tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post1200435472933673515..comments2024-01-29T10:16:00.995+00:00Comments on CALLED TO THE BAR : Gastro pub enlightenment comes with the scrape of chairs on a wooden floorAdrian Tierney-Joneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05421802854011395300noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-65299170879982679712010-09-16T15:59:08.062+01:002010-09-16T15:59:08.062+01:00I read this with interest.I think my feelings are ...I read this with interest.I think my feelings are similar to yours(mixed)about the gastropub trend.<br />Really its about getting the balance right,doing decent food,without going overboard on the fancy<br />descriptions.<br />Its increasingly difficult(esp in rural areas)to survive as a wet let pub so obviously the food side needs to be successful,ideally retaining a pubby atmosphere.IMHO For what its worth!Northern Snippethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07207173438875166390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-8524834008283168412010-09-08T10:38:31.916+01:002010-09-08T10:38:31.916+01:00Ade, my front room has all the ambience of a freak...Ade, my front room has all the ambience of a freakish creation from a TV home makeover show. As does the rest of the house. It is rescued by a fridge of dirt cheap beer, a big telly and a cracking bird I'm guaranteed to pull.Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-73753043031606230212010-09-06T16:02:41.368+01:002010-09-06T16:02:41.368+01:00Cooking — my mind doesn’t think that way, it has n...Cooking — my mind doesn’t think that way, it has never been very good at displacing one thing for the other, but thanks for your advice. Out of interest, as your main drinking establishment seems to be the front room do you think it has the ambience of a gastro or a pub or something totally different?Adrian Tierney-Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05421802854011395300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-40651888380877618662010-09-06T14:54:39.284+01:002010-09-06T14:54:39.284+01:00If it helps don't think of gastro pubs as pubs...If it helps don't think of gastro pubs as pubs, think of them as restaurants with poor service.<br /><br />You will still dislike them, but your dislike will not be as a result of your love of pubs.Cooking Lagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02830924433230427226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-85241771789334878932010-09-06T13:05:42.447+01:002010-09-06T13:05:42.447+01:00Chris — beer was fine and to be honest I would wan...Chris — beer was fine and to be honest I would want a wheat beer to be a little cooler, perhaps 10c. My first thoughts were that we were being made to go outside but then I was intrigued by the whole theatre of it — I had a pint of Allendale’s Black Grouse as well, which was confusingly designated at a Porter Bitter (or was it the other way around).Adrian Tierney-Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05421802854011395300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-78366362729748024302010-09-05T22:58:43.875+01:002010-09-05T22:58:43.875+01:00Out of interest how cold was the beer? It's al...Out of interest how cold was the beer? It's always FREEZING in my experience. I resent being chucked outside when diners come in, too.ChrisMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09088526990457894540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-69281790777558881282010-09-05T13:56:48.445+01:002010-09-05T13:56:48.445+01:00Zak as you can see I don’t dislike them per se, wh...Zak as you can see I don’t dislike them per se, when they get it right they are fantastic, but I do have this ambiguity which I am trying to work through. Funnily enough I don’t particularly like old men’s pubs where the racing is on all day, the carpet is brown and sticky and there’s a gaggle of sad-eyed souls standing outside puffing on their fags. Nowt wrong with market forces either, or pressed pork belly on white bean puree.<br />As for England, not that keen on the interior of Norfolk (that’s the county not the Duke BTW).Adrian Tierney-Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05421802854011395300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-61271787984718252222010-09-05T13:52:02.882+01:002010-09-05T13:52:02.882+01:00That's quite a list - are there any bits of En...That's quite a list - are there any bits of England you don't like?!<br /><br />I understand why people dislike gastropubs, but the bottom line is that they don't usurp 'traditional' pubs, they just offer something different. I'm aware that it makes me sound like a Tory by implying that you have to play to market forces, but if customers didn't buy pressed pork belly on white bean purée, landlords wouldn't put it on the menu.ZakAveryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01794154105596597019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076725205410370436.post-41317332719616513962010-09-05T11:36:07.828+01:002010-09-05T11:36:07.828+01:00Ah, it's a great pub....not many places you ca...Ah, it's a great pub....not many places you can walk out the door and onto the beach. I just wish we'd been able to eat there (booked solidly the week we were there - and a window of just an hour and a half in which to order). And Embleton Mill cottages are pure heaven.... only a brisk walk from another really nice (and much more traditional) Northumberland pub...Exmoorjanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09230395732150659356noreply@blogger.com