BITE user comments - CaptainDrunk
Comments by CaptainDrunk
So imagine you're in a typical Weatherspoons - no atmosphere, horrible waiting room decor, lots of people sitting alone.... Now, put the prices up a bit, reduce the beer range and assume that nobody has attempted to clean the place or collect glasses for a few days - welcome to the Earl of Mercia.
It looks quite grand and posh from the outside, don't be fooled. The clientele is the usual Spoons advocates, I.e. people who can't afford to drink anywhere else and those who can but are too tight too.
The Captain can't defend this. This is not a pub. 4/10.
19 Apr 2015 23:03
This is a chain pub that has a primary focus on food. You can tell that it wasn't always this way and some of the locals are not best pleased with this development, but come in anyway due to the lack of alternatives.
The bar staff are always friendly, but there are never enough of them and waits for service are frequent even when the pub isn't busy. They are usually as common as muck with thick council estate accents, and thus are about the only thing left that lend the pub any character.
The decor is typical of food pubs - school canteen based with just enough of the original features left for you to understand the anger of the locals.
Beer is cheap, but dodgy. They usually have Green King IPA <gag, gip> or Bombardier.
Food is very cheap, but even dodgier, only buy if the chip shop next door is closed.
Overall a pretty dire place. 4/10.
19 Apr 2015 22:46
16 real ales on in this place, which is plenty by anyones standard. Place was very busy with a mix of all sorts - suited yuppies, hipsters, smelly tickers and even a substantial dose of normal people!
The Captain had a pint of Oakham Citra, it was struggling a bit but not enough to bother returning.
Previous comments about the rude bar staff are understandable, none of them looked as though they have smiled in a good while; perhaps they just need a bit of love? The pub practise of ordering pints by their pump number contributes I guess-it's very clinical and precise and may disuade them from forming normal, healthy relationships with punters.
The pub isn't memorable, but does have a roof terrace which could be amazing - the weather wasn't conducive to a visit this time however.
Not as good as the Post Office Vaults then: beer choice isn't everything. 8/10.
19 Apr 2015 22:34
Easily the best pub in Coventry, not that it has much competition. Landlady Angie is among the most desirable women ever to flutter eyelids and she alone makes the pub worth visiting.
But it's the ale and the atmosphere that make this place stand out. They always have 4-8 ales on plus a range of ciders. The beer quality is usually B rather thsn A but they have no regular beers and the line up changes constantly.
they do real ciders and lagers, not that they interest the Captain much.
The decor is wooden, cosy and assisted by the log fire.
The punters are pretty weird, whether or not this adds or detracts from the charm depends on if you are one of them. 10/10.
8 Jan 2015 22:58
The Albany looks quite POSH from the outside and is close to Earlsdon, so the Captain had a bit of a shock when he got inside.
The place is wonderfully dingy with all sorts of crusty ne'erdowells and drug addled failures drinking and working here. CD went on free jukebox night and the music was principally reggae which was pleasing. A hammered old bird was putting most of the music on to flirt with a black guy, this was lovely.
All beer was under £2, which would have been great if they'd had any real ale, instead the Captain was demoted to Banks smoothflow, which was in a bad but not bad-enough-to-send-back way.
The barmaid was unfortunate looking, with inventive but unappealing piercings all over her chubby face. Her Celtic top identified her as a fake irish person so CD quickly got away from the bar before she could talk to him.
5/10.
8 Jan 2015 22:49
The first thing you notice about this pub is the number of TVs. The Captain counted 15 in total, including little ones in snugs and huge big screens.
The second thing you notice is the student element. They were all very subdued and quiet , perhaps mourning being back from Christmas. The majority sat in silence nursing half pints of lager; ignoring their friends and fiddling with their phones.
The pub has some interesting touches, their is a free computer station to play games on plus air hockey and pool.
Only two beers on. Boring selection in Hobgoblin and Doom Bar; but the Doom Bar was in excellent form. I was surprised, especially considering the spotty mid-pubescent that was serving me.
Maybe the Captain should be less judgmental about students in future, then again..... 7/10.
8 Jan 2015 13:44
First of all, the Captain loves this pub and visits regularly; this is solely due to his love of council estate dives however - it's impossible to recommend this place. There is no real ale, they did briefly try a barrel of Doom Bar a year ago but the staff evidently had no idea of how to keep or serve it, so it was a failure they care not to repeat.
The decor is exhausted to the point that it reeks poverty. Landlord James has paid for some work to be done out of his own pocket but it has made little impact. Various parts of the furnishings and ceiling are missing, the walls show evidence of years of damp and the brewery look to be squeezing a last few years of profit out of the place before they bulldoze it and sell the land.
The clientele are chiefly benefits scroungers and pensioners, and the atmosphere is usually one of resigned failure punctuated only by inebriation and fights.
As I said before, I love the place but it's awful. 3/10. It's worth noting that this is an improvement on it's average 2.5 rating.
8 Jan 2015 13:34
Always has about 8 ales on. Three Ossetts, a Rat and then guests. Has recently decided to be a vape friendly pub which may be of interest to some people. They have plenty of gig and comedy nights, and other areas that open at the weekends. Beer is always very good, a few too many bearded trendies hang out here for me to gush too much about the place though. 9/10 Nonetheless.
6 Jan 2015 12:45
The Horse and Groom Inn, Heath
The first thing you'll probably noticed is that this place is quite upmarket. It's very nicely done out and the clientele are obviously worth a bob or too. I did my best not to look like the scruffiest and poorest bloke in the pub as I ordered; I shouldn't have worried. All of the bar staff were extremely polite and managed to make me feel welcome and not completely worthless. Two ales were on, I had Farmers Blonde at £2.80 which was cheaper than I thought it would be, and in very good nick. Overall I liked the place, but it's far too nice for the likes of me so it's doubtful I'd return. 7/10.
5 Jan 2015 18:47
Despite having 6 ales on, with their own Clarkes beers on at £1.98 a pint; it's not a pub many real ale drinkers get excited about. It's not hard to see why, the beer selection moves slowly from the boring to the unsurprising then back again, and all of the beers seem to have Henry Boons own signature flavour: mild disappointment. The barmaids all have tough love lives in here, and if you hang around the bar too long after receiving your change you'll soon get to hear all about it so the Sky TVs and newspapers have their uses. Landlady Barbara is great comedy, stand at a ssfe distance and eavesdrop while she mercilessly humiliates staff and punters alike. Her incessant bad moods ensure both have a healthy turnover. 7/10.
3 Jan 2015 16:53
The Fernandes Brewery Tap and Bier Keller, Wakefield
It's very hard to pick faults with the Fernandes. They always have 8 or so beers on that are excellently kept. The beer has no equal in Wakefield. Their own Fernandes beers are often the best of the bunch, and they have lots of that foreign bottled stuff that gets Lady Drunk excited enough to want to come here without me twisting her arm. The decor is heavily wooded and slightly dingy, which is approved of. There are lots of pub signs hanging around the place for reasons not yet established. It's the best in Wakefield. Come here. 10/10.
3 Jan 2015 16:27
Very average out of town food pub. No real ale so the Captain fell back onto Guinness. Very Orange in this place. Suspiciously Orange. 4/10.
3 Jan 2015 13:57
This has been a steady real ale pub for many years now. Very cosy inside, you'd be lucky to get 30 people in. Beer is usually good but can be variable, particularly their own Double Top beers. Pretty expensive especially when compated to the Grafton. Seems to attract a lot of strange characters this place, some may find that undesirable. 8/10.
3 Jan 2015 13:28
Large array of ales, many from their own microbrewery. The Captain had the Tigers ale which was a pretty average brown bitter. They gave me free after eights which was nice; and the prices were very cheap. 8/10.
3 Jan 2015 13:25
7 ales on my visit, 3 from Ossett. It was busy but the staff kept the waiting times down. Ale was good, so was the food although a bit pricey. Interior is dark and dingy with lots of wood; interesting if you like nooks to hide in. 9/10 from the Captain.
3 Jan 2015 13:17
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The Feathers Hotel, Ludlow
Shameful manipulation of scores by the owner. My 0/10 should redress the balance abit :)
29 Apr 2015 23:39