By Andy
The
Riverside stared at us from across the Loxley.
The
pub looks incredibly majestic, standing tall above the cascading
weir. When night falls, its lights reflect in the torrent –
the glare of the spotlights dancing in the water's surf.
Unfortunately,
as usual, our photography failed to discern these subtle features,
and we left the area with a single blurry picture. Behold.
We
had attempted to visit The Riverside on our previous trip to Hillsborough, only to find it
closed for refurbishments. As such, we arrived expecting a
state-of-the-art interior and no-expense-spared furnishings.
It
didn't deliver.
While
the pub was undeniably clean and modern, it failed to produce the
feeling of comfort that a 2014 refurb should have achieved.
However,
we were pleased to see two ales on display, and selected Atlantic by
Sharp's Brewery – only to be informed that “the ales were off”.
“Both
of them?”
“Both
of them.”
In
my experience this is an immediate sign of a bad pub – this routine
has happened far too often on Pubquest. The ale signs are proudly on
display, and probably were available to drink once upon a time;
however they never bothered replacing the barrel and now the clips
are solely for aesthetic purposes.
In
order to avoid repeating the fiasco at the Waggon & Horses, we quickly switched
to two pints of Grolsch.
However,
maybe I shouldn't be too harsh on The Riverside – it turns out that
our initial beer choice, Atlantic, would have been a duplicate: we had already drank it at the Three Cranes,
so to do so again would ruin our attempt to drink a different pint in each pub.
After all, we can't rule out the possibility that The Riverside's staff read the blog, recognised us, realised we had already drank Atlantic, and lied to us about it being unavailable.
After all, we can't rule out the possibility that The Riverside's staff read the blog, recognised us, realised we had already drank Atlantic, and lied to us about it being unavailable.
Is
that really so outlandish?
Pub:
The Riverside (383 Walkley Lane, S6 2PB)
Rating:
4.5/10
Pint:
Grolsch
Brewery:
Grolsch Brewery (Enschede, Netherlands)
NEXT UP: Pub quiz cheats, at the Malin Bridge Inn...
NEXT UP: Pub quiz cheats, at the Malin Bridge Inn...
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