I know of a hungry horse that has just been taken over. And yes, it has changed. The riff raff have gone because they are not so fond of hanging round what is now essentially a restaurant complete with families and old couples. Each pub is different but this particular hungry horse has become more food orientated than beer.  

I suppose it depends on how tough the new management are and what they tolerate from their patrons before they are asked to keep it down and/ or leave. 

We have a hungry horse near us..   

it might be family friendly..   but its a certain type of family that goes there 

Last time I was there (drinks only...  I didn't eat there)..     there was a distinct smell of poo coming from the ball pit.   Initially I assumed some small nappy wearing child needed changing..    as we watched we realised that none of the kids in the ball pit (unsupervised.. parents were outside the front smoking) were nappy wearers...  

the whole incident has tainted my perception of hungry horse pubs...   I can almost smell the poo now, just thinking about it 

I worked in a pub that we successfully turned around though.

We adopted a strict zero tolerance on everything , and focussed on the food during the day...  & wine drinking peeps on an evening.

It was scary... cos the first months takings were pitiful..   but we did it in the end.

Shame my Manager then decided to get involved with one of the local low lifes & it then went from zero tolerance to town centre crack & whore house*   

*disclaimer - I'd stopped working there by then 

I live in the backwaters - never heard of Hungry horse pubs - quite relieved if your experience is anything to go by. If they do surface round here I'll be sure to give them a wide berth. Although - I've been tee total for over two weeks now so Pubs aren't really featuring much in our lives at the mo.

The hungry horse im on about is really lovely, it looks like a hotel rather than a pub, but it did used to look like a real spit and sawdust place.  There is also another hungry horse near it that i wouldn't venture inside for all the tea in china *shudder*

They are all part of Greene king who own 'old English pubs' and also 'eating inns'.   

We don't have a Hungry Horse but there is a pub in town which has tried to do that whole new look, new people thing and it has never worked.  Same old crowd, same drug problem and same fights.  It was done up really lovely and aimed at a different market last time but again it was filled with riff-raff and ended up closing down for good.  I don't think any buyers will touch it.

catch up

only one arrest that night

20 bouncers turned up- im not going over the top there, one bouncer said the others were busy!

Never heard of that pub, no sorry.

The first pub I ever drank in regularly, totally changed when new owners took over. They booted out the existing clientèle including me, who were mostly young (in some cases illegally so) and 'alternative' types (punks, hippies bikers ect. The decor and lighting were so different, that most didn't want to stay anyway!