Kyra's reviews
Review of Rye Hotel
21 Apr 08, 19:59
My Excellent Local 
I have to agree with Kieran and Lorraine on the Rye Hotel. This is probably my nearest pub, and fast becoming a favourite.
On winter evenings it's a warm, cosy haven, bedecked as it is with fairy lights and boasting large roaring fires. In the summertime, the back garden and bedouin-tent style back rooms become popular late-night hangouts, with the pub even putting on the occasional barbeque. The atmosphere changes with the seasons, from lively festival-esque beer tent to laid-back country-pub Scrabble venue, and I like both.
My one reservation would be that as it's such a child-friendly place it can get pretty full of families, babies and loud children on weekend afternoons. But hey. You gotta love 'em, the little darlings. This is (almost) East Dulwich, after all...
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.
Review of The Old Crown
11 Oct 07, 12:43
Busy but go upstairs, it's worth it...
I went here recently for what was intended to be a quick after-work drink, but turned into a rather pleasant long evening.
The place looked packed when we first arrived, and the ground floor is a bit cramped, but to our delight we found a completely empty room upstairs, with comfy leather sofas and plenty of candles. Some may find it a bit pretentious, but I really liked the effort they had gone to with the decor- funky wallpaper, chandeliers, fresh flowers on the bar, and candles everywhere.
The bar food menu was excellent, and really inexpensive for the quality. Deliciously fat, juicy chargrilled lamb koftas were served with salad for £3.50, and their greek salad was really packed with ingredients, for the same price. The food was mainly what enticed us to consider staying longer, and the novelty of finding a central London venue where we could have a room (almost) to ourselves was what kept us there.
As a final note, the toilets were some of the nicest pub toilets I've ever seen. I'm not even kidding. Oddly, there was one cubicle in the ladies' with two toilets inside. But I'll let that weird little detail slide. A top place.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Review of The Lamb
20 Aug 07, 16:52
Bloomsbury's Finest 
This pub is quite possibly my favourite in London. It is a true haven from the hustle and bustle of everyday London life- a quiet, dark-ish, proper pub that harks back to a golden bygone age, when you could hear yourself think, listening to your friend's hushed tones as they discussed some neighbourhood scandal with you, all the time avoiding the reserved glances of a familiar face or two.
The staff here are always charming and eager to please, the Young's ales seem to go down well with everyone I take there, and the setting is truly inspiring- you feel a bit like you could be drinking with the Bloomsbury set, back in the pub's heyday. Take a notebook if you really want to appear as a permanant fixture!
Having hired the upstairs room for an event earlier this year I can say with conviction that it was the most smoothly-run, friendly, and welcoming experience. I would highly recommend this pub to anyone passing through the Holborn/ Russell Square area- you may find yourself staying longer than you intended. More like this one, please...
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.