The Water Rats

Astonishingly bad customer service; I was in there having a coffee with a colleague and a member of staff came over and rudely insisted that we buy an extra drink as there were two of us. I said I would buy one (just for the sake of it; neither of us wanted another drink at that point), but she carried on interrupting our conversation, going on about the fuel crisis and how we were on a 4 person table when there were only 2 of us (for context, there were at least 8 empty tables in the pub). She was rude and obnoxious, and I had to apologise to my guest for bringing her there. I've eaten and drunk at this place several times in the past (food is decent, if a bit expensive for pub grub) but naturally I won't be returning.

Went to see Alice Gold on Thursday night great venue, brilliant music, Alice was tremendous but was rocked by new Irish group Heroes Before the Fall really tight original rock music with definate jazz influence. If you've ever wondered how Elvin Jones would play rock listen to this kid, brilliant debut. Mondos is the place to go for excellent and varied music the crowd loved it, sound was on the money, and everyone left happy, great night!
Harrythehat

I love the Water Rats - great location, great look and feel. HOWEVER, I went there to see some bands last night and was left hugely disappointed, not by the music (which was all exceptional and diverse), but by the sound man.

Being smacked in the face by a continuous wall of sound is not too much fun, I now know. It turns out that all bands were late because of a 2 hour central London traffic jam. Surely any 'professional' sound man of any worth would be able to respond positively to such a situation, especially given that there are paying customers.

My guess (and call me cynical if you like) is that it was related to the fact he just returned from touring with Paul Weller and hadn't yet managed to remove his firmly stuck head from his a**. In short, recommend the venue and the bands, but not the sound technician. Lets hope the venue managers recognise the problem and get the Water Rats back on track.

Good Music nice beer