BITE user comments - normality2000
Comments by normality2000
Nice, olde worlde coaching inn styled traditional pub. Always busy. At least three Real Ales on tap and pub food available.
21 Nov 2022 22:21
The Corn Exchange, Crickhowell
The Corn Exchange was purchased from Punch Inns by the local community. Now you'll find a butchers, eco shop, and a new micropub called Treebeards that offers a fine selection of ales drawn from the barrel and an excellent selection of craft beer in cans or bottles.
21 Nov 2022 22:18
Firehouse Bar and Grill, St Ives
Definitely a bar with food rather than a pub. Food is very well presented with some unusual choices. Beer is limited. Can get a good view of Harbour if you sit in the window upstairs!
14 Sep 2016 14:07
Family pub with emphasis on food and catering for larger groups, Can get very busy at peak times during the year. Food is nothing special. Beer selection is reasonable.
14 Sep 2016 14:05
A little bit formal but serves the best Liver and Bacon I have had for a while. Beer selection is limited.
14 Sep 2016 14:04
Friendly bar staff. Always changing selection of beers and ciders, a couple straight from the barrel. Always head to The Castle whenever I am in town.
14 Sep 2016 14:02
This pub has recently had a major makeover for the better. Dark woods; comfortable sofas; real ale straight from their brewery and sometimes tapped from the wood. Worth checking out.
7 Oct 2014 14:05
recently reopened and very impressive selection of real ales on hand pumps many you will not have seen before and constantly changing. Large garden to rear. Didn't try the food but I expect I will on future visits. Decor is slightly corporate in that it hasn't the 'local pub' feel (yet?). All seeking real ale in Twickenham must seek this one out.
5 Aug 2011 15:48
The Hinds Head, Bray-on-Thames
Beer on range wasn't that extensive as I had been led to believe on their website, but they did change throughout the Saturday night I was there so that there was five local real ales on offer. The pub itself is more of a gastro-styled pub (a reflection of the local population) with little room for sitting and drinking and more room given over for eating. There also seemed to be a large number of staff who seemed to double check what everyone else was up to. Food has the Heston touches (such as the Meat Fruit and Chocolate Wine Slush) and is worth trying.
1 Jun 2011 16:29
A new beginning with new interior and splendid colour scheme, I ate there with two friends. Beer is Green King Lite but with Blue Moon on tap. Food was average and cock'd up by the bar staff. What was intollerable was being accused of not paying for our average meal on the way out of the pub - despite paying the meal by credit card and to an off duty bar man - by being shouted at across the bar! I would recommend the Queen's on Kingsgate Street as better value and friendlier bar staff.
13 Jan 2011 22:56
18 months ago I had a mediocre meal here whilst the pub management went through the Gales/Fullers transition. Decided to give it another ago and booked for a Saturday night - and gave up after a forty minute wait. To be fair, I did received an apology from the manager, but damage was done and walked home for a good round of cheese on toast.
Beer still well kept and there was the noticable addition of Cheritons' Flower Pots.
18 Sep 2010 22:14
Beer range great; Pub Food okay; Bar Staff were none existent and took their time to appear; it also seems that there is a turn-over of Bar Staff indicating that something is going wrong with the Bell that should be looked at before we start to go elsewhere.
17 Aug 2010 12:32
The recent refurbishment and new landlord has vastly improved the Queen in terms of food quality and friendly service. Alas the improvements that were planned to make the bar area larger have proved not to be cost effective, but the clever use of space has meant that this pub can now accomodate larger groups and families out for a spot of lunch. Large rear garden is still a bonus especially on those lazy summer days. Beer range could be better - ale price about �3.20p a pint.
17 Aug 2010 12:27
This pub gets better and better. Stayed at the campsite opposite and ate early - but I would advise you book in the peak seasons. Range of beers was plentiful to get me through the night, many of which were local. Hurrah for the landlord who has turned this pub around and must now be making oodles of repeat business. Pub is also Dog and Child friendly.
4 Aug 2010 20:17
The Driftwood Spars Hotel, St Agnes
Plenty of Ale choice when I went (Thursday July 2010) and a cracking ceilidh band strumming away in the corner. Pub also lets in Dogs and seems to be part of the St Agnes community despite the steep hill into the main town. Food was very good in the bar. However, staying in the hotel part let it down - bedroom okay and terrible overcooked rubbery breakfast (how can a poached egg taste of rubber?).
4 Aug 2010 20:15
Found this pub whilst trawling on the interweb prior to a Festival trip to Edinburgh and must recommend it for a leisurely afternoon of sampling real ales and tucking into some honest pub grub. The decor is clean and tidy, as are the toilets. The range of ten or so real ales are well kept and change regularly. The bar staff on this day were friendly and helpful. great.
28 Aug 2009 16:39
Now Closed - Did the landlord do a runner?
Would make a fascinating large pub with microbrewery (it has plenty of land!) so long as a new intern can boot out the "stanmore posse" that use to congregate there and fight amongst themselves...
5 Jul 2009 19:13
The Queen Inn has now been taken over by the same people who run the Bell Inn (St Cross, Winchester) and the Fulflood Arms (Winchester). They have booted out the old kitchen staff and old landlord and redecorated the pub to the creams and woods enjoyed by the other pubs.
This pub has a fantastic pub garden and - unlike other outdoor areas today - doesn't suffer from crowds of smokers huddled in one corner. You can enjoy a summers evening pint in the garden without the heady smell of burning tobacco leaves.
The beer is the usual mix of Greene King brands with Sun Dance taking the guest slot on the day I visited.
The food menu seems okay, but uninspiring at the moment - steak and chips etc. I can only guess that the new chef is on a learning curve to get the food choice up to the standard that is offered in the other two pubs.
Overall, this pub looks more promising than it did under the old landlord!
5 Jul 2009 19:10
This pub has recently undergone a revamp. Although at time of posting this review it is still closed, it has a new name of 'William Walker' - most likely named after the 'diver' that saved Winchester Cathedral. Lets see what is in store...
17 Apr 2009 14:03
This out-of-the-way country pub lies just outside Redruth and sits quite stoic in its location, but enter within and you'll not only be charmed off you feet by the convivial bar staff (it was the only place in Cornwall that we heard "My 'ansome" and "My Lover" as part of regular conversation - well done to the barmaid) but gasp at the staggering array of Real Ales that are on offer (walk around the whole bar to spot every hand pump that's available) and even flop back into a comfy seat and enjoy the banter with the locals as you tuck into a generous serving of pub grub (shortcrust pastry pie!). Well worth seeking out, but make sure you have a designated driver! Appears to welcome walkers, cyclists and even dogs.
22 Oct 2008 13:16
Sloop suffers from having limited seating space on the inside (does get crowded on Friday and Saturday nights) and having a narrow entrance so you have to walk through smokers' fug to get inside. Probably better to sit in the front bar in the Winter! Real Ales well kept.
28 Sep 2008 16:53
Large sea-fronted pub. Real Ale kept in good condition. Only pub I found with Sharps' HSD on tap. TV is an intrusion. Live Music on some nights. Menu seems to be standard pub fayre - didn't eat at this venue.
28 Sep 2008 16:51
Went in on the recommendation found in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide. The beer was well maintained and in good condition (Sharps & Skinners brands). Only let down were the drunk NEETS that seem to inhabit the rear bar. Be warned.
28 Sep 2008 16:47
Improved drastically since the new landlord took over in July. Food is hearty and good value. New range of hand pulled beers which seem to change regularly (three were on at time of visit - Green King IPA, Everards Tiger, and Everards Sunchaser). Look out for the old Cricket Scoring Pavillion in the Garden - it even has the scoring mechanism intact!
31 Aug 2008 17:23
Braishfield has three pubs and this is probably the one that doesn't need to make the usual 40% profit on food for the owners to continue to exist. Sure, the interior is reminiscent of a down-at-heel club with its tatty chairs and rickety tables; of course, the garden has furniture in it that has seen better days (white plastic tables with lichen? I remember trying to get the same effect by using sour milk!); well, the owners are no spring chickens... BUT this place has the charm to attract the old boys out for a quick pint of Gales/Fullers HSB and a game of cards who look as if they've been doing the same for eons. I went on a Friday lunchtime, had the dirt cheap ploughmans (what else is there?) washed down with a couple of HSB's and sat in the garden watching the robins, blackbirds, coal-tits et cetera whilst listening to tantilising tales coming from Old Braishfield-ites. Very nostalgic and good value.
25 Jul 2008 14:26
Terrible shit hole of a pub with surly and probably drunk landlord. Tried to charge me nearly two quid for soda water (which, for the uninitiated, is tap water with CO2 running through it) and had a go at me claiming 'he had to live' when I challenged his prices (I was in a large group who all ordered alcoholic drinks). No real ales. Avoid.
1 Nov 2007 19:51
Popular local. Food quantity and quality on the decline. Reduced real ales on offer.
This use to be a favourite village inn of mine when I moved to Winchester a while ago. It use to carry at least five hand pumped Real Ales, some of which were locally brewed, and use to serve a hearty feast of well cooked and presented pub food from a huge menu that hung at the end of the bar.
But a recent visit showed that something has changed. It's not the beer that has changed - apart from a reduction in the number of real ales on offer, the beer quality still remains excellent. Nor is it the overall ambiance - the staff and locals are still friendly and welcoming. What has changed significantly is the quality and quantity of the food. True, the large menu board remains, but there simply isn't the 'wow' factor when you get your trad. pub grub. For example, you use to order a steak and get a jug of sauce; a separate side salad etc. etc. Small things that don't cost alot, but add the necessary sparkle to a meal ;-)
Overall, a disappointment but I hope that it is not a sign of things to come.
21 Feb 2007 10:18
Low quality air; some real ales; very much a locals pub for locals in the heart of Winchester (and fear ye who enter who isn't a local!); food is above average; on a par with the Rising Sun further out of Town.
14 Nov 2006 12:53
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The Britannia Inn, Crickhowell
Comprises of cosy areas to sit and still enjoy Wye Valley beers. Large beer garden to the rear and sizable room for bands and live music to be performed. Excellent Sunday Lunches served most of Sunday!
21 Nov 2022 22:24