BITE user comments - de101
Comments by de101
The Porter and Sorter, Croydon
The pub got its name from the adjacent post office (Sorter) and railway station (Porter); its proximity to the station makes it the meeting place of choice. The pub is spacious inside and has plenty of seating, even when it's heaving! There's a dining area offering standard 'pub farye' and some benches outside. Staff were smart and attentive.
27 Apr 2011 16:22
I go here once a week. Bazz and Annette used to run this boozer and did a fine job of it for many years. Occasionally a 'gamekeeper' would approach Bazz at the bar and over a pint, open his coat to expose a brace of pheasants. Some money changed hands discretely and they were on the menu shortly afterward. They left three or four years back and the new owner is still trying his best to make a go of it. The bar staff are kids, doing their best. On the positive side, the excellent chef that used to work in the Seaview (East Preston) is now doing the cooking. I was there last night and ordered some pork ribs from the restaurant: the rack was over a foot long under BBQ sauce with chips and salad, �9 so good value. Garden is big and a sun-trap until around early evening. There are two bars, the noisy one with TV/Jukebox/Bar-billiards/etc and the (overly small) one that has a few tables around a real blazing fire in the winter. Real ales are on offer as well as all the usual stuff.
22 Apr 2011 11:43
Olde Coach House, East Preston
This pub is now a pile of rubble that looks destined to become residential housing. It always was a 'station pub', then it was tarted up and someone stuck a huge, loud TV in the centre of it and people stopped coming; plainly a massive demographic error. About the only good thing I can say about it is it had some decent and unusual beers on tap and a sunny beer-garden.
25 Nov 2010 10:56
Went there with some friends/family on Boxing Day for lunch. Food was very, very good and reasonably priced so wouldn't hesitate to eat there again. There were four proper beers on offer (memorably ESB & L.Pride) but I wasn't drinking coz it was too early for me, that and the fact that it's one of those old boozers with beams you keep bumping your head on! The pub's in a picturesque setting. Behind it there's a duck pond and some twittens (that's 'alleys' to you Londoners) if you fancy a walk before/after eating.
29 Dec 2009 13:22
The Masons Arms, Lower Odcombe
Village pub run by Paula & Drew. Drew usually runs the microbrewery but had broken his back in a biking accident at the time so the bitters on offer were local Yeovil brews and Thatchers Gold cider (to die for!). Paula seems to manage the accommodation side of the business and prides herself on doing the �green thing� like installing low-energy light bulbs and growing herbs and vegetables in the beer garden. The grub was superbly cooked and very, very tasty. Next time I�m in this part of the world I�d definitely make a bee-line for this place.
25 Aug 2009 12:02
Love it. Two bars, Public: pool/darts/TV/music/etc & Saloon: newspapers/conversation/etc. Run by a Cornish couple, I use it for a beer after work sometimes. Roaring fire in Winter. The saloon bar becomes a restaurant in the evening. Good honest home-cooked food on the menu, and what you see is always what you get -no more, no less. Food & beer are excellent value for money. Whatever these guys are doing, I just hope they keep doing it!
13 Jun 2009 17:01
The Golden Lion, Goring By Sea
I like it! It's got quiet bits if you need to read stuff on your own, noisy bits where you can yak at full pelt, l-o-a-d-s of room to eat, a small back garden, a large front garden, pool/darts/juke-box - something for everyone! It's patronised by people coming out the railway station, the 6th Form college, NHS HQ, Lloyds Registrars, et al - a nice mix. Haven't eaten there for a while so can't comment on the grub but in good weather there's always a crowd spilling out into gardens at lunchtime.
13 Jun 2009 15:48
Took my girlfriend here once. Ordered a bottle of wine and a couple of meals. When the waitress came to our table she handed us two filthy wineglasses. I complained so she went to find another two glasses, which were just as dirty. When I wrote a complaint to the Manager the next day, he responded in writing by saying his dish-washer had been audited by an "independent Food Hygiene Agency" - wow! The food itself was okay but certainly nothing special.
13 Jun 2009 15:16
Went to meet an Old School buddy for a pint on 13th June 2009. Got to the pub and all the windows were blocked by steel security screens and it looked like it had shut down. Luckily there was another boozer a few hundred yards North so we went there. Pity, because the 1/2-Brick offers a nice sea view.
13 Jun 2009 14:44
The Arun View Inn, Littlehampton
Delightful to down a pint and watch the sun go down in the summer while sitting outside by the river. Not so much fun in the Winter, but that's not the fault of the pub!
Both the staff and locals are friendly and genuine.
9 Dec 2006 15:02
25th July 2006
I stayed in Findon village for around six weeks and found it charming in many ways, often frequenting the Gun or the Black Horse on most evenings. However, because of a change in circumstances I needed to relocate to my present dwellings in East Preston.
About a week ago my son and I decided to take advantage of the excellent weather and plan a short hike from Highdown in Angmering, through Clapham Woods and finish off at our proposed destination, The Black Horse in Findon.
I hadn't been to the pub for months and I was in for quite a surprise! The familiar black fa�ade had now turned white. The sign, which used to depict, you guessed it, a black horse, had gone � what a mountain
range is supposed to do with a pub that was famous for it's horse-jockey clients is I've no idea!?
Then as weary travellers have done since time immemorial, I purchased a couple of pints of beer. The �6.20 price tag was enough to make me wish I'd never set foot in the place again. If that's the price of their beer, I'd need to take out a mortgage should I ever wish to dine there!
I did a little further investigation and found that the skittle alley was still intact, furthermore that this establishment could no longer be regarded as a proper 'pub' but more of a restaurant.
All in all I won't be going there again and should I ever wish to repeat that hike I will terminate somewhere else instead.
DE101
25 Jul 2006 19:10
The Spur, Slindon
First thing that caught my attention was Directors on tap. I'd given up drinking it over a decade ago because everywhere I went it wasn't kept properly thus tasted stale and bitter. However, I gave it a go and was positively surprised; trust me, next time here, rather than dive in to a 'safe lager', try the Directors, Doom Bar, etc on offer, as they seem to know how to maintain a cellar properly.
We were doing 'family lunch'. Can't speak for the rest of my party but I had burger and chips and it was great! The general consensus was that the food looked good and there was plenty of it. Lots of the menu items were called this "of the day", that "of the day", etc which usually implies fresh ingredients.
29 Mar 2016 23:08