BITE user comments - Grumbles
Comments by Grumbles
I think the fact that The Bear has very little daytime (even weekend daytime) trade speaks volumes.
Mind you, if it's a dangerous liason you're looking for on a friday or saturday night then get your pulling pants on! And don't blame me if your bunny gets boiled the next morning.
15 Mar 2012 13:45
I like it.
This reminds me of pubs I went to in my younger days. You can't buy weathered charm, something that most pub refurbishments get woefully wrong. It's small inside but very welcoming - when I last went in they asked me if wanted to buy a ticket for the meat raffle!
I hope the couple that run it manage to keep it going.
15 Mar 2012 13:40
Was told by a reliable source that someone going in for the first time was punched by one of the knuckle-dragging regulars. Neanderthals only.
15 Mar 2012 13:28
I agree with TW1 below. There you are waiting for a pint and the two ladies next to be served ask 'are you doing coffee?'
NO, BUT STARBUCKS DOES LOVE!
15 Mar 2012 13:21
Okay, so as far as Twickenham goes, The White Swan is now faceless and corporate, The Fox has gone all lah-de-dah ('another skinny latte whilst I park the pushchairs Felicity?'), The Bear is empty unless it's the weekend meat-market and The George, well you woudn't go in The George, would you?
I like The Barmy Arms depending upon the temper of the Landlord and The Sussex Arms is going with style, but not if you're a lager drinker and don't like their taste in music! And everyone loves The Rifleman (but don't lets all go at once or we'll never fit in)!
The one place which rather than be altered has simply grown it's reputation by doing what it does best is The Bloomsbury. Because it's half a mile up the Staines Road from Twickenham Green, for long enough it's been poorly patronised but by hard work, skill and the warmth of their (award winning) welcome the proprietors Peter and Jane aren't going for a 15 hand-pull gimic like the Sussex, or ditching their regulars for a new market like The Fox or The Swan.
I think they know what works best - you can have a drink and feel welcome and relaxed, you can have some great food (see below), or you can watch sport and listen to live music. That's because The Bloomsbury is big enough to properly be a boozer, a restaurant AND a venue. I think the great testament to getting it right is that any good pub should contain a healthy cross-section of the local community - families with children playing with the provided toys, business types avoiding the wife for a swifty on the way home, younger ones having a safe, stable place to respectfully have their fun, the older generation reflecting on times gone by and, well everyone really.
Have to mention the food, whch is (not mincing my words) the best of any pub in Twickenham. It's all produced fresh, in great variety and in great portions! The legendary sunday roasts - which you should re-book because they always run out due to demand - come in medium, large and 'oh my god'. Don't take my word for it... But my top three things they serve would be:
1: Sizzling Prawns - makes you feel like you've just been run over by a seafood truck carrying a cargo of ginger, garlic and chilli - WOO!
2: Liver & Mash - tender, tender calves or lambs liver in gravy with fluffy, buttery mash. Classic British done in style.
3: Fresh fish - depending on what they can get - why go to Loch Fyne and be disappointed both on your plate and in your pocket?
A new recent addition is a pizza oven - make your own topping, but I haven't tried that yet and the Burgers - lots of toppings, hand made onion rings, I guarantee you definitely won't need to eat again that day!
Well there you are. I'm now considering deleting this because I want The Bloomsbury to stay as it is and not be inundated by Strangers - sorry Pete and Jane!
14 Mar 2012 13:20
I think I'd happily go back here if the manager would change the lightbulbs from 200w to 50w. Seriously, at the risk of sounding photosensitive this pub is waaay overlit.
13 Dec 2011 13:35
Reading the previous review that the Fox's (needed) restoration wouldn't change it from being a real boozer gives youu pause for thought. The work they've done on this great old 16th C pub is extensive - including glass partioning the side into an interior and moving both of the kitchen and toilets upstairs. In short this must have cost them an arm and a leg.
What it does do is to create far more space than there previously was, even taking back the stud walling to reveal the original fireplace in the corner. Personally I quite liked the leaky candles, uneven floor, battered side door, strange little pictures behind the bar, wobbly stools; but I can be happy that the knackered kitchen extractor fan has gone and the eye-wateringly unsanitary toilet facilities have been mercifully brought into the 21st century.
I suppose the question is, has the Fox 'done a White Swan'?
The feel inside is certainly different. Brand spankingly shining and new fawn leather upholstery replaces the homely, beaten up, threadbare familiarity of the saloon bar. Dark, chic wall colours reflect the idea that this has been designed rather than organically grown and lived in. I hear one patron say that it 'needed to be roughed up a bit' which I agree with, but then after such an extensive refit you wouldn't forgive the owners from wanting it to be pristine.
I'd be interesyed in hearing other people's opinions. Is the Fox still a boozer? Or is it all fur coat and no knickers?
13 Dec 2011 13:16
The William Web Ellis, Twickenham
It's rammed on pension and giro day...
16 Mar 2012 13:33