Harp Inn, Little Neston

A few days ago, my friend and I went to the Harp - just for the novelty value. Bad move.

We were confronted with a row of handpumps,so, as I always do in this situation, I asked what had been selling, which brought the response "You mean today?

Resisting the temptation to say "No, last Friday...", we settled on the Tim Taylors Landlord. To say it was sub-standard would be to do a disservice to the English language.

There were about 12 other people in the pub, all drinking something different, and not ONE of them had a clear pint - like our Landlord. Given that some of the customers were drinking keg cider, and others lager, this takes real talent on behalf of the management - it's almost impossible to bugger keg beer or cider.

CAMRA think this place is wonderful, and keep giving it awards. My experience, in 20 years of casual visits, is that it's almost impossible to get a good pint. Avoid like the plague.

31 Oct 2006 17:45

Ring 'O' Bells, West Kirby

Today, my companion and I had lunch at the RoB - it was dire.

My companion had the Surf & Turf, which generated a debate as to how much should be charged (despite the specials board being about three feet from the till), but which was mostly OK when it arrived, and I had the "Beer-battered cod, chips & peas" which, mostly, wasn't.

The fish was OK, decently cooked, but the batter was a stranger to beer, and the thing had probably been frozen - though I can't be sure (if the batter was freshly made, the culprit should be fired without delay!). However,my peas, clearly frozen, had barely been shown to boiling water, and were inedible, and the chips, in both cases, were an absolute disgrace - they had all the charm of chip-shop leftovers - I was surprised that they weren't wrapped in newsaper. At �20 for 2, drinks extra - this is simply not acceptable, on any level.

When a member of the staff was reckless enough to ask "Everything all right?", we gave them chapter and verse as to why it WASN'T all right! All this got us was a baffled look.

Throughout the meal, we were assailed by a battery of dropped trays - not accidental, just too idel to put them down - and a cacophony of bangs and crashes from behind the bar.

As before, the beer was superb, and the house wine was fine - but when it comes to serving food, these people would disgrace a soup-kitchen.

31 Oct 2006 17:27

Ring 'O' Bells, West Kirby

I checked this pub out at lunchtime, to see if this non-smoking venue was suitable to take a date. The beer (Greene King IPA), was in excellent condition, the food expensive but, as there was no incentive to linger, I didn't dine. Why? Because the staff are appalling. If there's one thing I don't want in a pub, it's the staff holding shouted conversations with each other across the large bar, and even from room to room. It's quite unacceptable, and customers behaving like this would surely be shown the door. The staff should be too.

In the hope that this was an aberration, I haven't rated it and will try it again at a later date.

13 Oct 2006 13:56