BITE user comments - Iceman73
Comments by Iceman73
The White Horse, Hampstead Heath
Alas the last pub (PUB) in South End Green is dead. A buzzing, spacious place now feels like a small claustrophobic living room. Duck egg blue colour scheme, awful wallpaper, copper bar, leather banquettes, mean sized small tables, frosted windows obscuring the world outside, no TVs and on a Friday night and empty apart from a couple with a whingeing toddler in the corner. No old pics of Hampstead, no character, no soul, I might as well drink in my personal mental image of Hell. Awful just awful. I am shell shocked. This refurbishment is a criminal act. Crying shame.
8 Jun 2012 22:21
This is the sh!ttest pub in Chalk Farm. The staff don't understand that the people they serve pay their wages. The lesbian mafia who run this place are a disgrace and if you spend your money in here, I question your sanity. Avoid like the plague!
16 Jul 2011 19:47
The Duke of Hamilton, Hampstead
As mentioned previously, the only proper pub left in Hampstead village. I was in there on a midweek afternoon on 23 June and was served by a beautiful French girl who was lovely and knew all about the beer. Obviously I love her, but I digress...support this pub otherwise it will be converted to flats or worse, it could end up on its knees like the Polar Bear down the road and that would be tragic.
16 Jul 2011 19:44
The White Horse, Hampstead Heath
@Maverick1974 - to be fair mate, you haven't lived in NW3 since Easter 2008, so I'm not sure how you can make such a wild claim that it isn't the best pub in South End Green! The pubs up the hill have lost the plot old chap and it's the White Horse that is the leading light now followed by the Garden Gate. You live in Wiltshire now Maverick, so post some reviews about Chippenham boozers...
17 Dec 2010 21:54
The White Horse, Hampstead Heath
What can I say? This is my local and while there is a lot of choice, the Hoss is head and shoulders above any other pub in NW3. It has been mentioned by other reviewers, but it is the staff that make this pub such a great place to drink.
Great drinks selection, good food and sport on TV.
Top drawer.
7 Feb 2010 16:58
This is the best pub in Bloomsbury. The comment in June by rpadam about the barmaid relates to an Australian kid and her boyfriend who are no longer there. The current staff are friendly, knowledgable about the beer and food and always remember what you like to order, whether that be food or drink. This is impressive anywhere nowadays, but almost unheard of in central London. I visit every Friday lunch and other lunchtimes when necessary. This is how pubs should be, cosy, local and with great staff and the food is very good and great value.
7 Oct 2009 14:49
The Freemasons Arms, Hampstead
If you love standing around waiting to be served and enjoy terrible service with attitude, this is the place for you.
I went to the Freemasons last night (Thu) for a quiet drink at about 7.30pm. The bar wasn't too busy, I managed to catch the barmaid's eye and was out in the garden with my pint in no time. So far so good. 20 minutes later a friend arrived and I adjourned to the bar for more drinks. The bar was mobbed with three inexperienced bar staff unable to cope. One of them was fulfilling orders from diners and the others seemed to spend a lot of time chopping up fruit for pitchers of Pimms and lemonade. Funny how this Pimms fad in the summer has taken them by surprise, but it has. Here's a tip, during the afternoon when it's quiet, do some fruit prep.
After five minutes of waiting and getting nowhere, I suggested to front of house man that he redeploy some of his army of under-worked waiting staff behind the bar as customers would be served more quickly. This in turn would lead to satisfied punters and more cash in the till. He replied by telling me that there were only two tills behind the bar, so there was no point deploying more bar staff, as they'd only be queuing up to use the tills! Eh? Have you ever heard anything more ridiculous? Suffice to say, we left and are unlikely to return, even when the fine summer weather is but a distant memory.
3 Jul 2009 15:53
The Calthorpe Arms, Holborn
The recent refurbishment is very tastefully done, so this great pub just got even better!
11 Jun 2012 11:55