Last Orders at the Bar

The other night myself and Mrs M, along with Mr and Mrs H had an enjoyable night out in The Old Market Inn; however, the evening was brought to an abrupt end!!!We booked and had a meal in the evening and then moseyed on round to the bar for a few after dinner drinks. As we merrily chatted and drank the night away we were blissfully unaware of the passage of time. Then as I approached the bar to get another round I discovered that the bar was closed, looking at my watch I realised that it was indeed 11pm and therefore reasonable enough that they stopped serving. However...

What really annoyed me was the fact that nobody called: "last orders", or "time at the bar- the bar is now closed." In this era of relaxed licensing laws when pubs can stay open 'till the small hours in the morning, how are we meant to plan our evening when no one can be bothered to tell you when the bar is closing. After all we had spent over a hundred pounds in the establishment that night, the barman wasn't exactly rushed of his feet, he knew what we were drinking, and how hard would it have been for him to say something like: "We're closing the bar in a few minutes, do you fancy one last pint?"

So, due to his shoddy barmanship and lack of professionalism there was a slightly bitter end to our otherwise enjoyable night out. So, to all bar staff out there, I urge you to give us some warning when you're closing the bar, and then allow us our 20 minutes drinking up time- like we had in the good old days- it's not much to ask for!!!

Festive Photographic Competition

The festive season is upon us again and to celebrate this joyous event we thought that a competition was in order. It couldn't be easier, all you have to do is send us in a picture of something to do with Christmas- it could be anything from a winter scene to Christmas parties to drunken Santa's- the weirder the better!

For a chance to win some exclusive HM Pub Guide merchandise just email your pictures to us at the usual address: email@hmpubguide.com

-The winners will be announced in the New Year- Good Luck.

Don't forget to check back shortly to vote for the "2008 Pub of the Year"- Happy drinking and snapping!!!

Hereford Reviews Updated

After another night on the tiles, visiting various drinking establishments (see pictures below: Karlos- top picture; The Exchange- bottom pictures), the HM Pub Guide team is proud to announce that a further four of our city drinking holes have been re-assessed and evaluated.

Due to a lack of time, we have noticed that several pubs in the Guide have not been assessed for over two years- this clearly is not good enough for an up-to-date guide, and so we are wending our way around these often forgotten pubs. To read the reviews in full just click on the pub's name:

• The Courtyard- although not a pub but a theatre it has a fully licensed bar and is open late and so we feel that we can justify adding it to the guide. You can even take your beer (in a plastic glass) and watch a play- if that sort of thing floats your boat!
• Karlos- this pub has changed a lot since our last visit. It seems to have gone slightly down market and caters for the pool playing crowd, which isn't necessarily a bad thing- but it was ridiculously cold in there last week, and there were problems in finding the 'gents', see blog post below!
• The Heart of Oak- what a great pub: cozy, warm, inviting, cheap and loads of Brains Beers on tap. Definitely worth going back to!
• The Swan Inn- had a meal there, which was nice. But not really a drinking mans pub!

So there we have it, we look forward to re-reviewing some more pubs soon. With the festive season quickly approaching no doubt many of you will be forced to go to works parties- why not take the time to share that misery with the world and review the pubs you visit!!!

Shortlist for "2008 Pub of the Year"

Shortly we will be publishing our annual viewers voting poll for "2008 Hereford Pub of the Year". In recent years there has been some criticism by a very small majority of readers regarding the choice of pubs available to vote for. With this in mind I am happy to announce that the shortlist of pubs we feel should be included in the poll, in no particular order, are:

• The Barrels
• The Exchange
• ASB Bar
• The Rose & Crown
• The Hop Pole
• The Monument
• The Imperial
• The Spread Eagle
• The Heart of Oak
• The King's Fee (Wetherspoons)
• The Old Market Inn
• The Grapes
• The Litten Tree
• The Booth
• The Game Cock

If anyone has any objections to the pubs in the list, or feel that a different pub warrants a place in the list, then now is the time to contact us (either email us or leave a comment below). If we don't here from you then this list will form the basis for the poll. Check back in December to register your vote.

Toilet Confusion in Karlos

We were out and about re-reviewing again ealier this week and as part of our travels we popped into Karlos. After a couple of pints it was time to visit the gents and this is where my confusion began.

As you can see from the photos there are doors everywhere but how the hell are you supposed to know which one is the Gents? It was like being a contestant on the Crystal Maze of something.

Seriously though, how much effort does it take to put a sign on the door indicating which one is the Gents? A poor show indeed by Karlos which will be reflected in the updated review to be posted soon.

Oh yeah, and if you haven't working it out, by a process of elimination the wooden door without 'Private' or the ladies sign on is the answer to this particular (jimmy) riddle.

Breaking News...

The Wye Inn on Holme Lacy Road is closed!?!

Whilst walking past the Wye Inn at the weekend I noticed some strange activity occurring. This resulted in the above sign being displayed on Monday morning. Is this the latest in a long line of pubs to be brought down by the credit crunch, or is there some other explanation?

If anyone has any information or views on the closure then let us know. But I for one will sorely miss the place; after all it was the highest ranked pub south of the river (see it's original review here)- let's hope it re-opens soon!