Forum Topic

Ealing Park Tavern - Ghoulish

Oh dear, this pub seems doomed to failure, the revelation that the owners shot and killed the various animals adorning the walls hardly adds to the ambience of the restaurant, especially if one is vegetarian.

Roy Baker ● 4079d39 Comments

Message to last couple of posters....Gents, please dont let facts get in the way of a damn good witch-hunt!

Colin Goodman ● 4074d

I don't think the EPT charge too much. Who wants to drink small bottled beer(330ml) anyway - that's usually expensive, but the draft beer is reasonably priced imo. Their food prices are fair and good value too. What's all the fuss about?

Gerry Tan ● 4075d

Yes £3.70 for a pint,very reasonable, the same price as the Grosvenor which seems to be set up along similar lines,  ales from independent London brewers and  good food in a pleasant ambience also compares well with The Fox - free house and The Viaduct - Fullers , both good community pubs with London Pride at £3.60 a pint in both. I couldn`t understand the hysteria from a particular gentleman.

Dave Burke ● 4075d

Am intrigued too seeing as Neil thinks I am paying twice the price in EPT...

Nadia Shaw ● 4075d

I wonder where I can get a pint of Jugged Hare for £1.85 then.

Andy Vaughan ● 4075d

The house beer is Jugged Hare, a nice pale cask ale brewed by Sambrooks in London. £3.70 a pint. Seems pretty reasonable to get a pint for less than £4 at a quality pub.

Andrew Benfield ● 4075d

How much is the draught beer , this how you make price comparisons with other pubs . I do intend to pay a visit myself but I`m intrigued to why you`ve such a downer on the place.

Dave Burke ● 4076d

I don't go to a pub to drink bottled beer.

Keith Iddon ● 4076d

Neil - what did you eat and drink at the EPT when you dined there a couple of months ago?

Phil Kay ● 4076d

All pricing in £. This is the stuff which they publish. The common draft beers are in the same order of magnitude (note that they only publish the craft ales on the website). Seriously, this place is an afront to Camra, etc.The Kernel Table Bier, 330ml bottle, 3% 4Camden Hells Lager, 330ml can, 4.6% 4.5West Brewery St Mungo, 300ml bottle, 4.9% 4.75Burning Sky Devil's Rest IPA, 330ml bottle 6Brew By Numbers 11/02 IPA Motueka Centennial, 330ml bottle, 4.2% 5Ilkley Siberia Rhubarb Saiaon, 500ml 7Tiny Rebel Brewing Co Cwtch Red Ale, 330ml bottle 5Rodenbach Grand Cru, 330ml bottle, 6% 6Hiver Honey Beer, 330ml bottle, 5% 4.75Arbor Ales Twigs in Space, American Brown Ale, 500ml bottle, 4.9% 6Wiper and True Amber Ale - In the Pines, 500ml bottle, 5.4% 6.5Pressure Drop Stokey Brown, 330ml bottle, 5.1% 5Hardknott Brew Co. Code Black Black IPA, 330ml bottle, 5.6% 4.75Weird Beard Brewing Co Decadence Stout, 500ml bottle, 5.4% 8Harviestoun Old Engine Oil, 330ml bottle, 6% 4.5Orchard Pig Reveller Cider, 500ml bottle, 4.5%

Neil F. Weber ● 4076d

So how much is the beer at the EPT? I had wine so can't comment. Is it really that much more than other pubs in the area?

Kelly Cornfield ● 4076d

An excellent piece of research, analysis, and deduction. Sherlock would be proud. It continues to amaze me that establishment like the Ealing Park Tavern, the Drapers Arms in Ealing Broadway, and the Red Lion in South Ealing think the they can make a sustainable business through over-pricing and unrrealistic claims.

Neil F. Weber ● 4076d

But surely not twice the price? And the beers you consume there are readily available throughout London.

Neil F. Weber ● 4076d

NeilCouple of things:The beer I consumed is not readily available at other local establishments so woul dneed to travel to consume it.I will always include other factors in my determintation of price versus quality; the surroundings, cleanliness and service not just the beer. I find that it tastes better if you are in a nice relaxed environmentPersonally I am happy to pay a few more pence for that.

Nadia Shaw ● 4076d

Sorry, are you alright? I have visions of you fainting at the keyboard with your finger pressed on the "z" key as brain overload sets in on the concept that buying the same product at a lower price might be a sensible thing.

Neil F. Weber ● 4076d

zzzzzzzzzzz

Mark Star ● 4076d

Perhaps you carer can translate what I have been saying. It is a shame that establishments like the EPT can take advantage of vulnerable people like you by charging ridiculous prices and misrepresenting product to vulnerable clients knowing that they are unable to differentiate between marketing and truth.

Neil F. Weber ● 4076d

neil, you're not making much sense... go and lie down in a dark room for a bit!

Mark Star ● 4076d

So why do you get worked up over Virgin fleecing you? DO you not enjoy the experience of the programmes with an open mind? Why are you so adamant that you want to pay twice as much for a bottle of beer as elsewhere in the EPT? Or indeed to eat and buy fish there that could not physically fulfill the criteria associated with it? It is true that the EPT is very expensive. My mind is open to price comparisons, hard figures make businesses work, no one got rich paying twice as much as they should for the materials and resources to fuel their business.

Neil F. Weber ● 4076d

neilreal person.. no connection to ept... other than going there with an open mind and enjoying it.. your conspiracy theory is funny.... the virgin stuff is the truth .. no connection to EE/BT/plus net either....

Mark Star ● 4076d

It seems to me that the nature of the Forum has changed. As we have grown more competent in our appraisal of social media the realisation has come that some Fora can be useful beyond being a shout box and platform for a the latest marketing ideas and messages. These Fora are now acting as useful if not vital media where locals can exchange information about the reality of local establishments and what is really happening. Surely this is of mroe value than somewhere to find out what the latest trends are.Of even greater value is the ability to see how the cartels of local interest are indeed structured. A quick search of Ealing Park Tavern, or "EPT" with the word "twitter" associated with it in Google will bring up the messages of support from other establishments willing to support the fleecing of the marks that walk in through the doors. The real businesses do not need to support tweet each other they have enough custom coming in through the door without the need to create the latest trend. Pricing has always been a good basis for comparison and lets face it only an idiot would consider paying $100,000 for a $50,000 car, therefore why is it that peeps consider paying twice as much for their beer and are proud to post and tweet that they have been ripped off there?

Neil F. Weber ● 4076d

However, the beer that you consumed is available at many other locations and outlets at a much mroe reasonable price. Quality has to do with the integrity of the establishment and not just the "image" that it portrays.

Neil F. Weber ● 4076d

I remember this forum a few years back being a cheery one when we were excited about new things in Ealing not trying to find fault with anything and everything.I found the EPT to be excellent; good beer, food and welcoming staff, the price reflected the quality of what was consumed.I am not associated with EPT and have commented on this forum many times, albeit not so much recently. For those that to confirm my identify

Nadia Shaw ● 4076d

We musr therefore be very careful what he says about Virgin TV, facts (like misrepresented fish and overpriced beer) are clearly not his forte! With regard to EPT: the fact that untruths have been told about the fish and the stuffed animals usually means that  it is likely that untruths will be told about other things too. Caveat emptor - buyer beware.

Neil F. Weber ● 4076d

I take it then you are in favour of a) the stuffed animals, b) the fish that is being mis-represented, and the extortionate cost of beer at this fine example of twenty-first century "emnperors new clothes" marketing?Are you therefore, happy to accept what is written on the menu at this "restaurant", as a pub it is not, after this?

Neil F. Weber ● 4076d

I was about to say the same thing - Mark kickstarted a thread I'd been meaning to raise myself. I haven't yet been back to the EPT in its current guise but the reviews so far, on here and from friends living locally, have been positive.

Phil Kay ● 4076d

Neil - Mark has a thread under his name on Virgin TV on the front page of this very forum.

Chris Gilson ● 4076d

Mark, I take it you work for or are otherwise associated with the EPT. I cannot find another post by you anywhere.

Neil F. Weber ● 4076d

we had a really nice meal here recently ...glad it's back... was really good value

Mark Star ● 4076d

Anthony, you make your point well. It is possible that the articles that you mention are what is termed "native advertising" which is written by copuwriters for the establishment and they "inserted" on a paid-for basis into the website or publication. This is often seen labelled as "advertorial" or "advertisement feature" in more upmarket publications or websites.What is interesting is the animals coming from prop houses. Based on this and the hypersonic Billingsgate fish one really has to wonder about EVERYTHING else that the EPT is claiming. Everything on the menu should now be queried.

Neil F. Weber ● 4076d

Interesting that the stuffed animals were seen being loaded out of vans that had come from companies specialising in props, architectural and curio salvage.As for the reviews in the local papers, their not even trained journalists anymore and certainly don't know the meaning of impartial. All spoon fed by Press releases and PR types.Not so bad for advertorial, it's when it influences clear factual reporting.The recent wrap around fake front in the Chronicle waxing lyrical about Heathrow was a disgrace but the clearly biased report in the paper has totally destroyed the trust of a proper local paper.Local Papers used to be such important parts of a community with properly trained hard working and talented journalists and photographers at the heart of all that goes on in a local town.We will come to really regret their demise not helped by the undermining of reporting by their own management.

Anthony Waller ● 4076d

Billingsgate closes at 9:30 am. It must have been on a VERY early train or truck.If it was landed at Brixham at say 5:00am. You would wait until 6:00am  when the port's fish market opens, four hours on the truck later you would get your fish to Billingsgate just after the market closes.Direct from Brixham (unlikely for a single restaurant) - yes same day via Billingsgate - no chance.

Nigel Brooks ● 4076d

I am going to err on the side of the journalists on this Forum and suggest that this is marketing information preented by the Tavern tenants as the journalists can sometimes only report what they are told. i think that this should serve as a warning to would-be customers about the quality of information and exagerated claims by EPT.

Neil F. Weber ● 4076d

This is journalist's exaggeration methinks!

Gerry Tan ● 4076d

I find the food review in the Gazette a little hard to swallow, - 'the day’s special which was Torbay Dover Sole meunière- with capers and parsley - £22. The fish had been caught that day and purchased from Billingsgate Market in east London' from Torbay Devon to Billingsgate to South Ealing and cooked in one day?

Fred Hunt ● 4077d

i.m.o. the killing of any animal for sport cannot be justified. The killing of animals for meat can be justified though preferably one should not. I doubt that the brewery tenants running the Ealng Park Tavern ate what they shot.Gerry, if the suckling pig is reasonable get in there fast because the prices WILL go up. The seem to have gone down a little in terms of the special offers that over Forumites had enjoyed, though once the marks are hooked up they go!P.s. A full breakdown and report of your experince is eagerly awaited.

Neil F. Weber ● 4078d

I heard recently that there's whole suckling pig with all the trimmings in a three course set-menu for small groups of diners at reasonable price.

Gerry Tan ● 4079d

Not too sure I believe that.If a few stuffed animals = doomed to failure then Gawd help us guv'nar!To overlook good service, good food, average pricing and a welcoming / buzzy atmosphere due to that is really stretching the bounds a tad.As for vegetarains being offended... I'm with Gordon Ramsey and it's not often I say that.Been twice so far and may head to EPT next Saturday for the hat-trick

Colin Goodman ● 4079d