BITE user comments - Potbelly
Comments by Potbelly
Wow! �23 for three crab sandwiches. Won't be going there again. Staff were offhand but beer was OK albeit with a boring selection of 6X and the like. The dining room at the back is attractive, but I'm not sure I can afford to eat there again.
28 Jun 2009 17:48
Busy dining pub next to the pretty church - the wooded graveyard is tranquil and cool on a hot day, but a bit more daunting after dusk! Pub serves local Goddards ale, which was well kept. The food is excellent, with real thick gravy on our Sunday roast beef. You need to book a table if you want to eat. The staff are well trained, and the landlord wears a cravat - so you can forecast that it's not for chavs. Parking can be a problem, but don't let that put you off.
28 Jun 2009 17:41
Visited in late May '09 since we had heard the food was good. Under the same ownership as the Hurdles at Meonstoke. The place has benefitted from a tidy up and on a mid-week evening was tolerably busy. The food was pretty much as you expect from foody pubs today, with the omnipresent Bell Pork. My complaint is that it's expensive - Restaurant prices for pub food - almost �70 quid for two with a bottle of overpriced Shiraz. Not a pub that will become a regular haunt of mine.
3 Jun 2009 15:03
The Prince of Wales, Freshwater
Soon to be my local. OK, it's tired and need of a paint job, but in it's favour, it's still a local even if it does whiff of baccy and damp labradors. The landlord and his wife are fine hosts and always up for a chat to make you feel welcome. Let's hope it stays a pub for many years to come, and that the planning permission to develop residential units on the site is not activated.
3 Jun 2009 14:37
The Waterfront Bar, Totland Bay
Visited on the evening of 30th May for a beer and some supper. Staff were very obliging and fitted us up with a window table in spite of only booking two hours before. Beer was draught Ringwood and perfectly acceptable, food include lobster at bargain prices and crab along with various fresh fish. Including a bottle of wine, the bill came to �64 for two which was not expensive taking into account the menu and the setting. Staff were smiling, and we enjoyed a great evening out fith a fabulous sunset over the mainland.
3 Jun 2009 14:22
Place has had a facelift and the north wing dining extension is now rigged out with books and has a very clubby feel. Thankfully, they have not wrecked the two original bars. Had an OK HSB,but can't comment on the food.
23 Mar 2009 17:01
Strewth! I've just bought a house in Totland. Hope Malcolm doesn't use the Prince of Wales. Visited the Volunteer last year and liked it very much.
23 Mar 2009 16:49
Landlord was once at Skindles in Maidenhead, in the 1960s I believe. That was a buzzing place and good for a night out. Luckily, he has migrated to Bonchurch and made this pub one of the best in the south of England.
23 Mar 2009 16:42
Ramsay's Real Ale Bar (at the Buckingham Hotel), Buxton
Visited at the end of February '09. Bar opening at 1800 hours is a bit of a bugger after a long drive. There are about half a dozen real ales, and although some are weak and blonde, there is bound to be something acceptable even if you've not heard of it before. I had a guest ale from Somerset - forget what it was - seemed a long way to go for a pint that came almost from my doorstep. Staff are excellent, and what a roast lamb the chef turned out for me. After a day of driving and no lunch I nearly ate the plate too. Highly recommended.
2 Mar 2009 10:21
Dined here with a mate late February '09. Place is very buzzy and very female friendly, which is good for blokes. London Pride was OK and partridge casserole passable, if rather tough. Worth a visit if you've nothing better to do.
2 Mar 2009 10:11
Called in for a light lunch on the way back from Fivehead. Had the beef curry. Meat was like a brick, dry and hard. This was my second visit, the baguette on the first being acceptable. Beer selection is good, so no complaints there. So probably OK for drinking, but I'd prefer to eat elsewhere.
2 Mar 2009 10:05
The Spread Eagle Hotel, Jedburgh
Stayed here Whit week end 2008. Should do well, with friendly staff, excellent breakfast and good beer too.
2 Mar 2009 09:59
Visited over the Whit week end 2008, on the way to Aviemore. Pub had no real ale, so had to drink 1664, or Grolsch or something similar. Plenty of people dining, and really more of a restaurant than a pub.
2 Mar 2009 09:56
The Cock and Bottle, St Helier
Visited on the evening of Feb 24th '09. Pub was empty. Beer was frothy Jersey Best, so uninspiring. Won't bother to return.
2 Mar 2009 09:49
Visited on 28th Feb '09 at lunch time. Pub is smart with well tended gardens and looks attractive. Food is obviously a large part of their offering, with abundant menus and plenty of fish & chip options (funny, there's a chippie opposite, too!). Clients were not far off the walking dead, elderly regulars who had to shout at each other to be heard, so not very relaxing, with a smell of chips and vinegar. Not pleasant when trying to enjoy a pint. Talking of which, what an odd choice. Draught beers were London Pride, Butser and Discovery (Fullers blonde). So two session beers and no ESB or HSB. Having been weaned on HSB, I was disappointed. The pride was OK, and I'd visit again to give it a second chance. The Prince of Wales sounds more to my taste, so I'll try that when next in the area.
2 Mar 2009 09:39
Bung Hole Cellars and Wine Room, Holborn
Mostly frequented by businessmen looking for a decent glass of wine with lunch, since they only have one bitter. This is an OK beer but on the light side, probably about 3.5%. Their beef sandwiches are superb, with the beef coming from their own Scottish estate. It's really a restaurant with a bar, but being chavless it gets my vote for a convenient lunchtime stop-over.
19 Aug 2008 11:47
Went for lunch on 6th August. The cellar was too cold and both the Black Sheep and Adnams suffered as a result. The Black Sheep had a vinegar tang, and I sent it back. At four quid a pint, I expect something better. We were called to our table before I'd even got a beer, let alone consumed it - so much for pre lunch drinks. The food was good. It wasn't all spronced up with Nouvelle Cuisine, but more like decent home cooking with some fiddly bits. Altogether, two starters, two mains, 2 glasses of wine and coffee came to �100 with tip. You might think this expensive in these straightened times, but the wealthy burghers of the Newbury district are obviously unaffected by economic misfortunes. As a pub, I don't rate it, since I'd be most unlikely to pop in for a pint. As a restaurant, it's good home cooking that's over priced. Go again? Nah!
8 Aug 2008 12:16
I have visited three times in the last 2 months and also found a surly gent behind the bar. The bar ladies are a lot friendlier. Food is good, and the beers OK, so not much to complain about.
6 Jul 2007 10:53
Mick the landlord has left and Fullers now have it open all day. The food has gone downhill.
10 Aug 2006 16:09
Raided by three truck loads of Rozzers on Sunday 6th August at lunchtime. Unless you want to be interrogated about your habits with illegal substances and your contact with potential suppliers, this is a good place to avoid.
10 Aug 2006 16:04
Both bars have huge screens. One is a 'Sports Bar' full of chavs, loud music and bad language. The 'Lounge' is not much better. The barmaid had no idea how to pour a pint of HSB, and after wasting three pints, had a 50/50 mix of beer and froth. Somebody has a lot to learn about the needs of the village, keeping neighbours sweet and running a pub. Not a place to take your wife/civil partner (or uncivil partner for that matter!).
6 Jan 2006 11:41
Due to open 16th December after speedy and rather tacky refurb from the ruins of The Anchor. Locals wait eagerly to see whether the new owner has the nowse to realise that the only way for this pub to succeed is to go up market, and to restore it to what it once was - the smartest pub in the village. After all, it has little competition, so it shouldn't be difficult. Forecast? One for the Beasty Boys.
15 Dec 2005 16:02
Wyke Down Country Pub & Restaurant, Andover
This is a big food orientated country pub with pitch 'n putt and a caravan site in the extensive grounds. Popular local eatery for firms on the nearest industrial estate. Normally has a couple of real ales, often Exmoor brands, on offer from the (small) bar. Not the sort of place where you stand at the bar having blokish chats. Plenty of parking.
24 Nov 2005 12:28
Recently refurbished and spotlessly clean, this small pub serves a couple of real ales from brewers such as Sharpes. It caters mostly for locals and parking can be difficult. Good garden. Was not doing food at the time of my visits during the summer of '05.
24 Nov 2005 12:19
Normally has a good ale or two such as ESB. Lounge bar and dining room food is good.
20 Oct 2005 15:48
Popped in for a quick pint before seeing Wallace & Gromit. No real ale and a cappuchino took 15 minutes to arrive. At �4.90 for a coffee and a Fosters (ugh!)it's no laughing matter. Plenty of good looking ladies helped to mitigate...if I was on the pull, I'd go again.
20 Oct 2005 15:38
The Kings Arms Hotel, Buckfastleigh
Lovely pint of Hobgoblin in this 2 bar pub with restaurant. Bewhiskered landlord is very attentive and chatty. Pub is clean and smart and suitable for families.
28 Sep 2005 14:37
Excellent clean pub with well kept Otter and good home cooked food. Convivial staff and friendly locals.
28 Sep 2005 11:08
All Gales landlords should be made to taste the HSB at the Red Lion, so that they know what they are meant to be delivering. Food is good too, although the Saga generation have taken over. Try the roast beef sandwiches, they're consistently good with tender lean beef.
22 Sep 2005 10:12
OK pub and good Adnams, but the bog is awful. Male shitter lacked a lock and door was partially kicked in - not very secure when you're caught short.
13 Aug 2004 10:20
The Deddington Arms Hotel, Deddington
Restaurant food is excellent and staff very obliging. Beware of room 15, where the shower runs so hot that you can't get under it. The thermostat is inoperative. Beer include Adnams and Black Sheep, both of which were OK.
The village square is very pretty, with no obvious parking restrictions, so it's a convenient stopping point if you need a p***.
28 Jun 2009 18:00