Dinner at The Keystone

fish cakes and a little greenery

Last night I had dinner at The Keystone in Guildford.

Both the leak and potato soup and the fish cakes plus a little greenery was excellent. The service though was appalling, but then it always is at The Keystone.

I made the mistake of also ordering a side dish of chips. These were disgusting, laden with fat.

We are losing somewhere between 18-26 pubs a week. Whereas the blame can be put squarely at the door of greedy pubcos who are screwing pub landlords, driving the landlords out of business, then selling the pub for redevelopment, too many pub landlords have not got a clue.

The Keystone is listed by CAMRA in their Good Beer Guide 2013 (or maybe it is their Good Pub Guide), but I wonder for how long.

There was two young lads behind the bar who I had not seen before. Whoever served me did not have a clue how to pull a pint. He simply aimed it straight at the bottom of the glass. Net result, foam. I thought he was pulling a pint to clear the pipes, having installed a fresh barrel. I expected him to empty it. It was therefore a big surprise when he brought it over to me. You got to be joking, was my response. No, it will settle down he said.

In the toilets, the soap dispenser was falling off the wall, and was not dispensing soap. We have a crisis of bugs resistant to antibiotics. It is therefore vital we practice cleanliness when using toilets. To the extent all public toilets should have a big sign, above the sinks, on the door, Now Wash Your Hands, and provide the facilities to do so. Those pubs that do not do so, should be shut down, as they are spreading disease.

There was very unpleasant music playing at very loud volume. It was difficult to hear yourself think. I was with friends. We were having to shout (thus increasing the overall noise level in the pub) to make ourselves heard, and even then we had difficulty hearing each other.

Why have music at all unless it is live music? At least no wide screen TVs.

18-26 pubs a week closing. No information on this in The Keystone, even though there is a big campaign, Fair Deal for Your Local.

• Pubs screwed by greedy pubcos