BITE user comments - big_andy
Comments by big_andy
Great little place, don't be fooled by the low-ish rating, half those scores were posted when it whas a star-trek pub (most ridiculous idea ever, probably) and it's now become a regular after-work venue for all sorts of people nearby. A surprisingly low percentage of civil servants given the location, which can probably only be a good thing. Can't speak for the food because I haven't had any but the beer is good and fairly priced and the atmosphere is great; gets very, very busy on fridays though.
Reccomended!
30 Jun 2006 13:41
I'd looked at this a few times from the outside and to be honest it looked hideous; just a bit of signage away from looking like an out-of-town Currys or something. Then one day the baobab was inexplicably closed (again) and I thought I'd pop in.
What a surprise; friendly staff, good prices (especially food), different areas with screens in some, food area in another, booths somewhere else etc, and a great little terrace outside next to the river.
I'll be back, but probably still only when the 'bab is shut again. Or I'm skint.
29 Jun 2006 13:41
I reckon they've hired some more staff now, as it's quicker to get served than it used to be. Yes there's a lot of civil servants (home office hq is over the road) and it's not exactly packed with character, but overall it's an airy, clean (nowadays at least) and pretty friendly place to have a pint. 6/10.
29 Jun 2006 13:30
that should have been pub, not pun. As you probably realised.
10 May 2006 13:36
The fruit machine in this pun is pure evil. Otherwise, nice place.
10 May 2006 13:35
I used to work there when I was at uni. Yes it's cheap but you don't want to know half the stuff that goes on behind the bar; if you can't serve yourself (and you can't) then stay away.
10 May 2006 13:30
Ye Olde Cherry Tree, Southgate
Good food, but not really a drinker's pub, except for outside on a summer night, which is great.
10 May 2006 13:28
The beer garden is indeed fantastic, and the place is indeed full of policemen and gays. Depends what you like, then.
10 May 2006 13:25
Well, I went there last night for the Boro/Steau match and, indeed, it was full of Boro fans. The atmosphere was amazing (it helped that it was one of the all-time great matches we were watching) and I'll certainly be back in a fortnight for the final. I even got in early enough to try some of the food, which was good value and very pleasant. All in all a brilliant night and highly recommended, especially for anyone with an interest in the Boro.
28 Apr 2006 10:03
Honestly, it's worth getting a better job just to be able to afford to drink somewhere else. If you can't do that, drink at home.
Dire.
25 Apr 2006 14:14
Bit of a strange one, traditional local place full of old blokes, fairly friendly, I quite like it and so do a couple of my mates but a lot of people including the missus can't stand it. Good beer though, and cheap too.
25 Apr 2006 13:54
Thank Christ that Jody's got the place back from that Geordie nutter that was running it. I've been drinking here since I was, er, *coughs* ..18, and it's gone through some weird phases but it's back to near its best now. It looked like it was turning into a gay bar by stealth at one point but that seems to have stopped now.
Since the hideous demise of McCarthy's this has become the place people go, and rightly so. Every time I'm back in Darlo, this is one of the first places I'll go.
25 Apr 2006 13:24
I heard that this is one of the main pibs for Middlesborough supporters south; can anyone confirm/deny?
25 Apr 2006 12:22
Always the place I end up going with my banker/insurance-type mates. Don't go if you don't like City boys cos that's pretty much the extent of the clientele. Used to be fantastic service a couple of years back but it's slipped a bit. Still pretty good though.
24 Apr 2006 17:17
A good solid "quiet pint" type of place with good staff and plenty of space. And darts. Lovely.
So not an alternative to Fabric then but if you're in a cricketer's kind of mood then it's great.
24 Apr 2006 17:14
It's just not a pub. The food's fine enough, but it's NOT A PUB. So don't go there for a drink. OK?
24 Apr 2006 17:10
The Picture Palace, Ponders End
very odd atmosphere. still, this is where i discovered banks' festival mild, still my favourite pint. also scene of my biggest-ever fruit machine win, but then again i'm not much good at them...
24 Apr 2006 17:06
The Beef and Barrel, Ponders End
Used to love this place when I was a student at middlesex uni, which is pretty much next door. Going to visit it again when I can: just a pitty it's in the eternal crapheap known as ponders end.
24 Apr 2006 17:04
I can echo the sentiments of the other reviewer entirely. Unless you've got more "sov" rings than teeth by a factor of at least 3 to 1, RUN AWAY. But NOT to Hogans.
24 Apr 2006 17:01
Used to go there when I was a skint sixth-former, don't go there anymore. 'Nuff said.
21 Apr 2006 15:39
Great pub this; a classic no-nonsense boozer. Pool table is impossible to play unless you get a diidy cue (which they can provide) and the karaoke when it happens is a mixed bag but; hey, it's my mate's dads pub, gotta be 10/10!
21 Apr 2006 15:38
I love this place. I've just moved to Colliers Wood a fortnight ago and I already feel right at home here. The beer's good, the food's excellent, the prices are reasonable (not exactly cheap, but then it's not that kind of place), the staff are excellent and the regulars are friendly. Great music, a nice big plasma, and various events including a quiz night that had the place packed out. Plus, the first night I came here I saw my team the Boro doing that amazing 4-goal comeback against basle in the UEFA. Spot on all round.
21 Apr 2006 14:13
What was up with the smell in there on tuesday? Like drains or something, really off-putting. Other than that the place is pretty good; it's a decent pub with one huge problem: The baobab, a minutes walk away, is substantially better.
21 Apr 2006 14:09
what have things come to when you go into a pub and can't buy a pint? It's halves or pitchers. I've never drunk a half in my life so i had to get a pitcher and pretend it was a normal pint mug and i was a little tiny pixie
12 Apr 2006 16:27
Lovely place, friendly staff, great atmosphere. Most nights out start here, and from 8 to 10 most fridays and saturdays you'll see me and my mates sitting by the long table in the back left hand corner. say hi if you like.
12 Apr 2006 16:19
It's the default local for everyone at the vast Orange call centre down the road. Good pool tables, generally quite unremarkable beyond that. Nothing really wrong with it, just pretty uninspiring.
12 Apr 2006 16:15
Number 22 Alehouse and Canteen, Darlington
about as trendy as wearing your trousers really high, but does great beer and good service. I've always been served with a smile here, but then again I've got a nice watch.
12 Apr 2006 16:12
This used to be called Mick Mccarthy's, was a mock-oirish place, and was fantastic. Oh to have those old days back again.
On another note, everyone remembers where they were on september 11th; I was here.
12 Apr 2006 16:03
Haven't been in years, but when I did there was always a little old bloke with ludicrous facial hair sitting in the corner scowling at people. My mate once (correctly) remarked that he looked like Wolverine, the bloke heard and he went for my mate, in a suitably bizarre wolfish sort of way.
Strange.
12 Apr 2006 16:00
Sun, Southgate
Good to hear the place has a new manager, I guess that means I'm not barred anymore.
Logan, the previous gaffer and poster of the first two comments, was just about the most objectionable, obnoxious, up-his-own-arse little shit I ever had the misfortune to meet.
30 Jun 2006 13:54