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BITE user comments - leejobmod

Comments by leejobmod

The Haven Arms, Ealing

Where to begin - this is a lovely little pub north of Ealing Broadway with friendly bar staff and a beautiful beer garden. It would be fair to say that the prices of the drinks could come down a tad but the food on offer in the pub is delicious.

Undoubtedly one of the main things that put this pub ahead of others within the Ealing area and the UK for that matter is the fact that it still has a pool table and darts board. For people that do not have a memory which stretches back before 2000, these two fantastic pastimes brought friends and enemies together in a forum of conversation and activity that made British pubs the unique enterprises they were. However, since 2000 all too many pubs have followed a path into their anal passage then north to a place of fancy named yet mediocre food, extortionate drink prices, and a serious lack of pub entertainment. Their reason? Well apparently these highly enjoyable pursuits, particularly pool has been accused of causing too much trouble in pubs. I guess I know what they mean since the other day a guy lost on the pool table and I clearly heard him say 'damn' - shame on him.

All in all a lovely place to go for a beer - rating 7.5

25 Jun 2010 21:32

Flynn's, West Ealing

Where to begin - did not know about this pub before the refurb but as it stands now we have what is one of the best pubs in the Ealing area. This pub, without doubt, has the best smoking area in the world, wood decor in an oriental style - beautiful (disagree? - then you should have gone to specsavers). The bar staff are friendly partcularly the cute girl with glasses and the beer is not overpriced. Yes this definitely is an Irish pub, but one you feel welcome to enter into - my only task now is to try the food one day, but I suspect it will follow the high standards of the rest of the pub.

Overall 8.7/10

12 May 2009 12:02

The North Star, Ealing

Where to begin - first the good points - this pub has a lovely atmosphere and always seems to be fairly busy, no real complaints about the beer, and the covered smoking area/beer garden is fantastic.

The bad points are as follows - firstly the price of the drinks is far too expensive for what is effectively a town centre old fashioned pub. Secondly, and most importantly, the bar staff are so slow that I was expecting to see a special bus parked next to the pub - seriously they do not seem to be able to compute what a lot of people standing at the bar represents and when they finally do get around to serving you you are greeted by nothing more than a look of disdain and pure hatred. Come on Mr. Manager, this pub can be even more popular if you just input some motivation and effort into your bar staff.

Overall 5.8/10

12 May 2009 11:43

The Common Room, Ealing Common

Where to begin - the drinks in this pub are so expensive you would think the Queen was renting a room above it. This is a classic example of a pub so far up it's own backside that it sticks out like a sore thumb in the Ealing area. If I want posh i will get on my unicycle and pedal down to Chelsea not go to an overpriced pretentious lacklustre establishment on the way to Acton!

The beers, despite their enormous cost were very nice and the bar staff are friendly enough. The food, although overpriced again, was also very nice.

Overall 5.0/10

1 May 2009 11:44

Sir Michael Balcon, Ealing

Where to begin - Being a JDW the drinks are cheap but then again so is my mother in law and i wouldn't want to spend an evening in her company. So what is wrong with this pub?

Firstly, the bar staff are so rude that at first i thought i had walked into the pub with 'f**k you' written across my forehead. Once when i was with a couple of friends and indulging in a spot of light gambling on the quiz machine i was refused a drink on the grounds that it was late and they were no longer serving new customers (we had been there an hour and a half and the quiz machine is right in front of the bar).

As for the decor - nothing special but it would be nice if they lowered the lighting level from that produced by the Sun.

On the few occasions i have been there, there has been no trouble, so all in all not a bad place for a cheap beer - just not a very warmly place to spend an evening

Overall 4.0/10

1 May 2009 11:30

Barracuda, Ealing

Where to begin - this has to be the in the top five crappest clubs in the world - yes the world. I have never been stopped once trying to enter this place - that is already a bad sign. When you enter you see why - there is nobody there and the bouncer has a duel function - manning the door, and trying to entice passers by to enter (Amsterdam style).

Once inside you are greeted by tacky eighties decor (and that is after a refurb) and drinks that are so overpriced four people (the only other people in there) went bankrupt while i was in there. But it gets worse. The management have decided to create a V.I.P. area. This has to be seen to be believed since it amounts to a table, four chairs and some curtains covering the area - i bet they cannot wait for the Queen to visit.

Overall 0.3/10

30 Apr 2009 20:32

The Drayton Court, West Ealing

Where to begin - undoubtedly the best beer garden in the world (disagree - then send your alternatives to my tray marked 'couldn't give a damn')

The comedy is hit and miss (mostly miss) but at least this is one of the few pub's that is catering for this kind of entertainment. Also there is a disco afterwards which i cannot complain about (pulled a lovely redhead). Watch out for mad pizza girl!

My only real gripe about this pub is the price of the drinks which put the West End to shame.

Overall 7.1/10

30 Apr 2009 20:14

Greystoke, Ealing

Where to begin - this pub could has so much potential yet it is ruined by poor management, a lack of creative ideas, and a penchant for showing no respect for regular punters.

The current manager spends 99% of his time upstairs often leaving one bar person to do all the work on a busy night. It would be 100% but he does come down near last orders to salivate over the days takings. The punters are then treated to what can be only described as a tw*t on a motorised hairdryer (his moped) which he drives twenty feet into the pub before he locks the doors.

His attitude towards the punters is quite amicable but i remember on several occasions regular punters have gone outside for a fag etc and came back after ten minutes to find their drinks had been taken. Fine but there were not offered new drinks - bad management policy in my book.

The bar staff seem very friendly if a little overworked not helped by the disappearance of Tom (the people's choice) who should have been manager - all the best mate if you are reading this.

As for entertainment there is a quiz night every Thursday - with the most boring quiz master ever - haven't entered myself but seems good natured, and sometimes there are live acts - normally a singer with backing track (rock on). The Greystoke generally has a friendly atmosphere and the beer is very cheap but it could be so much better

All in all 4.1/10

30 Apr 2009 20:05

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