Qype: The Colonies in London

London - Eating & Drinking - Pubs & Bars - Pubs


A very pleasant little pub just off of Buckingham Gate. It's tucked away just enough to avoid becoming a tourist trap, so you'll mostly find locals in here. I find it's best in the summer here - people spill out onto the street with pints of ale and glasses of wine. A great place to socialize after work.

Check out my review of The Colonies - I am ahunter - on Qype

Qype: Sergios London in London

London - Eating & Drinking - Restaurants - Italian & Pizza


Friendly, efficient staff who seem more used to serving tourists than locals. The pizzas in here are enormous (try the calzone!) and arrived very quickly (within 10 minutes).

While you may be blown away by the portion sizes, you probably won't be by the flavour and quality of the food. Don't get me wrong, it's ok, but you could probably eat just as well (if not better) in Carluccio's or Strada.

If you're up for enormous, but slightly overpriced pizza, this is the place for you.

Check out my review of Sergios London - I am ahunter - on Qype

Qype: Cycle Surgery in London

London - Transportation - Cars & Bikes - Bicycles


I like Cycle Surgery and this particular branch one of the best i've been into. Like most chain cycle shops, you're going to struggle to find a bike in here for less than £150 (but i have found the prices here to be slightly more forgiving than Evans Cycles) but the service is good and bike peripherals (lights, seats, helmets, clothing) are well stocked.

Bike repair - I'm taking my racer in tomorrow morning for a tune up so i'll be sure to leave an update on repair costs and quality!

Check out my review of Cycle Surgery - I am ahunter - on Qype

Qype: The Belle Vue in London

London - Eating & Drinking - Pubs & Bars - Pubs - Eating & Drinking - Restaurants - International


Meh....

I find it hard to get excited about the Belle Vue when there are so many other great pubs in this area. It gets 3 stars from me because they do everything well, but there's nothing exceptional about the pub.

When is it good to come here?

Saturday lunch time or on a week night if you fancy a quite drink near clapham common tube station.

Good food?

Reasonable (and decent portion sizes). A place for a light snack as opposed to a full on meal.

Booze?

No real ale. Not good :(

Staff?

Friendly staff, but i always find it almost impossible to get served here (even if there are only a handful of people at the bar).

Check out my review of The Belle Vue - I am ahunter - on Qype

Qype: The Sun in London

London - Eating & Drinking - Pubs & Bars - Pubs


The Sun in Clapham is my new local and what a great little pub to have just a hop, skip and a jump from my front door. Excellent food menu. I can highly recommend the cheddar and bacon burger, the pork belly and the fish n' chips. All are top notch. They also do a great Sunday roast here but be warned, they tend to start running out the popular roast dishes around 5pm, so get here early unless you want to settle for nut roast.

Good selection of beers (Wandle, Landlord, Spitfire, Franziskaner and many more) + generally quite friendly bar staff (if not a bit disorganized sometimes). Check out the pub quiz on sunday nights, it's a good crack.

Check out my review of The Sun - I am ahunter - on Qype

Free Business Directories & Free Ads online

I've been doing quite a bit of research recently into folks offering free advertising online. There are a bunchy of crappy sites and it seems like the ones winning out are the old school classifieds players like Gumtree, Craigslist, Loot etc. and the new breed of business directories who seem to be rapidly stealing share from the likes of Yell, Thomson Local & BT.

Utterly amazed that Gumtree doesn't rank well for "free advertising".... Very odd.

Qype: Butcher's American Steakhouse in Hamburg

Hamburg - Eating & Drinking - Restaurants - Steak Houses - Eating & Drinking - Restaurants - American


Woah Nelly!

I thought i'd had the best steak in Hamburg at Schlaterborse, but i was sadly mistaken. I went to Butcher's for lunch today and i was absolutely blown away.

So what's so good about it then?

- Delicious American style steaks: T-Bone, Tri-Tip, Marbled Rib Eye and thick fillets. The rib eye steak was absolutely spot on.

- Friendly, English speaking staff.

- Great part of Hamburg. Nice and leafy.

- Good wine. I didn't try any, but the wine list looked pretty awesome.

I'll be back, i'm just going to have to wait until pay day before i go again!

Check out my review of Butcher's American Steakhouse - I am ahunter - on Qype

Qype: The Hawkenbury in Tonbridge

Tonbridge


I came to the Hawkenbury after a 40 mile bike ride, so my review might be slightly skewed!

Best things about the Hawkenbury:

- Massive menu. You're completely spoiled for choice here: mixed grill, surf and turf, fillet steaks, local pies and much, much more.

- Decent, local bottled ale. I can't remember what it was called, but it was brewed in Staplehurst and it was pretty delicious!

- Friendly staff. We were practically the only ones in the pub, but still, the bar staff were nice and looked after us well.

- They serve food between 2.30pm and 7pm on Saturday! One of the few pubs in the area that does this.

Not so good things about the Hawkenbury:

- The menu may be massive, but the quality of food could be better IMHO. I paid £20 for my fillet steak. It was good, but not great (a bit overcooked, that's all).

- Location. It's a bit off the beaten track!

- Decor/Ambience. Less Gastropub and more Match of the day. A great place to watch the football i imagine, but not somewhere you would take your parents.

Check out my review of The Hawkenbury - I am ahunter - on Qype

Qype: The White House in London

London - Arts & Entertainment - Events - Nightlife - Events - Eating & Drinking - Restaurants - British - English


I think the White House ranks about 3rd or 4th on my list of night spots in Clapham to hit after 11pm. It's not a bad place (they get some pretty decent DJ's in fact), it's just a bit OTT (Oh, and it's far from a "Manhattan Style nightclub).

Anyway, The White House is worth a go if the queues for Lost Society or Artesian Wells are too long - good selection of cocktails and (generally) friendly staff and clientele.

Check out my review of The White House - I am ahunter - on Qype

Qype: Duke On The Green in London

London - Eating & Drinking - Pubs & Bars - Pubs - Shopping - Florists - Shopping - Gifts & Cards


Having read Omnivore's review, i certainly won't be coming to the Duke for food!

We popped in on Sunday night as the Sloaney Pony across the green was absolutely heaving and Aragon House was shut (apparently there was a massive fight, which i was sad to miss!). The pub was surprisingly quiet given it was a bank holiday Sunday, so we were served quickly and we managed to get a seat! Plenty of real ale on tap and a young, attractive clientele here. Plenty of people called Rupert and Felicity....

I might come back, but IMHO this is the 3rd or 4th best pub in Parson's Green. Plenty of better watering holes just around the corner from here.

Check out my review of Duke On The Green - I am ahunter - on Qype

Qype: Birksen Florists in London

London - Shopping - Florists


A great little florist in Clapham old town. Very friendly staff who are willing to take the time to chat & help + a decent selection of flowers, trees, seeds and garden ornaments.

It's not cheap in here (and if you need heavy duty gardening equipment, you're probably better off at B&Q) but everything is high quality. I'll be back for tomato feed!

Check out my review of Birksen Florists - I am ahunter - on Qype