BITE user comments - Spodgey
Comments by Spodgey
Brilliant pub now called The Ale House. 8 ales on including three from west Berkshire brewery, all good. Ciders too.
14 Nov 2012 17:09
Why on earth this pub is not in the Good Beer Guide I do not know - do the local CAMRA members have some petty gripe against it? It hasn't been in for about 8 years yet the ale is as good as ever. I go in every time I am back and am never disappointed by the quality of the ales - 6 Hop Back beers plus a Downton (this time their Imperial Stout at 9%). Superb.
14 Nov 2012 17:07
Utterly brilliant pub with wide range of ales (12) incorporating huge range of styles. They do food. Best pub for miles around for ale.
14 Nov 2012 17:05
Went recently on a Thursday at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Still shut. Shame - used to be in the Good Beer Guide.
14 Nov 2012 17:04
Fantastic little find of a pub. 10 real ales on plus a couple of ciders, all that we tried in excellent condition. Very much a local's pub but friendly rather than exclusive.
14 Jun 2009 17:30
Nice enough pub in the middle of Swindon. 7 interesting real ales on and the real ale bar was very busy (as it should be). The lager bar was empty! Good quality pub, with the feel of the seaside about it.
14 Jun 2009 17:28
Very good pub - nice and simple, ample seating. 8 real ales plus 4 real ciders, all mainly well-kept. Well worth seeking out if you're in Swindon. They are also selling their own HopBack and Chimera bottle-conditioned beers behind the beer, and they are both good value and excellent quality.
14 Jun 2009 17:26
Super pub, lovely countryside feel with 9 interesting, well-kept real ales on the bar. Opportunity to try before you buy too. WELL worth seeking out.
14 Jun 2009 17:24
Must say I agree with Quinno below, pub is underachieving. It is a nice space with two real ales and friendly locals but it really could do with a bit of T.L.C. - not to ruin the Art Deco interior, just to give it a bit of a clean-up.
25 May 2009 10:27
The Castle, Harrow On The Hill
Lovely-looking pub which has been very well kept and is deservedly on CAMRA's National Inventory list. Fuller's ales kept reasonably well. Pricey but hey, this is Harrow.
25 May 2009 10:24
The Greenwich Union, Greenwich
Reasonable pub with 6 keg Greenwich beers which are (even compared to real ale) very tasty. The two cask ales were a bit of a let-down compared to the London Stout (4.5%) and True Belgian (6.2%) actually.
That said, the place is full of wannabe posh folk - please remember this is supposed to be a normal pub, not really a place to sip mineral water whilst reading the Guardian for three hours on a Saturday afternoon and casting disappointed glances at anyone either drinking beer or who appears to earn less money than you.
25 May 2009 10:11
Very well-kept beers (6 from Milton Brewery) plus a cider and a couple of guests. Very friendly, well worth a look. Recommended.
25 May 2009 10:06
Rough pub in Hackney - worth a look for the interesting interior but the regulars and the atmosphere leave a lot to be desired. No real ale. Miss rather than hit.
25 May 2009 10:05
Beautiful-looking pub, a real gem. Two interesting real ales (Taylor's Landlord, Sharp's Doom Bar) frankly not really very well kept but worth a look anyway.
25 May 2009 10:03
I was disappointed by this Wetherspoon's - only 5 real ales on including only one guest and it was �3 a pint to-day. Plus the bouncers on footy days are typical bouncers, completely over-the-top and on a power trip, choosing not to let folk in seemingly willy-nilly. Don't leave the pub for a fag or you mightn't get let back in!
25 May 2009 10:01
Reasonable pub with three Shepherd Neame real ales on, lots of sport. Doesn't get the rough crowd which the Euston Flyer, round the corner does.
25 May 2009 09:58
Very good pub, run by CAMRA-enthusiasts. 11 real ales on plus 4 ciders. Yes, the beers don't match the website (or even the blackboards in the pub) but who cares, there are still enough on.
I bought a pie reduced from �7.99 to �5 and a pint from �3 to �2.50 thanks to my CAMRA-card, a very good pub in all respects.
25 May 2009 09:57
Good pub, nice place with 6 real ales, plus one cider on.
Quality okay if not sparkling.
3 Nov 2008 19:48
Fantastic addition to Lincoln's ale scene: 12 ales on in total, 4 Milestone, 4 Cathedral (eventually) and 4 guests. All fine (esp. The Loxley) on my visit.
Nice place, very old, big emphasis on food but with 12 great-tasting ales who's complaining?
3 Nov 2008 19:46
Great pub this, with 8 fantastic real ales on and good-looking food, a nice place to sit and a very friendly barmaid indeed.
This place comes highly recommended; Ossett Brewery have done a terrific job here.
3 Nov 2008 18:55
Simply put, a great pub. 8 real ales, all in fantastic condition.
Food looked fine and the bar staff were very friendly indeed.
Would definitely return to this well turned-out outlet.
3 Nov 2008 18:54
Mr Foley's Cask Ale House, Leeds
Very good pub in Leeds' city centre - the ales are always excellent and wide-ranging. Who cares about there being fewer continental lagers than before? Drink local! Very impressive, footy on (if that's what you like) possibly too much but generally this is a super pub.
3 Nov 2008 18:52
I have a funny feeling this pub is on its way down the pan.
It used to be a great pub with 8 real ales on and packed - now only 4 on a Sunday afternoon at my last visit, quiet too.
Had a half and left, the ale was okay but nowt to shout home about.
3 Nov 2008 18:50
Best pub in Leeds in my opinion and has been for the past three years. Always 9 real ales on the bar, a cider. Great, homely atmosphere with loads of nooks and crannies and no inner-city wide-boys ruining it.
Beer in great condition, a must!
3 Nov 2008 18:48
Standard Wetherspoon pub, five ales on when I was there, one of which was 'off', but they left the pump-clip facing the customers anyway.
If you go into J.D.s regularly you'll know what to expect - fairly bland this one though.
7 Sep 2008 19:46
The Sligachan Hotel, Sligachan
Very average pub. Two real ales on, neither kept well. Food looked okay but pricy but very, very midgey and beer disappointing given that I believed there to be half a dozen+ interesting ales on.
7 Sep 2008 19:44
Two ales on (Red and Black Cuillin), good views out over the water. Food looked good too.
7 Sep 2008 19:42
Fairly good pub, lovely surroundings and beer garden, 2 real ales on. Food looked good but pricy.
7 Sep 2008 19:40
Best pub in Stirling by far. Three real ales on, nice old pub, oldest in Stirling.
7 Sep 2008 19:40
Great pub - 6 beers on when I was there, rising to 13 on a weekend and 15 at beer festivals.
Food also very good, try the beef and ale pie or boar burger.
Highly recommended!
7 Sep 2008 19:39
Superb pub, 7 interesting ales on tap, food looked good, bar staff friendly. Highly recommended.
7 Sep 2008 19:37
This pub has the greatest potential of perhaps any Wetherspoons, and is such a let-down.
1. Real ale now at �2 a pint. Previously I could put up with the cr�p atmosphere for �1.59 but for an extra 80p I'd now rather drink somewhere else.
2. Service is TERRIBLE, bar staff plentiful and incompetent.
3. people queue up in lines behind tills to be served sometimes, foreign tourists who get p!ssed off when you walk straight to the bar and order. Bar staff do nowt about it.
4. Always overcrowded.
5. Beer choice is terrible - always the same old tired Scottish breweries, putting out their own version of a 4.1% 80/- or pale ale. The bar has 18 handpumps, of which 6 are usually duplicates of other beers, the rest are all from the same Scottish breweries, never a dark one, never a string one, a mild, a stout, a porter or an interesting one from outside the border. There is not enough real ale choice in Scotland for The Standing Order to continue with this silly policy.
27 Aug 2008 12:55
There really can be a lot of kn�b-head Arsenal / Chelsea fans in here. Plus real ales often poorly kept / bland choices.
27 Aug 2008 12:47
There's no doubt that this is a good pub. Nice place, knowledgeable, friendly landlord and well kept ale.
BUT...it's supposed to be CAMRA's Pub of the Year 2007, i.e. the best pub in the country. It certainly isn't. It does only 7-9 ales (I know it's a fair few, but compare that with dozens of places across the country that do 10+), the beers were all pale when I was there, not a dark one in sight, the place stank of p!ss.
It really is worth a visit, as it's a very good pub, but best in the country? If you're in the area, you'd be better off trying The Blisland at Blisland, Cornwall (2000 CAMRA P.O.T.Y.) or Tom Cobley at Spreyton, Devon I(CAMRA P.O.T.Y. 2006.
27 Aug 2008 12:43
Super pub this one, good (if pricey) food, two well kept ales on, lovely village, nice folk, all in all a very nice place.
27 Aug 2008 12:29
Ales here okay, food nice and in huge portions but the bar-staff terribly unfriendly.
I was with a group of four who ordered �50 worth of food plus ales and were denied a glass of free tap water on the grounds that it wasn't pub policy to give free water as it encourages students to pay nothing towards the pub.
I was incredulous and pointed out that we'd spent �60 there, all to no avail. The bargirl even claimed that they 'didn't have tap water', to which I asked, "what, you haven't got a tap?!". I won't be back.
26 Aug 2008 17:14
Not a bad pub, but concentrates too much on the same on tired real ales - there's not enough variety in them, they seem averse to anything outise a core 5 or 6 Scottish breweries.
26 Aug 2008 16:57
Super little pub with a constantly changing two ales, always quick to go and in good nick. Easily the best pub in Dunbar, good atmos., friendly locals and good scran.
26 Aug 2008 16:55
This used to be the best pub in Scunny but beer quality has unfortunately fallen by the wayside in recent years - too many beers on to keep them in good nick with a limited throughput, and most kept too cold. If you have to go, the Taylor's Landlord is usually the best. But The Malt Shovel in Ashby (2 miles away) is a better bet.
26 Aug 2008 16:53
The Craw Inn, Auchencrow
Brilliant pub in all respects. Landlord manages to keep two or three excellently kept real ales on at all time. Food pricey but good quality. Wish they'd bring back the mushy peas with the fish and chips though!
14 Nov 2012 17:11