How many chances should you give a pub

[Mobyduck]

Have you ever been to a pub on the back of many positive reviews and recommendations only to be let down by the experience,do you give it another go and another until it works for you?
my pub in this particular scenario is The Carpenters Arms (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22205/),a pub well reviewed here by trusted sources,pretty much all positive,also positive feedback on the other site from decent reviewers prompted me to add it to a Marylebone crawl in 2010,between three of us we had/tried four different pints ,all were rancid, I can understand one ,barrels can go but four at once! there had to be something wrong,combinded with the barmaids couldn't give a toss attitude we vowed never again.However it bugged me that most reviews were the total opposite from our experience and have continued to be so ever since,were we just very unlucky and caught a bad day.So the chance arose today to give it another go,to my delight Oakham Inferno was on,a favourite pint of mine except it was very average and smelt of apples(Acetaldeyhyde),drinkable but not enjoyable.Its a good pub I want to like but if the beers not up to it ,its not a good pub,yet no one else seems to have had the same problem,so should I persevere .Has anyone had similar experiences in other pubs.

[Maldenman]

I review as I find Moby, things change as well, sad if the pub has gone downhill but report it as you found it. That's what reviews are all about.

[Mobyduck]

I review as I find Moby, things change as well, sad if the pub has gone downhill but report it as you found it. That's what reviews are all about.

I shall be leaving a review exactly as I found it shortly,as I did a couple of years ago on the other place under my former user name of Picasso09 (still my name there) ,but that's not really my question,my question is to anyone who may have been there recently,have I just been unlucky on two occasions spread over two years both disappointing, as I feel it is or should be a better pub than I have found, and has anyone had similar experiences in other pubs?

[aleandhearty]

A good thread 'md'. This is the very same question I asked myself about The Duchess of Cambridge (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/75190/). As someone whose usual London base is in the real ale desert at the Askew Road end of W12, I was really looking forward to it opening. However I've called twice and been really disappointed. The first time was on Christmas Eve and several of the beers we tried we really flat and poorly conditioned. Those on gravity dispense were particularly poor. Went again in mid-May, during Mild week and found exactly the same problem. Basically they've got too many beers on offer. I'd slash the number by half. It's interesting that the Duchess is the sister pub to The Bree Louise. Several forum users have commented on the nosedive in quality there. Will I give it another go? Probably, as there really is so little competition. However, that really will be the last time, if standards remain as poor.

[Bucking Fastard]

You pose a very good question there Moby.

I always work from the assumption that I may just have been unlucky on the night,but I will always mention disappointing ale quality in my review.I am usually likely to give the pub another go,although I will probably have worked out an alternative close by as an insurance policy.If the second visit throws up the same problems at the first visit,that's when the red card comes out.:moremad:

Clearly pubs can change and thats the beauty of a review site with contributors who are to be trusted.Both the Bree Louise and the Green Dragon (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/54143/) in Croydon have in the past been a big let down,but it sounds like the Green Dragon is performing a lot better,an even the Bree Louise may be worth another chance before it get swallowed up by the HS2 development,when ever that maybe.:whistle:

[Mobyduck]

You pose a very good question there Moby.

I always work from the assumption that I may just have been unlucky on the night,but I will always mention disappointing ale quality in my review.I am usually likely to give the pub another go,although I will probably have worked out an alternative close by as an insurance policy.If the second visit throws up the same problems at the first visit,that's when the red card comes out.:moremad:

I agree twice = a red card, but in this case I will probably go down the three strikes and out rule,I can only justify this leniency because I actually like the pub poor beer aside and the quality did improve on my second visit(couldn't really get any worse) albiet two years later and still nowhere near good enough.I will probably give it a third shot but will likely be another year down the line,if it fails then that will be that.

[Spinko]

I suppose it depends on the options available and whether you consider based on past experiences (of yourself or others) it was a one-off. In Manchester there's around 10 excellent real and craft ale establishments in walking distance, and another 50 acceptable ones. No point going back to a place that has proved itself of dubious quality..

[ROBCamra]

Have you ever been to a pub on the back of many positive reviews and recommendations only to be let down by the experience,do you give it another go and another until it works for you?
my pub in this particular scenario is The Carpenters Arms (http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/22205/),a pub well reviewed here by trusted sources,pretty much all positive,also positive feedback on the other site from decent reviewers prompted me to add it to a Marylebone crawl in 2010,between three of us we had/tried four different pints ,all were rancid, I can understand one ,barrels can go but four at once! there had to be something wrong,combinded with the barmaids couldn't give a toss attitude we vowed never again.However it bugged me that most reviews were the total opposite from our experience and have continued to be so ever since,were we just very unlucky and caught a bad day.So the chance arose today to give it another go,to my delight Oakham Inferno was on,a favourite pint of mine except it was very average and smelt of apples(Acetaldeyhyde),drinkable but not enjoyable.Its a good pub I want to like but if the beers not up to it ,its not a good pub,yet no one else seems to have had the same problem,so should I persevere .Has anyone had similar experiences in other pubs.

Personally I gave up on The Carpenters several years ago. The tw*t behind the bar told me I should start drinking Fosters after I'd taken back my second (different) pint of crap ale.

What a banker he was and I told him so.

I'd already given it a couple of chances and I've never been back. Despite working in London for at least 2 more years after that night.

[Mobyduck]

Personally I gave up on The Carpenters several years ago. The tw*t behind the bar told me I should start drinking Fosters after I'd taken back my second (different) pint of crap ale.

What a banker he was and I told him so.

I'd already given it a couple of chances and I've never been back. Despite working in London for at least 2 more years after that night.

Nice to see it's not just me then.

[RogerB]

One of the great things about pubs is that they are always changing and evolving, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Pubs get taken over, staff come and go, customer bases change as do tastes. Reviewers will always have different views and opinions which is why it is always good to have a cross section to pick from. As MM says, you can only review what you see and experience at the time but I'd like to think I can spot when a pub has the potential to be better and will perservere beyond the call of duty in an attempt to be proved right! I'd certainly never rule out returning anywhere if I catch wind of a change for the better. I suppose my classic example is the Three Daws in Gravesend http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/59068/ which is a lovely buuilding steeped in history and with a better than average ale policy than some others in the area. I've wanted to like the place for so long but at least 3 visits over a spread of time found the beer pretty dire on each occasion. Eventually something clicked (poss change of management?) and the last 2 or 3 visits have been a treat.

[aleandhearty]

...I'd like to think I can spot when a pub has the potential to be better and will perservere beyond the call of duty in an attempt to be proved right!

An admirable sentiment Roger, but I suspect there are a few of us with limited funds and time who struggle with that. I can just about manage one session a week, I (usually) need to go where I know the beer, service etc is up to snuff.

[RogerB]

An admirable sentiment Roger, but I suspect there are a few of us with limited funds and time who struggle with that. I can just about manage one session a week, I (usually) need to go where I know the beer, service etc is up to snuff.

I'm not really talking about doing the same pub regularly over a short term. The Three Daws I mentioned I have been to maybe 5 or 6 times in around as many years. I kept writing it off but still kept popping in my occasional visits to Gravesend hoping it would come good and for the last 2 or 3 visits, it has. Another example is the Ship in Tottenham http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/25667/, not a great pub (nowhere in Tottenham is!). I mentioned in my review a couple of years ago about the unsightly mess that was the beer "garden" and its potential. Last week I walked past and there was a sign outside advertising the beer garden and to my surprise, it is now a tidy split level patio with 2 sheltered snugs under the railway arches. Not sure if I can take any credit for it but I might update my review and mention their lack of ales to see what happens!

[Mobyduck]

One of the great things about pubs is that they are always changing and evolving, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Pubs get taken over, staff come and go, customer bases change as do tastes. Reviewers will always have different views and opinions which is why it is always good to have a cross section to pick from. As MM says, you can only review what you see and experience at the time but I'd like to think I can spot when a pub has the potential to be better and will perservere beyond the call of duty in an attempt to be proved right! I'd certainly never rule out returning anywhere if I catch wind of a change for the better. I suppose my classic example is the Three Daws in Gravesend http://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubs/59068/ which is a lovely buuilding steeped in history and with a better than average ale policy than some others in the area. I've wanted to like the place for so long but at least 3 visits over a spread of time found the beer pretty dire on each occasion. Eventually something clicked (poss change of management?) and the last 2 or 3 visits have been a treat.

This kind of nails what I was getting at, I feel The Carpenters Arms should be a much better pub than my personal experiences,I like the place Its just let me down on the beer front,which is a major part of visiting a pub.If beer didn't matter I would have been to the Old Cheshire Cheese more often.As with Roger and the Three Daws ,I want to Like the Carpenters Arms,and probably will try again in a year or so.