O'Neills, SW4

As the Plough, this dates back to at least the mid-19th century, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this were a far older coaching inn; the current brewers’ Tudor incarnation probably arrived in the 1930s, the place having run the gamut of naff chain bar names and O’Neill’s since at least 2009, having briefly been something called Stane St. Syndicate before reverting back. Their website describes the place as ‘An original Irish pub’; yeah, right. The interior is strikingly large with many areas, all going back a long way, essentially without a trace of anything original: a bare brick and scaffold bar back, modern wood floor, dark wainscoting with pale blue walls or bare brick, mixed modern furniture styles, hanging filament things, bulkhead lamps, flashing games machines, sport on a multitude of unwatched silent TVs, further TVs advertising ‘shots’ on loop, presumably to appeal to studenty types, conspicuous by their absence, just four middle-aged men in attendance aside from me. Now cask-less, a half of Oil came in at £3.50, served by an utterly uninterested barman. Whereas many branches of O’Neill’s revolve around competitive drinking, this place was deathly when I departed at 9.20 on a Wednesday evening; the lone minstrel who was setting up as I left gave me an imploring look as he gazed out over a sea of empty tables and chairs. And this is what the pub’s website describes as ‘…where the good times flow as freely as the drinks’, though clearly the customers have freely flown elsewhere, to the Belle Vue and Alexandra which flank this pit of despair. Rated 2.5.

Facebook page of O'Neills - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of O'Neills - www.facebook.com

Now gone back to being O'Neill's. From what I was told, The Stane Street Syndicate experiment wasn't working. The back area on the right has now been boxed in and will be used as a function room. £4.80 for a pint of Guinness, which isn't bad for the area.

Official site of O'Neills - www.oneills.co.uk

Official site of O'Neills - www.oneills.co.uk

A big old pub which changes names from time to time and goodness knows what this one is supposed to be about. The half-timbered frontage covers a huge barn of a place, divided up into different areas and generally lacking much natural daylight although there is a small patio at the back. I have to say the rather high air conditioning was very welcome on a hot day. There are various sports screens dotted around, including a large one in its own section in the centre. Handpumps offered By the Horns Hopadelic, Hophead with another ale not ready, plus a cider and the beer did seem in fair condition.

Big place with room in front, bar to right middle and a seating area to the rear. Quite full on Bank Holiday Monday. Various TVs around the pub. Two real ales that I could see, one of which was a strong Great Heck IPA.

Stane St. Syndicate is a sprawling pub that was reasonably busy during a recent Saturday afternoon visit. The bar midway up on the right hand wall separates large seating areas to the front and behind. The rear area was closed for painting during my visit, but I stuck my head through a curtain to eye an air hockey table and small stage area. I didn’t see any events advertised that warranted the need for the stage. To the left of the entrance is a games area that houses table tennis, table football and a pinball machine. More seating along the left hand wall stretches down to the rear some way back. The bar is stocked with premium keg products and I counted four hand pumps. One of these was unused leaving St Austell’s Proper Job, Sambrook’s Session Pale Ale and Celt Experience’s Otherworld Batch II Pale as the cask ale options. The only food I spotted were burgers which were priced between £11 and £13. I found the service to be very friendly, but I prefer darts and Sky Sports to pinball and air hockey so I will probably drink in one of this pub’s peers when back in the area.

There were two handpumps on here, one Doom Bar clipped and the other with something from Wild Beer Co. I think I got Wild Beer Bibble, but I'm not certain. The clip had a Wild Beer Scarlet Fever clip on it; the barman drew me a half (£2); then another barman came along and changed the clip for a Wild Beer Bibble one; I point at the new clip and asked the first barman if that's what I've got. "Yes, that's what you ordered" he said. Oh well, probably a better bet than Doom Bar whatever it was. I was in on a Wednesday evening, and the menus on the tables advertised chicken wings, chilli fries, sliders, and that sort of stuff. Sarnies were around £7. This ex O'Neill's is really a massive sprawling drinking barn, a la 'spoons, with several interconnected drinking areas. But it's probably better than when it was an O'Neill's. One of the areas at the back has a table tennis table in it, and I also spotted a pinball machine (Batman) against one of the walls, and in the front area there was an ancient set of stand-on weighing scales, as a decorative feature I guess. I found it a little too gloomy, soulless, and cavernous for my taste, but the Wild Beer Bibble (if indeed that was what it was) was OK.