Guest 644- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,214
16 September 2008
17:306182I think I'd rather pay the extra 30p a pint in a local pub - the difference is often worth the conversation and the company.
16 September 2008
19:266198I must try The Allotment - it looks attractive. What is the food like and is it licenced?
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
16 September 2008
19:296201it is hardly fair to compare the allotment to the eight bells, not everyone can afford the former.
with the wetherspoons outlet, you get what you pay for, the food is just something to wolf down quickly when
one does not have the time or money to eat anywhere else.
the coffee(lavazza) is one of the best in dover for normally 89P(69p on special).
the impression of the establishment from outside is not indicative of the customers inside.
one of the regulars is keith's mum and her friend who go there for a cup of tea and a chat, and are not rushed out
of the place, if they take a long while to finish.
i never think of the eight bells as a pub, more a central meeting point.
Guest 663- Registered: 20 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,136
16 September 2008
19:366205Hey weatherspoons my first taste of pimms in that very establishment
Guest 645- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,463
16 September 2008
19:406207Thats where a well known forum editor takes all his young women to ply them with Pimms before seducing them.The devil he is..
He only bought me half of Ena Sharples special milk stout..
Marek
I think therefore I am (not a Tory supporter)
16 September 2008
20:146209You say it like it's a bad thing..........
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
16 September 2008
20:316210"Hey weatherspoons my first taste of pimms in that very establishment"
Was that when it was the Metropole Bars
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 670- Registered: 23 Apr 2008
- Posts: 573
16 September 2008
20:576215A traditional Pimms is served in aglass not in a jug as if it were beer.
You add a piece of orange, apple, lemon, slice of cucumber and a sprig of mint. You then add one part Pimms to two of lemonade.
Of course there are various cocktails you can make from it, now how do Wetherspoons do theirs?
DT1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 15 Apr 2008
- Posts: 1,116
16 September 2008
21:176216Wetherspoons and pubs are not the really the same thing, in the same way McDonalds and restaurants are not, and supermarkets and town centres are not the same thing. Wetherspoons accommodate much of the behavior that we associate with pubs but have a totally different agenda centered on getting drunk and holding a monopoly. Yes the people that populate the 8-bells have voted with their feet and have chosen to spend their cash in the cheapest establishment. This has had a detrimental effect on all the other 'pubs' in the town that would once equally benefit from transient drinkers (town pubs and locals also being different in character). This phenomenon is still observable in Deal (that has no Wetherspoons) groups of people move around pubs and create a movement and novelty in the town.
Dover, being a place of relative deprivation, leads to many people choosing the cheapest option over any kind of quality and on top of this why move around when you can get all of your requirements in one shop...I mean establishment. So once you have all had your salt laden microwave food washed down with a 15 pint pitcher of pimms (not that they encourage binge drinking!) you go home and forget the surrounding pubs. Asda...I mean Wetherspoons has been the death of many of the pubs in the town, that were once vibrant and full of character. There are still a few great establishments in town and I try to support them as much as someone with a young family can and it upsets me that so few support local businesses. The end result of the 'big capital boys' moving in is always a reduction in quality and ultimately a reduction in choice as we have seen with the arrival of the 8-bells.
I do go in Wetherspoons on rare occasion, but then I set foot in Tescos twice a year too. If you like having a nice pint or a decent chat with a relative stranger don't bother going, it's rubbish! I worry that my children will miss out on 'proper' pubs, as I have learnt so much in them and made so many good friends through them. I can't say the same for Wetherspoons.
PS I also like my Pimms as you mention Dave but with a bit of extra gin.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
16 September 2008
21:596219a powerful post DT, but at the end of the day, this is a low wage town.
people will soend their spare money where they get value.
pubs are closing down by the hour all around the country, we have a traditional pub, based on the folkestone rd roundabout, that succeeds.
perhaps other pubs should take a look, rather than blaming the seemingly all powerful pub companies.
Guest 677- Registered: 8 Jul 2008
- Posts: 150
16 September 2008
22:026220I like local pubs, they are, as has been mentioned, full of atmosphere. Of course I don't actually have a local cos it shut (I don't think I can blame a Weatherspoons for that though as they were very far apart). Sometimes I prefer to eat in pubs rather than restaurants because when you finish your meal you don't have to go on somewhere else and there's no one hurrying you along because the nine o'clock reservation is here.
Unfortunately I haven't actually been to a pub in the evening since March, any one want to babysit ... please!!!
PS, mummy says Pimms should be drunk with tonic not lemonade.
It's not the man in my life, its the life in my man!!
Guest 675- Registered: 30 Jun 2008
- Posts: 1,610
16 September 2008
23:106227Having just left Blakes I can assure you that it is difficult to find a friendlier atmosphere and Barry must agree he was in there drinking with Gordon Brown at the weekend. And as for Pimms, I refuse to drink anything that comes accompanied by an Adam Ant soundtrack.
Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.
Richard Armour
Guest 645- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,463
17 September 2008
05:576232Actually Pimms should be served in a traditional half pint beer glass with a handle.Just thought I'd let you know the correct way of getting brahms and list.
Marek
I think therefore I am (not a Tory supporter)
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
17 September 2008
06:546234You are quite right Chris, about where I was and the company I was with. We had real ale though, not Pimms....
18 September 2008
15:406296Back to your previous question about The Allotment, Bern: the food is fantastic, the service excellent, the ambience convivial, the prices reasonable, the outdoor courtyard lovely when the weather's clement and, yes, it is licenced (great beers and well-selected wines).
It should be on everyone's must-do list. A real class act and probably Dover's best asset (apart from the football club and the castle!).
19 September 2008
15:596326For me on a saturday lunchtime Blakes is the only place to be for food and good drink but then there is the occasional Nigel to put up with!
Has anyone been to the new mexican yet - I thought it opened this week?
Has no=one mentioned that the Bus garage demolition is due to start on monday?
Bet that will generate some dust and need for drinks.
BTW we have ours with Tonic or lemonade..
19 September 2008
16:156327Where's the new Mexican, David? Good news about the bus depot, by the way. Hope it's the start of some major wrecking ball and bulldozer action.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
19 September 2008
17:096333Will have to get there with camera somehow !
Saw a person in the Mexican today
Been nice knowing you :)
Ross Miller
- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 17 Sep 2008
- Posts: 3,695
19 September 2008
17:546335The new Mexican is called Amigos and is on Bench Street.
Will believe the demolition will start when we actually see the thing coming down; frankly there have been too many false dawns on the DTIZ demolition to date.
"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
While loving someone deeply gives you courage" - Laozi
Guest 670- Registered: 23 Apr 2008
- Posts: 573
19 September 2008
18:246342We've strayed a bit from the 'bargain book' but putting it back to the original thread I have now seen the said booklet and can only say that they definitely have a cloaked recipe for binge drinking.
Disgraceful and totally irresponsible!!!!!!
