BITE user comments - sandwoman
Comments by sandwoman
Popped in one Sunday afternoon while on a walk around the "Abingers" - and was confronted with the worst service I've ever encountered. The barmaid literally dragged her heels from the kitchen to the bar to serve us. Then bit my friend's head off for having the audacity to try to order four drinks in one go because she "wouldn't remember them all" - erm .. perhaps a career change then? Add to that the extortionate price of the soft drinks and it's one pub I won't be returning to again in a hurry. Unwelcoming and expensive, and needs staff that understand the concept of customer service. A shame because it's a beautiful location and a pretty pub.
26 Jul 2009 21:55
Hopefully this place wil soon become a Chinese restaurant. Thank heaven for that, I may actually want to go there if that is the case!
8 Jul 2009 21:56
The Hare and Hounds, Guildford
This is now Cafe Gurkha @ The Hare and Hounds and the food is damn fine. There is still a small pub section, with pool table, and a huge beer garden. Basic beers on tap but a selection of bottled beer, including Cobra. Service is very friendly and efficient. Finally a pub in my neighbourhood that I want to frequent.
8 Jul 2009 21:53
In agreement with Graham2 - very strange place. Visited earlier this week while on boating holiday. The bar area itself was OK - bog standard pub furnishings, worn furniture, etc.
The real turn-off was my trip to the loo - open the door to the pool room and you're nearly knocked off your feet by the smell of wee. Traverse the corridor to the ladies, passing by a door held ajar by a bucket nearly full from the leak in the ceiling it has been placed there to contain. Continue to hold breath while availing oneself of the facilities which don't look like they've been updated since WW2.
Maybe I just picked an off day to visit but I suspect not, given the length of time that bucket must have been there. After that experience, there was absolutely no way I was going to eat there, so back to the boat for camping food. Could be a great place to stop off if a little bit of investment was made in bringing the place up to hygienic standards.
12 Jun 2009 18:06
Sadly, nobody seems to have taken the lease on this place and done something with it yet. Even more sadly, this is my local - though I have no intention of ever setting foot in it. The famous description "a wretched hive of scum and villainy" flatters this place and from what I've seen of the clientele, I wouldn't want to get any closer than I do now, as I drive past in my car. Avoid like the plague.
20 Jul 2008 20:28
Probably one of my favourite Cowley Road pubs, as no matter how much it's changed, it still feels the same. It's got a decent-sized outside area and there's plenty of space inside too. A couple of different seating areas with a mix of ambience - modern and traditional.
20 Jul 2008 20:23
Back in the day, this place used to be The New Inn and it was a great place to go, with real character. It was a favourite hangout with local music legends like Radiohead and Supergrass and because of this, it always felt special, even if there weren't any celebrity appearances.
Now it's another washed-out, bland refurb with no character. I haven't been in here for a few years - it was actually quite presentable when it first opened but these days it looks run down and could do with a good clean.
Anyway, I went in early on a Saturday evening with a female friend. It was quiet, mostly populated by a row of tough-looking middle-aged men standing at the bar with arms crossed, watching the football, and a few people out on the narrow outside terrace. I was slightly unnerved by one extremely drunk bloke coming up to the bar next to me, muttering in a low tone what sounded like some expletive ridden abuse about the colour of my purse. All in all, there's a real mismatch between the venue and its clientele. We left soon after my encounter with the purse-hater, and I won't be back again.
20 Jul 2008 20:15
The White Horse, Richmond
This place was pleasant enough but far too hot once it was full on a sunny afternoon. Full, I might add, of a thirtysomething crowd with babies and toddlers in tow. This place is definitely family-friendly, and needs a pram park outside the front door. Bar service good, food service a bit haphazard.
7 Mar 2010 08:35