BITE user comments - atticus
Comments by atticus
During a very pleasant weekend staying in the village we visited the Crown twice.
On both occasions the beer was excellent, particularly the Palmers "200" and the food, when we ate on the Saturday, was enjoyed by us all.
As on both evenings the bar staff were chatty and friendly, the landlord equally hospitable and the chef going out of his way to ensure that those who were eating were enjoying their food, I find the previous two comments surprising. However, the fact that they were both posted within 72 hours of each other by single post reviewers does hint at a slight axe grinding exercise.
9 Dec 2009 19:39
Nice re-furb.There was very drinkable Timothy Taylor on one of the pumps on Saturday night as well as Ringwood.
Is the piano a real one designed to be played by people? We hadn't had that many beers and the keys were definitely moving on there own.
9 Jun 2009 07:57
The burger-bearing offspring of Bar Soho.
Surprisingly for somewhere which is trying to be a Sports Bar"Mooz-We love sport,you love sport"there is only a solitary tap for each of the four draught options,meaning there can be a lengthy wait at the bar when there is a decent game on.The beer prices mimic those of Soho(expensive),there is no Real Ale option,but the burgers are pretty good.
For those without good bladder control,be on your toes a couple of minutes before half/full time.The solitary urinal bowl,tucked in a small doorless alcove just beyond the Ladies',generates a tight corridor full of blokes jiggging from foot to foot as they wait their turn.An interesting design decision as there appears to be seating for 60+ inside alone.
On quieter nights,when the sports options are limited,there is a fair acreage of orangey perma-tan to wonder at and the occasional mwa-mwa of airkisses drifting across the room.
The George need not be unduly concerned at present.
1 Jul 2008 18:33
The Commodore Hotel, Bournemouth
I agree that huge pushchairs are a nightmare in a pub and out of control children charging around far worse,but isn't The Commodore supposed to be a hotel rather than a pub?
I think that due to the fact they advertise family rooms and family packages it would be a little unrealistic to expect not to see children in the bar.
With regard to the food,aside from a truly appalling Confit Duck quite a few weeks ago I have enjoyed everything else I have eaten there.It might help speed up drink service sometimes though if the Landlord didn't seem quite so loathe to dragging himself round the bar and serving when the girls are faced with growing queues.
23 Jun 2008 18:55
The Old Vicarage Hotel, Hinton
Very compact bar area serving three Ringwood variants.
Large,sprawling gardens severely blighted by road noise and further hampered by the presence of a large marquee and two brightly coloured portaloos.The marquee has been there for quite some time but hopefully the portaloos are temporary but maybe not given the marquees ongoing presence.
Always looked quite promising driving past but the reality is a bit disappointing.Not the best pints of Ringwood I've ever had but certainly not the worst.
7 Jun 2008 09:34
Somewhere there is a family of Lemon Sole mourning the loss of the smallest and youngest member of their family.When it appeared on my plate for �13.95,I genuinely shared their grief.
I realise some fish stocks are running low,but if we are reduced to catching and eating Sole of this size either put them on the endangered or starters list.
Sadly my Crumble,barely lukewarm in places,scalding in others,ran the whole gamut of temperatures possible for a non-frozen pudding.A schoolboy howler in the world of microwave re-heating.
A surprising glitch from the normally staunchly dependable Woolpack.At least the beer remains excellent.
30 May 2008 20:01
The Spyglass and Kettle, Southbourne
We went for a meal at the Spyglass midweek recently.
I disagree with the previous comments about the barstaff,I have always found the drinks service prompt and friendly and the new "B&Q does New England" style bar hadn't changed that at all.
The four of us arrived at 18.10,there was a couple already eating and a table of six ordering food as we got our drinks.Rashly we decided to put our food order in a mere 10 minutes after the group of six had ordered,however the gamble paid off and our "meals" were rushed to our table a mere 40 minutes later.
The new signage outside states "Wholesome Food-served daily".I am not sure which part of the day they serve the wholesome stuff midweek but it is certainly not between 18.45 and 19.15.
Someone somewhere is missing a real trick with the Spyglass,it could and should be so much better.Perhaps the volume of holidaymaker business it generates in the summer means it just doesn't matter to the owners.Resplendant in it's new coat of strangely muted greens reminiscent of a derelict Naval gunboat,"The Rudderless Ship" might be a more appropriate name these days.
Highly recommended for those first dates you really don't want to go any further or for punishing the inlaws if they have been irritating.
11 May 2008 09:19
The Commodore Hotel, Bournemouth
Running late getting home the other evening so we dropped in for a meal,has to be said the food seemed nicer than on previous visits.As mentioned in other reviews the beer range is limited and I thought the "Old Trip" was pretty grim.Although it was fairly busy the new couple behind the bar were friendly,chatty and welcoming,not words you could always heve used in conjunction with "Landlord" and "The Commodore" in the past,and service was good.Both came over at various stages during the meal to check everything was ok.
Money does need to be spent on the interior,some of the furnishings and decor look old,shabby and tired.At least it hasn't turned into another block of "Luxury Clifftop Apartments" yet like every other building within spitting distance,although with the lack of expenditure on the part of the brewery and the tourist season not that many weeks away,you do wonder if that isn't what the long term gameplan is.
9 Feb 2008 12:25
The Iford Bridge, Christchurch
It had been several years since we were last in the Iford but we went along to try the new "Red" Guinness.
The Guinness was very drinkable,I suppose you would expect it to be with all the expense of developing and bringing a new product to market,but what a change inside the pub.The new layout and decor has created all the vibrant ambience of Alan Partridge's mythical Travel Tavern.
Rammed with all the latest accoutrements of bland it now provides a truly soulless night out.
12 Jan 2008 20:00
Goat and Tricycle, Bournemouth
Hadn't been in since the end of October and was completely unaware that work had been carried out. When we walked in it was the first time I think I have ever done a genuine "double-take".Very disconsertingly I thought I had walked through a door that I hadn't noticed before and ended up in a not-as-nice bar in a different part of the pub that I didn't know about.
It is too bright now but the lights got dimmed mid-evening.Saddest of all the huge,grotesque brown pillars had gone.Why are none of the more unique features ever preserved?
I am sure there is some point to all these refurbishments that go on but as a paying punter who sits on the other side of the bar often it is hard to see what that point is.
As in the earlier post,the decor has moved a step closer to the mundane but the beer and the barstaff remain fantastic and it is,for me anyway,still miles better than anywhere else in town.
20 Dec 2007 19:46
We went to the post-refurb Riverside for the first time this weekend,also our first trip to a Harvester.The food was standard conveyor belt fare,reasonably priced but alarmingly salty.
Sadly the old bar which was welcoming,albeit in a grubby,slighty rundown way,has been downsized and replaced by something which has all the bland sterility of an airport hotel bar.
I had never drunk super-chilled Old Speckled Hen before,interestingly when it is served within a few degrees of freezing it tastes of absolutely nothing.
8 Dec 2007 21:18
The Old Vicarage Hotel, Hinton
Do you not work there for the rest of the week then Dave, or is it only Sundays???
22 Nov 2011 22:17