guybtaylor's Qype profile

The Blue Anchor used to be much better until they did a big refurbishment, with the aim of turning it into some kind of trendy pub. However, it isn't too bad, and is in a nice rural location. They usually have a few real ales on, and the food is quite good. Overall not a bad place to stop off for a quick drink during a country drive.

Le Blue Anchor avait l'habitude d'être beaucoup mieux jusqu'à ce qu'ils décide de faire un grand réaménagement, dans le but de le transformer en une sorte de pub à la mode. Toutefois, il n'est pas trop mauvais, et il est dans un superbe cadre rural. Ils ont généralement de bonne bières, et la nourriture est très bonne. Dans l'ensemble n'est pas un mauvais endroit pour s'arrêter pour prendre un verre au cours d'un voyage.

I've only ever had a kebab here, and at the time I thought it was pretty good. Then I moved to manchester and discovered the true meaning of the word kebab. Nevertheless, the kebabs here are ok, although they are too small, too expensive, and sometimes made in advance so they're not even that hot when you get them. I've been told that the food in the main restaurant is really good, but expensive, as you'd expect in this area of London.

This is a really great sichuanese restaurant which makes a really refreshing change from the very many average cantonese restaurants which have flourished in london because most english people have no idea about real Chinese food. Anyway, sichuan food is characterised by ingredients such as the sichuanese pepper which are ma (numbing) and la (spicy). The Gongbao Chicken is great, and try a Shuizhu fish if you're in the mood for some real spice. Hopefully Bar Shu and other restaurants like it will start pushing up the standard of chinese food in england and allow it to lose its reputation for being sweet and oily.

The French house is good because of its excellent cheap cider (£4.50 for a litre i think), nice location and nice french decor, but bad because of the service. The staff are pretty surly and act as if they're doing you a favour by letting you into their place. Also, watch out for the mad old angry man who sits in there watching films on his laptop - he almost started a fight with a friend of mine once for no reason - I have no idea why they don't just bar him. Anyway, the French House is good for a lunchtime cider in the sun but don't count on overly friendly service.

This really is a great youth hostel. It's right on the banks of Windermere, and if you're lucky you'll get a room with a beautiful panorama out over the lake which you would pay a lot of money for in a normal hotel. The staff are really nice as staff in youth hostels usually are. You can cook in their kitchens if you bring your own food (fridges, pans, plates, etc. are all provided) and eat it down on the banks of the lake. Really great place to base yourself out of for trips around this area of the lake district. You can take buses to most places in the lake district from ambleside, although they do seem to be very expensive. Overall a really really good place to stay.

C'est vraiment une super auberge de jeunesse. Situé sur les berges-mêmes de Windermere, et si vous avez de la chance vous aurez une chambre avec une vue magnifique sur le lac, pour laquelle vous payeriez très cher dans un hôtel normal. Les employés sont très sympas, comme c'est le cas la plupart du temps dans les auberges de jeunesse. On peut se faire à manger dans leurs cuisines si on apporte sa propre nourriture (frigos, casseroles, assiettes, etc. sont fournis) et on peut descendre manger au bord du lac. Vraiment un bon point de départ pour visiter cette partie de la région des lacs. Depuis Ambleside, on peut prendre des bus pour aller à peu près n'importe où dans la région, même si apparemment ils ne sont vraiment pas donnés. Dans l'ensemble, un endroit où il fait vraiment très bon séjourner.

Great food, alcohol and service, plus a lovely position on the banks of the Thames in Richmond. The White Cross is a really good place to spend an evening - you can chill out in the beer garden and sample the reasonably wide range of real ales. During high tide the beer garden gets flooded with about 30cm of water, and a massive rasta guy turns up with a boat to ferry people from the road leading down to the river to the pub in a boat - he charges whatever you want to give him, or alternatively you could wade over. Anyway, the staff are nice, the view is good and the beer is tasty. Check it out.

Basically this is a pretty rubbish kebab house. Maybe worth visiting if you're completely drunk and it's 1am and everything else is closed, but otherwise probably best to stay clear. Much better is Southern Fried Chicken down the road which is pretty reasonable.

Technically IC union is only for University of London students, but in reality they never check any identification if there's not a special event going on. If anyone questions you just start talking about fluid mechanics or something and they'll leave you alone. IC union bar is pretty good. It's divided into two parts: the main bar and the union bar. They both sell a good selection of real ales and the main bar shows sporting events etc. You can also sit outside in the quad in summer - very pleasant in the evening. The union bar is basically an 'old man's pub' with nice wooden tables and even more real ales. It's really nice and very cheap by london prices. An excellent place to kick off an evening.