BITE user comments - Spritus
Comments by Spritus
I walked through The Greyhound on it's opening day. First thing that struck me were some scary types at the front of the pub. Past them were very busy tables full of what looked like Costa Del Crime types. I didn't feel at all comfortable, but I went back a couple of hours later to try a half. It was a lovely ale - �1.22 - but if anything the clientele looked even more intimidating.
I left to take an updated photo of the pub's front, but after one shot I was clocked by three drinkers who looked like they'd break my legs if I didn't stop.
Next day a shopkeeper said there'd been some trouble the previous night, and I can confirm there was trouble on Thursday evening, and I saw police were present. Fantastic start...
24 Jul 2011 17:44
This place seemed like an island paradise when me and my wife visited a few weeks back. Then again, we had just staggered out of the Oakhill Tavern, not because we were tipsy but because we were so shocked at how the Tavern has been transformed into a dump.
The Woodman is indeed jolly, but its size means it easily falls victim to its own success. We were forced to drink outside, but fortunately the weather was decent.
27 Sep 2010 07:57
This place recently lost its Sky TV coverage. The Fullers pub a few doors down will continue to show all the big football matches this season, and no doubt get the lion's share of the trade. Someone's hatched a plot and it doesn't augur well for the Tom...
27 Sep 2010 07:45
Went here for the first time a few weeks back. Very nice place - food and drink very good. Same pub featured in a recent Battle of Britain documentary. A chap at the bar trying to order food was not happy though, as the kitchen couldn't accommodate his order. This tallies with a friend's remark that the kitchen should have been extended when they modified this place.
If you can be bothered to wait for the R8 bus which is obviously not a frequent service, you will avoid the near-death experiences as you walk down the pavementless Jail Lane.
27 Sep 2010 07:38
Went a couple of months ago to see that their excellent home-cooked food (Barnsley chop, etc.) had been replaced with a bog-standard menu. Still probably the best pub in Becks though.
27 Sep 2010 07:26
Took my wife to this place after visiting a good while back. What a depressing change. Frighteningly expensive - and the decor is more like a 70's working men's club. Thank God for the pub round the corner.
27 Sep 2010 07:16
Once a fortnight, for the last three years, I've accompanied a group of care home residents for a carvery lunch to this carvery.. Everyone has enjoyed the food - no one has had food poisoning. The attention and good humour shown by staff to these often frail and vulnerable people is excellent.
27 Sep 2010 07:09
@darwin1. You don't have to be Einstein to understand where some of these adverse comments are coming from: some of us just happen to have had poor and sometimes perplexing service when we've been there (like when they can only serve starters and main courses to you at the same time). As this is one aspect of the service one might experience at the New Inn, I see no reason to doubt the accounts and motivation of others who have criticised the service.
The only motivation I have for relating my experiences honestly is that I love going out and with the pub industry on its knees, it annoys me to see a place not run as well as it could be - and the New Inn definitely deserves better; it's a wonderful place. It's quite possible that if I visited again during any busy evening I'd have a good time - but I just don't have enough incentive to travel back there and hand over my cash. I hope you and everyone else who likes the place and all it offers continue to do so.
26 Sep 2010 15:01
What a place! I first visited this place a few weeks back. 12.30, and there was only one person chopping salad behind the bar, who didn't acknowledge me. There were other staff milling about the place, but it was the longest time I've ever had to wait in a place that was virtually empty inside. Still, had plenty of time to gaze at the decor and it looks very nice.
Visited with my wife recently and ordered drinks. We were going to eat, so we asked to set up a tab. The barmaid asked for my credit card. I wanted it swiped and returned to me (something other places can do), but she wanted to keep it behind the bar. I acknowledged that some customers do runners, but explained the security risks to me of leaving my card with total strangers, but she said it was the only way to set up an open tab. We ended paying for a round of drinks and ordered food up front with cash.
The really interesting bit was ordering the food; after umming and arring over the menu in the delights of the sunny rear garden for 15 minutes, I went inside to order two starters and two main courses. Sitting outside to eat was apparently a big problem; it seems they just can't manage to serve a starter, let you finish it, and then have your main course served after a suitable break. No - we would be served our starters AND our main courses at the same time! Now, call me fussy, but I'm not used to watching lovely hot meat and veg slowly getting cold in a stiff breeze while I plough my way through a starter that I'd like to actually savour. Consequently I cancelled the starters and my gurgling stomach was the only reason I stayed to eat at all. When I told my wife, she just couldn't believe it.
So this establishment missed out on a substantial tip and also a tenner extra that we would have spent on a full meal. My wife loved sitting outside that day. I liked the relaxed atmosphere and the Doombar. My wife works damned hard and was like a kid waking up on Christmas day when she saw this place - it looks lovely. And now she isn't going to bother visiting the New Inn again, and neither am I.
3 Sep 2010 11:10
The steep prices in the Tom contrast markedly with the Swan & Mitre and the Walkabout nearby. Given that there have been some very serious incidents or concerns recently associated with the latter two establishments, it doesn't take a genius to work out that the Tom's prices are, at least in part, designed to keep out some extremely dodgy characters. And it seems to be working.
On 3/11 at about 5.30pm, police closed all the pubs along that stretch of Bromley High St. after trouble apparently kicked off big time at the Swan. And that followed a fatal assault following an incident in the Swan over the weekend. The Tom and The Partridge are oases of sanity in that area, so if you do want to drink and eat around there, you're gonna have to stump up the cash.
Regarding the staff. I took a friend to the Tom about three weeks ago. He'd never been before. His mother had died that day so we found a comfy sofa to have a quiet chat. Having not eaten for ages, he took an interest in the menu, but the barmaid informed us the chef was on an hour's break.
Neither of us had said anything, but she had clearly picked up that the poor guy I was with needed some TLC. She urged him to pop to the cafe next door and bring back a take out, and when he returned, a full table had been set for him. My mate was a bit stunned by all this, and then a cup of coffee arrived for him, on the house, courtesy of the manager who had appeared behind the bar. Service like that... priceless.
5 Nov 2009 05:33
Went there for the first time in 12 years a couple of weekends ago � what a little gem! Good Shepherd Neame ales, the most amazingly clean toilets, live entertainment� and then the bombshell came, after talking with the locals: This pub will close in January 2010 if a buyer isn�t found.
Me and my wife have fond memories of the George and were thrilled to see it in such a good state. I can honestly say I felt a bit sick when I heard it might close, and one of the locals we spoke to was a bit choked up when he told us.
5 Nov 2009 04:48
The Bank, Plymouth
My wife and I met with a wedding party on Friday June 20 - the eve of the lovely couple's big day. We were all meeting in the beer garden, so I ordered a large wine and a pint and we went to sit on a table. One of the wooden seats was broken, as we found out when my wife sat down. The whole table tilted, sending me to the floor, losing half my drink and the wine ended up all over a denim rucksack.
I told bar staff, but the waitress was not really interested. The seat in question was stuck up at a weird angle; all she did was straighten it. I went indoors and explained all to another staff member, saying we had lost a whole wine and half a pint. Again, no real interest or concern shown. So now I couldn't give two hoots for this place, regardless of how nice it might be in other respects.
24 Jun 2014 16:42