The food veers from awful to sublime. The great: steak cooked to order and to perfection, cracking small plates/starters like British Charcuterie, ox tongue fritters, hand-made scotch eggs. The awful: measly, anemic fish and chips, half frozen poached pear with watery chocolate sauce. Someone has crafted a decent pub menu but the execution needs work.
The service is generally poor. The guys in there are very friendly but you often have to wait ages to be served at all, and then the main comes immediately after the starter, that sort of thing.
I have recently been to The Draft House (public house) to try the variety of (draft!) beers they have there.
And this great local pub (206-208 Tower Bridge Road, London) did not disappoint! There are loads of different beers they have there (YES on "draft" before you ask - but also put in bottles, which I always think are not as good value for money, so watch out there). The lighting is nice but one of the barmen was a bit funny, so make sure you don't get him if you can help it (little ratty man with dark hair and a BIG attitude).
Great pub though - I will go there again for one of their beers!
Thanks,
"If in doubt - ask Winston out!"
Winston
I bought a round of 4 beers after asking the very pleasant lady behind the bar what she recommended - as I did not recognise a single one.
I gave her a crisp £20 note and got 10p change - I won't be going back.
We drank up and went to The Pommeler's Rest.
Odd, because the group's website says: "I wanted to provide a place that recaptured my idea of the perfect public house. The Draft House is a charming place where you can - alone or with others - experience great beer, good food, interesting people and great conversation."
There's a wide choice of beers, but they're pretty darn pricey. And, personally, if I'm paying those sort of prices for a beer then I don't want to sit in a place which is decked out like an American diner with neon green banquettes and shiny metal tables. (Of course, I realise that I'm unlikely to be classed as an interior design guru. Even so, I think it's reasonable not to have to shade your eyes when drinking.)
And the cider selection shows close to zero imagination and/or knowledge of the fantastic craft cider and perry producers that the UK has in abundance.
There were plenty of staff around on a Saturday afternoon, but they were in need of some training. They seemed more interested in staying in motion whilst not actually doing anything and definitely not engaging with any of the customers, and in taking empty bottles and glasses away from our table as soon as they were finished, than in actually serving us any drinks in the first place.
I really wanted to like this place. The concept is attractive, but I found the execution to be poor. None of my companions warmed to the place either. We even stayed for a second drink, just to see if it got any better. It didn't. Shame.
Unfortunately, the service was a bit of a let down. The girls did not keep an eye on the tables and we felt ignored. Although, they were cheerful, polite and friendly when they did serve us. I will put this down to teething problems as The Drafthouse has only just opened.
All in all a good evening. I will definitely return very soon.
Oh yes, had 50% off food as an opening offer. Always good having discounts!!
Very friendly, knowledgeable staff. Excellent beers - all premium offerings and some really interesting variety.
My only complaint is that they don't (yet??) stock @kernelbrewery products, but I will definitely be back.
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