BITE user comments - mikestokesambii
Comments by mikestokesambii
The Hoop and Grapes, City Of London
And another alias , yawn...
most tiresome
anyone familiar with the establishment or who genuinely worked in the area would know that
1. most office developments in the area currently lie
vacant , at expense to the landlords and are therefore not profitable at this time
2. this pub is currently busier than it has been in many years
3. as a listed building it could not be converted into offices regardless
13 Dec 2009 19:55
The Hoop and Grapes, City Of London
Ok everybody
this is how it is
i posted an honest and objective review of my experience at Ye Old Mitre, both the good and the bad as i saw it.
In hindsight maybe i should not have criticised someone who could probably be quite happily retired rather than working a busy pub , which is to be admired.
maybe if someone had politely requested i rephrased my posting i would have attempted to do so .
I for one though do not believe in kow towing to someone turning up on my doorstep and threatening me , acting like some sort of BITE secret police.
As a result we now have one person using many aliases psoting all sorts of nonsense and dragging the reputation of both this site and his favourite pub , Ye Old Mitre , into the gutter.
12 Dec 2009 18:35
Ok everybody
this is how it is
i posted an honest and objective review of my experience at Ye Old Mitre, both the good and the bad as i saw it.
In hindsight maybe i should not have criticised someone who could probably be quite happily retired rather than working a busy pub , which is to be admired.
maybe if someone had politely requested i rephrased my posting i would have attempted to do so .
I for one though do not believe in kow towing to someone turning up on my doorstep and threatening me , acting like some sort of BITE secret police.
As a result we now have one person using many aliases psoting all sorts of nonsense and dragging the reputation of both this site and his favourite pub , Ye Old Mitre , into the gutter.
12 Dec 2009 18:34
The Hoop and Grapes, City Of London
Anyone wanting to know aht is really going on here have a look at teh page for Ye Old Mitre , Holborn , and read the posting of Jay28.
Its one of the few postings not from the same guy using different aliases and aside from being comment from a neutral observer , is quite amusing .
12 Dec 2009 18:20
The Hoop and Grapes, City Of London
Yet more aliases of " oldbaileyhack " / "Watchacock" as expected posrting their fictional experiences.
12 Dec 2009 17:45
The Punch Tavern, Fleet Street
The place has a somewhat chaotic feel to it , and always seems busy with local office workers.
Found the beer to be of good quality and the Burgers to be exceptional .
Service was freindly and efficient from the staff who took table orders despite being busy.
The deor is certainly worth a look , though i feel a bit of money spent on restoring some features and livening the place up would not go amiss.
5 Dec 2009 22:15
A well presented and maintained pub with very good service.
Staff were quick , efficient and friendly.
Beer was very good , the food was expensive but very tasty and generous portions.
They also do a good pub quiz on monday nights , though i believe it is only monthly.
One small gripe is that the music is often too,lpoud and not really matched to the overall mood of the pub.
5 Dec 2009 21:38
The Hoop and Grapes, City Of London
This pub was never demolished , in fact it was listed and protected and the internal staircase goes back to the early 1700`s.
The rest of " WATCHACOCK"�s comments are equally inaccurate as anyone reading the other reviews here or visiting the establishment for themselves will soon conclude .
Obviuosly this person has their own agenda above posting honest views and is presumably the same person who came in the Hoop on friday night to threaten the landlord , before complaining about the beer and when a refund was offered necking his pint as quickly as possible while the money was counted out.
Pathetic...............................
5 Dec 2009 21:26
harryhotspur - i fully take your point on board , the barman " John " despite appearing very hard of hearing when serving me certainly seemed to have a fine rapport going with his other patrons. , im sure many people go to the mitre to enjoy his company as wellas the ales on offer.
maybe he did burn my toastie on prurpose after taking an instant dislike to me !
just a shame that someone elses way of " taking me to task " over my opinion is to come visit me and make threats - this does not reflect well on the Mitre and im sure is not the kind of behaviour an elderly gentleman such as John would expect or appreciate on his behalf.
Should also add that the christmas decorations are the best i have seen in a pub in a very long time ( including my own efforts over the last nearly 20 years ).
4 Dec 2009 21:52
This is a cosy ultra traditional pub.
Service was slow and and difficult , the aged barman being deaf as a post and having to repeat everything.
Ales undoubtedly fine , though the range is less than when it was a free house.
Soft drinks very overpriced .
Go somrewhere else if you want to eat - all they do is toasties and they are absolutely terrible consisiting of burnt bread and cold uncooked filling of horrible processed cheese. Surely a toastie is not difficult to get right ?
at least the quality is consistently atrocious though.
30 Nov 2009 17:22
Coach and Horses, Fleet Street
dreadful. dreadful, dreadful pub.
scruffy staff and landlord, flat beer and untidy place that clearly needs someone to come in and take some pride in their work again.
toilets were filthy and neither the hand dryer or the lighting in the cubicle worked and haven`t for some time, proudly on display there is a sign stating " play pool here "- what , in the toilets?
depite this i have for some time recommended it as somewhere to watch football on sky as so few pubs in the area have this facility, however after my own recent experience i certainly won`t be sending anyone their again , and will be going to the city pride in future myself.
this is due to the landlord deciding five minutes into the second half of the man.utd v. arsenal champions league match that some of his patrons were not drinking enough of his beer quickly enough ,and truning the match offuntil everyone bought more .
this not only annoyed the slower drinkers but everyone else as well , upsetting the entire clientele of the establishment in one fell swoop
i have not seen such an obnoxious attitude and total contempt for the customersince Gerald Ratner declared his own shops sold crap jewellery, this pub/landlord surely has no place in the modern world and cannot survive economic reality much longer.
only the presence of two pool tables and some drinkable lager justify the zero rating.
30 Apr 2009 01:46
went here on sunday 21st december and never going back.
getting ripped off to the tune of 3.70 for a bottle of becks is bad enough but when the staff take it on themselves to keep your change as well the only word that can accurately be used is THEFT.
service was quick but cold, no atmosphere in the place at all, staff seem to see customers as an onconvenience to their main occupation of standing round chewing guma nd doing nothing.
full of idiots, and when i eventually completed the needlessly circuitous walk round to a vacant table i was duly moved on shortly after sitting down as it was " reserved " despite there being no signage to that effect.
have been here before and foound it passable and one of the few bars in the area where you can watch sport. since my last visit the few friendly and competent staff seem to have fallen victim to the huge turnover. quite frankly i cant blame them for leaving.
21 Dec 2008 19:33
The Hoop and Grapes, City Of London
having read the previous reviewers comments i would like to make all bite readers aware that since taking over the hoop in november last year it is now open until at least 11.00pm without fail, sometimes later having a 1.30 am licence, and i`ve yet to have to ask anyone to "drink up ".
in light of the otehr comments i feel it would be inappropriate to keep the �15 tip so generously left by the reviewers colleagues for the quality of food aqnd service received and it has therefore been donated to the hoop and grapes nominated charity, currently help for heroes.
many thanks
your landlord
mike stokes ambii
21 Apr 2008 04:21
The Hoop and Grapes, City Of London
the hoop and grapes is now the first- and only- shepherd neame pub in the country with cask marque accreditation.
this means that the beer is independently inspected for quality by experienced brewing professionals.
it also means you are welcome to "try before you buy " to ensure that you purchase a pint that suits your taste.
cheers from your landlord
mike
31 Mar 2008 02:40
Back to mikestokesambii's profile
The City Retreat, Holborn
visited recently with the darts team i play for.
new management has smartened and brightened the place up a bit ,which it needed.
They have also gone big on malt whisky , with a massive range.
It`s a Youngs pub so had Best ( very reasonable for the area at �3 a pint ) and Winter Warmer , with the third pump not in use.
was repeatedly served my 1664 in a heineken glass which is a bugbear of mine - an unbranded glass as opose to a glass of a different brand if the correct one is not available is much better.
felt the staff /management did not make much effort to interact with the customers , which was a shame.
overall , like the changes and hope it works out .
15 Dec 2009 01:20