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Detail Pages
The George IV, Ware
Great Amwell
Postal town: Ware
SG12 9SW
Pub Type
Punch TavernsReviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The George IV
Situated in an attractive corner of Great Amwell,by the church and close to the New River you can't fault the location.The building itself looks Victorian,and the front door leads to an L shaped carpeted bar area with a real fireplace to the right.The furniture is looking a little worn these days and using old wine bottles as vases didn't work.The main draw here is the food,so you may find reserved signs liberally distributed around the interior.At the rear of the building is a seperate barn style dining room with exposed roof beams.This section can be booked for a private function,an OAP birthday on my lunchtime visit.The seating both outside the front of the pub and on a rear terrace is a strong plus point in good weather.
The bar sports three handpumps but was only offering SN Spitfire,an instantly forgettable brew kept in OK condition.The menu appears to be pub staples with light bites/starters around £6-£8,mains generally £11-£16 and ciabattas £6.My meal was perfectly fine,but nothing to wax lyrical about.Pricing seemed a little high for what was actually on offer.
The small team running the pub can get stretched if trade suddenly picks up,and we were encouraged to order quickly before the kitchen got an onslaught from the OAP's.This was useful advise but did leave us feeling quite rushed,and when the cook appeared at the bar discussing whether there would be the usual feared 2pm rush,I was left with the impression that the operation here was a bit amateurish.Having just one real ale available on a beautifully sunny spring weekend morning with walkers and cyclist milling around also seemed to point to poor planning,I left feeling it was an OK experience,but could have been so much better.
On 15th March 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The George IV
Great Amwell is a small attractive village perched on the edge of the river cliff above the Lea Valley. The most prominent feature (apart from the George IV pub) is the Norman church nestled in a steeply sloping, leafy churchyard. This makes it a great place to start a circular walk of the surrounding Hertfordshire country side or make a short detour from the River to visit.
As for the George IV I have been visiting here on and off for the best part of 35 years and although during that time its fluctuated between pub and restaurant as various licensees have tried to make the most of the decent bar area and separate dining room at the back I have always found the main bar section a good place for a relaxing pint.
The picturesque pub itself it tucked off the A1170 to Ware down Cautherley Lane and as you enter through the main front door the square bar serving area protrudes from the left hand wall and then there is assorted bar stool around the three sides of the bar and seating around the three adjacent sides of the pub. And then the toilets and separate dining room are reached through a door at the rear of the bar.
The bar section still retains the feel of a pub and is carpeted and a dark wood decor.
There is also a suntrap courtyard garden outback which is a very pleasant spot for a meal or just a pint on a pleasant day.
There are three hand pumps on the bar and one of these is normally Adnams Bitter and the last couple of times I have been Suffolk cider has been available as well.
Great Amwell is a fairly exclusive spot and the restaurant and bar food has always been priced to match and over the years the quality and quantity of the meals has fluctuated between being a rip off or justifying the price tag. I have only enjoyed the beer on the fast few occasions I have visited so I cannot really pass comment on where it sits at the moment.
There is very limited car parking as the pub itself does not have a car park so you have to park on the lane. But my advice would be to park elsewhere and visit the pub half way on a circular walk.
On 2nd July 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]