The Vine, Norwich

Lovely little friendly place in central Norwich. Good small selection of beers on handpumps but also, in January, holding a beer festival with 12 barrels lined up against the wall. I was amazed how knowledgeable the wee Thai girl was, describing in detail the different styles of beer on offer! The Thai food upstairs is excellent as well - a brilliant place!

10 Feb 2013 13:41

The Half Moon, Knaresborough

The Half Moon shut down in 2011 but reopened its doors in December 2012. The pub is now independant of the destructive pubcos and the whole place has been thoroughly cleaned and given a tasetful facelift. Whilst retaining the original layout the whole place does now have an airy, brighter feel to it, there is no intrusive telly and no machines to detract from a thoroughly pleasant interior. There are 4 handpumps - Black Sheep, Landlord and two Roosters, YPA and Buckeye, the Roosters being kept in excellent condition and going down well with the locals. It was also doing a good trade from its coffee machine, supplemented by some chocolate brownies and cakes thus attracting casual passing tourists as well as the beer enthusiast. All in all a splendid effort by those concerned. The only downside was the bar was difficult to get to due to the local glitterati hogging the serving area, just as they do/did at Blind Jacks in the Market Place!

10 Feb 2013 13:36

The Morning Star, Lincoln

Yes there are locals here who are curious about "strangers" but what the hell! Their entry in the GBG will bring about many visitors I'm sure that would not normally find the place. The beer was good and a reasonable range without being a beer exhibition - you can find that elsewhere anyway. What we have is a fine local serving good beer and good value food. What excelled for me however was the young lady behind the bar - suddenly descended upon by 7 blokes she dealt with all the beers quickly and efficiently, then 7 meals and another round of drinks - all with a cheerful, friendly attitude and a lovely smile on her face. An absolute credit to what customer service should be all about! Well done!

24 Oct 2012 09:52