BITE user comments - fluiman
Comments by fluiman
Beers can be good, but the cavernous layout of the place doesn't work for me.
26 Jun 2013 14:16
Food looks good, popped in a few times for a drink. With this sort of gastropub, you're never quite sure how you'll fit in if you're 'just drinking', but they seem to manage it quite well, one room set aside for dining and the other appearing to accomodate drinkers as well. I think they serve alcohol until either Eleven Thirty or Midnight too which is nice. I'm guessing it's pretty busy for a drink at peak dining times.
26 Jun 2013 14:08
The Old Explorer, Oxford Circus
This huge place always seems empty and it's a bit of a mystery how it stays in business. Although it's a Greene King pub, their own real ales are very poor and expensive compared with the same beers elsewhere (The Abbot ale in Wetherspoons pubs is normally better and a lot cheaper). Somehow this place always makes me want to leave as quickly as possible. Not a bad location though, and certainly potential for a successful pub/bar here I think if anyone wants to give it a go.
31 Jan 2012 11:52
Mixed reviews about this pub, but I quite like it. Staff are pretty good. It's open late every night (until 12 Sunday to Thursday and 1 on Friday and Saturday). Real Ales are around �2.35 a pint and sometimes very good. You'll probably find you like some of the customers and don't like others, but the place is big enough for everyone.
31 Jan 2012 11:36
Popped in for a late drink tonight only to leave feeling very disappointed with the attitude of the staff, who were generally impatient and disinterested. The staff have changed since my last visit but unfortunately the service hasn't. If you're in the area, I suggest trying the nearby Match Bar or All Bar One where the service is noticeably better (not that that would be hard though ;))
11 Feb 2011 01:24
Oh dear oh dear, another once-lovely Youngs pub that has gone sadly downhill. Flat beer, bland decor and not many customers. I won't be hurrying back :(
17 Jan 2010 00:39
This place has gone downhill noticeably in the last few years. It's in a busy location, which guarantees them a regular 'passing trade'. It seems the management have decided they can get away without making much of an effort - and it shows.
15 Oct 2009 17:00
The Pontefract Castle, Marylebone
One of the best pubs around Bond Street tube/Wigmore Street. And open later than most as well.
15 Oct 2009 16:38
What a mess someone has made of this place :( What used to be a friendly Youngs pub with a lovely wooden interior has been largely gutted and modernised, in the process replacing a lot of the old wooden fittings with bland modern ones. Popped in for a quick drink on a Saturday evening recently, very few people in there, the Youngs bitter was terrible and the deafening, out of tune Karaoke even worse. The old fashioned windows at the front (as in the picture that is still on this website) have been replaced with large modern ones :( Thankfully, the nearby Northumberland Arms is still an old-fashioned place with good beer on offer.
4 Oct 2009 20:52
Decent selection of drinks and late opening hours make this place attractive. Unfortunately not helped by some of the staff who make it anything but attractive.
8 Aug 2009 00:53
Gloucester Arms, Knightsbridge
I've been in twice to watch sport on TV (they have Sky Sports). Each time, at 3pm in the afternoon it has been brilliantly sunny outside, but inside the lights have been full on, which was a bit distracting. Today I asked the woman behind the bar 'why do you have your lights on?', to be told 'because I want to', which was later followed by 'because it's too dark otherwise'. Functional it is. Friendly it isn't.
27 Jun 2009 17:29
Very good following refurbishment. The kind of place you feel welcome.
6 Feb 2009 04:37
This one's actually not bad. Open fairly late, reasonable selection of drinks and pretty good service. And a handy location next to a late opening supermarket and opposite the Tube station. Could be even better with a little more thought to the layout, which doesn't quite work, at least in the main area where a collection of high wooden tables jostle together.
6 Feb 2009 04:09
Nice bar, open late. Unfortunately spoiled for me tonight by the crude chucking out routine by the muscular barman. With no prior warning, "Sir, it's 20 past 12, you have to leave now". About a minute later, standing by the bar, drink in hand the same barman approached with a hint of agression "Sir, you to have to leave now" ...
26 Jan 2009 01:33
Lovely place. Good beer, reasonable prices and friendly staff.
13 Aug 2008 18:03
Worth going out of your way for. Good range of drinks, friendly service. Keep it up please!
13 Aug 2008 17:52
The Shakespeare's Head, Holborn
Location, location, location. Useful (but smelly) toilets if you're desperate. That's about it.
13 Aug 2008 17:46
Popular with mice, local workers, and late night drinkers.
13 Aug 2008 17:44
Having vowed not to go again after my last visit a few months ago, when I had to virtually plead to be served 10 minutes before they closed, I thought I'd give it another try 2 nights ago. I needn't have bothered. The staff are disinterested, and behave as if they'd really rather you weren't there. It's a shame because it could be a decent pub. At the moment though, I'd prefer Wetherspoons - which is where I went instead the other night.
13 Aug 2008 17:35
The Sherlock Holmes, Charing Cross
I decided to try this place for a quick drink last night before closing time. The beer was horrible, and so were the toilets. The staff noisily brought the outside chairs and tables in the piled them up while people drank. The nearby Ship and Shovel beats it hands down.
17 Aug 2006 13:14
Marquis of Cornwallis, Bloomsbury
Good location, great for sitting outside in good weather. Poorer late in the evening though when you're forced inside. Staff have that indifferent air that you often find in pubs in London.
6 Jul 2013 22:44