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Disappointment of the week with Mobyduck
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Image posted by Graham Mason
Submitted on Wednesday, 15th April 2009
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The Half Moon, Bishop's Stortford
Bishop's Stortford
CM23 2LD
Served areas
Reviews of The Half Moon (Average Rating: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Half Moon
The Half Moon appears to be the most notable venue in Bishop's Stortford that has failed to re-open after lockdown (yet). This may well be because of its focus on live music.
On 9th August 2020
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Half Moon
The pub has two main rooms split by the central bar, with a smaller more intimate snug to one side although you can pass through here to get to the toilets. The site slopes quite steeply, so the rooms are on different levels. The upper room had wooden flooring, bench seating and small tables, a few pictures of horses, fish and a case of butterflies. The TV is in here, the 6 Nations was showing the Italy Ireland match.
The lower room has no TV, background music was playing in here. There is an exposed brick fireplace, various framed random pictures and a couple of fruit/gaming machines. There is a beamed ceiling throughout. Walls and ceilings are white and looked freshly painted.
There are eight handpumps, split equally either side of the bar but as they are not double clipped, if you want to make a choice you need to ask or walk round before ordering. The upper room had Directors, Bombardier, Crouch Vale Amarillo and Old Rosie cider, while down the few steps were Hook Norton Old Hooky, Deuchers IPA, OSH and Young's Special.
The standard pub menu had most mains at £7.95, sandwiches £3.65 to £4.75. The "Savers Menu" has two meals for £9. Outside and down an external flight of steps were a few wooden tables in a courtyard that looks to be the old stables.
Not a bad pub and the service was friendly and chatty, the beer selection is broad if mostly mainstream. The Amarillo was very good indeed.
On 28th February 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The Half Moon
The original Half Moon dated from the mid 17th Century and stood stood a couple of doors down until it was effectively relocated to the current building in 1752. It had a short lived period as the Tap & Spile after a major renovation in 1999 before reverting back to its previous name.
The first thing to note is the raised front door, probably to accommodate the alighting of stagecoaches in days gone by. The interior has a central bar with 2 distinct bars either side as well as a simple snug bar at the rear. There were a number of stairs and passages that may have led to more. The décor is quite plain and basic with uneven beamed ceilings, bare floors and open fires (sadly unused) although it is fair to say it is a bit shabby (not helped by chaep posters everywhere) and a few licks of paint maybe needed in certain places. Marks on the wall reveal where old pictures once hung so maybe an overhaul is on the cards.
There is a large selection of mostly ubiquitous ales with 8 hand pumps (4 in each bar) although you need to check both bars as the selections are different in each and are not immediately obvious. The choices on my visit included Banks & Taylor Dragon Slayer, Bombardier, Deuchers, Hobgoblin, London Pride, Woodford Wherry and Courage Directors with Old Rosie cider also on hand pump.
The pub is well known for its Blues nights although these appear to be pay to view events and are held in a separate venue at the rear of the pub.
Overall this was one of my preferred pubs on my jaunt around town and, whilst it needs a bit of attention and tidying up, I found it to be a solid unpretentious place with a decent amount of character and reasonable ales.
On 15th April 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
View more reviews of The Half Moon (6)
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- Twitter - HalfMoon
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Half Moon - whatpub.com
Stansted Mountfitchet, 3.27 miles, 1 hr 3 min walk (show)
Sawbridgeworth, 5.02 miles, 1 hr 36 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 29 July 2013 by Dave McNally
