The Spade Oak
Bourne End
47.5%
Up down pub ranking
| Beer: | Pricey and limited £4.40 a pop for Doombar, London Pride, or fancy pants cider - take your pick...but bring a credit card. |
| Not beer: | On a par with the beer prices - £2.40 L&S, no hot choccy (they refused to serve Aud...very close to kicking off there and causing a scene but we managed to calm her down!) and the pallid look on Ken's face gave some indication as to the price of a pint of coke! Don't ask...no honestly, don't ask Ken, you'll never hear the end of it. |
| Food | Dainty skinny fellas and chubby little baby ones, all served in little tiny tins complete with striped paper and 'bloody posh ketchup' (Aud's words, not mine). Having rushed back for these all evening - "the kitchen said they're sending the chips out at 9pm, come what may!" - there was a sinking sense of deja vu amongst the Longs who arrived 15 minutes late. Fortunately the more experienced trenchermen were absent from the Shorts so some slim pickings still remained...although the feeling persisted this was more a case of all potato coats and no knickers. |
| Hashmosphere | In normal hash fashion, like territorial animals, the Walkers established a foothold in one corner of the pub, and as the Shorts and Longs dribbled in, the hash expanded to fill whatever space was available...either that or everybody else in the pub started to flee as Roger started speaking. Point is, we had a large area to ourselves in what was otherwise quite a bustling pub for a Tuesday evening. The majority of people appeared to be here to eat rather than drink, confirming The Spade Oak as a GASTROpub venue...yup, you read it right - 'pub' in lower case for a reason! On the upside, plenty of parking, hash hounds allowed in the hash section (or maybe the pub just didn't bother to challenge us?), and nice comfy chairs and sofas. On the downside, a huge bar with an absence of service serving drinks as an after-thought to the food. |
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Did you know?
Bourne End is well-known for tall stories, having been home in the past to famous writers such as Enid Blyton and Edgar Wallace.
During the 1920s, Enid Blyton, a perennially popular children's writer, moved into Old Thatch on Coldmoorholm Lane, whilst Edgar Wallace, a prolific crime author and dramatist, bought Chalklands off Blind Lane. Another resident at this time was Louis Blériot, the French aviator and aircraft builder, who lived at New York Lodge