BITE user comments - davecamden
Comments by davecamden
There should, somewhere, be a law against doing this to a pub. I was there on Sunday and could not believe what they have done to the place. Every scrap of charm had been ripped out of the place and replaced with a cold, characterless IKEA-nightmare. What they were thinking is utterly beyond me and it completely ruined my day (yeah, I'm oversensitive about these things). Yet another example of food-orientated idiots destroying a key part of English heritage. They'll probably make a fortune from the place, but the new owners should be ashamed. If you have a heart, avoid this place on principle, and not just because they serve the bitter chilled.
22 Mar 2010 07:07
Aussie dump that brings out the jingositic side in the most placid of people. Why don't they all just sod off back to Oz? See?
3 Oct 2005 12:08
Lovely spot. Apart from the God-awful outside seating. What genius decided to "trendy-up" the exterior? If it ain't broke . . . Everything else is great though. I'm not a fan of Young's ale in general, but this is about as good at it gets. Plus you get to laugh at the pillocks having a miserable time in the Hogshead opposite. Mugs.
5 Aug 2005 17:35
I used to use this gaff when I was about 17 (12 years ago). I loved it then, would probably hate it now. If all the fighting stories are true, then little has changed. Remember going in here once while sitting on a mate's shoulders. I cracked my head off the lintel of the door and went arse over tit. Then went up to the bar with blood pouring down my face and still got served! Thought it was heaven at the time. And yes, before you comment I was an aggressive little git and if I met me now (??) I'd give myself a slap. Still rating it 8 just for serving me all those years ago.
5 Aug 2005 12:53
Superb. Best place around for a weary journo on a late news shift. Great staff, lunchtime food is lovely and reasonably cheap. Gets quiet in the evening because of its location. If you're really picky like me, you could say that the London Pride is served a tiny bit too cold. But if that's its only fault then its doing a bloody good job otherwise.
4 Aug 2005 16:26
Absolutely ace fun. Even the Mockneys that have invaded Camden can't spoil the atmosphere. Many a happy Friday night in here amongst one of the friendliest and most mixed crowds I think it's possible to find in London.
1 Aug 2005 16:01
Never been in as too many people have warned me off the place. Walking past (quickly), as I regularly do, is more than enough from what I've seen through the windows.
1 Aug 2005 15:59
Total cack. Like so many pubs, it was ace when The Marquis of Cornwallis back in the day. Some crappy chain took it in and made it a haven for office arses who aren't from the area and snot nosed students.
Also walked in there one evening to meet a mate and it was rammed with Cockney Reds (Man Utd's neanderthal London-based hooligan firm). Had a very unpleasant half hour as I was in a Man City top. Got out with most of my teeth (not all) and the bar staff were predictably cowed, not even bothering to call the Old Bill despite the fact that I was obviously in for the kicking of a lifetime. Thanks chaps.
1 Aug 2005 14:53
It is so humiliating that the first glimpse of a boozer in London that many tourists will get is this travesty of a place.
Typically inept antipodean barstaff serving shite ale in surroundings that would make the waiting room at Coventry train station seem homely and welcoming.
That said, pulling dim American birds in there is easier than falling off a log.
1 Aug 2005 14:43
About the only pub in the area even worth considering if you're mad enough to want to go up west, unfortunately for out-of-towners the majority in Soho are a bag of shite and this one'll wear a bit thin for a whole evening in the Smoke.
Ace beer as always in Sam Smiths, a jukebox would ruin it, and where would you put it. anyway?
Only criticism is the fact that for some bizarre reason they've put a sort of semi-door in the gap between the two bars, and it blocks the top of the space, not the bottom. So people are constantly doing a limbo-dance from the front bar to the khazi. Have cracked my head on it many a time. Just seems a totally unnecessary thing to have done. (The door, not crack my head).
1 Aug 2005 14:40
Went in there last week and was pleasantly surprised at how friendly the staff and customers were. Even to a cockney git like me, am used to people in other parts of the country being a bit hostile to Londoners, so this was a nice change.
Beer was alright, can't really go wrong with Grolsch can you? Saw one of the worst bands in history, think they were called the Vehicles. Don't think any of the band members had met each other before. But all in all, a smashing gaff. It might have helped that I got it together with the girl of my dreams that night. So hopefully will be up in Brum and in Poppy Red a lot more often.
31 Jul 2005 21:49
Smells, annoys, irritates, then irks and eventually just want to do something drastic. And the pub's rubbish too.
19 Apr 2005 16:44
The Camden Brewing Co., Camden
Resent places like this being called pubs. It's had another refurb by the way and is now the Camden Arms again.
19 Apr 2005 16:29
Surely this place is some kind of sick, southern-hemispherical joke on people from Camden. As if there weren't enough backpackers' pubs. Camden definitely doesn't need or deserve (not sure about that one to be honest) an Outback style dump.
19 Apr 2005 16:25
Stinks, beer's awful and overpriced, staff surly in fact I've always known that about the place, can't figure out why I've been.
19 Apr 2005 16:21
I think if you'd known this pub about seven or eight years ago, you'd be amazed at the turnaround. This was a place to avoid at all costs and was only slightly better than the Wheatsheaf (now Belushis) down the road. As for the service, pick a night when the completely certifiable Portugese guy, Gonzalo< is working. Hard to miss totally bald and bouncing off the walls. As to food, can't comment, you want food? Go to a restaurant. (He says, sucking on his woodbine and muttering to himself like an old git)
19 Apr 2005 16:19
Fabulous pub, lovely location, Posh David (as I've just discovered is his name) is all Chris Owen said and more. Especially fun is when it's busy and his normally perfect outfit starts to get a bit bedraggled. The beer's always in great condition, music unobtrusive, if there is a telly I've never seen it and during the Queen's Square festival it's one of the best spots in London.
30 Mar 2005 15:42
The One Tun, Farringdon
An absolute Godsend, considering what's on offer in the area. No frills, friendly and leagues above many of the pubs around it. If you hate what is being done to the traditional British boozer, this place will warm the cockles of your heart.
22 Mar 2010 07:12