BITE user comments - thereminwar
Comments by thereminwar
Heard great things about this pub but, boy, what a disappointment. The Milton Nero was on the turn and I had been really looking forward to this. The bar staff were pushing us to try some of the left-overs from the beer festival that were (unsurprisingly after a week on the shelf) in bad condition (warm and flat). One of the guest ales (Milestone Hoptimism) was off (Sarsons) but the bar manager insisted it was good. After getting him to taste it he agreed and turned the clip around. At the next trip to the bar we noticed he had turned the clip around again and was selling it as if it was ok. The food took nearly an hour to arrive and was cold and very poor. All in all a wasted journey. I hear the future of this pub is in jeopardy. After this showing I'm not surprised.
30 Nov 2006 09:22
I have to say that this pub appears to have gone downhill. On Saturday I was met with a particularly uninspring selection of ales. I chose the Ringwood Forty niner, which was warm and flat. Maybe I went on an off day. I'll probably give it another chance. But in reply to the previous poster, The Wenlock Arms wins hands-down on this showing.
16 Oct 2006 13:55
The Prince Bonaparte, Westbourne Grove
This is a pub for prime bell-ends. The food is a joke, the beer is none too taxing. Full of real-life west-london trustafarian Nathan Barleys. Which is a real shame as it has the potential to be a great Victorian street-corner boozer. Which I'm sure it was once upon a time.
7 Sep 2006 10:38
The Distillers is in a handy location for me and is of a traditional style. It just lets itself down by having no real ale of note. Even the Guinness is only Extra Cold(tm). If push came to shove I'd nip down to the Chancellors Arms on Crisp Road which does it so much better.
6 Sep 2006 22:19
The Cock and Bottle, Notting Hill
Great, traditional back-street boozer in an area full of poncey bars and chain pubs. It's great to escape here on a Saturday afternoon and read the paper or watch some sport with a few pints of Hog's Back T.E.A. Marvellous.
5 Sep 2006 19:53
I cannot express how much I love this pub. Great beer. Nice friendly people. Ever-present mild. Excellent.
31 Aug 2006 13:03
I went in the Redan yesterday to watch the Charity Sheild match. I was served a very cloudy pint of Youngs Bitter. Which I took back and got a pint of Greene King IPA with a massive head on it. This tasted OK but I began to notice that the bar staff were serving beer with massive heads. Even lager. Probably between 75% and 80% liquid. Then the football started and I asked if they could turn the volume up and was told "we're not allowed to".
So I left and went to the Porchester. But that's another story...
14 Aug 2006 11:20
The Redan has just been tarted up. It looks a lot nicer (more traditional) now. Still hard to get excited about it though.
10 Aug 2006 12:36
Oh dear I spoke to soon. I looked through the window at the weekend and they just had lager taps installed on the bar. I went past tonight (the grand, invite-only opening) and they do have real ales: Charles Wells Bombadier, and Greene King Abbott Ale and I.P.A. Not the most exciting selection but it's a start. The refurb has been done in a very stylish manner. I'll be in there soon and give it a proper write up. Looks good though.
28 Jun 2006 23:10
The Royal Oak has been refurbished and reopens today (I think) as The Porchester. From what I can see it has been given a bit of a Victorian Corner Boozer make-over. Still no Real Ale though. What a shame.
28 Jun 2006 16:50
The Exmouth Arms, Exmouth Market
I went in the Exmouth last night and saw that they had Harvey's bitter on so I asked the barman for a pint. He said, "it's a bit warm, how about an Ice Cold Lager?". I said that I'd prefer a real ale and he offered to let me sample the Harveys. It was a bit warm but it tasted like Sarsons. I told the barman that it was off and he got quite irate.
"It's not off it's just that we have a heater underneath the lines which warms the beer up a bit, if I were to pour you one straight from the cask it would be fine."
"Great", I said, calling his bluff, "I'll have one straight from the cask", knowing that off-beer is off-beer.
He disappeared into the cellar muttering something under his breath and returned a while later with a pint of Harvey's straight from the cask. As I suspected it tasted like vinegar and I told him that it was off. He still protested that it wasn't, so I took my leave and wandered down to the Betsey Trotwood for a lovely pint of Spitfire (that wasn't off). Rubbish pub, rubbish, rude and aggressive barman
8 Jun 2006 09:24
The Duke of Cambridge, Islington
Was served a cloudy pint of Pitfield Hoxton Best or Pitfield Original on Sunday afternoon. When I raised this with the barman he said "It's supposed to be cloudy - it's organic". I said "That's funny, it's never been cloudy in the Wenlock Arms". To which he replied, "Which is Where?". I told him it was just down the road. He said, in the manner of Nigel Tufnell from Spinal Tap, "Yes, but this is organic". Prat. Don't go to this pub, they don't know how to keep beer properly and they try and fob customers off with bullsh;t.
12 Jul 2005 09:41
The Carlton Tavern, Kilburn
Demolished
8 Apr 2015 23:25