The Bull’s Head

J’ai beaucoup aimé ce Pub (très connu notamment pour ses concerts de jazz) sur les bords de la Tamise à Barnes. Pour plusieurs raisons :
— atmosphère chaleureuse (jolie vue, grandes fenêtres, décoration éclectique)
— bonne bière (dont ipa)
— nous avions un petit spot réservé avec des amis, à l’entrée, hyper cosy et parfait pour notre groupe
— friendly staff
Rien de complètement extraordinaire, mais tout à fait correct, et de nouveau, très chaleureux ! Ah et la vue vaut le détour !

A Geronimo Inns pub — not been for food, only to gigs (there is a seperate space from the main building). Helpful bar staff. The somewhat «tight» gig space adds to the atmosphere — thing slightly sweaty jazz space for the mainly-​over 40s. That’s not a backhanded swipe — it has it’s own special charm, and I gather is something of a local instituion, boasting some quality acts. Great fun, if you like that sort of thing.

A group of us called in at lunchtime last weekend. As we walked in, my friend asked if it was alright to bring her dog Buster in he’s a stoical, quite old, jack russell and the landlord said: He’s alright, it’s you lot I don’t want! Just his little joke, I think. I mentioned this to a colleague who goes there a lot and she said he is notorious, and he enjoys being insulted back, but even so it did kind of explain why the place was more empty than full. They have jazz performances in the dark, windowless, musty-​smelling room at the back. Those who ate said the sausage and mash was good.

A Youngs pub, overlooking the Thames. Not a bad place, has an island bar. Real ale on sale, but was Youngs own brew. Live jazz is a regular feature.

I’ll keep it brief. Why don’t I like it?
1. The people who work there, in my experience, are rude.
2. Th interior is a bit old-​fashioned but with no charm.
3. The food is also old-​fashioned pub stylee i.e. cheap but not cheerful.
4. Only been once, only went for Sky, Man Utd lost, bad memories.
Maybe I’m being harsh and grumpy (like them) because of the football. Maybe they support the same team and so had good reason to be grumpy. But that doesn’t excuse the food and there are plenty other far better options very close by. And on the river, too.

I love that place for the quality of their jazz programme. The people at the bar are also very freindly

Apparently, The Bull’s Head is a reputable jazz club. However, since I know little to nothing about jazz and since I’ve only been to this pub for lunch/​football, I’ll stick to writing about that aspect.
No Sky at home=no football games on TV
No football games on TV=unhappy boyfriend
Pubs with Sky=Happy boyfriend
Hence, our visit to the Bull’s Head. The boy is a Man U fan (and was completely in the minority on this particular day). It was pouring with rain and there were about 10 people total in the pub. We had planned to spend a few hours there, have some lunch, watch the game, generally enjoy the rainy Sunday. I’m not much of a daytime drinker, so we sat down at a table first before ordering anything. 10 minutes later, we were confronted by the barman (possibly the owner as well): «You gonna order something? This is a pub, you know.»
Yes, thank you, I’m aware of the fact that we’re sitting in a pub. And what a nice way to treat your customers, sir.
Instead of kicking up a fuss, we went up to the bar and ordered some cider and cranberry juice (not together, gross). An hour or so later, and we were getting hungry. Ordered from the very limited and very basic food menu. The boy had a specially-​made cheese sandwich (since there were no vegetarian options otherwise) and I ordered the roast. Bland, re-​heated garbage to say the least.
We stuck it out for the remainder of the game (I don’t even remember what the final score was) and went on our way.
There are a few other pubs in Barnes and I can recommend all of them. Don’t bother with the Bull’s Head for a pleasant Sunday pub experience.

West london jazz institution, live music nearly every night.
Only holds 80 people, but usually room if you get there on time, 8 to 8.30.
Check out the website for bands, George Melly and Humphrey Lyttleton were regular acts.
Along with the likes of Stan Tracey and Peter King who play most months, Alan Price and Zoot Money are regulars.
Thai restaurant on site, and very good Pub bar as well as the one in the room, where the barman is nearly 90!
Because of it’s small size the chairs are set out formally, rather than round tables, but on the upside you are only 10m from the acts.