00
After 20 years of occasionally using this place, my visits in the last 5 or so have been only in curiosity to see if they have finally made any improvements. I'll always give a place a second chance.
You could go in here for a pint - but there are better pubs close by.
Still an element of customer comes second although this has improved over the years. Better prices on the pumps recently too. It is nice to sit outside if the weather is ok and you like watching the world go by - the other side of a very busy road.
You could go in here for something to eat - but be aware that this place has in the past been closed down over hygiene issues and again there are much better places to eat close by too.
Perhaps I just repeatedly keep catching it on a bad day?
16 May 2008 16:04
The Nottingham House, Sheffield
This pub is closed (16/5/2008) although I hear it is to re-open. This was a classic example of how to run down a pub from a thriving locals meeting place in the 80's early 90's to studenty music venue late 90's and early 2000s to devoid of both types of customers in the 2007/8 with Staff that clearly just didn't care to the point of being abrupt and almost insulted that you could want serving. The place became scruffy and looked like the inside of a dirty warehouse. There's too much competition in Broomhill to allow pubs to be run like that and sure enough The Notty went under. Here's hoping that any future management learn from previous mistakes.
16 May 2008 15:55
Excellent for allowing shop/take-away bought food to be brought in and eaten on the premises. Usually a good range of real ales. Usually somewhere to sit - but can get busy. If you are lucky you will get attentive efficient staff - if you are not lucky you will be served eventually by a student-by-day-super-hero by night who will be more interested in talking to other bar staff or friends on your side of the bar than serving customers. Music TV can be loud - but to be fair I don't moan when they stick the Footie on and it suits me.
16 May 2008 15:26
The Broomhill Tavern, Broomhill
Mainstream beers - Tetleys and Deuchars when I was in. Can get very busy and crowded and noisy with students and sportspeople but one of the better pubs in this part of Sheffield. Despite being frequently busy the barstaff are attentive and efficient - you should not have to wait long to get served. Good town pub with all the flashing lights of the one armed bandit, quiz machine, juke box and TV's if you like that sort of thing.
16 May 2008 15:20
I'm going to enter this as a 'first impressions' report as the Plough is - again - under new Management, but this time things are looking very promising.
The whole place now has a clean and tidy feel about it. There were 3 mainstream but very well kept ales on when I visited: Black Sheep; Abbot Ale; and, I think it was the Greene King IPA. All the other drinks are there as expected - i.e., Stella and her friends. No food yet but the menu has been sent off for printing and I've had a preview - looks like good standard wholesome stuff - range of pies, big fish and chips etc.
Exceptionally friendly and jovial welcome, and encouraging news - Big Phil's Quiz is back. So all in all things are looking up for a pub with great potential given its catchment area. I haven't given this pub a rating yet as its too early to determine any consistency but it all looks very positive given the attitude of the management.
29 Apr 2008 12:51
Depending on your viewpoint you may feel that the Host is somewhat standoffish or you may feel he is a landlord of the old school. I will leave it for others to decide. What I do know is that the beer is excellent and generally a nice selection to choose from. The atmosphere inside and out, is tasteful and convivial. The setting is fantastic being overlooked by the local church. Clientelle are a friendly good humoured bunch. Food when I went - please check this still stands - was lunchtimes only but was very well presented and realistically sized portions. Expect to mingle with students in term time.
14 Apr 2008 14:12
Depending on your direction of travel - I would settle for the Rising Sun less than half a mile further out of the city on the same road or the Ranmoor Inn back a couple of hundred yards towards the city. The Bulls Head is dominated by two large TVs and one armed bandit - these can on occasion distract the bar staff from the duties normally expected of them. Friendly enough place a reasonable number of real ales - although on my last two visits two of the ales were sold out so it was only the mainstream Deuchars etc left. Not necessarily a bad thing. Parking outside is difficult - they have built a patio area over the carpark bays and parking is limited or illegal around the road area outside.
14 Apr 2008 14:06
Excellent range of beers and lagers. Always of highest quality and usually with some interesting Microbrewery/Lesser known offerings. The RS is an Abbeydale owned Pub so their beers get star billing. Pity. It even appears that Abbeydale have cottoned on that their beers are not to everyones taste and have introduced some lines under a new pseudonym of Dr something-or-other. Limited Cider - guess they can only react to demand. Toilets are well overdue the renovation they are planned to get. Don't sit too close to the loos on a hot day. The pub is dog friendly - personally I have no problem with that - I am dog friendly too, but be advised that not all the doggy visitors are well behaved nor are they always particularly clean or pleasant smelling - the RS is a popular post-walkies drinking point and it can feel canine-claustrophobic in no time. Be prepared for an empty pub but a full carpark when its the School next door's turfing out time - don't let it put you off going into the pub it won't be as busy as you may imaging. I don't want to overstate the negatives - I still rate this pub as an 8 - its worth putting up with its quaint quirks for the - generally speaking - warm welcome and consitently high quality of the extensive guest beer range.
10 Apr 2008 13:52
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The Brandling Villa, South Gosforth
Background: For a long time this was the best of the three pubs in South Gosforth; Millstone and Victory make up the trilogy.
The Brandling Villa - heaven knows why it's referred to as Villa Bistro on BITE - has had it's ups and downs mostly due to bizarre choices in front of house staff, but a relatively recent change of management seemed to be getting on top of that problem.
So what is it like now? Shabby is the starting point. The whole pub looks tatty and tired and the toilets are not just rank; they are gross (at time of writing this - the less rank of the two Gents Toilets was closed for repair). You need a ferryman to get you from the door to the urinal.
The beers are well kept and there is a respectable variety. Food is ok - but spoiled for me when I had the delight of listening to one of the Bar Staff (Manager?) bragging loudly about the deal he got on the burgers from a local supplier i.e., 76p each. That 76p burger, with some chips and bits added, is on the menu for well over �6. I don't mind 'mark up' but that is kicking the a*** out of profiteering.
The BV seems to be focussing on its Sausage and Ale, and, Pie and Ale special events and forgetting that it is a local pub in between. Both the two nearby pubs, as mentioned above, the Victory and the Millstone, are under new management - and both are being turned around into very pleasant pubs; if I was managing the Brandling Villa I would be worried. Very worried.
23 May 2011 12:42