BITE user comments - oldpeculier
Comments by oldpeculier
Very well priced beer, a pint of Stella is �2.90, that's the only recommendation I can give apart from a nice garden, even though they have a smokers section in the garden! Scandalous!
Oh, don't bother with the food its late, overpriced and poorly cooked and presented.
19 Jun 2008 19:44
Since the last proper landlord left this pub and Fullers took over it has serioulsy gone downhill. Getting served in the most quiet of times is a lottery, even though they employ ample staff. I have been in there a couple of times and actually had four or five members of staff walk past the bar comptetuously, as if to suggest that you are too much trouble by just going in and expecting service.
As mentioned before dont bother with the food, its overpriced poor quality and the service is disgraceful.
The garden and particularly the balcony overlooking the river are very pleasant, but the price of the beer is very off-putting, even though the government upped the tax on alchohol recently this pub decided to add another 50p per pint on for good measure. Just after the budget I went in and was charged �7.85 for a pint of Kronenbourg and a glass of wine, absolute daylight robbery. Recently the prices have relaxed a bit, probably to due to the fact that their clientelle voted with their feet and gone to drink elsewhere.
The food here has never been anything to shout about but the service was, Gordon the old landlord would even give a discount to regulars and make sure that no matter what the press at the bar was like you would get served as promptly as possible.
What a waste of potential, with a decent chef, enthusiastic staff and just a little effort this pub could be a complete winner, but they rely on their garden and dwindling reputation to pull the punters in. On a sunny day it is heaving (so avoid or you may have to wait up to half an hour to get served), and on a wet day not worth paying the prices they charge. I've given it 4/10 should really be 2/10 but I live in hope that something can be done.
19 Jun 2008 19:10
Overpriced food and beer and a complete lack of care or enthusiasm. Anything to do with the newspaper headlines and connections with a certain Chris Evans perhaps? Could be a great pub with right management and staff (both front and back of house) Garden could be one of the best in Surrey.
16 Jun 2008 18:25
The heritage of this pub is excellent having hosted numerous groups in the past, I believe including the Jam, and others not coming to mind at the moment (many posters will be able to fill this blank in). Reminds me a lot of the Claremont in Byfleet and is run in the same surly manner. A hotbed of violence and petty crime for years avoid at all costs.
16 Jun 2008 18:21
The Cyder House Inn, Shackleford
Just dont go there until they get their act together, really appears that they dont want to make any money or just dont care.
Food over priced, staff unfriendly, decor a complete mess. What a shame, location and building are good and with the right landlord, chef and staff could be a complete winner.
15 Jun 2008 13:05
The Squirrel at Hurtmore, Hurtmore
Improved menu recently to offer a range of vegetarian options including nut roast and mushroom wellington on a Sunday. Not really real ale pub although the proliferation of beer mats around the upper section of the bar suggest so. Being a former dripsologist (collector of drip mats) I find the display most interesting but usually go for a pint of Heineken which is one of the cleanest I have tasted. The ales that they do offer a really the usual suspects which appeal to the older drinker but leave me a little cold as I dont enjoy the so called summer ales, (cannot compete with a good cold lager on a hot day), and prefer the heartier, robust ales in winter ie Old Peculier, or a Porter.
Idiosynchratic layout and pretentions of being a restaruant rather than a pub can be a bit offputting and the amount of staff that they employ is staggering even though not one of them seems to know what they are doing at any given time.
All in all a good pub for the odd visit and the food is good although very expensive, I noticed that many of the reviews below compare it to the Cyder House in Shackleford, it is much better than that, the Cyder House makes you feel like you've just invaded someones personal space as soon as you open the door and the food is overpriced and poorly presented, the staff unfriendly and the carpet is abominable.
Back to the Squirrel, not a TEP (Traditional English Pub), but well worth a visit.
15 Jun 2008 13:02
The Good Intent is a Traditional English Pub located in Puttenham, Surrey. The staff are friendly, dogs are allowed and there is thankfully no piped muzak or juke box. The food is simple but well cooked and uses mainly locally sourced ingredients, and caters for vegetarians, even going so far as to offer a home cooked nut roast on Sundays. The beer is well kept and often changing and the garden is although small very accomodating and looked after. The car park is quite small and not very easy to negotiate which is why most customers arrive on foot (ramblers, or locals), or by bicycle, or park in the street where there is ample parking for the size of the pub.
It really is like stepping back in time entering this pub, really back to the good old days of traditional values of good hearty food and cherished ales.
The only downside is that before the pub changed hands, old peculier was available on tap as a house ale ie not a 'guest beer' and was always of the highest quality. An excellent pint, especially in the winter next to their roaring log fire.
I have given a rating of 8 out of 10, but should the OP still be served there in the quality it once was this would have been 11+.
15 Jun 2008 12:47
The Woolpack, Elstead
Having lived in Elstead for quite a few years I have watched the progress of this pub closely. The most recent owners have made an excellent effort with the refurb (although they have completely ignored the garden), and are pushing food above all else. Remember this is a pub and not a restaurant, the owners name is above the door indicating that he is licenced to serve intoxicating liquor, not prioritise food.
I cannot understand the reviews on here that state welcoming or friendly staff as this is quite wrong. They are just plain rude, exceptionally so if you are not there to eat. From entry they assume that you will be eating (it's a pub!) as the food they serve obviously accounts for most of their income (again, pub!). The attitude of the staff when they realise you just want a drink is deplorable, they try to seat you at the worst tables and even shout at customers who are drinking that dare to try to sit in comfort. This has happened three times to groups I have been with so I can report first hand how annoying and rude their attitude is. This attitude has no place in a pub that is licenced as such, with customers paying good money to enjoy a drink in their local.
I have also eaten here under the new management, expensive, and really not worth the money.
I predict The Woolpack will be changing hands again soon, as this kind of service only serves to deter valuable customers. I will certainly not darken their door again until this has happened.
The woolpack has massive potential, as an eaterie and a pub, but landlord do remember you are running a pub not a restaurant. If you want to run a restaurant then buy one and pay for the licence as a restaurant not a pub. There is no such thing as a Gastropub this is just a term not a licence option!
4 Feb 2013 13:52