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View Full Version : Pubs local to you worth a visit?



Chris Frost
04-04-2008, 13:50
Do you have any particularly good pubs close to where you live? Well kept cellars, good food, great atmosphere, nice bar staff :eyebrows:

Chris Frost
08-04-2008, 09:15
Sirens blaring, Wee Wah Wee Wah Wee Wah!

OK guys, I'm really worried about you lot now.

Topic: Good pubs....................replies 0 (this one doesn't count)

Topic: Am I a psycho...............replies 13 and counting :doh:


:lolsign:

Marco
08-04-2008, 09:34
This is where I do most of my drinking. It's a lovely relaxing place to be. The food is excellent and the beer is superb. There's always a good selection of local and regional real ales. It's where I take people when they visit me.

Check out the pics of the bar in the photos:

http://www.pantyrochain-gresford.co.uk/

When we fancy more wine than beer, and equally good food (actually even better) then we go here:

http://iccheshireonline.icnetwork.co.uk/theguide/diningout/tm_headline=a-real-character-churtons-in-rossett&method=full&objectid=20686892&siteid=50020-name_page.html

The inside of Churtons and a little write-up:

http://iccheshireonline.icnetwork.co.uk/0300whatson/eatingout/tm_headline=churtons-rossett&method=full&objectid=12877661&siteid=50142-name_page.html

It's a fantastic place and the owner is a real character!

An overview of my other local 'haunts'. Check out 'The Golden Grove'. It's one of the oldest pubs in Wales, and again, the food and beer is superb :smoking:

http://www.rossett.org.uk/ron_dir.php?mode=cat&type=Restaurants

I'm quite fortunate that there are a number of quaint pubs around me surrounded by beautiful scenery. It's one of the reasons I moved down from Glasgow ;)

Cheers! :cool:

Marco.

Chris Frost
08-04-2008, 10:32
Excellent write up.:cool:

Marco
08-04-2008, 10:43
When you come over you can choose where you want to go ;)

:smoking:

Marco.

Steve Toy
08-04-2008, 18:24
The Pant-yr-Ochain is superb in every way - beer, food, décor and service. It's a gastro-pub which basically means good food and real ale.

Near me there is a little pub called the Yorkshireman (no website as yet) that does great food and a really decent pint of Black Sheep.

Filterlab
08-04-2008, 18:38
Do you have any particularly good pubs close to where you live? Well kept cellars, good food, great atmosphere, nice bar staff :eyebrows:

No.

They're shit round here.

Marco
08-04-2008, 18:55
Not to worry - you can make up for that where you're up here.

I'm spoiled for choice :cool:

Marco.

Mike
08-04-2008, 20:37
Don't get there very often but this place is a 'must visit' if anyone's ever in the area!

http://www.lionblakey.co.uk/

Cheers,
Mike.

P.S. It's especialy good to visit when the weather is like this:

http://www.lionblakey.co.uk/photossnow.htm

People have been stuck there for days!... God bless Theakstons Old Peculier.

Marco
08-04-2008, 20:51
Looks just like my kind of place, Mikey! :smoking:

I've added it to my portfolio of eateries and drinkeries and will check it out next time I'm in the area - might make a small detour on my trip up to Glasgow in a few weeks ;)

Marco.

Steve Toy
09-04-2008, 15:25
To be fair my local Wetherspoons isn't too shabby (well it is actually) but the beer selection is good and it's in the CAMRA good beer guide.

Filterlab
09-04-2008, 16:09
I'm always a little sceptical of Wetherspoon's beer. Seems a little watery to me, saying that I haven't been in one for years. May be better now. :)

Steve Toy
09-04-2008, 16:43
Wetherspoons pubs do vary enormously. I can think of a couple where I'd drink bottled beer only and probably out of the bottle at that.

Marco
14-04-2008, 09:05
I rarely if ever eat or drink in mass-market places like Wetherspoons, etc, as the quality of everything is generally crap. For pubs (and restaurants) you can't beat small, family run, establishments which near enough always guarantee top-notch drink and grub, and usually friendly and efficient service, too, which for me is a must :)

The amount of heated 'battles' I've had with pub and restaurant managers over the years for shoddy service and shit food doesn't bear thinking about! I'm not the sort of person who will just put up with rubbish and say nothing, like most of the great British public. Italians are a little bit more 'outspoken' than that :eyebrows:

Marco.

Chris Frost
14-04-2008, 10:42
Anyone seen any of the programmes in the Gordon Ramsey Kitchen Nightmare series? He trouble-shoots at ailing restaurants. Some of the horrors he uncovers are a disgrace; rotting food in the fridges and cold stores, pest infestations, etc. Yuk. Makes you wonder how many other restaurants are like this :eek:

Prince of Darkness
14-04-2008, 11:56
Yes and they tend to be small family run establishments:lolsign:
Of course they are also in severe financial difficulty when Chef Ramsey turns up. If you're small you have to be good to survive.

Rick O
15-04-2008, 11:07
There are many good pubs in Stockport, my favourite pub is The Thatched House. It's a local rock pub with live music almost every night, has real ale and real cider and lots of bottled beers. Also there are two open fires, including one in the beer garden.

www.thatched-live.co.uk

Steve Toy
15-04-2008, 12:32
including one in the beer garden.



So the (we) smokers don't freeze to death. Nice! :)

Marco
15-04-2008, 18:24
Smokers? In city centre pubs I'd create a nice quiet little area for them to use beside the buses ;)

More on 'family-run' pubs and restaurants later!

Marco.

Ali Tait
15-04-2008, 19:31
I can recommend the Isles Inn in Portree on Skye for food.Went up there the other weekend for a break.Stayed at the pub.While the room was ok but nothing special(very reasonable though) the food was fantastic.Nothing fancy,just the more usual pub grub.They did a few Scottish dishes-the local venison in particular was excellent.The butternut squash and sweet-potato soup however was to die for! Everything home-made.Another highlight was the live folk music.A few beers and live sounds just can't be beaten,no matter how good your system is..

Regards,Ali

Marco
15-04-2008, 19:45
Nice one, Ali. I totally agree! Sounds great :smoking:

I've experienced stuff like that up North before. Syke is stunningly beautiful. I'm not sure if I've been to the Isles Inn, but I've been to Portree - it was about 10 years ago, though, so my memory of it is somewhat sketchy.

Have you ever been to Orkney? It's like Syke only more rugged and remote but the scenery is breathtaking. The malt whisky is not half bad, too!

Marco.

Chris Frost
15-04-2008, 20:06
It's a while ago now, but we were on Skye in 2005 and had some fantastic meals as well as some damned fine single malts :)

Things may have changed of course, but these were good at the time...

The Rosedale Hotel, Portree Harbour (http://www.iknow-scotland.co.uk/accommodation/19414-the_rosedale_hotel-portree.htm) Superb steak and a very friendly atmosphere.

Skeabost Country House Hotel (http://www.oxfordhotelsandinns.com/OurHotels/SkeabostCountryHouse) Very fine dining. Book ahead to avoid disappointment. Dust off your DJ tell her she can wear her little black frock, she'll love you forever.

There are others but as I didn't have to drive my memory is somewhat hazy on the details :lol:

Marco
15-04-2008, 20:55
And if you're really lucky, afterwards she'll let you wear the little black frock and her high heels... :lolsign:

Marco.

Ali Tait
16-04-2008, 16:50
Hi Marco,
No not been to Orkney yet,sounds good! I'm actually Scottish by birth (from Braemar up in the Highlands) but only recently moved back to Dunfermline to start with a new company after spending 18 years in Leeds.Nice to be north of the border again!! LOL.

Marco
16-04-2008, 21:55
LOL nice one, mate :)

I've been to Braemar - lovely place! Dunfermline though is somewhat different ;)

Yes, I miss some parts of Scotland, too, particularly the shopping in Glasgow, the city's heritage and culture, and the surrounding countryside areas such as the Trossachs.

Good luck in your new job and I'm sure you'll quickly settle back into the Scottish way of life. Just think about all the deep-fried pizzas, Irn-Bru, and haggis washed down with Buckfast! :eyebrows:

Marco.

Ali Tait
17-04-2008, 15:27
Haha thanks Marco!

snapper
17-04-2008, 15:59
LOL nice one, mate :)

I've been to Braemar - lovely place! Dunfermline though is somewhat different ;)


Marco.


I quite like Dunfermline,had some of the best nights ever,there.

As you head north east,towards East End Park,there is a really nice area called Transy Grove.Always fancied having a house there.

lovejoy
15-06-2009, 14:43
I thought I'd resurrect this old thread rather than start a new one after having this book bought for me recently:
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rough-Pub-Guide-Celebration-British/dp/0752898876/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245076459&sr=8-1)

It's a great little book and is a guide on 50 of the most eccentric and interesting pubs in the UK. Thumbing through it, I realised that I was only familiar with a very small number of them, so I'm going to endeavour to get some more ticked off during the summer.

Having been a Devon dweller for a couple of years, this place became my favourite local pub by miles:
http://www.cheffers.co.uk/bridge.html

Hugely varying range of ales, generally between 6 and 8 on the go at any time, all incredibly well kept and straight from the barrel, served into good old fashioned glass tankards. No bar, just a serving hatch. The place looks like it hasn't been touched since the coronation - the small snug at the back actually still has the flags out. Very friendly service, we were always made to feel welcome. Roaring log fires in winter. If the place gets busy, there's an old malt house at the back which provides extra space and the room is full of antique furniture and bric-a-brac. Some nights this is also home to some fantastic live music. I've seen Jeff Lang there twice - truly amazing guitarist/songwriter. Oh, and a penalty to pay if your mobile rings at the bar.

Haselsh1
15-06-2009, 14:53
I'd like to recommend if I may, the White Swan Hotel in Pickering market place. The bar is small and cosy, the fire is great on a winters night and the Timothy Taylors Landlord is excellent. The food is fabulous and the wine cellar stunning and stunningly expensive.