please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Had a pint of Director's, it was ok but pricey, did not revisit.
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Was closed for a while but recently reopened after a major refurb and appears to have gone a bit up-market. Ales on were both from Fullers, Pride and ESB.
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Had sunday lunch in here yesterday after hearing that they had a new chef and the food was now fresh..well, I have to say. This was the most fantastic sunday lunch I have had in recent years. I had a Homemade Chicken Liver pate to start and it was beautiful. (Coarse and packed full of flavour). Afterwards I had Topside of Roast Beef and it was to die for. Nice and tender, Homemade Gravy and proper Yorkshire Puddings. If I hadn't been so full then I certainly would have had one of the chefs fresh desserts, Unfortunately I couldn't force another mouthful.
The service was also excellent despite the staff being so busy, If yesterday is a sign of the food and trade to come then The Kings Arms Hotel should be put on the culinary map and prehaps a larger team will definitely be required!
Good luck to you all!
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Not impressed at all. The publican a needs lesson on how to pour a pint!
When I asked a question he just groaned and walked off. The only ale was off and the cliental looked like something out of a horror film.
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Made my first and last visit on a friday lunchtime. This place was actually recomended to me by another publican in the town for having good food. I tried their"ultimate" burger which ultimatly turned out to be the worst burger i hav e ever had the misfortune to try. Cheap and nasty, i left virtualy all of the food.
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I was a barman here in 1971 after leaving school! If you think the beer is below par now, in those day it was the dreaded Watneys Red Barrel!! The following year I was a waiter in the restaurant. I once managed to drop some potatoes into the lap of a racing driver, who was staying at the hotel, whilst racing at Silverstone.
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The staff in there don't seem to care less whether you are buying anything. The refurb makes it look better although the gents is still pretty vile. Haven't tried the food in there since the refurb. Barmaid didn't listen to my request and screwed the order up even though she was not talking to anyone. Warm glass made the beer taste nasty. Generally a poorly run place. Dropping my rating on this since the refurb.
snert - 28 Aug 2008 09:20 |
I went to the kings arms under protest, it had been known as a bit a dump for a long time. It had recently been renovated and was pleasantly clean, the welcome was good and the menu is varied and good value. I can recomend this pub, downside is the gents could be better, but that said they werent awful.
This is a good place for lunch I would say, if you wanted a more formal meal then the Littlebury hotel is more up your street.
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Visited on a Thursday early evening. Only customers appeared to be guests. Very quiet.Indifferent barmaid serving so so beer .We moved on before we fell asleep.
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Seems its about to have another change of management.
Was served up beer in a warm glass, probably straight out of the dishwasher.
They then "forgot" my food order
anonymous - 5 Jun 2007 08:22 |
Another ex-local. One I don't miss, particularly, as in it's nothing amazingly special. However, it serves its purpose - if you want some reasonable food that is a step up from the other chain pubs on the main street, then the Kings Arms is a good bet. New Year's Eve party is generally a good laugh. Overall, a bit hit-and-miss. The locals that have stuck with this pub are a good, friendly bunch. I hope that the Kings gets mamangement/staff that stay for longer than 9months at a time to give stability and continuity it desperately needs.
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Poor generic beers and laminated menus. Not for me.
anonymous - 19 Oct 2006 18:33 |
Donkeys years ago this used to be a really up market place. It's gone downhill over the years although I did pop in there the other day. The range of beers seems okay and the one pint I had was served in a clean glass with good friendly service. The lavatory was also clean (a first for Bicester pubs!) This though was in the afternoon which in Bicester can differ greatly from what town centre pubs are like on a weekend at 10PM or later. From what I saw however 7/10 seems a reasonable rating.
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Too smokey on busy nights. Can get rowdy sometimes but generally alright. It's the sort of place where the Friday/Saturday night pub crawl starts. The bloodstains on the front door that were there for about 2 months shouldn't put you off too much. Not a great place, but the beer is generally good and quite cheap. Seating is not usually a problem as there aren't that many people in there most night. Food is so-so. Occasionally it is very good but for the most it is mediocre but reasonably priced. Staff are a bit hit andn miss whether they are in a good mood.
snert - 26 Sep 2006 15:13 |
This pub has been going downhill for some years. It seems to lack a sense of identity. Hence the frequent changes to the layout. They have experimented with focusing on food, on attracting the youth element with pool tables (now disappeared) and karaoke nights a few years ago. Now they seem to have settled for comfy chairs, and a quiet (i.e non existent) atmosphere.
A shame as a decade or more ago it was a vibrant part of the Friday night circuit - those old enough will remember when there was a bar on the left hand side. Those were the days. Now it is almost becoming a forgotten pub.
It needs livening up that's for certain. Go in on a Friday night now and you could be forgiven for thinking that's it's a wet Tuedsay night in January for all the custom that's in there. Still looking on the bright side, you shouldn't have any difficulty finding a seat, in fact you can probably have an entire sofa to yourself.
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