BITE user comments - psychonaut
Comments by psychonaut
The Duke of Devonshire, Balham
Sophie - what a pleasure it is to be insulted by a halfwit like yourself.
Bit of advice though: If you're going to insult someone, spell their name properly. I mean, the spelling was even there for you at the end of my post. DUH!!!
11 Mar 2008 16:29
The Duke of Devonshire, Balham
"learn to like it" - Sophie, you've obviously not been in town long...
After about a minute of crossing the threshold, a song by Tammy Wynette sprang to mind for me: D-I-V-O-R-C-E. Like others, I found it very overbearing to have someone pounce on me when I walked in. I thought I was on "This Is Your Life"!
Glad you liked the ladies, Sophie. Kept me guessing for a nanosecond as, like a lot of blokes on here, I sussed out a bit of tired double entendre.
RIP Duke of Devonshire. We had good times together.
8 Mar 2008 02:52
Good for a pint of Guinness and a roast on a Sunday. Always feel relaxed in the area under the stairs, either with a newspaper or a book.
Can't agree with the mean spirit comment in a previous review. And the barman was quite right re: the laptop situation. If someone wandered into my house and just plugged something in without asking, I'd be a bit annoyed too.
21 Dec 2007 20:18
"two of the girls weren't dressed in black jumpers, red and black laddered tights, cheap market DM's, badly applied makeup and a 'Nightmare Before Xmas' PVC bag"
Hmm, I don't recall seeing many of the women who visit The Dev dressed like this. Plenty of interesting and varied customers to be found whenever I go. Nothing fraudulent about any of them, as far as I've noticed.
Get a sense of bitterness in your post, anonymous. Would you try to dine at a 'collar and tie' restaurant in a rugby shirt?
3 Aug 2007 15:39
Previous reviewers must have been drinking from the same cup as Mr Uppity (or is that up-themselves).
One of the better places (if not best) in Balham for Sunday lunch, lunch anyday, and a calming pint of an evening.
Rude service? Think not, it's top notch. Believe it or not, Balhamites, there is no rule which says "I must be served instantly. Anything else is rude!"...Sadly, this ethos is lost on the 'want, now!' generation.
29 Jun 2007 01:27
Eskimojoe, Camden's alternative scene is being forced out, rather than 'sold off', by greedy property developers who want to turn Camden into another identikit town (should suit you, I think)
The dress code helps to maintain the atmosphere in The Dev - which is as an alternative pub. Don't want football tops and/or chavs spilling in for a fight or to intimidate the customers - which may happen if some of us venture into your 'normal' pubs.
13 Jun 2007 01:18
Can assure people that this is now a cockroach free place - apart from the occasional idiots on a weekend who try and impress their mates by shouting at the top of their voices. You're the only ones who think it's cool/funny.
8 Dec 2006 19:07
Echo the friendly staff comment - can't remember the last time a barman called me 'Sir'.
Great Bloody Marys too. Made a pleasant change from the harshness of The Bedford across the road.
2 Oct 2006 02:24
"If I wasn't hanging around for a bus back to Blighty that particular evening, wild horses would not have dragged me in." Erm, what do you mean 'Back to Blighty'? Blighty is a reference to Britain, not England!! And 5thearl, you probably picked the wrong night to go.
I popped into Lauders for a couple of pints recently (same as I always do when back up the road from Ingerland). Hasn't changed a bit, and that's why I like it. It's a great pub, with a great atmosphere when busy. Unlike many other pubs, this one hasn't opted for the poncey look of a pub-cum-winebar.
12 Aug 2006 22:04
Popped in here once or twice in the past, usually on a Friday night. Made for an extremely pleasant escape from the world of city arseholes that is Canary Wharf.
Was nice too to find a place which had a jukebox. (I'm fed up with barstaff imposing their listening preferences on us). Nice pints. Popcorn (sometimes) and the staff were second to none, and very pleasant =)
I really should go out of my way to visit this place again, probably on a Saturday for that themed night =)
12 Aug 2006 19:41
"The clientelle on the ground floor is 20 something cool"...Nope, it's 20 something pretentious 'look at me' Henry and Harriets from what I can see. Did I mention rude? manners seem to be alien amongst a lot of them. Jumping the queue at the bar, barging into people, and treating the bar staff as if they were something on one's shoe. In fact I've seen more loutish behaviour from the ones who should know better than I have from those I'd expect it from.
The final nail in the coffin for me was when they put up Guinness twice in a month, from �3 to �3.20 and then to �3.30. So maybe the whole place has become pretentious. This is Balham, not bloody Knightsbridge, and I'm not a fool. The only thing I parted with is this place's business.
Time for me to find a proper pub, with proper prices, and proper people.
12 Aug 2006 19:14
I opened the door, and looked in. I closed the door, and went on my way. Enough said there I think.
4 Mar 2006 16:10
Oh dear. Not what one would expect in this area?? Viewing the self-centered attitudes of sniffy patrons is more likely to put me off than actual comments about the place itself.
Personally, I've never had a bad experience here. Nice place to relax with a beer. Although, as I say, some patrons can make you wish you had a mute button for them.
4 Mar 2006 16:06
Was in here about a month ago. It was a Friday night and full of people trying too hard to be trendy while dancing to some fairly dodgy music. Decided to leave after half a pint as my girlfriend was fed up with being leered at from every direction.
16 Jan 2006 01:03
Some of the staff could do with some manners and a bit of customer service training. I don't expect to be served a Guinness that's been sitting for 30 minutes. I don't expect to be argued with for refusing it. And I don't expect to be sworn at. Oh, and watch out for the hidden increase in the price of a pint after 11pm on Friday and Saturday. I thought drinks prices had to be advertised clearly.
16 Jan 2006 00:55
Was here last Monday. Too 'All Bar One'-ish for me. Sport was on all of their screens, no one seemed to be watching, but we had to endure football at high volume...Now also runs some dire karaoke night, I believe. I walked past one night and heard something akin to a bag of kittens drowning in a canal.
25 Mar 2005 16:45
Some people seem to forget that this is a Goth/alternative pub. So please don't whine if you can't get in wearing streetwear. The dress code is there for a reason...
Personally, as a Goth, I love this place. It's a nice place to relax of an evening. There's good music, company, and the staff are nice and deserve a lot of credit for giving us such a pleasant haven.
11 Mar 2005 10:05
Good, all round pub. People who complain about service being slow on a Sunday should remember that it's one of the busiest days in here. I can recommend the saloon bar entertainment on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Also, gets very busy on Friday and Saturday around 6pm due to people forming a queue for tickets (annoyingly these people block the main doors!). The Monkeyfunk clubnight is nothing special, the music is dreadful. Occasionally a celeb will drop in. Had the pleasure of talking to Charlotte Church at the bar just before Christmas.
23 Jan 2005 21:12
Nice staff, and great service. Would be good for a relaxing Sunday afternoon drink except there always seems to be a 'can the rest of the bar hear me?' competition going on amongst all the tables. As a Goth, I have no end of fun at turning the heads of the clientelle.
23 Jan 2005 21:06
The Devonshire Arms, Camden
conflictuk, you obviously have no clue as to why The Dev changed ownership. This is obvious from your stupid little parting jibe. It did not "disappear up it's own backside".
And I'm sure the sign above the door still said The Devonshire Arms, not Hobgoblin, when I was there at the weekend.
Perhaps not getting served had something to do with your general attitude.
4 Sep 2008 14:37