BITE user comments - fernebranca
Comments by fernebranca
Went last week for the cider festival. Twn great cask ales availalbe plus 20 ciderrs. The Whicky Matured cider was especially good. Great atmosphere in a simple setting. Possibly the best ale selection in Bath.
21 May 2010 22:12
Great ;itt;e ;ocal's local. Small bar with two cask ales (Butcombe Bitter and Doombar) plus several great ciders. Drink the Wackee with a touch of lemonade (per locals); it's great either way. Landlord friendly as were the locals. Small seperate dining room that serves a great Sunday roast with a wide variety of vegetables. Went there several times on 2-3 days, always friendly. Even got a message from my B and B abut a phone call I needed to answer! Made me feel at home.
21 May 2010 21:43
Glad thomasgx1 is planning on going back. However, don't expect the toilet to change, it's been like that for 50+ years.
28 Aug 2009 23:46
My daughter had several California friends drop by the Wenlock recently after they were told this was one of the best "locals" anywhere. Apparently they were not disappointed, being made to feel like most welcome by all locals present on a recent evening visit. Thanks.
2 Nov 2008 06:47
Great comments by Dimple_Mug. I've posted here before, grew up on Shepherdess Walk around the corner from the Wenlock, have great memories of both the Wenlock tap and the brewery (the smells, beer running out of the loading doors on Wenlock Road, hop/malt waste slopping into lorries out of the back chutes etc. My dad worked at the brewery for a while and my Mum and uncle Charley were singers in the Wenlock in the late 50's and early 60's. I now own a pizza restaurent in Sacramento, Ca. (Extreme Pizza, Exposition Blvd. if you are in town), and was inspired to model our beer sales by the Wenlock's beer/ale range and quality. We sell local micro-brews in small kegs, turn them over fast to produce fresh well conditioned beer. It's been a great success this last year with beer making up 8-10% of sales(4 times higher than typical). I was back at the Wenlock the Christmas before last and can't wait to get back again. Recommended Witham Wobbler from the Blue Cow Brewery in South Witham to one of the owners but never saw in on the cellar list. I'm in my mid 60's now and hold tight to my memories of the Wenlock. Posts made here help keep the fading lights bright because, based on my most recent visits, the place retains all the flavour and atmosphere of classic local/neighborhood pubs from the mid 20th. century. Keep the posts coming
4 Sep 2008 21:16
Given all the carpet comments over the years, this must be the best known flooring in Britain's beer world. It should be sold off by the square inch and the proceeds used for an in-house booze up. Anyway, a sample should be framed and mounted over the fireplace.
8 Jul 2008 21:56
Toilet comments are just another indication that the Wenlock is an old time boozer. They used to smell bad back in the 50's and 60's and it was a great pub then. Keep up the good work.
25 Apr 2008 16:24
As someone who learned to drink at the Wenlock in my early teens in the late 1950's and early 1960's, it is gratifying to read the continuous flow of warm comments on this great London pub. It is one of the few places in London that is much as it was in my youth except then it had only a men's toilet and a corner piano with an array of great pub singers Friday-Sunday. On Sunday, when the winkle man came by with his white sheet draped barrow, most patrons bought almost all of his shellfish and it was spread out along the counter. Jack and Elsie, the barkeeps, provided bread and butter and everyone had a great feast before staggering home for Sunday roast beef and fixings. While the specifics have changed, the Wenlock still retains that old style boozer atmosphere. Unfortunately, I rarely get back because of distance but I hope I die before it disappears because I don't want to go through the anguish of losing this great memory of many years ago.
2 Oct 2007 07:00
Thanks Canastajim. I grew up around the corner from the Wenlock and when I became a drinking adult at 13 years of age in the late 1950's, it was my local. My mum sang there. I get back when I can and it has all the flavor I remember 50 years ago. That's why the Wenlock remains special for me. For me, it's the only part of my London from the 50's and early 60's that's still like it was. However the beer's a damn sight better and the toilets don't smell like they used to. Hoping to get back soon.
3 Jul 2007 23:50
For an ignoramus who lives abroad, what are "breweries of a bespoke brewing service". Thanks in antcipation of you expanding my horizons.
3 Jul 2007 03:51
This is a poor excuse for a pub. On visiting London recently, two couples my wife and i were with liked this place simply because it is non-smoking. We left them to wallow in the sterility of this puffed up place and went to the nearby Bricklayers and then on to the Wenlock Arms, surely one of the great pubs of all time.
24 Apr 2007 04:59
I�m not sure I�m qualified to comment ob what elsiepop�s posting means because I�m rarely able to get to the Wenlock. However, I believe it refers to a rapid turnover rate some of the large range of beers/ales sold at the Wenlock. So, while there are many beers sold, many of them are available for only a very short time. As the Wenlock�s web site notes, some beers many only be available for a few hours and customers are advised to call if they have questions about what�s on tonight. Regardless, the cellaring/sales program at the Wenlock has consistently produced top notch quality as is testified by the consistently positive comments about their beers/ales over many years.
23 Apr 2007 15:43
The Blue Cow Inn, South Witham
This is a tardy review of the Blue Cow. My wife and I were there in 4/06 while she was doing some research in the area for a book. Stayed in the B&B which was more than adequate accomodation. The beers were great especially the Witham Wobbler. Recommended it to Steve at my old local, the Wenlock Arms, in London which serves a fine array of beers from across the country. Simon, the owner and landlord, was outgoing and a fine conversationalist and the overall atmosphere was that of a good country local. Several meals we had there were of good quality. We were sad that we did not have the time to return over Christmas when we were back visiting England. We will get back sometime though. The Blue Cow is well worth the short side trip off of the highway. Oh, Simon was working on a great children's story about a frog; it was based on a night-time story he had told his daughter Samantha over the years. Please make time for a visit.
26 Mar 2007 04:47
I'm so glad to see the Bricklayers moving up the "top 40" list. It is well deserved. I found this great treasure by accident on New Year's Eve when visiting London and every other pub in the area required a pre-purchased admission ticket or there was some other restriction on getting in. I'm an old timer from London but have lived in California for the last 40 years. I'm pee'd off because it is not likely that I can get back to London in the very near future and visit my two favorite watering holes, The Wenlock and The Bricklayers. I'm hoping for a something that looks like a heart attack so my wife will ship me over for in preparation for my last rites celebrated with some great Timothy Taylors or one of the great rotating ales at the Wenlock.
16 Mar 2007 01:35
Say it ain't so. THe Wenlock being bought out! I managed to travel from California twice last year to visit my old local from the 1960's when Jack and Elsie ran the place. This was where my mum and uncle Charlie sang every Friday and Saturday nights. God, this place should be a national treasure. Say it ain't so.
Fred Munday
Formerly of 57 Shepherdess Walk
13 Mar 2007 07:03
The Wenlock was my local 40-50 years ago. After I moved out of the country in 1965, I did not get back until April of 2006 and then over Christmas in 2006/7. The pub essentially has the same character I remember although now there is one bar instead of the 3 I remember (Tony, still a local, says there were 6). Look for the wood plugs around the counter's edge that reveal where the old wood/glass partitions were). There are now two toilets instead of the one men's toilet (women used the toilet in long gone Sturt Arms across the street). The only other big difference is that my mum and uncle Charlie don't sing there any more (both dead). If you don't go every day, a beer you liked yesterday might not be there today. Fortunately, there is always a good selection of 6-7 new ones and remind beer fans of what beer and beer tasting should be like. The owners, Steve and Will know the beers they sell and share that information. Don't forget to ask the bar help for a taste before buying. If there is a "hoppy" beer, try it. For some, the place is hard to find. Take the bus (214, 43) west from Old Street or east from the Angel and get off at the plague pit at Windsor Terrace. Head north along Windsor Terrace then Wenlock Road to the best pub in London, probably the country and possibly the world. On two occassions, I took cabs and both cabbies knew the Wenlock without the address. If you want, go by my old home around the corner at 57 Shepherdess Walk. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a blue historical marker. For another good local, try the Bricklayer's Arms ar 32 Waterman Street, Putney. Good local flavor but not the same beer quality. The bar manager's husband knew the Wenlock and spoke highly of it.
4 Jan 2007 01:00
The Wenlock Arms, Hoxton
Can someone fill m e in about what's going on at the Wenlock. There are no recent BITE comments and all this twitter/facebook stuff. Film crews!!! What the hell is going on. I come back to my old Shepherdess Walk neighborhood every couple of years. Is it worth a visit any more?
8 Oct 2012 02:47