Dizz's Qype profile

I did the course back in May 2010, then went on to do the advanced course which involves MC training, I am now running my own comedy club with great success! Highly recommended.

Visited here on a Saturday night with a large group of friends and found it to be a very cosy, friendly traditional pub, just a stone’s throw from Holborn tube station. It was a pretty cold evening and it was nice to feel snug and warm, a lot of pubs are a little stingy with the heating but not here!

The pub was very crowded and it took slightly longer than hoped to get a drink, but the bar staff were working very hard and were friendly and polite. We had reserved a table which someone else pinched, but the manager was very accommodating in trying to find us all somewhere else to sit (even though the place was packed). The toilets were clean, if a little cramped. They serve mulled wine here too which is a favourite of mine - that always goes down well with me!

It was a shame they called time at 11pm but they weren’t aggressive about chucking us out, it was all quite relaxed. A really friendly pub, highly recommended.

In previous years I would have given this pub 4 stars but I feel it has gone slightly downhill a little more recently.

From the outside, The Bull Inn looks very appealing and dates back at least a couple of hundred years. Inside the decor is fairly traditional, the atmosphere is warm, and the staff are friendly. There are two bar areas, one to the front and one to the back of the pub, the back area is a bit more suited to dining, but you can eat anywhere you like.

Last time I was in here for a drink, I was in the front bar and did think it looked a little tatty in places, could have done with a bit of a makeover and some tlc. Although it has been a while since I’ve eaten here and I always found the food to be very good.

There is a large beer garden with picnic tables which can be quite pleasant in the Summer, but I noticed on a visit that plates that had been finished with took a long time to be cleared away, attracting flies and even a local cat started helping himself to the leftovers on the table. Perhaps I just visited on a bad day, but it didn’t seem particularly busy.

All in all, not a bad pub for a drink and a meal, definitely one of the better pubs in this area.

The Crown in Chislehurst really is a very nice pub to have a drink and a meal. The interior of the pub is very easy on the eye, it’s quite recently been updated and has a bright, airy feel with floorboards underfoot, with modern dark furnishings.

I ate here last Summer and the one gripe I had was that although the inside of the pub is lovely, there isn’t really a proper beer garden, it was more of a gravelled area with a few tables, and unfortunately while we tried to eat the pub had various tradesmen working nearby who seemed to be constructing some kind of awning, which was annoying and a little bit noisy as they bashed nails into wood. However, this obviously was a one off, but a few quid spent brightening up the small drab outside area for Summer diners wouldn’t go amiss.

The menu is varied with daily specials available. The food is generally very good but unfortunately on the last occasion I was here, we did have to wait an awful long time for it to arrive, which was puzzling because it was a weekday lunchtime and not incredibly busy. However, on previous visits here I have never had a problem with the service and always enjoyed the food immensely.

There is a large plasma screen in the main bar and they do run entertainment in the form of live music so well worth a visit, but watch out if you plan to eat and plan ahead as they do get very busy at the weekend.

The Sydney Arms is on a back street and you probably wouldn’t find it unless you knew it was there! Because it is off the beaten track a little, it has more of a country pub feel to it.

It is quite old fashioned inside, a typical traditional British Pub. They do have a selection of Real Ales. It’s quite dark in the main drinking area with dark wooden furniture but to the back of the pub there is a sort of conservatory type area which is much brighter.

I wasn’t particularly impressed with the service, which was ok, not rude, but didn’t seem very friendly. A smile or two wouldn’t have gone amiss here.

There is a garden outside which is nice in the Summer and whenever I’ve eaten there the food has been good. They’ve got the patio heaters outside too if you need to sit outside and smoke in the Winter. Despite the slightly miserable bar staff, I still think it’s a great place for a quiet pint and a chat.

The Lobster Smack is a traditional, cosy, friendly pub, right by the sea wall at the end of a long road that seems to lead to nowhere. It dates back to the times of smugglers on the Thames Estuary. On entering, remember to duck your head as the ceiling is very low! It is a traditionally decorated pub with beams and low ceilings, and I found the atmosphere to be very friendly and welcoming.

There is a restaurant area and although I did not eat here, the portions did look very large. They sometimes have live entertainment here too. There are picnic tables outside which are ideal for the Summer. Children are welcome until 9pm. I would certainly visit again and would love to try the food next time as it looked delicious!

Rishta is a fairly small Indian restaurant on the main road between Sidcup and New Eltham. The interior is nicely decorated with clean, modern furnishings, the staff are very welcoming and there is an extensive menu.

I have always found the food here to be of a good standard and very tasty, with good sized portions.

They currently have a meal deal on some nights of the week where you get several courses for £10 each, which is far too much food! I went for this with a friend one evening and had to take quite a lot of it home as there was so much of it. Highly recommended.

Occasionally they will have some live entertainment, a couple of months back they had an Elvis impersonator on here.

They also do a delivery or phone and collect service, if you collect your order they will knock 10% off the price of your bill. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.

I was drinking in here quite recently and was pleasantly surprised on entering as it looks a little scruffy from the outside. However, it must have been recently refurbished as the interior is very modern and fresh. I didn’t find the atmosphere to be particularly welcoming, though.

There are three pool tables here, and plasma TVs dotted around the pub.

I found the service to be ok but didn’t particularly warm to the place. One good thing was that they were serving jugs of Pimms for a reasonable price. Beer was cheap too. Not bad if you just want a quick pint before or after your train journey, but I probably wouldn’t want to spend my whole evening here.

This gastropub has a nice enough ambience and is more like a restaurant than a pub. Clean and modern throughout.

The food was very good and the menu was reasonable, there is also a good selection of wines to accompany your meal, but the service was fairly slow and not particularly friendly. It was a chilly March evening and I felt rather cold sitting in there, not sure what happened with the heating.

I thought a little on the expensive side for a pub, and a 12.5% service charge was added to the bill.

A reasonably nice place to have a meal away from the hustle and bustle of the main activity in Greenwich but this certainly wouldn’t be my first choice for somewhere to eat in the area.

The Tollgate pub is in the centre of Dartford and seems to me to be a “sports” pub. The interior is large and airy with modern furniture. It can get very crowded when sporting events are on as they are shown on screens around the pub.

I wouldn’t say there is a particularly welcoming atmosphere in here, unless you like sport, when there is a fixture on in here things can get a little rowdy. The bar staff never seem to be especially friendly.

Prices of drinks are reasonable, and the menu is fairly cheap too, nothing outstanding but very edible and good value for money - it seems very similar in style to the Wetherspoons menu across the road. Speed of service is ok apart from when the pub is packed out with people watching football, again nothing outstanding but you get what you pay for.