please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Busy pub on Walthamstow High Street. It's slightly on the upmarket side. Sunday lunches were being served on my mid-afternoon visit. Some were watching the League Cup football final. Ales are from London breweries - Southwark Amber Ale & Routemaster, Enefeld London Porter & Truman's Blindside. Not a bad choice in Walthamstow. But, there are better pubs in the area.
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Pub looks the part for E17. Shabby chic interior but shitty opening hours. Great beer selection, although can be pricey. Ale served in a tankard which is always good. Almost always warm which is good depending on your view. Food looks great on the menu but in reality is average. Had the burger (messy) and the fish n chips (nothing to write home about). Music is great if you like noisy alternative (think Pixies). Clean, good toilets, spacious. Be prepared to overhear wanky hipster conversations if alone, otherwise enjoy local brewed beer (Hackney Brewery). Guest ales from £3.80.
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Although they no longer own it, it still has the standard Antic "shabby-chic" decor (even seems to have the same bar staff).
Has a good range of beers, but a bit expensive (£3.80 a pint), which seems to have deterred a lot of the locals (customers seem to be the "trendies")
Not a bad pub, but if I was to criticise anything, it would be the gloomy interior, which seems to be the standard in a lot of pubs lately
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This pub and it's typical clientele feels very out of place on the market, nice ale (Jaipur!) but pretentious decor, i.e. vintage telephones and handbags superglued to the walls at random intervals. We went the night after they opened and got served a bottled beer that was several months out of date! Which I assume means they deliberately bought gone off beer? I'm sure they'll do very well though, they seem constantly busy.
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Excellent beer, and strong variety. An exceptionally good wheat beer from the London Fields Brewery; cask ale Beavertown(?) Jaipur IPA? The staff, I found to be VERY helpful, efficient and not tediously over-familiar.
Decor is dark mixture of brownish-black treacle and equally dull sea-green coloured paints that adds needless decades to a newly renovated pub; a setting that contrasts with those inhabiting it; wealthy 40 year-olds, trying to strip themselves of their decades, wearing expensive glasses, clothing and footwear. The Chequers poor decor appears to be the work of those with whom it is now frequented; the affluent, South-West London artist - from whom all measure of suffering has been kept. Looking to recreate the dilapidation of an old East End public house for other middle-class people of no financial constraint, the Chequers clientele is entirely educated and well-dressed, and presumably secretly thankful for the complete absence of the poor, working-class Walthamstow resident, whose house their parents bought up 12 months earlier. Like the Private Eye cartoon 'It's Grim Up North London' (with only 'north' substituted for 'east') "Oh, eating sea bream whilst watching all the tradesman outside, it's like being back in Marrkech!"
The Chequers' customers' well-to-do and generally superficial presentation of their whole character through their clothing, means that one fears not unprovoked violent attacks from strangers, since those at whom you 'stare' are pleased to have their jumper or haircut looked at continually by the lesser-presented you. Twenty-something boys, frightfully handsome and coy, show off dark beards, whilst their pallid and plain looking girlfriend thumbs dispassionately at a phone.
Now, the real question is whether it is better than the reopened Bell. For beer, the Chequers; for decor, the Bell; for clientele, both are good; for food, I hear the Chequers. I'd strongly recommend both. 9/10.
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Hallelujah - what Walthamstow has been crying out for for years - a decent pub in the market! Another pub I hadn't been in for fifteen years or more (see The Bell). Good range of well kept beer, friendly staff, lively without being raucous, busy without being rammed - an utter revelation for Walthamstow. Decor is ongoing (particularly the outside) but I'm sure that will improve. Will definitely be going back.
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Antic apparently intend to reopen it in March. Can't wait!
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Currently doing a pub for every station on London Overground. Did this one for Walthamstow Queens Road. A bit of a dump, full of chav types. Sign on the door says "No Hoods, No Caps". They clearly ignore this rule. Lots of mouthy geezers in here when I visited. No real ale. Thai food looked quite nice though.
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This is my second choice of pubs in Walthamstow. Though not been in there for a while as it's changed hands more than I've had hot dinners but on my recent visit we popped in there & ate the Tai food in the restaurant part of the pub. Without a word of a doubt it is very well presented, tastes absolutely fab and considering that the rest of the pub leaves a lot to be desired, the waitress service and whole abience is something everyone should experience. I hope other people will agree with me once you try it out. Please let me know what you thought of it. I know that since we ate in there we have been recomending our friends to go there. Trust me, you too will be doing the same.
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The staff in here seemed nice enough, but the other clientele left a lot to be desired. There is a projector screen around the side of the bar and also a couple of plasma screens precariously hanging above the barmaids heads behind the bar and these were both showing Sky News with the sound on which I find extremely repetitive and distracting. There are a couple of pool tables in a room at the back of the pub and there is a gated off alley to the side with a few tables for al fresco drinking. I visited on a nice sunny afternoon whilst the madness of the market outside ensued, but all of the slated blinds were closed making the pub quite dark and depressing.
There is a standard selection of draught available and I also spotted some food menus dotted around for some reasonably priced grub, although I did not try any or see anyone else eating.
This pub is very disjointed and I wouldn�t go out of my way to drink here again.
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I take my son here for game of darts and we both love the place, friendly staff, decent atmosphere, and food is bloody good too.
If you ever in the area ignore first glance and grab a pint, ease yourself into the feel of the place and you will def be back another day.
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This pub is a bit of a shambles as per below but in my opinion, the food is terrific, especially the sunday roast, which @ �6.00 is both great value and one of the better pub roasts I have had.
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what a dive!!!
I walked in took one look and walked back out !
I felt like I had walked into a wild west saloon people stop drinking and take a look at you up and down !! all that was missing was the tumbleweeds blowing across the floor and lee van cleef chewing on a cigar !!!
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good food ,good people, typical east london pub ...
friendly staff, and fit birds defo be back...
Ricko
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Tatty, grubby dive with no proper beer and sullen service. On a recent lunchtime the sparse clientele including two guys checking their dodgy DVDs or market gear, a p*ssed/spaced-out woman wandering around haranguing people, and a couple of kids in pushchairs. Lovely though rundown building, prime location - this could be a great pub; at present it's anything but. Whoever runs it needs to get his/her finger out or find another job.
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Big and promising changes since new govoner. Excellent night out with lots of atmosphere and friendly people. The staff are spot on and friendly.
Pub has lots of events, excellent food and good music. Also it's fabulous for watching the footie on their huge screens.
Me and my mates will be back for sure.
Chillin' !!!
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GREAT FOOD! Wouldn't think you'd find such good quality of food but it was a pleasant surprise. Friendly staff and big improvement with the new management.Big spacious pub compared to some in the area which are small and cramped. Not in the nicest area but nice mixture of people and overall had a really good Friday night!! Thanks to all the Chequers staff for an excellent night!
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Place where failed extra's from the film 'deliverence' seem to congregate.........
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Nice pub shame JonJon sold up the new owners are not exactly Walthamstow Wise lol
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very empty. I felt lost. Nice staff but they need to have better varied music. The area outside is a dangerous place and wouldnt go there unless you are tough.
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Staff are friendly & you get a nice party crowd on a friday night. Friday nights appear to be better than saturday nights. Management are great people & respect is due. Toilets leave somewhat more be desired for but that seems to be the way in most pubs in Walthamstow.
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Quite a freindly little den of a place slap bang in the middle of Walthamstow Market. Also, it's the oldest building on the High Street, hailing back to Georgian times. Certainly nothing special, but not bad for the area.
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If you're a fan of the Doner, Walthamstow is the place for you! I've never seen so many burger/kebab shops so near each other! Nice pint by the way.
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Not a bad pub for a local late nite piss-up!
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i have been using this pub for 16 years on and off great on a fri night friendly staff cute landlord
bb - 10 Sep 2004 23:14 |
I have been using this pub on and off for years, and have seen it packed out and deadly quiet. With the new owners, better DJs on Friday and Saturday nights and a strict policy on loutish behaviour, this has become a truly great place to unwind Friday and Saturday nights. Doesn't get busy until later, when it gets packed out, but girls should arrive early to have their chance at the local 'talent' before it gets really busy. Staff excellent, manager great with a no-nonsense attitude which is just what this area needs. A big well done to Big John and the rest. Oh, almost forgot- beer not bad either. Great atmosphere at the weekends.
Ian - 26 May 2004 15:17 |
No real ales, but that's true of many places in central E17.
Ben - 27 Oct 2003 22:20 |
Used to be my local and had some wonderful evening's there with all the local geezers.Jukebox in the background and several rounds of pool along with several pints of Carlsberg and Stella Artois.Always a special place in my memory.Miss the old place.All the best to Tony and all the other regulars from sunny South Africa
Casper and Andre - 12 Oct 2003 22:21 |
This was one of the first boozers that I used when I was a teenager. It was very different then�..loud and dirty. It went through a couple of needed refits during the 90�s and was packed day and night because at that time the market was the place to visit or work. I revisited it again for the first time in 5 years a couple of months ago and once again it has a new owner. The video wall has gone, there are fewer fruit machines, the bar staff now smile whilst serving and someone is now collecting the glasses! It�s a pub that�s finally grown up and it suits it. And I wish I�d saved all that money I earned on the pool table at the back of the pub��.Nah, no fun in that!
Street_Geezer - 11 Sep 2003 16:47 |
Really good pub, have made this my local since moving to Walthamstow, staff always friendly. Would reccomend paying a visit if your in the area
Carl - 11 Sep 2003 16:12 |
check it out, this is a nice pub, very quiet week nights, but really nice atmos at the weekends, just avoid the DJ on a friday night, christ
anonymous - 10 Apr 2003 16:06 |
Shabby from the outside but inside not too bad a boozer. Has local atmosphere, especially seeing as it's right next to the market.Quite cozy really.
anonymous - 6 Apr 2003 09:56 |
