BITE user comments - petewithers
Comments by petewithers
This is a Yellow Card pub and that's all you really need to know. Busy, lively and cheap(ish), with an ok selection of drinks and shit, microwaved food. Sport on big screens, loud chart music, comfortable but souless... actually the more I think about it, the less this place has going for it...
24 Mar 2008 19:41
This place started well when it opened and has gone steadily downhill since. It basically only survives because it gets good bands and club nights in the venue and plays quality music at a decent volume (i.e. you can actually talk to your mates).
Good music, though, is where it ends, because the bar itself is rubbish. Pretty poor selection of overpriced drinks, incompetent, inattentive and often outwardly rude staff who are clearly only employed for having the right 'look' (ok, this is generalising, but it's the case 90% of the time) and inadequate seating. Oh, and the quality of the draught varies from passable to utterly foul.
Food used to be good, but is now just ok and is getting poorer and poorer value for money. There's just nothing going for this place overall, except maybe the large (but scummy) outside area. Even the good Happy Hour deals of years past are gone. Shame.
24 Mar 2008 19:38
This alleges to be a punk rock pub. It isn't. It plays punk rock music, but that's it.
Seemingly only surviving by not being trendy or a chain like all of its neighbours, it still has absolutely nothing going for it. Both staff and regulars try to intimidate any outsiders, it's surprisingly expensive, has a rubbish range of drinks and attracts people who think they're 'punk as f**k', but are actually skinhead hooligans.
If you want decent punk/rock music and an unpretentious atmosphere, go to the Old Angel. This place stinks.
24 Mar 2008 19:28
As noted below, this no longer exists. It's currently some sort of Italian restaurant (unless it's changed AGAIN recently).
24 Mar 2008 19:22
Don't know why people rave about this place so much. Sure, it's ok, but you could do a lot better.
The cocktails are good, but quite expensive and take a long time to make, meaning that you can expect to queue FOREVER at the bar when it's busy
Ale is good quality, but not a big selection, and there is a decent range of bottled/draught beers, lagers and ciders, plus wines, all of which are, however, pretty overpriced. Same goes for the food, really: quite good, but definitely overpriced and not served late enough.
Gets VERY busy at weekends and given the amount of space-hogging leather couches you need to get in early to find somewhere to sit. Also a predominantly too-cool-for-school trendy student crowd. Nice beer garden, however, and the staff are generally friendly.
Go for a couple in the afternoon, maybe cocktail happy hour, and avoid later on in the evening.
24 Mar 2008 19:21
The Rose of England, Nottingham
I fear that andrew_bulwell has possibly lost his mind; you could only consider this to be "what a pub should be" if you'd never visited another one in your life.
Having said that, this place isn't quite as bad as some comments below make out, although it is close. The main problem is the sinful clientele it seems to attract; the atmosphere is creepy at best, dangerous at worst. The beer is average and overpriced, but strangely the staff are actually very nice.
The one redeeming feature is the upstairs function room, which hosts excellent, cheap and frequent gigs from local, national and international bands of all varieties. If you just want a drink, though, go over the road to the Peacock.
24 Mar 2008 19:14
Don't understand the low rating and negative comments on here at all. No, the fairly flashy, modern decor and fittings and the generally young, studenty crowd will not be for everyone, but plenty of older people drink here too. I was a little suspicious, especially given the physical makeover, that this would go down the trendy bar route, but that's not the case at all.
I worked here when Steve was landlord and he was a decent bloke, but seriously, the pub was dying on its arse and you could really tell. The new owners have totally revived it, the food is now excellent and the drinks selection is good, although generally only 2, very standard ales on tap (well kept, though). The staff are also really nice, chatty and helpful. The roof garden is tip-top now as well, compared to the shitty backyard feel it used to have - very nice place to sit out when the weather decides to be pleasant.
Ok, maybe it doesn't attract the same crowd any more, but when that 'crowd' was half a dozen of Steve's mates, is that such a bad thing? Oh, and the open mic is as good as ever, and the system of getting a slot is still exactly the same; if someone was denied they were probably known for being embarrassingly rubbish or had caused trouble in the past, because they're always open to any sort of performer.
I'd say ignore the comments below and give it a go yourself, and definitely have somthing to eat!
24 Mar 2008 19:02
Decent place for live music, but not really as a pub: it's dark, cramped, pricy and doesn't open until at least 6 in the evening. The staff are nice, but if there's something on in the back room (there usually is) you can feel your life slipping away while you wait to get served in the front (the pub area). Very good selection of all sorts of beers, however, and a good range of spirits. Could do worse on Mansfield Rd, but then again could do a lot better.
24 Mar 2008 18:53
The Sir Charles Napier, Nottingham
Couldn't disagree more with the previous review. This is a shitty pub dying on its arse, although I must admit I've not been there for a fair while (for good reason).
Staff are ok, if odd, but the locals are either totally unfriendly or outright scum that won't get served anywhere else. This is also the only place I've ever had a yellow (yes, yellow) Guinness. When you've got the Lincolnshire Poacher just around the corner there is no reason on earth to ever go here.
24 Mar 2008 18:46
Decent local pub. Beers all fine, prices a little high, but then that's the area really. Very nice, spacious outside area for us smokers and for enjoying the weather (when that's possible!). Don't make a special trip, but not bad at all for a few local jars.
24 Mar 2008 18:41
What a turnaround! Since the new owners took over last July this has turned into a decent local. I only started going back this year when I heard via this site that someone new had taken over, and wow can you tell.
Finding a pub with a dart board is hard enough at the best of times, but the Robin Hood has a pretty godone in its own area in a side room. They also have a dedicated pool room and the regular players are very willing to let you play, unlike the cliques you often get.
Fairly good selection of real ales and all the ones I've had have been absolutely fine. Same goes for the other beers/ciders on tap. Not tried the food yet but certainly looks promising.
Much nicer atmosphere than before too, with a variety of distinct areas to choose from, and the staff are friendly and efficient.
Put simply, you're not going to go out of your way to come here, but if you're in the area I would definitely recommend stopping in; it's definitely the best pub in the centre of Sherwood.
24 Mar 2008 18:37
Very average pub by general standards; for Sherwood, though, it's practically a palace! Always 4 ales on tap (although one is the dull and omnipresent Deuchars), kept well. Prices higher than you'd expect out of town, but not too bad. Very 'local' crowd, but not unfriendly. Largely free of the scum who poulate the rest of Sherwood's diabolical boozers. The best of a bad bunch, basically.
6 Nov 2007 22:51
Great place - one of the best I've been to in London. Not expensive by London standards, food looks amazing, although I've never eaten there, quick service, lots of pool tables, good music, late licence, really good atmosphere, slightly tacky but quirky decor (like some sort of mainstream Americana festival) and no hassle. Even the door staff are nice (what?!), especially not batting an eyelid when a mate and I arrived here quite clearly stoned off our faces one night. Didn't think places like this actually existed in London...
6 Nov 2007 22:35
Excellent little bar - totally untypically for Soho. Only bottles and cans, but not too expensive, and very good whiskey range. Generally good atmosphere, but WAY too small for all the people who try and cram into it; on weekend evenings you can forget about even getting in the door! Earlier on in the week / day, however, it's busy-ish without being rammed. Superb rock jukebox, no-hassle staff and it's open late. The toilets are absolutely abysmal, though. Still, you can't have it all...
6 Nov 2007 22:25
This is ANY typical central London pub, i.e. soulless, expensive and with a very average range of drinks and no atmosphere. It's not unpleasant though, and in a perfect location for meeting people off the tube / for gathering before moving on.
6 Nov 2007 22:19
Really don't like this place. As the name suggests, it's basically a club, and to be fair I don't know what club nights are like. For gigs, though, it's shit - the stage is basically on the floor, the bar is hard to get to and it's seriously expensive. It's also small, yet somehow manages to seem a lot bigger and emtier than it is, possibly because it's so light. Rubbish.
6 Nov 2007 22:14
Well, previous reviews have been pretty accurate, but here's my 2 cents' worth:
In terms of Camden pubs in general, this is both typical and slightly above average. The typical aspects are that as well as the 'rockers' you might expect, it also attracts plenty of tourists and just about anyone really, leaving it lacking in identity somewhat. It also has bouncers, who are absolute ar*eholes, throwing you out the second they close, and the toilets are predictably terrible. Oh, and the staff are too cool for you, just like everywhere in Camden.
Untypically, it's pretty expensive but, shock horror, the ales are actually decent! They also serve a reasonable range of draught, the best value being Lowenbrau. A bonus is that they have free live bands sometimes, and it's massive, so there's usually somewhere to stand, if not to sit. It's in a very convenient location too, but that means a) high prices and b) it's always busy.
The food looks horrendous, but I've never actually tried it, and later on during weekend evenings it's full of rich, clueless young 'alternative' kids who are too scared to venture further into Camden itself, and chavs having one for the road on the last stop of pub crawls, so probably best avoided.
Meet people here for a quick one before the tube or before a gig at The Underworld, then move on.
28 Mar 2007 11:18
The Dublin Castle, Camden
Don't really understand the negative comments on here, but I haven't been in the evening and I gather the door staff spoil things somewhat. This always seems to be the case with London pubs - shame.
Anyway, we found this a perfectly decent pub - well priced before 6pm, efficient and friendly staff and a nice atmosphere. Don't know about the ales, but the Guinness was fine. Also largely free of the pretentious a*ses that haunt many other Camden drinkeries these days. Shedloads of cheap, multi-band gigs too.
20 Jun 2008 13:01