BITE user comments - georgesmiley
Comments by georgesmiley
hasn't actually been sold yet. bids had to be in today. some of the potential buyers do want to run it as a pub. your time might be better directed at persuading the administrators (previous company well belly up) that they will get a quicker sale to an operator rather than a developer . otherwise i agree with you. while many pubs have had their day and should be put to better use this is not one of them. its a perfectly viable business and should not be closed
21 Aug 2012 17:17
bizarre visit. went in about 7pm, 3 blokes sitting at the bar turned around as i walked in as if i was intruding. clearly i was. no beers on tap or hand pull. the landlord said they were closed except for regulars due to dispute with the landlord (marstons) ! if you're closed, close, as for any non "regular" being made to feel like an interloper means i wont be going again !
15 Aug 2012 10:49
The Brownswood Park Tavern, Finsbury Park
note to beerman who says "its not a patch on the jolly butchers"....its owned by martin who owns the butchers !!
14 Apr 2012 13:55
second visit since it reopened. some good things particularly the ales but a couple of real downers.
the acoustics make conversation hard when its busy. the sound just echoes off the brick. when its like this turn the music off as it just makes it worse.
big moan about price of soft drinks. i never moan about prices but to charge �2.10 for a half pint of coke (from the gun) is outrageous...more so when a pint is �3.10. they wouldnt do this with beer as there would be a riot (can you imagine them charging �4 for a pint of 1664 and �3 for a half) so don't take the piss with soft drinks....the management should be ashamed of themselves.
7 Apr 2012 17:22
about to close for good this weekend which is a bit sad. not my favourite pub but well run and served its client�le well over the years.
10 Sep 2010 15:59
hi foghorn. the ham and high etc have absurd figures cos it makes a good story. ask any property developer in the area those numbers are rubbish as are your estimates of net profit. the white bear freehold could have been had for �1.1m to be turned into 2 houses. the current owners while they have changed it horribly at least kept it as a pub / restaurant. the duke site would be worth a little more but not much. actually i despise hillier as he has done more to close pubs in Hampstead than most. you may know about boozing but that's about it. my point about you is that you are all too little too late. when the wells changed then was the time to act. now its too late
20 Jun 2010 21:31
oh dear foghorn ...talking rubbish and on the wrong page. actually the 800k figure is rubbish as with the accommodation above and at the back its worth more than that even as a pub. the higher figure for the site is also rubbish. the bear was for sale ar 1.1m for the site with planning so i think you are misinformed. as for highgate that is also nonsense. there are no pubs of note in the area about to disappear.
the motto is use them or lose them. hampstead is losing them
10 Jun 2010 11:08
oh dear bombay.....its just simple economics. pubs in hampstead keep on closing or becoming food led because that is what local people seem to want. if they didnt the bear would still be with the previous owners. the message is use them or lose them. in highgate people get that.in hampstead they dont
8 Jun 2010 13:34
Jolly Butchers, Stoke Newington
great refurb...not a poncy gastro but a proper ale house. 9 hand pumps with ales from micro breweries and some real ciders. food hadnt started when i went but its the beer most people will go for. like the southampton in kentish town this is the way forward. well done !
22 Apr 2010 15:12
dont think you have read the post. there is no side to be on. i dont like what they have done either but the reason it changed is because it wasnt used enough by all the people who are now moaning ! its simple economics. the fact that nearly all hampstead pubs are like this tells you this is what people are demanding. highgate is not like this so it says something about the people who live in hampstead. unless pubs are going to fall into public ownership this is what happens if local people neglect their great pubs. stop whining....its your fault !
12 Apr 2010 15:14
another idiotic rant. these are free market business's. if you are so appalled adelondon why didn't you put your money where your mouth is and run it yourself and enjoy losing that money. times change and all the ranters should remember they are responsible for this not the new owners. it was for sale for 15 months...where were you lot then ! it is you lot who should hang your heads in shame.
incidently you are also woefully ill informed. the new owners are London based and run the oak in Notting hill. i don't like it either they unlike you have spent a lot of money and unlike you have the balls yo back their decisions.
10 Apr 2010 17:43
The Southampton Arms, Gospel Oak
just fantastic guys ! stripped down to what is needed...fantastic beers, good snacks and great atmosphere. the vinyl is a class touch.
congratulations !!!
2 Apr 2010 13:39
oh dear all this ranting. it is an awful shame that the pub has changed but you and other punters only have yourself to blame. whatever you say hampstead has changed and so has its population make up. pubs such as the bear and the duke were / are not well supported enough to stand on there own. you only have yourselves to blame. perhaps if you had gone more often in the past this wouldn't have happened. take some responsibility and stop moaning. incidently camra's lack of support for the bear over the years showed how spineless that organisation is.
28 Mar 2010 11:01
the prob for you ron is that what you call the wannabees make up the majority now hence the reason your pubs are dying out. unpalatable but fact. when the woodersons eventually sell the duke that will become a food led place too. you can rant all you like but the tide is against you
23 Dec 2009 14:02
now closed for refurbishment and despite the moans the punters of hampstead only have themselves to blame. it is you who want the wells, freemasons, horseshoe etc and you who patronise them. if you wanted trad pubs you have left it too late.
18 Oct 2009 15:26
thats such a load of balls mr ash. had the pie many times usually on quiz night. always hits the spot ! read some of your other reviews and they are mainly nasty....get a life !
29 Jun 2009 17:50
Back to georgesmiley's profile
The Birkbeck Tavern, Leyton
sold now...or at least deal ongoing. cant find out if itd developers or a new operator so if its your local you need to check this out or you could find yourself with no pub !
3 Oct 2012 16:13