BITE user comments - redrocket
Comments by redrocket
Geek chic rules here.
Big glassses, moustaches and scary looking lasses.
Trustafarian heaven
22 Dec 2011 15:14
Nice and cosy. Good food at great prices. A more civilised place than other nearby pubs which tend to be packed with teenagers
19 Dec 2011 13:54
The Swan Hotel, Leighton Buzzard
God's Waiting Room.
The amount of bus passes that must be in here could paper the walls. So THIS is where they spend those winter fuel allowances... pots of tea and reheated treats.
Mind out for Grim Reaper in mens' loo. (Making those poor old buggers haul their swollen, weeping bladders up a flight of stairs. Just too cruel!)
12 Dec 2011 10:50
The Top Bell, Leighton Buzzard
What new depravity is this!?
Pop videos scream from every wall to a wasteland of a room. The despairing eyes of others follow you as they cower, shielding themselves from the twisted misery of the place by huddling in corners; frantically slurping.
Is it some sin-bin for naughty drinkers? A pub-purgatory one abides in the hope of drunken release? The Jagermeister machine looks on, its green winking eye, seeing all.
Abandon all hope (of a decent night) all ye who dare to sup here
12 Dec 2011 10:26
Hilariously dingy! Best Guinness and friendly barman. good for racing tips too
2 Dec 2011 13:32
The Skinners Arms, Kings Cross
Worth walking away from the pubs on Euston Rd for a few minutes to go here. Not too busy and nice beer
2 Dec 2011 13:28
Like a Wetherspoons (teenage staff, plastic food, drink deals) but with Sky footy.
Must be getting worried with the imminent Wetherspoons soon to appear on the High Street. eek!
9 May 2011 14:22
The Holly Street Boys should steam this place and make off with all the laptops
25 Mar 2010 15:50
The Duke Of Wellington, Hackney
Nice pub. Beer is kept well and range of spirits great.
Balance between old school boozer and trendy bar is just about right
25 Mar 2010 15:39
I see a nice pub, and I want to paint it black...
Black as night, black as coal
Hmm, hmm, hmm
It's not easy drinking up, when your whole world is black
26 Jan 2010 15:43
shame about this pub - looks OK from the outside, and inside it could be pretty nice if they tidied it up a bit. The toilets though are rank - the piss must have been about an inch deep around my feet
26 Jan 2010 15:37
Modelled on a small town pub from the 1980s, complete with surly staff and smelly carpet
24 Dec 2009 10:28
Roadtrip Bar and Deli, Old Street
Looks more than a bit crap from the outside, but once in it's quite nice - old sofas and chairs, relaxed, shadowy atmosphere and good range of fairly cheap hot snacks. Good range of fresh lager on tap as well (Peroni, Red Stripe, Amstel etc)
24 Dec 2009 10:25
Looks a little scary from the outside, but once you're in, it's a fairly decent pub. Proper Irish, with the shamrocks not on the wall, but tattooed to the regulars' hands
22 Dec 2009 11:01
the pub is on the slide again!
The enthusiastic landlord has got himself a 'better' pub up the road, leaving the Red Lion with a skeleton staff and a mission to wind this one down
All day opening - NOW OFF. Sunday lunches - NOW OFF. cleaner - LAID OFF
hopefully someone will soon buy the lease and save the pub - AGAIN!
19 Nov 2009 11:35
From being one of the grottiest pubs on Mare St, (which is no mean feat) it's recently had a tart-up and is getting visited by the trendy young things who are -like, so over- Hoxton. From a place resembling the Jeremy Kyle Show holding pen, stinking of piss and death, it's become all woody and candlelit, with bar staff obviously picked for their silly haircuts rather than service skills. Last time I was there it was very busy, but give it 6 months and I think it'll revert back to grim squalour as the kids dismiss it, and move on to look cool in Dalston
31 Jul 2009 10:14
The Corner Store, Covent Garden
A pub for eating in, not drinking. The food is good (the burgers and roasts are great), the staff are crap and the toilets are a disgrace
27 Oct 2008 14:14
One of those old pubs which has had a bit of flock wallpaper hung up and some Ikea sofas put in. Coupled with the obligatory gold baroque mirrors and candles, it has been magically transformed into a hip and funky bar!
I especially liked the way you could sit at a table eating your food and see into the gents - complete with urinals vacant and in use (isn't there meant to be some law about 2 doors separating a bog and food?)
But to be fair, on a VERY economical budget the place hasn't become too bad - the staff are friendly, the beer is fine, and the speakers -though tiny and tinny - were playing some decent tunes
21 Oct 2008 14:12
Has a touch of 'Student Union' about it.... (counted 5 (yes 5!) young men sporting goatees. Unicycles chained up out front, with the fear of spontaneous juggling breaking out a constant threat. The beers have names straight out of Lord of the Rings or some such nonsense.
Staff bigging up the Nero stout - tasted like flat slops to me
19 Sep 2008 14:34
proper local. Jolly fish seller calls in (be wary of roll-mops). Avoid if Tottenham fan
18 Sep 2008 17:26
The Three Locks, Stoke Hammond
Do not take your sheep into this pub. The landlord will shag it....Then kill you.
17 Sep 2008 14:41
Now remaned The Office. Presumably because they couldn't fit "The same shitty scum pub, but now with laminate flooring" on the sign
17 Sep 2008 14:12
The Black Lion, Leighton Buzzard
Nice beer garden, good refurb indoors.
As with a lot of the pubs in the town centre, unfortunately ruined by the sub-human alco-chavs snarling in the corners.
17 Sep 2008 14:09
Give 6th form students �1k and tell them to decorate a pub...this is probably what you'll end up with. Blow most of it on quirky chairs, and spend about 13p on the toilets
9 May 2008 15:47
The lair of The Queen Chav. It is here that she rapidly gives birth to her chav drones, who once born are shaved, tattooed, and pushed out drunkenly into the sunshine. Their mission: To agressively collect the beer pollen, and nourish their ruler
9 May 2008 15:32
Nice pub/restaurant. Bar area is a bit pokey (and a little dangerous if you're tall and tipsy)
Food is good - excellently poached haddock, but need to practice on the creme brulee a bit more, lads!
Ideal 'family meal out' venue (massive secure garden to chuck the kids into)
9 May 2008 15:14
lovely garden, lovely setting. And lovely pizza!
Bar bit is tiny and a bit crap though
9 May 2008 15:02
The Litten Tree, Leighton Buzzard
Update: with The Lancer now open next door, the poor ol' Litten Tree is empty. Shame (haha)
16 Apr 2008 14:15
Update: The mayor of Leighton Buzzard got chucked out by the bouncers last week. Think that deserves another point!
12 Mar 2008 12:28
My first impression was that this souless barn of a place was a failed Wetherspoon's. However, it seemed busy with the bright young things of Balham, munching burgers and apparently having an AMAZING time! I left them to it
28 Feb 2008 12:41
If the Litten Tree is too posh for you, and you're missing fingers, this is the one for you my son!
11 Feb 2008 16:44
A Wetherspoons lookalikey with flags tacked up to the ceiling, making it a SPORTSBAR!
Varies between lots of fair-weather footy 'fans' with bored girlfriends, and young men cuddling each other as they watch the rugby games
But where at least your local Wetherspoons only has the cheek to charge a few quid for their deep frozen to deep fried slop, here they're asking restaurant prices.
And lager is �3.40. A Pint. �3.40! In scruffy old (zone 3) Balham!!
8 Feb 2008 12:15
The Black Horse, Leighton Buzzard
Chavs, chancers and chicks all mixed together in a tidy little pub that's not bad at all
22 Jan 2008 15:24
The Perseverance, Bethnal Green
Proper geeeezers booza. If Hackney's new breed of Hoxton wannabees is too much get down here. Chairs-tables-beer-pool-darts-Sky footy. Sweet as.
18 Jan 2008 13:14
very generous with the chips. my steak was a little tiddler though.
Just like Kerry Katona, I think The Star has gone to Iceland for much of their deep fried delights
11 Dec 2007 17:00
The Golden Bell, Leighton Buzzard
gets a cleaner, healthier pensioner than the other town pubs
11 Dec 2007 16:49
Bored teenage bar staff, plastic food, tragic lonely pensioners and surly chav drunks - always a winner
5 Nov 2007 15:22
Buddha Drink and Garden, Krak�w
Small bar with big courtyard. can pretend you're having a drink in at a beach bar in SE Asia whilst really in Poland!........if that's your thing...
22 Jun 2007 13:01
Nice setting for the summer - plenty of tables overlooking the locks and canal. Indoors it's all gone a bit 'Colin & Justin bland'. Think 'light' 'whitespace' and 'wood'! - decor that caters for the conference crowd/wedding reception? Seems to work though as generally fairly busy with monied families loving their balsamic drizzled olive terrines of organic whatever.
Teenage bar staff also seem a bit too smug and giggly for ones working for minimum wage in a bland pub. A safe place to take the grandparents though
5 Jun 2007 12:15
Open again - and looking good. Two brothers are now 'running tings' and they've given it a nice face lift. It still retains all the olde worlde feel, but sharpened up with fresh wooden floors and furniture
5 Jun 2007 11:58
Very mixed crowd with some serious solo drinkers wobbling on their stools. Has friendly and efficient staff nowadays. Can get busy, but very likely to get talking to stangers as you share a table and watch the departure boards. TOP TIP: don't pay 20p to use the station toilets - they're free here!
11 Apr 2007 17:59
The Wheatsheaf, Leighton Buzzard
Friendly but grubby. Walls and glasses could do with a clean. Chav free. ho hum Rock n Roll!
2 Apr 2007 15:43
The White Horse, Leighton Buzzard
Back open and much the same: Friendly -and tiny- freehouse, with plain, slightly too bright decor and an alcoholic or two walking into the furniture
2 Apr 2007 15:34
The Red Lion, Leighton Buzzard
Pokey but homely town centre pub. Agree with other comments that there is a uber-local feel to it a bit. But nevertheless, pretty nice and a good bet for a Saturday afternoon beer or two - and a stare at the fish tank
2 Apr 2007 15:30
nice pub/restaurant. charming staff and well presented food. did find the puddings a bit underpar though- lumpy brule, hard 'poached' pear .Was busy with xmas parties though. other slight grumble was that it was cold - recommend not sitting by the drafty windows when it's winter!
19 Dec 2006 14:43
What's happened to this place? A silk purse has become a sow's ear. Used to be great, now it's shit.
9 Jun 2006 00:05
The Swan Hotel, Leighton Buzzard
Called in on a Saturday afternoon and seemed to interrupt the latter stages of a 24-hour 'drink off'. Customers concentrating to stay balanced on their (bar)stools while the barman attempted to focus long enough to pour me a Guinness - aim for the glass in the middle!
Enjoyed my pint, and watched an insane game of pool delevelop. As I ducked cues and caught errant balls, while listening to The Jam at level 11, I realised that after another 8 pints, I could really get into this pub!
27 Apr 2006 15:16
Odd place this; a rich slice of Islington in sleepy Woburn village.
Lots of red leather and wood; candles everywhere; Best of Smooth FM on the CD player; the antipodean staff all sporting black monogrammed t-shirts.
Friendly enough place though. Just don't expect real ale and roaring fires, but rather mojitos and olives
13 Feb 2006 17:14
Nice pub, with very helpful staff. Thai food seemed popular. Though near the station, not the first pub you come to, so will generally avoid the chavvy lush crew and suits. If meeting people in Euston, could do much worse than this one.
31 Jan 2006 15:01
Quality night out about 10 years ago, but now shabby and depressing with very poor quality beer. The recent re-furb (wild west theme?) done on the cheap underscores the crap that this bar has become.
29 Nov 2005 17:02
Good one for the sunday hangover; having a roast dinner and some fresh air along the canal. �10 for the roast though.
25 Nov 2005 15:21
Decent enough boozer, with some character. good for watching the footy. Back room with the pool tables seems "pro-local". Friendly staff
25 Nov 2005 15:11
Stayed there as a guest recently and the room and service was poor. Room was Ok, but no more than back street Blackpool B&B standard- but with ensuite. Unfortunately, the shower just dribbled tepid water.
Cooked breakfast was unfortunately not cooked: limp warmed-up bacon, scary sausage and very watery beans. (admittedly, the toast was alright)
As for the bar, there's more atmosphere in the daparture lounge at Gatwick (and cheaper drinks!)
9 Nov 2005 16:39
average back streeter, with above average drinks (and pickled eggs!)
20 Oct 2005 16:49
if unfortunate enough to be stranded in King's Cross, this is the place to flee for and take refuge.
14 Oct 2005 16:46
The Rye Pub, Dining Room and Garden, Peckham Rye
Overpriced, measly food portions. If not into a creche-themed pub avoid Sunday lunchtime. (Watching nappy changes can put you right off your beer)
9 Oct 2005 19:14
The Argyll Arms, Oxford Circus
Downstairs still has the 'Olde' furnishings but has unforgiveably ripped it all out upstairs to attract the tourist foodies. Disgrace.
24 Aug 2005 22:41
Worked behind the bar here 15 years ago (anyone remember it being the Jekyll & Hyde?)
essentially still the same (felt old)
24 Aug 2005 22:37
The Star and Garter, Leamington Spa
Many moons ago one of the finest pubs in Leam for the weekend drink. Still treasured by older and greying local lads n lasses. Always busy at Xmas for ex-Leam returnees savouring their youthful memories...
24 Aug 2005 22:33
The Benjamin Satchwell, Leamington Spa
on crowded weekends offering large mobs of drunken teenage girls and ludicrously cheap deals on strange coloured spirits(if that's your thing)
24 Aug 2005 22:21
Big aesthetic-free pub where the locals of this seaside town seem to congregate for the -admittedly- excellent provision of SKY football. Oh, and it's cheap
24 Aug 2005 22:11
The Windsor Castle, Maida Vale
Nice little 'un, possibly a bit too 'local' but good for a quiet drink
24 Aug 2005 22:00
The Warrington Hotel, Maida Vale
Good beer and great decor. Forget you're in London. Envious of locals (they must be minted to live round here)
24 Aug 2005 21:57
A gem. Lovely atmosphere and great for leisurely roast and Sunday papers
24 Aug 2005 21:52
Small but just about perfectly formed. A countryside feel in the heart of darkest S London
24 Aug 2005 21:50
Could be great: Lovely, old building with ample seating inside and out, offering handy location for the tube and restaurants.
Unfortunately it's not (see below)
24 Aug 2005 21:41
Not too bad a boozer. Nothing special, but give it an hour or two and it seems nice(ish)
24 Aug 2005 21:26
Above average pub which does put the effort in; good food, friendly staff, well maintained seating and garden. Also found it to be an excellent place to go in the evening after Notting Hill carnival (try it next weekend)
24 Aug 2005 21:17
A local of mine a few years back, and glad to see last week that it hadn't changed much. a pool table was missing (used to be four) and lots of strange items hanging up and off walls, but essentially same (good) old pub. Busier than it used to be.
24 Aug 2005 21:09
The Clapham North, Clapham North
Usual identikit of a refurbished pub -faux leather chairs, candles, tinny DJ toons blaring out, drink prices a bit more than usual, etc. Not too bad. seems that Clapham North is now more Clapham than Stockwell. If it gets too much, seek refuge (and conversation level volume) in The Landor down the road
24 Aug 2005 21:04
Targeted by the London based Aussie, and no bad thing. Carefree drunks and romance a sure bet. With live music upstairs at times. A Bacchalian oasis in moody Stockwell
24 Aug 2005 20:57
A miserable manager (who seems to have his Nat King Cole tape on permanent loop) seems to ensure a fast turnover of worried looking, but friendly, staff. Lots of interesting bottled beer and the 'Maes' on tap is a good lager and makes a nice change
24 Aug 2005 20:44
Nice friendly pub that seems ignored a bit. But ideal if you desire a quick drink and a seat and table
24 Aug 2005 20:37
The Pub on the Park, London Fields
Lovely pub for a warm summer evening. Occasionally spoiled by new-Hackneyites bringing along their screaming progeny
11 Aug 2005 12:11
Bit of a fish bowl of a pub. Food poor as well and a wee bit pricey. Can make a change from the slightly better 'Dove' down the road and handy for the park
10 Aug 2005 20:31
Convinced the management are/were on a mission to drive this place into the ground. With no other pubs within a mile, this place could have done well. Heard it and the land have been sold for houses to be built.
The last pub in Lillington could be gone soon. No loss
10 Aug 2005 20:09
Could be a dying breed of pub if the reports of even Hackney becoming gentrified are true. Before the Hoxton wave crashes onto Mare Street and you're knee deep in ipods and organic fennel go to the Dolphin (and drink Guinness)
10 Aug 2005 19:55
Lovely little pub in a great setting. Million miles away from the Friday night carnage of the town centre. Lots of 'real' beer and charming staff and locals. While the kids are getting twisted down town, this is where Dad and his pals go
10 Aug 2005 19:51
The White Horse, Leamington Spa
the main part of the pub is the usual 'stand up with your drink and shout into your friend's ear' teenage hang out. The 'old boys' part of the pub at the front is small, cheap, friendly, and has furniture and fittings that haven't changed for 150 years. Well known to the mature drinkers and betting men of Leam.
10 Aug 2005 19:45
Decent boozer crammed full of your usual pub tat (old radios, tin signs etc) Handy for the tube and serious drinking in the shadows
10 Aug 2005 17:40
The Frog and Forget-Me-Not, Clapham
Tatty sofas and rich youngsters crowd this place. Place that tends to show rugby rather than football....
Nice roof terrace though
10 Aug 2005 17:37
Nice pub with a cool but slightly soulless atmosphere.
The lager is top notch though -fresh, tasty and cold
10 Aug 2005 17:35
An OK bar that's trying it's best at the wrong end of Clapham Road for a fair few years now.
Bit of an outpost that's gets a good crowd and shows the football.
Nice beer garden and one of the tiniest party hire rooms I've ever seen upstairs. (apparently do pole dancing lessons up there an all)
10 Aug 2005 17:32
The Effra Hall Tavern, Brixton
A quality local. Relaxed and friendly with strong customer loyalty.
10 Aug 2005 17:22
If you live around Brixton and the family is visitng, this is the place to take Granny. Nice, clean, friendly pub. Treasured by locals and those not up for 'vibrant' Brixton
10 Aug 2005 17:18
regular, normal pub.
To be appreciated in an area sadly lacking them. Being refurbished at the mo. Do hope it's staying similar
10 Aug 2005 17:14
Another of those bars catering for gullible trendies, who seem to able to convince themselves that spending a fortune to be squashed into an old pub given a lick of paint and a DJ booth is the height of happening cool.
10 Aug 2005 17:10
The Brixton Bar and Grill, Brixton
Very overpriced. Calls itself a 'grill' and didn't do a steak of any sort when i was there. Would rather push expensive, badly mixed cocktails at you while you sit cheek to jowl with non-locals haw-hawing loudly about house prices etc.
10 Aug 2005 16:18
Useful place for those who prefer not to go fully into Brixton. Below average food, amateurishly served to grateful 20somethings. 'Lounge' down the road a bit is better
10 Aug 2005 16:13
The Duke of Edinburgh, Brixton
Miserable back street pub that is luckily without serious competition elsewhere so manages to get a young crowd in. Busy in the summer due to large back yard with tables, bbq and assorted drunks. Handy for SKY football.
10 Aug 2005 16:06
The Grove Lock, Grove
The manager of this pub is a disgrace.
We visited with friends and family, and while waiting for our food, he aggresively ordered us to move tables (we had been shown to this table by a member of his staff)
On challenging his behaviour he became insulting and threatening, and we left as our young children were getting scared.
This manager's conduct needs to be addressed. Now.
9 Apr 2012 18:22