BITE user comments - jackie_sunshine
Comments by jackie_sunshine
We wandered in willy nilly only to stand transfixed like a deer in headlights before backing slowly out again.
I wanted to go somewhere relaxing after a tough day and the lighting put me off immediately. Is it some kind of McDs "Keep the lights bright so they'll eat faster and we can put new bums on seats" design? I couldn't see anywhere that you wouldn't have a spotlight shining right at you.
We try again on a day when I've got my sunnies with me. perhaps.
29 Jun 2008 12:56
The Bourne Valley Inn, St Mary Bourne
Excellent country pub near Whitchurch, the Watercress Line and, as already mentioned, a fab viaduct!
Everything was very clean and well kept. The food was great, and the welcome warm and friendly.
There is a lovely garden, and a sunny barn section with patio doors.
You feel as if you are in the depths of the countryside because it's so peaceful, and you barely hear a car going past, but in fact you're not that far from civilisation.
We'll be back.
29 Jun 2008 12:46
This has become our standard place to meet up because it's so friendly and we feel so comfortable in here. If you see a bunch of girlies commandeering the sofas by the windows over looking the river then it's probably us!
The staff are always lovely as well as capable, and the prices seem - to us - to be commensurate with the local area. In fact a round in here often seems a couple of quid cheaper than in many of the other places we hang out.
I'd love to know more about the history of the building Beersupper. It's been a pub for my whole drinking career.
29 Jun 2008 12:39
When we visited The Princess Royal for lunch recently we were surprised to see how quiet it was on a Friday lunch time.
Only two other tables were occupied in the restaurant, and as they were already eating I remember thinking that our meals would not be very long.
Unfortunately it took almost an hour for our four main courses to be served - which I suppose is why the pub was so empty. You couldn�t risk coming here on your lunch hour.
No member of staff came anywhere near us during this long wait, and then the meals arrived in drips and drabs.
So was this type of wait the norm, or didn�t they notice / care?
I don�t particularly enjoy the d�cor, but if the food had been good and the service decent we would have gone back.
As it was we felt abandoned, and I can�t imagine we�ll be going again.
26 Jun 2008 05:43
The Waterwitch is quite a large distance out of the way for us but we keep coming back because of the friendly welcome we get and the lovely food..
Life doesn�t get much better than a group of friends or family eating and drinking and laughing together and we like to do this at The Waterwitch as often as we possibly can.
I�m quite laid back, but my mother isn�t, so if the food wasn�t great, or if we were kept waiting too long she wouldn�t be so happy to go back time and time and time again.
I haven�t visited The Waterwitch for about six weeks, but a group of us are meeting up there this Saturday. I really hope it�s sunny because dinner and drinks on the gorgeous patio would be lovely.
26 Jun 2008 05:33
Our food and drink were both lovely, but we felt either invisible or unwelcome most of the time. We loitered at the "wait here to be seated" board but nobody came over. At the bar it seemed that for ages we couldn't even get eye contact - let alone a drink.
Later, they put all the parasols down on the decking where we were seated well before last orders. We had two more rounds after they did this, although we had to go around to the front door to get to the bar because they'd also locked the patio doors into the pub! I came away feeling as if this is a place that doesn't care much about its customers.
6 Aug 2007 17:49
The Goldilocks of Guildford pubs - everything is "just right"!
So many places are too pricey, too posey, too cool for school, too young, too rough or too crap.
The White House has a lovely, friendly, relaxed atmosphere. - I love sitting outside by the river in the spring and summer. It doesn't get much better than that.
The customers here are a lovely bunch. Everyone chats to you and when our group expanded somebody actually noticed and offered us a spare chair, andsomeone else took a group photo for us. How cool is that?
Plus, you can chat to the guy next to you at the bar without worrying that he's going to become your stalker for the evening. It's not a meat market type of place.
Which is not to say that there are not attractive men here. (There are plenty of them to keep me occupied!)
It's generally packed when I go, but I never have any trouble getting served at the bar. The glasses get cleared regularly but unobtrusively, and the place seems to run very smoothly.
When I was there last I was impressed by all the staff I met. One of the barmaids remembered what some of our group were drinking when we drunkenly forgot, and the barman who served us was just really friendly and professional. It's hard to be cheerful and chatty when you're rushed off your feet.
Our food was yummy too.
I think I've found my new local!
4 Apr 2007 01:18
Is it me or has it gone a little too "meat market" in here lately?
The last time I went it felt a bit too "footballers wives in waiting" heavy and there was lots of groping and snogging couples in the alley nearby.
I used to like the diversity of clientele, and the fact that the place seemed to have a bit of class - for want of a better word.
Here's hoping that my last visit was a blip and Five and Lime hasn't lost it and turned into a clone of every other bar in Guildford town centre.
4 Apr 2007 01:00
Currently advertising for staff - the shortage of which showed in my opinion.
On the plus side, we stopped in for a drink and felt comfy enough to order food as well. It says Free House on the outside and we always like to try those out in preference to the branded chains.
Inside, the pub is a genuinely old building and has lots of nooks and crannies with different seating areas. It is furnished in keeping with the style of the building and we liked it a lot.
Our food was lovely, and arrived reasonably quickly. My daughter said it was the nicest burger she'd ever tasted - which is high praise indeed! The menu is not extensive, but there were quite a few things I fancied. Nothing veggie though, as Aleman noted.
The staff seemed friendly enough, but a tad over worked and kind of stressed out... It was hard to get any eye contact or conversation and to be honest I prefer a bubblier reception. The staff were in "head down and get on with the job" mode.
At my arrival at the bar nobody acknowledged me, said hello, or even smiled, but I was served precisely in turn. Unfortunately the bar was too sticky to lean on which is never a great first impression.
Or table was sticky as well, and nobody came to check if our food was ok or not.
Having said all that we'll definitely be back in a few weeks to try again. On the whole we liked The Seahorse, but the negative things I mentioned do matter to me, so I am hoping to see an improvement on my next visit.
(No rating left this time)
18 Feb 2007 03:46
Yeah, it's a bit small, and yeah, there's not much in the way of seating, but frankly my jeans are too tight for me to sit down. I prefer to dance anyway.
I'd much rather spend my money here than in some big faceless nightclub.
It's great to have a venue for new bands to play in. I've really enjoyed the couple of nights I've spent here and come pay day I'll be back again!
I prefer places that are off the beaten track a little bit.
4 Jan 2007 17:34
Now a sleazy ...ahem..."Gentlemans Club".
The powers that be in Guildford disapproved of the whole Casino plan, but evidently they are fine with this kind of thing.
Classy - huh?
3 Jan 2007 01:25
I never seem to relax here. There's nobody visibly in charge, so when something goes wrong - as it inevitably does - who's going to sort it out? The staff are young and green, and seemingly unsupervised so that doesn't fill me with calm either. Some of the customers look like they need keeping an eye on as well.
So I don't come here much, and every time I do I wish I hadn't. It's just not any fun waiting for it all to go pear shaped.
Sorry.
29 Nov 2006 01:05
Rude rip off merchants where they encourage you to buy another round at last orders and then kick you out immediately as soon as they have your money. "Security staff" are purposefully intimidating and aggressive.
6 Aug 2006 16:45
A cool place to hang out. I think it comes into its own in the summer when the garden space is packed. It's not especially friendly as some of the patrons are too cool to mingle but hey, I can't blame the bar for that! I'm working my way slowly through the flavoured vodkas!
19 Apr 2004 20:03
I've spent a little more time here lately and I've become quite fond of the place. It's really packed and noisy but there is comfy seating and a nice friendly vibe. The barstaff are really friendly - which is amazing considering that they are run off their feet pretty much all the time. The security staff are good too - firm with trouble makers but polite and helpful to everyone else. It's a well run bar.
19 Apr 2004 19:58
I like it here. Many a girlie night out has started off with a few cocktails at Old Orleans. Staff are friendly, efficient and helpful. It's fun to sit outside on the pavement in summer and 'people watch'. The doormen are professional and polite - but firm. It's not usually over run with kids either. It had a bit of a dodgy patch for a while but there's new management now.
8 Mar 2004 19:22
Where Girls Aloud hung out when in town - and still full of their clones. If this sounds good to you then fill ya boots!
2 Mar 2004 21:51
Good if you're on a tight budget. Reasonably well run, but rammed with teenagers and students because it's cheap!
2 Mar 2004 21:48
Kind of a young crowd and inexperienced staff, expensive...yet always packed! Go figure?!
2 Mar 2004 21:41
A Bar 2 Far, Kingston Upon Thames
A good looking 'up for it' kind of crowd. It's nice that it's open a little later too.
2 Mar 2004 21:37
Beautiful pub with the biggest beer garden I have ever seen, backing onto the Basingstoke Canal. It does good food, and has open fires in the wintertime. Beer prices are commensurate with the local area. Lots of parking. Under new management.
2 Mar 2004 21:32
We've been drinking here off and on for twenty years. It's very friendly and has a great cross section of customers. The jukebox is the best I've ever seen.
The only thing I don't like is that on the dot of 11pm they turn on 160 watt fluorescent lighting and start hassling you to leave.
2 Mar 2004 18:19
Back to jackie_sunshine's profile
The Boatman, Guildford
I think business has been too quiet here for too long and the staff members have got far too used to taking it far too easy.
Sitting outside on the river terrace was heavenly, but when we came inside in order to eat we had trouble finding a table that looked even vaguely clean.
I went over to the two or three waiting staff who had been sitting on a pair of sofas chatting and polishing cutlery since they had arrived, and mentioned that we couldn�t find anywhere to sit that didn�t need a bit of a wipe. Without a word the waitress gesticulated over to the barman who sprayed some cleaning product onto a slightly grubby wet cloth from behind the bar and gave it to me.
Great (!)
Our food arrived quickly but as the pub was at about 15% capacity at most I hadn't expected to wait very long.
Our meals were fine � not that anybody there bothered to check.
Unfortunately, then our empty plates sat in front of us for about 45 minutes until the sullen waitress scooped them up on her way back from delivering someone else�s meal without a word, a smile, or even any eye contact.
I guess we�re not having desserts then!
I had a lovely time with my friend, but that was all down to the company and not anything to do with the service or environment here.
16 Sep 2008 14:10