Live from The Chandos

Well it’s time to try the place out on its preview evening. Lovely to meet @Nancy at last.
First impressions, how lovely.
Very open and flowing inside, beautiful decor, and a lovely seating plan for the place.
Out in the garden at the moment with @anon5422159 and @anon65350507. About to try the pizzas. Watch this space

The garden.

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Glass and candles.

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The inside from the outside.

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@anon5422159 getting comfortable

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The menu (some of it.)

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Technology, love it

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Looking good, sorry I cant be there.

More for us, it’s all good John. Thanks for the extra playing cards.

Got my menu, my drink and my currency.

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Not a great pic, but OMG! Beef brisket pizza!
The Cinqo wow! Like a really amazing cheese on toast and then some.

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I’m sold!

Just finished up a lovely evening at The Chandos, thank you @Nancy for the amazing hospitality and wonderful food. Pound for pound one of the best selections of pizza u have tasted for a long time…
For a non pub goer it was a great experience.
So my last couple of photos of the evening…

The kitchen

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The bar

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The back of the pub / seating area .

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@anon5422159 stealing my shot.

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And the outside at night, with interior lights on.

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Lovely to meet Chandos manageress @Nancy this evening and have a catch up with @anon64893700 and @anon65350507.

The Chandos renovation is fantastic. Sensitive to the character of the building, but fresh, airy and spacious. Cracking little courtyard area at the back with some covered tables that are intimately lit.

Pizzas were great. About the same standard as BOnA, I’d say - not sourdough, and not super-crispy. Great range of toppings. Beer selection excellent - lots of craft beer on tap and a promising rotation - see menu.

Staff all friendly and efficient, and @Nancy clearly cares about making everyone feel welcome. She’s a natural.

Here are some snaps (copied @anon64893700’s angles a bit, hope he doesn’t mind!)

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Nice pics mate.
Looking forward to the monthly meet for sure now.

Absolutely, me too! Everyone - please let us know which dates you can make for our September SE23.life meetup.

Is there any level access and facilities for disabled?

@Nancy?

From recollection I think the front is steps both entrances. Not sure if the rear gate to the garden would be better suited to allow wheeled access etc.

Looks lovely, I’ll have to pay a visit soon @Nancy

Hi!

Both entrances have steps up to them I’m afraid… We do have a garden gate on floor level but there is then 1 single step to go into the building.

Thanks,
Nancy

Anywhere to park bikes safely?

If anyone fancies a free pizza or pint then please pop over tonight before 9pm. You must ask for me!

…she said just as my dinner finished cooking! Grrr lol

To anyone else… Run, run to The Chandos as fast as you can, now… Why are you still reading, go go go!
Mmmm Chandos pizza…

We popped in this evening (@Nancy - we’re the couple who live opposite!)

We loved it. Great selection of beers, excellent staff, lovely decor and tasty pizza!

Suspect we’ll be back tomorrow!

Glad you liked it @Phil, come on spill the beans. What pizzas were devoured?

I will be back for sure too.

There is a bike thingy (one of the rack things you can chain them too) just to the right of the pub. If not, then if they aren’t too much in the way then they can also go in the garden, at your own risk though!! xx

Ahh amazing. Don’t forget to bring me that cup of sugar! X

Chasing away the Monday blues with a pint of longhorn and a glass of sauvignon. Really enjoying our first visit!

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I want to go! Can anyone babysit two pesky kids for me? Or shall I face the wrath of @anon5422159 and take them with me

Could have done with going there myself tonight. How is it on a weekday evening @Garfield?

Lmao @fran

It’s busy enough to have a really nice atmosphere but not too busy to have to fight for a table or service - the perfect mix for Monday night! And a credit to your staff @Nancy, they’ve been fab

Sounds ideal

Took the family there on Saturday intending to have a quick drink around 6pm. Deliberately left it until after the Manchester derby as I knew that was being shown. Place was still rammed as was showing Liverpool vs Leicester also. It seems that this is a football pub and not family friendly at all, e.g. doorways surrounded by smokers - a little off-putting even without family in tow to be honest. Am not against this as a business model but this isn’t quite what I had been led to expect! Oh well, plus ça change.

Sounds more like the pub was busy after showing a sporting event, rather than being a “sports pub”. It is indeed very different to what others have experienced there, and probably not what you wanted or expected.

Interesting to hear about this side of it.

I had exactly the same experience as @Brett… in fact we may have passed each other as either of us were on our way out. I had also specifically avoided lunch because of the Manchester game. Liverpool v Leicester is hardly a big game. Anyway the beer selection looked good. Shame I’ll not be back to try.

Hopefully constructively, I’d suggest that it might make sense to cordon off a smoking area at the front of the pub.

Would be nice for the courtyard at the back to be made non-smoking too.

There were people smoking next to us as we ate our pizzas out there the other day and it was quite unpleasant.

I know this is one of those difficult situations for @nancy where she’s forced to take sides, and I wish that wasn’t the case.

Nothing worse than trying to eat whilst someone is spewing noxious and harmful smoke into the air next to you!!

I have been twice and had a great time both times. I went on a weekday evening and Sunday lunch and both times it was lovely - great beer and fantastic pizza. I certainly wouldn’t describe it as a football pub at all but I haven’t been there when the footy is on (can’t stand the game). For a pub to be busy at 6pm on a Saturday is surely a measure of success and something to be celebrated for a local business. I do know that on Sunday lunch there were loads of children of all ages (all being well behaved!) with Mums and Dads enjoying a pint.
I do have an issue with smokers outside pubs but that isn’t a particular issue with the Chandos - every pub’s garden\entrance is now populated with smokers but I guess that is a price we pay for non smoking pubs - although the Honor Oaks garden is non smoking so something can be done. Still pubs are primarily places that make money serving drugs so I think we can get a little over anxious about these things.

Also the old regulars at the Chandos need to be catered for as well and I think Nancy and here team have done a great job at catering for new and old customers. I am certainly going back to enjoy some Gamma Ray/Neck Oil/Dead Pony Club etc…

Agree with @anon5422159 - I feel sorry for the publicans trying to manage this sort of thing, since it’s difficult to find a compromise which works for everyone. It’s actually one of the very few things I think the team at The Honor Oak have done well - but the space they have allows for two separate gardens and one can be non-smoking.

Good luck with this one, @Nancy.

Yes, I will have a hard job persuading the missus to go back there again. Agreed with other posters in that it is good that it is busy. My only point was that if they are showing Liverpool vs Leicester then presumably all premiership games - nothing wrong with that, it is just not as described when I spoke with Food & Fuel director present at the soft launch - big games only, e.g. Champions League & Six Nations - which sounded great to me, with good beers, a potential local in fact.

To boot, this match was also being shown on both screens - I thought that there was an opportunity keep a room non-sporty. Am unlikely to ever take the family to a pub on a weekday when it may or may not be a different experience… Agreed also with comments re smoking in the garden. As I say a football pub so not for me as it stands

Please dont forget this is a wet pub, one that is driven by sales of liquor and not food hence the license not allowing children in after 7p ( @Nancy please correct me if I have got it wrong). Given the licensing restrictions there is only so much they can do. So, choose your time well or call and ask if they have football on.

Lets not avoid it because they sometimes have football on.

You are right that they only allow children to 7pm. Having checked that they were showing the Manchester derby we went there for a quick drink at 6pm (between downpours) armed with the knowledge that only big games would be shown. So we did try and choose our time well and I think that this is a matter of policy for the pub and their chosen market. Am seeking clarity on this given the initial pitch.

You presumably have that choice. Only with rare exceptions will I have the opportunity to visit a pub without family in tow on a weekend. If they choose to show football at these times then we will avoid it (and wish them well).

People can choose to go there or not - from the posts on this thread many people have chosen to go here and enjoyed it. I generally go out with my family, and we go to places where it appears we’re welcome. Its fine that football is on - its just not somewhere that I’ll take my kids (and therefore myself). I’m sure there will be lots of people happy that there are less kids about and thats fine too. You cant please everyone, but at the same time you shouldn’t pretend to.

Hi Brett.

We are not a sports pub…but do show the main games, premier league, champions league (football) and other main sporting events- this was on our main advertising board before we opened and has since been advertised on social media and also on here.

We were in incredibly busy on Saturday, and were showing the football as they were premier league games. Depending on the call for it (or whether there’s anyone in the pub!!) will determine which screens the sport is shown on. On Saturday as we were very busy the second match was shown on both due to demand… This won’t always be the case!

In regards to the smokers on the doorsteps - we are currently waiting for some polite signs asking smokers to keep to the benches outside the front and not on the steps, as I totally agree that this is not a warm welcome when you arrive!! The garden will still remain open to smokers.

I really do hope that you try us again, and give us a chance. We’d love to have you back.

Thanks,
Nancy

Thank you for your kind words Nick.

That’s a shame, I really do hope you try us again.
Nancy

I really do get that, but we do have to cater to everyone… It’s a tough one.

Nancy, I very much appreciate your reply. It is good news that you plan to address the smokers in the doorway issue and it is also great that you are so busy from the outset.

Am with @comoed on this though. If you plan on showing all the premier league games then you will be showing football on most weekends I would imagine. I am only likely to visit any pub at the weekend, and then only with children, I will not know in advance how busy you are or how many screens you are using and am not going to drag the family past again, on the off-chance that you are having a quiet day, even if I could persuade them to do so. Shame, as the upshot is a family unfriendly football pub from my perspective.

Hope you understand - am very disappointed actually as had hoped to be a regular. The only reason I had any hopes at all is from the impression that Peter gave me at the soft launch - “only the very big games”, but thanks for the clarification. I actually don’t think that you need, or indeed should try IMHO, to cater for everyone BTW - this is not the only pub in the village!

No matter, now am back to where we were and am sure others in the community will enjoy it. All the best

Brett

@Nancy if it helps, feel free to put questions to our membership as a whole via the poll feature. To create a poll (click the cog, then “Build Poll”):

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In fairness this seems to becoming a bit commercial rather than member input on a local drinking establishment.

@starman I see members telling @Nancy how to run her bar, what she sould have/not have in her bar and how good it is. I see Nancy responding to the “suggestions”. Given the tone of the thread originally I think it has turned out quite well.

That said, the intention of this thread was not really a discussion about improvements, but peoples initial thoughts on their first few experiences.
I am sure another thread couple be created, or the initial Chandos thread be used to further discuss the impact of the improvements, and moving on from here.

Fair point, @starman, if you were referring to the offer of polling members. After speaking with the team, we’ve agreed polls should only be used by businesses that have paid to promote a post on the forum.

Apologies for the confusion, @Nancy!

I was. Insofar that if the Forum is to be used as a focus group for any business it should appear in the Commercial section. I’m only thinking about revenue sources for SE23.life.

You may have forgotten there are now two threads and the one that started ‘badly’ is probably that other thread (how do I link to another thread?) which anon64893700 refers to. But I do understand the need to start anew. I once started a thread on Piazza dela Cucina pizza to have it merged into an older one. I asked for a demerger because my thread was initiated after the opening of the place and I did not think it fair to be merged into a thread dominated by vitriolic posts about their use of Italian and “we don’t need another pizza place when we have BoNA” posts. Sound familiar?

With the glitzy pictures and gushing reviews it did read a bit more like the latest from a food blog. I expected to see Jay Raynor poking his head around a corner. Not sure a third thread is required. Maybe we should create a new policy. One thread before a new business opens to complain and bitch about it. Then a new one to praise it after it opens and the moderators got free pizza during the soft launch**

**joking of course. I’m not jealous at all.

Well I missed out on the free pizza and beers

Hark at the anti-football gang on here. Delicate flowers.

Am in the Chandos right now. There’s a ‘big game’ (by anyone’s arbitrary definition, though if you exclude the second best supported team in the country I’m not so sure) on. It’s on the small screen in the ‘south’ bar. I’m in the other side and you wouldn’t know. Give over trying to make out like it’s next door to The Den.

I really like the place, to be honest. The craft beer selection is a little samey, but that can change as stock moves, and it often is in such places so that’s not a big deal - I’m only drinking it because of the heat and will be back on the handpumps soon enough. Thumbs up.

I went last night and thought the natural division between the two bars worked well. I like it when a refurb allows the original locals to stay easily, without causing friction. Otherwise it can be quite boring, with drinkers pubs and “family pubs” but nothing in-between. It all seemed to rub along well and the bar staff were exceptionally friendly I thought, that was what struck me the most to be honest, the staff were excellent. I’d definitely go back.

I’d agree with this - I think the management of the pub has been excellent so far, both online and in person. I am optimistic that the team will take the feedback provided on here and in real life and keep improving.

Oh dear.
Monday night - two for one pizza. There goes the carb reduction plan.
I thought they had undercharged me (£20.50 for two pizzas, a beer and large Vodka) as I didn’t know so I told the bar chappy!

Got in there for the first time on Friday. Nice ambience and decent service. Pizzas were fine but I couldn’t praise them any further than that. Will try it again but not blown away.

Just been in for a nightcap after dinner - lovely friendly crowd at 11ish, some background music but not too loud, good beers on tap and easy to get to the bar. Delighted to have this place as a local!

I went in last night for pizza and a few beers too but was long gone by 11. Despite it not being the closest pub to me it has become my de facto local. Went past the Honor Oak on the way home and it was virtually empty which says a lot about the respective management\strategy of the two places.

I did notice that there was a lot of deliveroo drivers coming and going though - collecting pizza to go - nothing against that but I guess a new revenue stream for them

Recognise anyone in this photo, @Chatterbox?

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Ha ha! Thanks for that