The Norfolk Arms, Russell Square

I had the misfortune to come across this pub yesterday and agree with the comments of earlier posters.

I meet some friends there who had managed to get a table which had a reserved sign for 7.30 pm on it and had been assured it was fine for them to drink.

Unfortunately mid drink we were told that we had to move as the staff had got the booking run and needed the table for 7. The waiter was particularly rude and hurried us to get off the table. We were then forced to stand and finished our drinks and the waiter simply shrugged his shoulders when asked what we should do.

So overall happy to take your money and happy to treat you like rubbish.

On the upside then ventured to the much more accomodating and friendly Lord John Rusell.

25 Jun 2010 08:44

Ink Rooms, Battersea

As one of the bitter minority I would ask of those who think this is such a great new bar why not simply take on another premises on Lavender Hill as there are many going if the new owners are such enterprising business men instead of feeling the need to take on a going concern.

As for a final word on this bar, its bitter ex locals and luddites, a test for you, try going to a pub / bar for a number of years then been told at a public meeting that the name wouldn't change and that the changes would be minor and a general tarting up of the bar (which to be far it needed) and try not been in the least bit annoyed, bitter, hacked off etc when the complete opposite occurs and the name is changed and the whole bar and its associated character changed. I suspect like me you will also be found severely wanting in this regard.

10 Jul 2009 09:07

Ink Rooms, Battersea

Let me start by been up front and stating that I had an emotional attachment to the Microbar having been a regular of 8 years. By the looks of some of the positive posts to date I suspect some of them have not been so up front and have a financial attachment to the Ink Rooms.

If you want a brief review of the Ink Rooms it is frankly a pile of pretentious, wannabe, twaddle which would be more suited to the high street of a provincial town for upmarket chavs, lads and laddettes, possible somewhere the likes of say Leicester.

So on to the bar itself. The d�cor is that more becoming of a tattoo parlour and it speaks volumes that the new owners feel the need to include the word bar on the street fa�ade just in case you were confused as the d�cor appears to be.

The upstairs section now looks like a bar in Soho and has none of the quirk soul of before. The bar has been shortened and stools removed thus removing some of the pleasure of sitting at the bar and meeting people and actually chatting to people, fancy that. I suspect that this has been done so as to not encourage locals and to churn through the drinkers on a Friday and Saturday night.

The seating booths at both the front and downstairs are a welcome attention although felt a bit cheap and will no doubt age badly. On the up side the reformat of the toilets and the exposed brickwork were steps in the right direction however sadly a wrong turn was taken at some point as blocking up the window and the curtains at the front make the bar unnecessarily dark.

Call me Bitter and Twisted but sadly great beers such as this and other foreign delights have gone been replaced by bland things like Meantime K�lner. No offence to the Meantime boys but what happened to having a proper K�lsch I mean the Germans have been brewing it for 90 odd years. Sadly a place know for its foreign beers has dumbed down to the extent that Belgos looks appealing and that the staff think Tennants Purple Tin constitutes a foreign beer

The new owners who had drunk it the Microbar said that they got it. Sadly they didn�t get it and have got it very wrong and like most theme bars it will enjoy a brief flurry of interest followed by a dip of in business come autumn and winter when I expect that the place will be empty mid week due to its darkness and lack of locals and it will be luck to the see next summer. Just reward for ruining a good bar.

9 Jul 2009 09:58