Tipped

Rat pee sandwich?

February 21, 2009

Update: Today, Sunday 8th March 2009, I headed to Waitrose for a roast chicken for lunch (as you do), and noticed that the the wording 'Marchmont Street', has just very recently been repainted to say 'Marquis Cornwallis', do you think they have been reading Tipped?

Let's hope so...

The Marquis of Cornwallis, The Goose, and back to The Marquis of Cornwallis again. I think that the wording 'Marchmont' on the Marchmont street side of the bar, above the entrance is rather confusing.

I have never had a good experience with this pub in the many different guises the multiple brewery owners have thrown at it over the years.

When it was run by the just so pub company, the beer was cheap and the service was what you would expect from transient backpackers living in and working the bar, and don't think about ordering food.

We gave the place another go when it had it's latest refurb, not much had changed, my aunt (she hate's me calling her that) ordered the welsh rarebit, grated cheese on half a baguette turned up, with the further insult of not having being under a grill, and poor, slow and painful service.

Having a forgiving nature, I decided to give the place a last chance now a year on from our last bad experience. Myself and my partner decided to just go for drinks, keep it easy.

After waiting around ten minutes to be served at the bar on the ground floor, whilst the staff looked busy and chatted on phones, we headed to try and get served at the upstairs bar. It was busy with people sitting around tables with empty glasses chatting,we ordered our drinks, paid and noticed that the barman had gone back to reading his book and then eating with his hands.
Six more customers were served drinks and at no stage did the staff member wash his hands, he just wiped them on his bum each time.

Having an enquiring mind (Royal Society for Public Health) I looked around the bar and the back bar area and it alarmed me, I could see open bins with food waste, dirty lunch plates on the floor, days old food scraps on serving trays, and then rat and mouse traps.
Now to see traps in pubs this old is normal, but alarm bells ring for me when there are so many in such a small space and also that I could see two in the public bar area and one was under the dumb waiter with the sauces and all manner of food stuffs.

Rats and mice are incontinent and pee where ever they are, cutlery , plates, napkins, etc. The sauce bottles showed lack of regular cleaning and were in use by customers dining, this is a 'Danger Area' for cross contamination and a breading ground for bacteria and should be kept clean.

My partner looked at me, I looked at him, we both looked at the bar man, who put another big handful of whatever he was eating into his mouth, wiped his mouth with the side of his hand, and then wiped his hands on his bum and headed towards us to serve us another round, we legged it straight down the stairs and out the door never to return.

There are plenty of local pubs around, check them out and give this one a miss, until they 'clean' up their act.

Good for brunch

October 02, 2008

This pub has had more name changes in the past few years than Ulrika Johnson's had husbands. It's now called The Marchmont, but, like Ulrika, who knows for how much longer? This place is growing on me, however, mainly thanks to the hearty brunch menu, the friendly service and the fact that it's not too crowded in the afternoons. For something a little less noisy of an evening (and it does get very crowded in The Marchmont/Marquis/Ulrika), try The Lord John Russell at the opposite end of Marchmont Street. It's rarely heaving with loud young students and also serves a wicked roast at weekends.

Keywords: Pub

Lively Local

October 13, 2007

The Marquis Cornwallis is a busy, lively pub on Marchmont in Bloomsbury. Big windows allow you to take a seat in a corner banquet and watch students and commuters stream by in the later afternoon, or else keep an eye on your mates when they head outside with their pint after dark. The space is quite large, although somewhat obstructed by all of the couches and chairs and stools which can make it difficult to navigate your way to a remote table. Upstairs there is a whole other room that is used for events or simply to accommodate more people, especially for sporting events.
There is a large menu which changes regularly and is reasonably ambitious for a pub. Prices are a bit higher, but the quality of the food is pretty high. A rotating selection of beers keeps things fresh and they have a reasonable selection of wines by the glass on offer as well. All in all, this is a very satisfactory pub in Bloomsbury.

Keywords: pub, crowded, good for food

Flying

July 13, 2007

Relaxed, groovy, perfect place to down a few beers and a wide selection of beers they really do have. Good bar food. Lots of space on two floors, outside drinking. It's superb!