Rik L.

Review of The Masque Haunt

14 Oct 07, 23:05

Average Wetherspoons

Wetherspoons does have something of an undeserved reputation of real ale and old men. Well, the old men bit does always seems to be true, probably because being older and wiser, they know it's best not to spend all their money in an expensive bar. It's actually quite a nice, calm atmosphere with all the old people, bit like visiting an nursing home. There was football on in the bar at the time, and it did take a good five seconds before anyone over 60 realised someone scored.

Anyway, the old people actually make the pub quite relaxing, and to be fair to Wetherspoons, they do have a superb range of beers, ciders and drinks for the ladies, and to top it off, everything is really cheap. Two drinks for under a fiver. A round for under a tenner. Excellent.

Although I wouldn't want to go to the pub every week, it is a nice place to go, have a quick drink and hang around with some eldery people.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of The Slug And Lettuce

17 Jul 07, 17:05

Posh Wetherspoons

I was with some of the reviewers below when the staff were (more than) a bit rubbish, but I have been here before, so I'll summarize my visits. The Slug and Lettuce is a wine bar chain, like a city-banker version of Wetherspoons. It's rather large with good, if not a bit bland, decoration.

As with Wetherspoons, Slug and Lettuce pubs have no hint of character whatsoever, you almost know what the interior is going to look like even before stepping into the place. Good if you're a city banker, bad if you're someone who likes a bit of originality.

Drinks here are definitely on the expensive side, pints can easily cost £4, a glass of wine can cost £6. They're no different than any other pub either. You get to pay extra - some might say over the odds - to sit in a chain pub.

The food here is quite nice and surprisingly it's not as price-inflated as the drinks. It is pretty standard quality though, no gourmet food here. You'd never take a date for a meal here, it's more generic pub grub and there's plenty of pubs in the area that do a much better job of pub food. As said with the other reviews, the staff aren't the brightest bunch in the world, but I won't go too much into that.

There's a lot of bars and pubs in Farringdon, and a high percentage are good places to go. The Slug and Lettuce isn't a bad pub, per se, but it's definitely not a good pub.

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

Review of One Tun

15 Jul 07, 22:58

It's not all about the chairs

I went here with Greg, whose review is below mine, and although he does go on about very small things, such as the plastic school-canteen chairs (which he didn't sit on, and I did, and they were actually very comfy) and the fact that the place looks a bit run down. Well, yes, the One Tun does have the look of a northern working mans club with a thai takeaway bolted on, but this gives the place a certain charm to it. You wouldn't get some shiny Wagamama wannabe having Victorian erotica photos on the walls, would you now?

The fact that some of the food was not exactly piping hot doesn't help the One Tun's case, but the food was nice for only a fiver. I had garlic chicken and rice, which was rather good and nicely filling for a lunch time. If you're not as bothered about chairs that you don't even sit on, then this is a good place to check out in your dinner hour.

0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.

Review of Slaughtered Lamb

05 Jun 07, 20:53

Great drinks, even better food

The Slaughtered Lamb is a lovely little pub tucked away in the Clerkenwell / Farringdon area that has a great selection of drinks and an even better range of foods.

This place must be the only place in London that does Kirin Ichiban and Aspell Cider on tap, which is great for me, but if you're more a real ale fan, then there's also great ales (so I'm told... not really an ale admirer myself).

Now, even if you don't drink, you need to go here for the food. The dishes are something of a cross of pub grub and gastropub, but without the ridiculous price tag. Really well made pub food. They mainly specialise in fish, but do the pub classics - my particular favourite is the sausages and chips. The chips are done to perfection, the best for miles around.

It can get very busy here though, especially at lunch and weekends, which is testament to how popular it is in the area. If you really want to try the food, it's definitely worth reserving a table, but don't let it's busyness put you off going though.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.

Review of The Coal Hole

03 Jun 07, 22:28

Stroll down to the ole Coal Hole

I've been to this place quite a few times before, it's a pretty average pub, with good food but not an amazing selection of drinks. It always seems to be busy at weekends with people standing outside on the pavement and down the side alleyway.

It was only the last time I went that I realised there was a downstairs bar, which no one else seems to know about either, as it was really quiet, even on a Friday evening. If you're looking for a bit of peace and quiet, away from the bustle of Covent Garden pubs, then this is a pleasant little hideaway.

Apparently, this place is owned by a pie-maker, which is why the food is rather good compared to the standard pub grub. I definitely recommend the pies, especially if you're hungry, as they're colossal and take a good two hours to eat.

I did feel a bit sorry for the rather nice staff as they were serving to a large room with only about ten people in. They weren't exactly rushed off their feet, which is not so exciting for them, but not exactly a bad thing for the customer.

The Coal Hole is a good Covent Garden pub, nothing particularly outstanding about it but nothing terrible about it though. It's a pleasant but ordinary pub that does good food.

1 out of 1 person found this review helpful.