The Nell Gwynne, Covent Garden

I visited the pub on Saturday the 16th May 2015 but found no sign of the totally mad barman ‘Grotesque Morrissey’ which was detrimental to the running of the pub in my opinion.
The two attractive female staff members seemed to be more interested in conducting social media, and in fact had reserved two stools at the end of the bar by placing beer mats on them – I assume to make their life even more comfortable. Come back ‘Grotesque Morrissey’ and sort the service out, all is forgiven!

20 May 2015 16:42

The Kingsbury, Aylesbury

The Venue should be renamed the Benefit Arms, as it�s the number stop off point after signing on. When you walk in the Kingsbury, it�s like walking into a Wild West saloon in 19th century, with everyone turning round to see the stranger in town.

The service is sound enough; however, the selection is pretty limited. Real Ale enthusiasts will find it grim. The menu looks nice, but it is dangerous to judge a book by its cover, my first and last meal there had me studying the "Armitage Shanks" logo at home for far too long for my liking.

The atmosphere is as clicky as Spanish maracas, with the locals in there looking like something from 'The Deliverance'. I once dared to sit on stool at one of the one of the high tables; you would have thought I was a mass murderer for the stares I encountered.

The TV's are always on, even for non live sport, or simply non event sport. The World Curling Championship would get an airing in here no worries.

It�s always had a Chav element, but this has escalated to scary heights since the closing of Hobgoblin. They have now turned the Kingsbury into a cross between the Southcourt Housing Estate and the Jeremy Kyle show.

What doesn't help is that the Kingsbury doesn't seem to be loved by its owners. If this place was taken over by a hard working couple, willing to put the graft in for the long run, then this place has potential. It's a cracking sized place, a great location in the nicer part of town. Get rid of the scum giving this place a name of shame, and bring back the glory days when we had live bands once a month. In the interim, I'm afraid it's to be avoided at all costs. So therefore, do yourself a favour and take a 2 minute stroll to the Kings Head.

31 Aug 2011 19:00

The Dark Lantern, Aylesbury

Establishments like this are now all too commonplace. Take one historic 16th-century pub that is down on its luck, call in the interior designers, rip it to shreds, stick in bright lights, and hey presto, one faceless, soulless modern pub aimed at people who have delusions of grandeur, and who really can�t be bothered to walk an extra hundred yards in search of anything with a bit of charisma. Functional but uninteresting and boring and not a place I can see myself returning to in a hurry. Will it survive the aftershock of the recent global financial crisis? I doubt it!

4 Dec 2008 16:04