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Disappointment of the week with Gann
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Image posted by Bucking Fastard
Submitted on Thursday, 31st March 2011
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Detail Pages
The Grove Lock, Leighton Buzzard
Grove
Postal town: Leighton Buzzard
LU7 0QU
Grove lock
Good news! We’re delighted to announce that we are reopening our doors on 29th July. It’s been a long time since we… https://t.co/rA4Av6bheB
2:19 PM Jul 23rd 2020 from Twitter for iPhone
Reviews of The Grove Lock (Average Rating: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about The Grove Lock
As others have said, this is a pleasant canal and lock side pub that was at one time the lock keeper's cottage and has since been extended and refurbished. There is a good amount of outside seating, consisting of both garden alongside the canal as well as wooden decking elsewhere.
Inside it's on a couple of different levels. The lower part where the bar counter is has quite a contemporary look and is roughly an L-shape. The upright leg of the 'L' has a large and open arched roof with plenty of oak beams and maroon paintwork, and this colour scheme extends to the walls. The flooring here is a dark parquet wood with some large rugs and there are a number of old black and white pictures of the locality dotted around the walls. A prominent feature at the rear was a modern fire-place with a wood burning stove and a large steel chimney rising up to the apex of the roof. The "fire" itself is actually on two different levels, with the upper and smaller part being the functional half, whilst below that is a pile of brightly illuminated logs. Seating here is mostly conventional tables and chairs, although there were a couple of sofas in front of the fireplace. A small glass display cabinet at the corner of the 'L' housed a collection of wine bottles and Fuller's beer bottles.
Up a few steps to the rear are a couple more rooms, and this is the original part of the building. Consequently it's much narrower here as opposed to the large open plan space on the lower level. The paintwork here is a pale green and the flooring is a mixture of more wood and some attractive mottled tiling. These rooms run alongside the canal lock so offer a good view of the activities outside to any punters sat here. There are also a couple more fire-places, including a freestanding dual aspect chimney, but although they were stacked full of logs I suspect these are more decorative than functional. A couple of sofa's and leather armchairs at one end provided a more relaxed space to sit and sup your pint.
The food menu consisted of a reasonable selection of dishes, mostly of the typical pub grub genre with options such as Pie of the day, Fish & Chips, Chicken Kiev and a Burger. That said though, the prices were a step up from your usual pub fair, with most of the mains being around the £10 mark. My Salmon & Herb Fishcakes were ok, but I've had tastier ones and at £11 they seemed expensive, especially considering all they came with was a Beetroot & Cucumber Salad (that was singularly bereft of any cucumber) and a small pot of herby Crème fraîche. A waitress walked past my table several times empty handed but didn't clear my plate away or ask I if I wanted anything else.
Beer choice was a little disappointing considering the eight hand pumps on the bar, and consisted of just three offering from Fullers - ESB, London Pride and Chiswick. The solitary cider was Aspall's Suffolk. Drink prices too seemed steep with a pint costing me £4.20, but I guess you're paying a premium for the location. Far enough on a pleasant summer's day perhaps when you can make the most of it, but do the prices drop at other times? I suspect not.
This is a slightly tricky one to mark. On one hand they've done a decent refurbishment of an old building, and it is of course a great location. On the other, beer choice was not brilliant, prices were high and service could have been better.
On 24th April 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1947 recommendations about 1860 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about The Grove Lock
Original Review - October 2011
A pleasant lockside pub created from an extended and converted lock keepers cottage by Fullers.
You enter the bar area from the car park which is on the lower level with the upper level overlooking the lock and appearing to be used predominantly for food.
There's also plenty of space to sit outside and watch the boats come and go.
This was a flying visit for a pint whilst working the locks so I didn't get the chance to look at the food menu. Beers were Fullers Chiswick, Pride, ESB and Red Fox which was excellent.
I'd definitely return if passing and this is a safe bet for a decent pint of Fullers.
Update - February 2013
The Grove seems now to be much more focused on food. On our lunchtime visit the main room, to the left as you enter, was all laid for eating with waitresses providing table service. This left just the small area to the right and a couple of seats in the raised area at the back for boozing.
We grabbed a sandwich and a bowl of soup from the decent pub grub menu which were both good.
Disappointingly, the only beer on offer was Seafarers and Pride at £3.50. This despite eight handpumps with four showing ESB pump clips. An enquiry found that an ESB delivery was expected the following day - Friday. It's probably wise not to expect the full range of Fullers beers here on this showing and we were disappointed.
It's still a nice boozer in a good location but I've dropped it a mark on the narrower beer range available.
On 6th March 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Grove Lock
A conversion of a former lock keepers house,Fullers have done a good job here.The rustic entrance from the car park opens onto a bar with four handpumps serving London Pride,ESB ,Discovery and "Gales" Seafarers with the ale in very good condition.In the lower level around the bar there are tables ,high ones near the bar,where you can just drink but the higher levels which look out over the lock have dining table which get booked up at popular times.There is a large canalside garden below the lock and a higher exterior terrace where smokers gather.The pub is family orientated and food is the main focus and is very busy in good weather.The menu is a little more upmarket than at some Fullers houses but there are always pub snack options(well cooked) if you dont want a full meal ,prices are reasonable .I would visit again,even if for a quick one while working through lock.
On 24th August 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
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- Grove Lock page at the official Fullers brewery site - www.fullers.co.uk
- Facebook - The Grove Lock
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- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Grove Lock - whatpub.com
Cheddington, 3.13 miles, 1 hr 0 min walk (show)
Tring, 8.19 miles, 2 hr 38 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.
- Accommodation : No last updated 21 February 2017 by Komakino .
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 21 February 2017 by Komakino .
- Car Park : Yes last updated 21 February 2017 by Komakino .
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 24 April 2013 by Will Larter
- Micropub : No last updated 21 February 2017 by Komakino .
- Pinball : No last updated 21 February 2017 by Komakino .
- Pool Table : No last updated 21 February 2017 by Komakino .
- Quiz Night : Yes last updated 21 February 2017 by Komakino .
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 24 April 2013 by Will Larter
- Real Cider : Yes last updated 24 April 2013 by Will Larter
- Wheelchair Access : Yes last updated 21 February 2017 by Komakino .
- WiFi : Yes - Fuller's / O2 - last updated 21 February 2017 by Komakino .
