105 replies to this topic

[James]

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Westow House
79 Westow Hill, London SE19 1TX

Phone: 020 8670 0654

[Boo]

I saw it had a sign outside yesterday advertising its food - has anyone eaten here yet?

[J B]

I had stopped going to the Bluebottle, I used to go when I first moved to the area a few years ago, but it went downhill fast and I never set foot in there again.

I went into the Newly named Westow House on Saturday night and it has really changed, there is a new nice crowd of people in there, friendly service and fab decor. The Manager there is very welcoming and I hope they do well. Haven't eaten there yet but look forward to trying out the menu.

[James Bass]

Seems refurbishment is completed now. Is "burlesque" a ridiculous suggestion as to its style?

Having popped in today I was astounded at change. Mostly of interest were bookshelves: FULL of books, like a library. Enjoyed flicking through a yellow-paged tome expounding evidence of how we are all psychic, and how YOU can be too.

A few others were sat happily reading books too. Also, back section is no longer a big-screen sports dungeon, but a brightly lit area with DJ and adverts for salsa lessons hosted within! Quite a change in style from the lairy sportstastic Bluebottle big screen for footie.

Also of note is interesting non-linear pattern of spirits upon back wall behind bar. Pretty "funky", though I s'pose that depends on whether you're into that sort of thang...

Noted sensibly-priced food of sensible nature listed on menu, pretty wicked to find somewhere where you can buy a straightforward sandwich for under a fiver! Definite thumbs-up here for that sort of attitude, though didn't eat there on this occasion.

All this combined with obvious newly-legislated smoke-freeness created an entirely new image of former Bluebottle in my eyes. It still the excellent outside seating and it all seemed very sociable and groovy.

Seems not unreasonable to suggest that, in the Triangle at least, this is the first "proper" competitor the White Hart has had in recent times for similar "burlesque" stylings and typical non-London "ex-pats". Great stuff.

[Elmo]

It's ok, but because it's just a decoration job it still feels like the Bluebottle... Maybe that will change. Have to wait and see.

Also the new manager is very competent and runs a tight ship, but seems to have a bit of a Jekell and Hyde attitude to his patrons before and after 9pm...

[Sintay]

A group of us went to eat there last night. I have to say we didn't have the best experience... Firstly the bar staff got confused when we went to order food - the first girl we spoke to didn't know what was in the deli board & ran away (presumably to find out, but then just started serving someone else). Then a short dark man with a very strange manner & complete lack of social skills (I think he came straight from a dark scarey forest ruled over by Vlad the Impaler) barked at us that there was no deli board & no fish & shouted to his colleague that he was getting 'really pissed off now!' when we tried oredering food & drinks together. We should have run away then, but we perservered, ordered the food that was available & patiently waited.

About half an hour later I was ordering drinks at the bar & heard the manager explaining to another customer that there'd been a electrical fault in the kitchen. As we hadn't had our food & hadn't been told of any problems, alarm bells were by now sounding loudly. We approached the manager who was very apologetic & said that our order couldn't be processed due to the problems in the kitchen. To be fair he refunded our food & last round of drinks & has promised a free meal should we dare to go back. I think we'll give him a chance & take him up on his offer - he did look very stressed. The place has been done up well (trying to match the Mansion but not quite matching its opulence) & the book shelves look very homely - but where's the gorgeous open fire gone? Hope it comes back in the winter. I can only hope that the staff ignorance will improve with a bit of better training & customer service awareness - but I suspect it might be a question of getting what you pay for & they must be paying peanuts...

[SaufEastLondon]

I am gobsmacked. You account of your night out there is a mirror image of what I had on Saturday when about 9 of us went there for food. The bar staff did not have a clue, orders were wrong (which was funny since we all ordered the burgers). We were also told that there was a computer fault and I was refunded my food. The manager was very kind but he did say that we should have tried to order altogether. This does not make sense because we should be allowed to order when we want to.

The food ranked about 4/10. The burgers were all burnt and probably deep fried first. Do not go there for the food, compared to the WHite Heart, it feels like they are making lots of short cuts. The atmosphere was dead and the staff were all over the place. Sure, the decor is nice, but for a place to work the food, staff and atmosphere have to be good. Won't go there again.

[ajames]

We thought the decor was ok but the service was dreadful when we visited a couple of weeks ago. And from the sounds of these posts I'm very glad we left without eating. And how stupid to get rid of the open fire...

[elleme]

I don't think they have their act together at all with the food, as others have said, but I had a very different experience with the service. They got one of our orders wrong. They couldn't have been more apologetic when I pointed this out, not only did 3 different members of staff apologise (including, I think, the short dark one) but they bought us a free round while I was waiting for the replacement. Not sure I'd order food again, but I'd pop in for a drink every now and then.

[SaufEastLondon]

I see your point elleme, but three staff apologising and then a free round of drinks for getting one order of drinks wrong sounds like chaos to me....or a very scared set up. Ideally one member of staff should have apologised. Three sounds like a waste of resources. I hope that this does not become a place renowned for its quality in apologising.

[gekko]

Went here on Sunday for the first time since the refurb. The first thing I noticed was that the layout of the sofas and chairs was a bit odd. It didn't seem very cosy but appeared to have been arranged in a haphazard way with some tables extremely close together and then large gaps. I see that they are trying to give it a living room feel but it just didn't seem very intimate to me. Secondly, my pint of Brigadier was warm - not good when it's 30 degrees outside. The service was brusque and the person who served me did not fill my pint to the line. I actually like a head on my beer but not that much; another customer ordered a Guinness, which also came with a huge head and not filled to the line.

So sloppy, unfriendly service and no atmosphere. We drank up and moved to the White Hart where we enjoyed a cold beer and partook of the excellent barbeque.

[Sedgley Warrior]

Brigadier is a bitter - real ales are not meant to be chilled :/

Edited by gekko, 08 August 2007 - 09:05 AM.
Edited to remove unnecessary quotation.

[Helen]

We went in on Sunday for the first time since the refurb and based on the reviews here my expectations were very low. I was firstly impressed with the menu - it is a rare pub indeed these days that will offer a plain sandwich for under 3 quid and a ploughman’s for a fiver (especially on a Sunday). One of us also had the hummus which was homemade and delicious. Whilst we were eating the manager came over to ask how our meals were - a nice touch, and then went on to explain that he uses the blackbird for its bread the cheese box for its excellent cheese. The vintage cheddar with my ploughmans was fab.

Overall a really good experience - we all drank leffe which was perfectly chilled and I was very impressed with the simplicity and value of the menu. I agree that the White Hart has a bit more atmosphere but the service in there often leaves alot to be desired and the food can be hit and miss.

[gekko]

I take your point about the bitter not being meant to be chilled, but this was pretty warm. I'm not really sure what the optimum temperature for bitter is and maybe it's that Westow House have it right and everywhere else has it wrong, but the bitter in the White Hart seems just about right to me. Anyway, it doesn't excuse for the fact that nobody seemed to be getting a full pint of whatever they ordered!

[Gipsy]

Went on Sunday pre RPO in the park. Really really average service and really average food. Really disappointing. Got the feeling it was drawing a slightly different crowd, but I think this was just people checking the refit like us. Maybe more of a place for drinks rather than food (which is arguably what pubs are for...!)