Forum Topic

Drapers Arms

I'm going to start a new thread for this new pub as the other one was more about O'Neills closing and was getting a bit long.Here's what I said after I popped in for a drink yesterday...I popped in yesterday to do a bit of a reccy and was pretty impressed.  The room is way better than it was and has lots of comfy seeting.  Lager-wise they had Heineken, Carling and Becks Vier and the guest ales were Doom Bar (probably permanent), Spring Sprinter (£4.30/pint), UBU (£4.20/pint and delish) and Ice Breaker.  They also had 4 craft lagers and 4 pale ales on draft plus Guiness & Aspalls.And here's what I have to say after going for lunch...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! What is with these pubs that claim to be gastro!!  I had a pork and chorizo burger which was nice enough but was not value for money given the size of the fries and the lack of any garnish.  My colleague had a chicken Caesar salad.  Before ordering she asked if the main course portion was substantial and she was told it was.  It cost nearly £10 and was absolutely tiny.  Maybe 4/5 small pieces of chicken and 2 anchovies and not even half a lettuce worth of salad.  It would barely pass as a side salad anywhere else.  Constructive criticism was passed to the server but no management followed up the complaint which makes you think they don't take feedback seriously.SO FRUSTRATING!!!

Andy Vaughan ● 4388d14 Comments

Four actually.They have had a rather superior attitude ever since the last change of management.Result: they lost our business.

Tony Colliver ● 4385d

Lucky. Funny though that that's three of us who have had a bad pint there.

Nigel Brooks ● 4387d

I've taken beer back at the Red Lion before and had if replaced immediately with an apology. No fuss at all.

Andy Vaughan ● 4387d

Something to watch out for in Fullers pubs (because I have seen it done there) though I understand that the practice is quite widespread is the "two pump" game. There will be more than one pump for  given beer and when you first come in you get a pint of the beer in best condition, however after a pint or two you will get beer in not-quite-so-good condition (older or going off a little) from the other pump because the publican knows that you won't be able to taste the difference by then. It is sometimes interesting to see the indecision on the face of a new member of bar staff as they try and work out whether they should give you prime or sub-prime. If your pub is doing this, don't even try and complain it will make no difference as the mindset is there to try and take advantage of you in the first place - just go elsewhere and do not return until the licensee changes.

Peter Mcleod ● 4387d

Funny you should mention the Red Lion - it served me the slops - admittedly a long time ago, however I was very sick!

Peter Mcleod ● 4387d

Well said Peter.I have written before over my last (and probably last ever) visit to The Red Lion where my complaint over the pint of foul smelling cloudy liquid supposedly a pint of London pride was greeted with 'so, no one else has complained'.Any retailer can shove appalling customer service where the sun doesn't shine and I vote with my feet (and wallet).

Nigel Brooks ● 4387d

Management feedback in pubs is a non-starter. If you recall the awful family that ran the Forester where any complaint was taken as immediate grounds for barring. Publicans are not into "constructive" feedback, I suspect the server saved you an uncomfortable encounter with a "bruiser" - that is why I go to restaurants to eat. None of the so-called gastropubs in Ealing do feedback - constructive or otherwise. Once when I complained about my drink being taken away while I was in the toilet in the Ealing Park Tavern when I finally got through to the manager I was told "Not to stir up future trouble for myself". The Fullers pubs that claim to do "gastro" are pretty bad too. In one I was given the slops with a smile and "its all that we have got left".If you have to pay "restaurant" prices for beer - which is £4 or over a pint then go to a restaurant for some manners.

Peter Mcleod ● 4387d

Nice people as well, think the same family own the off-licence in west Ealing on Uxbridge Road (near Kwik Fit).

Nigel Brooks ● 4387d

Common Room, Ealing Common,  large beef burger with a nice portion of fries with a pint of beer for £9.50.  Service is good and quick.

Charles Campbell ● 4388d

We want FOOD not a decorated plate!

Jean F Fernandez ● 4388d

The third sign is the ENC syndrome (Emperors New Clothes) - lots of people who don't want to admit to themselves let alone to others that they are being ripped off. And so it goes on... One year tops for this place, six months max.

Peter Mcleod ● 4388d

Quelle surprise.Was it white with the odd random blob of stylised dressing?If, so this is 'stage 3' delusional for a pub :-)

Nigel Brooks ● 4388d

it was a big plate :)

Andy Vaughan ● 4388d

Aha, the 'little bit of something on a big white plate' problem.I simply don't use pubs with delusions of grandeur. The first sign of this is calling yourself a 'gastro pub'. The second is minimalist portions at inflated prices.

Nigel Brooks ● 4388d