The Fire Station, Waterloo

I went here recently after a gap of a few years and was very disappointed. The food's definitely gone downhill while the price has gone up. The beer was OK - and they do have Paulaner - which is a plus, but again it was expensive. Planner_21 might like to know that the "pong monkey" has disappeared. I think they have also removed some tables - it was always crowded, but I always got a seat; not on this visit though.

15 Nov 2007 13:08

The Only Running Footman, Mayfair

So now it's October, and the Running Footman has just re-opened, some couple of months late. What a change! This pub is now really a restaurant with a gastropub attached. On the ground floor is the bar, now packed with tables bedecked with white linen, with a few bar stools lining the perimeter. 3 decent bitters including Youngs & Bombardier at a very good value �2.75 a pint. Good range of lagers, but seemingly expensive starting at �3 a pint. The price of bar food has stabilised since my last visit at �12 for fish & chips. Waitress table service has been introduced. On the 1st floor is a more expensive restaurant, 2nd floor a private dining room, and in the basement - believe it or not - a cookery school! Stripped of all soft furnishings the bar is extremely noisy; but overall not too bad, and certainly not as bad as I had expected.

2 Oct 2007 11:12

The Punch Bowl, Mayfair

Good beer (speckled hen, bombardier, etc.), good food (at lunchtimes only); and if you go often enough the barmaids are already pouring your favourite before you've ordered. All good stuff, however... there is a bald headed Polish gentleman - and I'm pretty sure he's not the landlord, but probably the chef - who keeps telling me to move whenever I sit down! It's now becoming a bit of a joke - and one that's wearing a tad thin; why can't I sit where I want to in this pub? Am I not a paying customer? If he does it again I shall tell him to get lost and I will take my custom elsewhere. I think he needs to brush up on his customer relation skills.

28 May 2007 10:48

The Only Running Footman, Mayfair

The Running Footman - affectionately known as the "Running Sore" in my office around the corner - is currently shut. It was always a bit grimy - I should know, I've been popping in for the last 10 odd years - but at least it served a decent pint and it was near work. After changing hands in December 2006, it had a quick spruce up with a lick of white paint, pulled out the juke box, and laid white linen tablecloths on the tables. The menu started to charge �14 for fish & chips. It's now completely shut, and a sign says that it's undergoing a mjor refurb and won't reopen until July 07. I walked past last week to see workmen chucking lumps of concrete out of the windows into a skip. Goodness only knows what will happen next. Fish & chips at �30?

28 May 2007 10:37