MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
They're great, aren't they? And they're suffering at the moment as well, so let's spread the love and see who recommends what.
Let's be hearing your recommendations for GREAT pubs.
A few from me;
The Parrot, Forest Green in Surrey. Stunningly good food (They have their own farm!) and lovely beer.
The Malet, Newton Tony (IMHO, the finest pub in the country! I've been going there for about twenty years and still love the place)
Wombwell Arms, Wass, Yorks. Lovely food, great beer and a really nice atmosphere overall.
The Ferryboat Inn, Helford Passage, Cornwall. OK, so it's no stunner in high season with all the grockles, but in the off season, it's a great place for a beer after a day's sailing
The Cressely Arms, Pembs. Affectionately known as the Quay, this is a cracker. Maurice and Janet run a cracking pub. Always a warm fire and a warmer welcome!
So, let's have the STW Good Pub Guide then!
Bangers near Mooregate because:
It's called bangers, but isn't a titty bar
Old Wallop served in Pewter Tankards
Good selection of port
Not full on trendy annoying people
Horse Shoes, Rennington - Very friendly, piss poor decor, exceptional food, local beers. **** it think I'll head there tonight.
? - Great beer, brew their own, best crab sandwiches in the world, gets a bit too busy in the summer.
I would also recommend the "?" as mentioned by Drac. The crab sarnies are indeed that good!
The Imperial - Chorley town centre - great staff, good vibe, live music - a bit different to what you find elsewhere in the big C
Some Glasgow nominations
McSorleys on Jamaica St: old mans pub style but has a modern "vibe". Great booze, food and music.
Clockwork Beer Company in Battlefield - Amazing selection of beers and their own microbrewery.
Soba in Mitchell Lane: Japanese themed restaurant/ bar. Great atmosphere at the weekends and great cocktails.
Stube Bier Halle in Shawlands: Wonderful selection of beers and 2 for 1 pizzas all week 8)
I love pubs too... Lots of characterful, cheap commercial premises in great locations coming to a market near you, soon...
Malt and hops in Leith - a great traditional pub - 8 real ales, open fire, free dog biscuits for your mutt.
The Fox - Brook Bottom (Roman Lakes). Cos last week they stayed open specially for us after our night ride and did us curry and chips in humungous proportions for a fiver.
King Bill, Greenfield. Similar reasons, curry and chips was only £3.50 there.
Diggle Hotel, Diggle. Just cos it's in a place with a funny name, right at the end of quite a long fun downhill.
The Besom in Ripponden, cos they don't seem to care about things like smoking (not that any of us smoke, it's just nice to smell as if you do occasionally), shutting hours, post ride hot beef buttie for a quid.
Dulcimer Bar - Chorlton - the sanctuary for massive beards.
Oh, and any good pub guide for STW must not include The Rambler at Edale. Staffed by miserable anti bike bastids who often give us a hard time for trying to drink their beer.
They once made us stand outside with our post night ride pints in the cold. It needs burning down and the staff should be killed.
Red Lion - Ealing, finest Fullers pub in London that I know of
Queens Arms - Littondale, brilliant, microbrew real ale made in the shed.
The Bodega - Necastle, proper unpretentions drinking pub for blokes, but with a brilliant range of real ale.
Centurion - Newcastle, best station bar I've been to, but I don't use the train that much
If we're going to start naming bad or bike-unfriendly pubs, then the White Lion in Ambleside deserves a mention.
They wouldn't serve us with food outside when we called towards the end of a ride. They expected us to leave £10 grand+ of bikes unattended in the beer garden while we ate inside!
I wonder what they did with those 8 pints of shandy that they'd already poured...
Snigle
:o)
Oi, let's be keeping this to GOOD pubs! The ones that deserve our love! (And money, of course!)
Pubs, my idea of hell!
Both in Musselburgh - Stagg's{Volunteer Arms} and The Ship Inn.
The Bell Inn in Ramsbury and and the Royal Oak in Bishopstone both in Wiltshire (I think)
Fair point. I will therefore retract mention of the nasty ol Rambler (spit), and instead replace with a positive to re-balance karma.
The Sportsman in Hayfield. V good location for night rides, sells Thwaites. Nuff said.
The Jolly Brewmaster, Cheltenham. Truly excellent beer.
The Farmers Arms, Guiting Power. Great unpretensious (sp?) country pub in the Cotswolds, and there's not many of them, believe me.
The Peveril in the Peak, Manchester city centre. Is it still there?
The Lantern Pike, Little Hayfield. Been a while, but I love it.
And, for memories alone, The Jolly Sailor, Davenport.
OK, sorry Captain... I love the Black Bull in Fulwood, Preston. The food's shite, the beer's expensive and the service is appalling.
But it's chock-full of quality tail on a Friday night!
Snigle
:o)
I was impressed with The Old Bell Inn in Edinburgh when we ate there last year - couldn't fault the place for food, beer, layout, just felt like a good place. http://www.bestpubs.co.uk/layout0.asp?pub=106063
The Carriers Arms in Watlington. It's a backwater, grotty falling down ramble full of Inbred local farmers.
Serves great beer, they don't care if you're head to toe in muck, and you can still get a home made ham roll for £1.50.
King's Wark - on the Shore in Leith
The Shore - on the Shore in Leith
Black Bull - Beaumaris
The LIverpool Arms - Menai Bridge
Bankfoot Inn - Bankfoot
The Strawbury Duck - Entwistle (near Bolton & Blackburn)
The Station Inn - Oxenholme
Hawkshead Brewery - Stavely (not really a pub but very good all the same)
Jacksons Boat. The start and finish of our local night rides.
They'll serve us even when we arrive back at 30 seconds to eleven.
Theres a great beer garden in the summer
If you fancied experimenting with taking it up the garry, you merely need to pop in the bushes over the bridge. Ask Hora
The only good thing going for Jacksons boat is allowing dogs into the bar!
Head of Steam - Huddersfield train station (they now have Deuchars ontap!)
The Buffetbar - Stalybridge train station
and...
http://www.igougo.com/entertainment-reviews-b7023-Edinburgh-Barony_Bar.html
The Salisbury in Harringay.
Stunning Victorian building that's been well restored, good whiskies and beers, genuinely local and mixed clientele (as it's miles from a tube station), late opening, great jukebox.
Really miss having such a good local.
Bitter End or 1761 in Cockermouth
Bank Tavern Keswick
Little Creatures Fremantle
IHN - Member
....The Peveril in the Peak, Manchester city centre. Is it still there?
....
Yes it is...and by the looks of it, it won't have changed since you last visited 🙂
The Waggon and Horses, Halesowen – more real ale than you shake a beard at, a proper “no nonsense” pub
The Vine, Vine Lane, Clent – goody hearty food, good company and do not bat an eye lid when you walk in covered in mud
The Exchange, Derby – Anywhere they serve good beer with cheese is good enough for me
The Peveril in the Peak- Love it there. Its not the beer thats the attraction though.
Anyone been to that downstairs old public toilet further up the road from there?
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese - Fleet Street
Proper old pub that hasn't really changed since Dr Johnson drank there
i love pubs i do.
Favourites in Glasgow
Tennants
Lis More
the Doublet
the Landsdowne
Usige Beatha
the Halt
McPhabs
Rab Ha's
problem with the cheshire cheese, is that the beer is crap, so it couldn't possibly feature in a good pub guide
The John Bunyan, Coleman Green.
Mainly because I live next to it 🙂
Red Lion - Ealing, finest Fullers pub in London that I know of
Aye, a fine pub indeed.
Also...The Ealing Park Tavern, a free house, good ale changed every week and excellent food.
The Duke of Sussex, much the same but in chiswick.
I like the bell in bath which is, although rather studenty, cheap and pretty unique
[i]Anyone been to that downstairs old public toilet further up the road from there?[/i]
The Temple of Convenience? Yup, again, years ago. The one round the corner from the Beeb on Oxford Road (Jabez Clegg?) is/was good too.
How could I forget - The Springvale Beer Engine in Sheffield. Again, more for the memories than the beer.
Usige Beatha
Ooh yes, I really liked it there.
White Lion, Ambleside - Fantastic food, great portions, nice beer and don't serve shandy drinkers.
Black Bull - Beaumaris
The LIverpool Arms - Menai Bridge
Bankfoot Inn - Bankfoot
The Strawbury Duck - Entwistle (near Bolton & Blackburn)
The Station Inn - Oxenholme
Hawkshead Brewery - Stavely (not really a pub but very good all the same)
You been following me around, goeffj?
My local (ish), the Effra in Brixton - for the live reggae or jazz rather than the beer
The Market Porter in Borough for the beer
The Bookbinders in Oxford to hide from the tourists
The Ship Arnside
IHN - MemberAnyone been to that downstairs old public toilet further up the road from there?
The Temple of Convenience? Yup, again, years ago. The one round the corner from the Beeb on Oxford Road (Jabez Clegg?) is/was good too.
Love the wallpaper in the toilets of The Temple...60's black and white porn is definitely something you don't see everyday.
Don't think you're talking about Jabez though (it's opposite the Union). I think you're refering to The Las O'Gowrie instead. Again, probably still the same as the last time you went in.
I really don't think I've been to a bad pub in Edinburgh. All well kept, even the spit n sawdust old boys pubs, of which there are plenty. Plenty character, good beers, good times.
GeoffJ
Strawbery duck is now rubbish mate. They have no idea how to keep beer since being taken over by Cairns.
The best one IMO is the Belmont Bull in Belmont (nr Bolton).
Superb traditional English village pub, Al, the landlord is a craftsman with ale, his cellar is a shrine to real ale. Welcomes bikers in whatever condition. His Bank Top Beer is simply the finest drink known to man. The Champagne of the North.
The Fox (Mellor?) at the top of the rocky BW from Strines. Classic Robbies decor (beaten copper tables, farm tools, horse brasses), great location, and beer. That said, i ain't beeen for years as I don't live round there anymore.
The Navigation at the end of the canal in Buxworth. Home to many a post ride piss up - plus Timothy Taylors Landlord. Nuff said!
I haven't been in a pub for about two years. Should I get out more?
Any branch of Hooters
Teuchters, Edinburgh. Avoid friday and saturday though fills up with suits, but i often get the impression that i'm the only teuchter in there though.
And The Baillie, the Cask and Barrel, the Antiquary, The St Vincent.
All within staggering distance from my house.
Stay at the Fighting Cocks in Arneside and open your curtains to the bay. Stunning. Mind, the night before the live band will have been belting out all night leaving the missus kinda grouchy and sleepless 🙄
http://www.fighting-cocks.co.uk/ The train in the pic is one half of what you see when you wake up!
Red Lion, Histon CAMBS - crap for riding, decent pub for lunch and beer though. Great Belgian selection and new guest ale each week. no dinners though 🙁
Free Press, Cambridge Blue, Kingston Arms, Empress, Pickerel - Cambridge is pretty well stocked with distractions from riding!
O Sullivans on the harbour in Crookhaven Co Cork
A very nice, proper Irish pub.
I can see why so many pubs are going out of business though. £6.50 plus for a couple of pints :roll:, only a couple of years ago when I still used my ST at the footy it was £4.50. £2 increase in two years - why?
Sloans in Glasgow city centre - a bolt hole for when you decide to throw the towel in and can't be bothered with the shops. Great on a saturday afternoons when the place of full of shopping and people who've given up and decided to relax instead.
also in Glasgow The Horseshoe bar on a weekday lunchtime.
The Market Bar in Inverness, I don't like the place much, but it doesn't matter where a night out starts, it always ends there.
The Crown Inn, Churchill, Somerset. When civilisation ends, after the bit where there is death, disease, violence and the destruction of all the mechanisms of modern life, the dust will settle, those that are left will pick themselves up and dust themselves off, start life afresh and all pubs will be like the Crown Inn.
also in Glasgow The Horseshoe bar on a weekday lunchtime.
Aye the Horseshoe is a cracker. Some characters in there 😆
Some crackers here, mine..............
The Buck Inn, Cowpe (rossendale), just off the MTLoop and the best "landlord" bitter.
The Windsor Castle 114 Campden Hill Road, London, top ale sawdust and low doors
The Kings House , Rannoch Moor/Glen Coe, because I spent my formative years in the climbers bar, getting there at 12.00 midnight on a Friday night after driving up from Manchester.............memories !
All may favorite glasgow pubs are down dark alleys
Jerusalem Tavern, Clerkenwell, St Peters only Boozer I think, excellent.
Proper olde worlde, but in a good way
All the below are nominated for some combination of quality beer and at least one of - a)bike friendly attitude b)pies and c)barmaid with big b**bs 🙂
Cock O'The North - Hipperholme, nr Halifax. Brews on the premises, and it's all bloody lovely
Travellers - also nr Hipperholme (an Ossett Brewery pub)
Red Rooster - Brighouse, West Yorks. Great selection of beers, mostly local(ish)
The Spring Rock - Norland, Halifax. Good food and beer.
The Red Rooster qualifies on all counts!
To complete the Leith theme. The waterline, big comfy sofas good grub, the Roseleaf, nice and a bit quirky.
And seconded on the 'tiq. Free sanners and sausage rolls during happy hour on a Friday.
[i]"...and all pubs will be like the Crown Inn."[/i]
Well said sir.
Also, The Hunters Lodge at Priddy.
[i]Classic Robbies decor (beaten copper tables, farm tools, horse brasses), great location, and beer.[/i]
Great Beer and Robbies pub are not two things commonly associated with each other. I should know, I used to work in one.
[i]I think you're refering to The Las O'Gowrie instead.[/i]
That's the badger, thanks.
And how could I forget Mr Tom's on Cross Street? Serves a great 'Manchester Salad' (bowl of chips) 🙂
The Fringe Bar in Manchester - good selection of belgium ales
The Crown Inn Stockport - great variety of real ale and mad apple drinks
The Sportman's Arms or Inn Hayfield near the candc campsite
The Swan Inn in Kettleshume
The windmill Inn near Bollington - great ale & food and just off the Middlewood way
- [b]The Moon under Water[/b], Hounslow - Weatherspoon so King Greene £1.00 a pint, plus lovely girls serving 😉
- [b]The Spinning Wheel[/b], Northfields - THE BEST Ealing area pub: live music on both floors, loads of Antipodeans ready for fun, decent kebeb opposite. In fact it's so good my wedding do was there on an Open Mike Night.
- [b]Finnegans Wake[/b], Ealing - great atmosphere and you can read a book inside midweek without being inconvenienced by anybody.
My favourite was [b]The Devonshire Arms, Camden[/b] RIP.
The Rose and Crown- Ealing... Good beer, food and friendly staff
The Castle- Ealing... another Fullers pub that does nice Thai food and shows the rugby
The Red Lion- as above although it gets packed out and you need to get there early
The Bricklayers Arms- Hoxton... haven't been in years but have good memories of getting in trouble with the old bill!
The Boat- Berkhamsted... very close to home and work
The Alford Arms- Frithsden... good food but gets a bit poncy
Valiant Trooper- Aldbury... does good local beers and food
- The Spinning Wheel, Northfields - THE BEST Ealing area pub: live music on both floors, loads of Antipodeans ready for fun, decent kebeb opposite. In fact it's so good my wedding do was there on an Open Mike Night.
- Finnegans Wake, Ealing - great atmosphere and you can read a book inside midweek without being inconvenienced by anybody.
Are you completely mad? The spinning wheel was a place best left alone, seen numerous fights there, but had some good nights too, but Finnegans Wake....W@nk more like, full of chavs, kids, crap beer, quite quite appalling....this was some time ago but it looks like the same old thing now....would'nt dream of drinking there.
The Rose and Crown- Ealing... Good beer, food and friendly staff
The Castle- Ealing... another Fullers pub that does nice Thai food and shows the rugby
Both good pubs, the Rose and Crown was where me and my friends first started drinking 15 years ago.
Golden Rule in Ambleside
Eagle and Child in Staveley.
Prince of Wales Foxfield
- The Moon under Water, Hounslow - Weatherspoon so King Greene £1.00 a pint, plus lovely girls serving
- The Spinning Wheel, Northfields - THE BEST Ealing area pub: live music on both floors, loads of Antipodeans ready for fun, decent kebeb opposite. In fact it's so good my wedding do was there on an Open Mike Night.
- Finnegans Wake, Ealing - great atmosphere and you can read a book inside midweek without being inconvenienced by anybody.
TBH, I seriously question your taste!
The Spinning Wheel always feels like you've gatecrashed a bad wedding, and Finegans Wake is probably the worst pub in Ealing, not that many at the broadway End are noteworthy at all.
The Riverhead, Marsden. One or two elements thst need over-looking but great real ales (tis a microbrewery afterall... ) says the lager drinker 😛 )........... and great food upstairs....
oh, and local riding ain't to bad either......
The Grove - Hudderfield, top of town, just outside the ring-road, real pub, real ales, excellent list of bottled stuff from around the world, great selection of spirits and an unequalled list of bar snacks..... 😛
The Spinners Arms in Adlington - the beer is very well kept, staff are friendly and they have loads of guest beers.
Also the Black Dog near Dalton is excellent - great food and the beer is spot on too.
I spent many a night at the Wheel over the past 10 years. Never seen sa much as a push-up let alone a punch-up. I remember taking a chair and some Guinness bits and pieces from downstairs when a friend was leaving London for good.
I still go there several times a month, can't do it more often 'cos I dislike the Tube. The Finnigans Wake is my pub of choice for Ealing and has been since the late '90's. The best Irish Coffee, lovely place in the Summer. When I lived round the corner I used to go there to watch Arsenal play Man Utd wearing MU top and never ever had any issues with anybody.
Maybe they fight when they see you, mate?
How well do you boys know the girls at The Moon?
See??
😉
BTW Have you tried The Dolphin in Hanwell? Same old folk with the same old pint there forever. Or The Fox by The Grand Union Canal, also W7? Looooovely 🙂
I can't believe a thread about a shoulder barge has more replies than one about pubs, 😳 live near cambs at the mo but at uni in wycombe there was the bell in town, belle vue near the train station and le de spencers arms near the bomb holes in downey.
Ladybower Inn - Peak
Stay open for you on a cold winters night for a post ride beer, serve excellent food and will always find us a table on a summer Sunday when it's completely rammed. Top people.
Golden Rule, Ambleside (pre fag ban it was great)
and, for the memories:
Red Lion, Egham (Beautiful Burton Ale bolthole)
Argyle Arms, nr Oxford Circus .. to escape the maniacs outside.
lowey - I'd heard the Strawbury Duck had gone to the dogs. I worked there as a student about 20 years ago and whilst it was never fantastic, it did serve Taylor's Landlord and a fantastic black lager called Furstenburg Antonius as well as Old Peculiar etc.
Zokes - maybe Bolton > Bangor/Beaumaris > Leicester (we try not to talk about that bit too much) > Leith/Edinburgh > Perthshire
Aren't you in Bangor/Menai Bridge?
Lovely to see how many people recommend pubs in very disparate places!
Keep 'em coming.
Some on our Wed night rides:
The Bayley Arms,Hurst Green.
Swan Inn,Whalley.Timmy T's Landlord,Bowland Hen Harrier.
DeLacy,Whalley.Deuchars on tonight...mmmmm.....
Lower Buck,Waddington.Timmy T's Landlord.
3rd vote for the Crown Inn at Churchill in Somerset.
For complete character and ruddy faces Cotham Porter Stores in Bristol is hard to beat - complete dump though.
Also Highbury Vaults and Hare on the Hill in Bristol.
BTW Have you tried The Dolphin in Hanwell? Same old folk with the same old pint there forever. Or The Fox by The Grand Union Canal, also W7? Looooovely
Used to drink in The Dolphin alot around 8 years ago, and Matt my house mate worked there around 2000 thus how we met, The Fox is a good pub and the beer festival they have is well worth a look....but finnigans IS a sh1t hole no question.
BTW Have you tried The Dolphin in Hanwell? Same old folk with the same old pint there forever. Or The Fox by The Grand Union Canal, also W7? Looooovely
Ah yes, the Fox is a great pub.
Maybe they fight when they see you, mate?
Fight, where did I mention that? The Wheel seemed like a good crowd, but not in a pub way, in a cheesy nightclub way.
Last time I was in Finnegans wake it was FULL of underage kids drinking alchopops
The Happy Cheese, Ashurst, New Forest
Stupid name, and not much going for it except they stay open late for us, fill us with (quite often free) beer and (quite often free) expeimental cocktails, and dont mind us dripping mud and water in the bar, or getting changed in the bar either for that matter. And they serve Ringwood ales.
Maybe its not so bad...