The Richmond Upon Thames Pub Guide

The Red Lion

2010-07-27T20:30:00.023+01:00

A lot can be said about a pub from its brand of snacks. For example, Walkers crisps = bog standard chain, Mr Porky pork scratchings = independent, friendly and traditional. The Red Lion isn't either of those, as they stock Tyrells - crisps for the pretentious. I've mentioned it before, but no one likes expensive Play-doh flavoured crisps. No one. Nor do they want to sit and eat some pickled olives. For the love of god, just give us some good old roasted pig skin.
It's no wonder most of the clientèle here are athletes (you'll see cricket bats and tennis rackets under almost every seat) they need to be, for the pub is so huge you need some good stamina to keep walking to the bar and back. We took the easy option and moved from the garden to inside.
It is great to see non-smoking seating areas outside though, which many pubs lack. Inside is incredibly spacious without that lost empty feeling. The drinks on offer are okay, the usual Fuller ales, a very expensive wine list and some delicious farm apple juice. Just a shame about the snacks really.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Real ale Snacks (rubbish) WiFi Outside seating Carpark
Orange & Amaretto, Ringden Farm apple juice: £5.83	Alex - 7.1 Dave - ? Oliver - ?

The Tree House

2010-07-20T20:30:00.021+01:00

Bit of an odd one. It's certainly not a pub, more of a European restaurant with a bar. There were a few things that happened during tonight's visit I've subcategorised them...
The Barman
I think he was having a seriously bad day, there were a lot of angry noises upon asking for a glass of orange juice. He calmed down a bit on later rounds once he started to use cartons rather than bottles. Still it didn't stop him giving us warm glasses straight from the washing up bowl.
The Toilets
Please note the giant letter on each of the the doors - G for Girls and L for Lads. If you get that right you'll end up sweating all the water out of your body and scolding yourself on the cold tap. Graffiti over the doors gives a feeling you're in an awesome crack den.
The Mosquito's
Oh god! Waking up the next day, itching and covered in 30 bites is our way of saying stay out of the garden or risk a serious case of malaria.
Other Shit
I don't know why there's permanent Xmas lights hanging from the front, or why there was a kids birthday party at 11pm.
Reasonable Things
Good prices for food and drink and the staff (bar the barman) were actually quite friendly.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Outside seating
Bulmers, Orange & Ameretto x2, 1.5 pint coke: £16.00	Alex - 5.4 Andrew - ? Dave - ? Oliver - ?

The Sun Inn

2010-07-13T20:30:00.028+01:00

Opposite to the pond, there is no where we've been to in Barnes that was quite as crowded. The Sun Inn is big, it's busy and it's got lots of seating inside and out, even patio heaters. Other than those few facts, I found it to be pretty characterless and nondescript.
Being such a large place it does have a somewhat impersonal feeling, mainly from the staff who'd rather ignore you than tell you one side of the bar is now closed.
My guess is people come for the food - the chips were especially good and prices quite reasonable.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale WiFi Outside seating Carpark
JD & Coke, Lemon & Lime Water, Pint of coke: £8.10	Alex - 6.1 Andrew - ? Dave - ? Oliver - ?

The Idle Hour

2010-06-29T20:30:00.015+01:00

One hundred Tuesdays of various pubs and this is where we've ended up. A small terraced hideaway which could easily be mistaken as someone's house. Once in through the door, you're met with dozens of clocks hung on the walls, hard floors and wooden tables. And a black Jaegermeister shot maker on the bar, odd.
There are some strict rules about this place - you're not allowed to be in the garden after 10:30pm and if you are out there, there's a minimum number of people allowed per table. Since we were the only ones in the garden (or in the pub by the end), I don't think this mattered too much.
The barmaid was quite taken aback there were actually people having a proper drink, finding it hard to find the right poison she exclaimed "This is the first time anyone's come in on a Tuesday for a session".
There was a bottle of Brazilian rum sitting amongst the other bottles behind the bar, the label warning of '80% alcohol content' (that's 160 proof!). Allegedly illegal to sell in the shops, one shot of Stroh was evaporating even before it was brought back to the table. Any liquid that makes you hold your chest like you're having a coronary isn't to be trusted.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Outside seating
Gaymers, Orange juice, Bourbon & coke, Amaretto & coke: £13.80	Alex - 6.5 Andrew - ? Oliver - ?

Ye White Hart

2010-06-22T20:30:00.071+01:00

The only pub in Barnes where you can actually sit next to the river. There are three terraces and plenty of seating down on the Thames path to make the most of this. For those of a thin-skinned nature can also borrow a blanket to wrap themselves in, the sissies.
Each round of drinks we ordered was greeted with with an monotone voice of "hello, how are you" from a barmaid, who said herself she'd been working there too long. Even asking her to list the dozen crisp flavours didn't seem to stir any passion!
Sitting by the river is quite crowded affair, and if you can ignore the cigarette smoke, insects and rodents scurrying around, you'll find it a good place to watch the world go by and enjoy the evening sunset.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Outside seating
Pint of Fosters, pint of Young's Special, J20: £9.23	Alex - 7.6 Dave - ? Oliver - ?

Coach & Horses

2010-06-15T20:30:00.136+01:00

Traditional in every sense of the word, C&H really holds onto its roots. There are some really great features dotted around - from the stain-glass window at the back looking over the charming garden, up past the bar and its many trinkets, though to the huge used-to-be wooden doors at the front. I guess it really was its namesake way back when. The inside is quite small, there isn't even a place for toilets, but there is for a private function room, which I found rather odd (if you want to do a number, you'll have to go outside and go into the door opposite!).
Staff are very polite and friendly, which gave it that good homely feel. One big group of local lads came in and pushed us up on the couches, the fact that they were all at retirement age and we were whipper-snappers didn't deter them in the least! It's also very dog friendly.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features Food served Bar snacks Real ale Outside seating
Pint of Fosters, JD & coke, coke, Feel Good £13.00	Alex - 7.9 Andrew - ? Dave - ? Oliver - ?

The Bulls Head

2010-06-08T20:30:00.135+01:00

Technically a riverside pub, although the main road is between them, the Bulls Head is probably most famous for its jazz venue. Events happen most nights of the week and tickets cost an average of £10 as a first come first seated basis.
'But what about the pub?' I hear you cry. Well, the large open area with the bar set in the middle suggests you could get served from practically any point, without having to carry your drinks very far. I like that. There are a fair few ales, ciders, wines, spirits and liqueurs, something for everyone I feel, and even when they did run out of Amaretto the friendly staff were more than happy to pop down to the cellar to get some more.
We sat in the side room, comfortably ambient with the live music coming from the double doors at the far end. The only thing that didn't quite fit were the Thai restaurant menus dotted around - I guess they have a deal going on with next door.
Seating outside is very limited if the sun's out, but I'd like to come back again and perhaps sample a bit of the jazz.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Live music No unsightly world cup flags
Pint of Amstel, pint of Young's, Amaretto & coke, 2x crisps: £11.90	Alex - 7.5 Andrew - ? Oliver - ?

The Brown Dog

2010-05-18T20:30:00.019+01:00

This residential area of Barnes would be less claustrophobic if it was built inside a submarine. You can't even walk a pram down the road for all the wall-to-wall parking, let alone drive a car down here.
After a head-to-head stand-off with a van, we finally found a parking space and headed towards the pub. First thing to notice it's not really a pub, it's more of a bistro type place where you feel a bit odd only ordering drinks. We found a dark area around the side with decaying framed photos for sale, a huge musty bookcase and a box full of various board-games. It's a bit like one of those boxes of toys local doctors had in their waiting rooms back in the 80's, all exciting until you try and use any of the contents, then realise most of the pieces are missing and you end up throwing them on the floor in a rage.
As the name suggests, dogs are more than welcome here, which is quite bizarre with all the food coming and going. There's a good selection of crisps and drinks, and the staff are friendly enough. Check out the hoity-toity regulars who enjoy an endless chucklesome banter about who is better at tennis.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served WiFi Outside seating Dog friendly
Pint of Stiegl, amaretto & coke (double as standard), coke, apple juice: £13.62	Alex - 5.8 Andrew - ? Dave - 6.4 Oliver - 6.0

The Bridge

2010-05-11T20:30:00.006+01:00

Located a brief walk from Hammersmith Bridge (hence the name, duh), this modern pub has a bright, comfortable feel to it. You're not going to be able to park round here, but you'll find it easy to make a detour from a summer walk along the Thames path.
There are a good range of beverages available, although sadly all the ales were off on our visit. The barman seemed quite suspicious of us too, probably down to the fact we didn't have any large musical instruments or v-neck jumpers on. There's quite a large garden at the back with patio heaters, mainly enjoyed by those who enjoy a bit of carbon monoxide. Other than that, The Bridge isn't bad for a quick visit, no it isn't cheap, but that's not surprising located where it is.
As a side note - if you want a laugh, check out their website. Every page is an annoying PDF, including a menu dated 'February 25rd'. That really does give the specials menu a new meaning.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale WiFi Outside seating
Pint of Fosters, Amaretto & coke, apple juice, passion fruit juice: £11.60	Alex - 7.2 Andrew - ? Dave - 6.5 Oliver - 7.5

Halfway House

2010-05-04T20:30:00.025+01:00

One of the nicest little independent pubs I've been to, well worth a visit. It has a real welcoming atmosphere and with all the evening events going on, it's anything but a stale hangout for musty old men. Live music, open mic night, curry night. If they don't do the old fashioned meat auction on a Sunday, they so should.
Being a Tuesday, we had a go at the quiz. A quid to gain entry, the usual picture round followed by a few questions on varying subjects and general knowledge. Quite nice they gave us a helping hand and included an idiot round for the likes of us, or we may not have got any right. But I think we faired okay.
There are some good ales on tap, so good in fact the barman poured a London Pride when I ordered a Fosters. Perhaps it was his way of saying 'drink some real beer you whipper snapper', and who am I to argue.
The owners have put a lot of effort into making this a good local and it really shows. Good stuff.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Real ale Outside seating Quiz night Live music WiFi
Bulmers, pint of Fosters, pint of London Pride, J20: £11.90	Alex - 8.9 Andrew - ? Dave - 7.0 Oliver - 8.5

The Tapestry

2010-04-20T20:30:00.111+01:00

Looks like an old fashioned pub from the outside, but don't be deceived - get through the front door and you'll soon realise this is actually more of a restaurant with a bar than anything else.
The smell of food, the waitress asking you where you want to sit, the tab based billing system, even to a point where the waitress apologises for 'not having any mints' when paying. I can only guess 'service not included' written in bold at the bottom of the receipt, may have been something to do with that.
If we were reviewing restaurants The Tapestry may have been given better score, but as it stands for somewhere to drink, it's stupidly expensive and you won't find any ales either. Just pop across the road to the Jolly Gardeners and save yourself a few quid.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks WiFi Outside seating
	Alex - 4.9 Dave - 5.4 Oliver - ?

The Ship

2010-04-13T20:30:00.021+01:00

Only two types of people know this pub exists - the locals and the people who love the annual boat race (well actually three if you include us pub geeks).
It's hidden round the back of the Budweiser brewery, from the outside it doesn't look much... but it is humongous. I've been reliably informed The Ship hasn't always been this size, only extended when the new landlord decided to cater towards the food side of things.
With so many places to sit, we headed off towards the back, having to squeeze past a young 'girl' in a puffer jacket. She was holding her pint up at the sports screen and shouting "you're havin' a larf!". It's always a worry when you go into a place and the females have more testosterone than the blokes.
The resident dog was a scruffy little thing, he seemed to make a habit of running around the restaurant side (where we were sitting) and urinating against the legs of the chairs. Gave the place a wonderful aroma like a tramps six year old duffel coat.
The staff were good though and I'd be interested to see what it's like on a summers afternoon, outside obviously.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Outside seating Sport screen
Amaretto & coke, coke, J20, packet crisps / nuts: £8.76	Alex - 6.5 Andrew - ? Oliver - ?

The Railway

2010-03-30T20:30:00.040+01:00

Possibly the most modern looking pub we've been to around Mortlake. The Railway still holds a traditional feel with its coal fireplace and large art on the walls, but now sporting a jukebox, TV screens and weirdly, an office chair (rather dangerous with the wood flooring).
The barmaid was very accommodating and didn't mind helping us carry our drinks, and gave a friendly goodbye when we left. But a certain someone turned a bit cranky when she turned down the volume on his heavy metal track. It wasn't much later we later heard the poor barmaid fall down the stairs on her way to the basement. Yeah, you can call it a coincidence all you like Dave.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Sport screen Outside seating
JD & Coke, Coke, J20: £5.80	Alex - 7.2 Andrew - ? Dave - 6.2 Oliver - ?

Jolly Gardeners

2010-03-23T20:30:00.022Z

Backing on to the famous Budweiser brewery, this Young's pub actually makes some good business in Mortlake. There's plenty to do - darts, watch football or check out the games room at the back which has couple of pool tables.
The barman was younger than us so I'll forgive him for confusingly offering a bottle of Amaretto because he couldn't find any Amaretto (that is what happened, I'm not going crazy). Prices are cheap compared to Richmond and there are plenty of drunk, retired regulars propping up the bar.
Most of our night was spent playing darts, well, one game which lasted a very long time. Somewhat down to a certain someone who wouldn't wear their glasses, but it was mainly down to us being rather sh*t. Apologies for the many holes in the carpet.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Real ale Bar snacks Pool tables Dartboard Sport screen Outside seating
Pint of Carlsberg, Amaretto & Coke, 3x coke: £10.15	Alex - 7.0 Andrew - ? Dave - 5.7 Oliver - ?

Charlie Butler

2010-03-16T20:30:00.007Z

Mortlake is a strange suburb. Many decades ago it used to have a lively high-street with its own bus station. With that gone, the only thing left worthy of note are the half dozen public houses.
You can't normally go wrong with a Young's pub, but it was unusual to see one so empty, I expected to at least see some regulars. But no, it was us and the barman in a room that didn't look as if it had changed since the 80's.
The barman was a peculiar chap, early twenties from up north. Spent most of his time pouring himself pints, switching the lights on and off, and tuning the TV to a programme about violent drunken yobs clashing with police. It worked out quite well though, the more he drank the less able he was to use the 'new till'. At one point we got our drinks and it was ten minutes later before he came back and asked for any money. As we left he thrusted a mobile phone in our hand, and asked us "how t' view messages on eet", then after fiddling with it, he took it back and showed us how to do it. It was all very odd.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Real ale Bar snacks Sports screen Outside seating Carpark
JD & coke, lemonade, J20, crisps x2, pork scratchings: £8.65	Alex - 6.3 Dave - 5.3 Oliver - ?

The Victoria

2010-02-23T20:30:00.074Z

To those who want to own a pub, keep riff-raff out and still attract the pretentious who have more money than sense, here are some golden rules for you:

Place a random sculpture outside, to most it will look like a bronze turd, to your target market a beautiful work of art.
Have a 'magicians' curtain round the entrance, this will give your customer a feeling of amazement when they walk in.
Charge at least £5 for a liqueur, then put a service charge on it.
Leave posh sounding cookery books piled up to buy on a table and place a premium on the signed copies. Don't forget to place a random glass vase next to them.
All snacks must be served from jars and given out on a tiny dish. Again, don't forget the service charge.
Place at least two candles on each table.
Now and again, spend some time walking around loudly fluffing cushions.
Start a traditional wood fire. It doesn't matter if your flue is inadequate, your self-important customers will accept the clouds of wood smoke as something rather chic.

This place tries so hard to be something it's not. If I were in Mayfair, I'd expect stupid prices and good service. For a place based in a tiny backstreet in Sheen with below average staff it's a complete rip-off.
-Alex

Got here about half an hour before the others this evening but this may have been the fact that it is in the middle of suburbia, at one point I was expecting the road I was driving on to just....stop. unbelievably this place has to be the most expensive place we have been to in either the Richmond or Kingston pub guides, for a standard shot and mixer to be over £5 and then add a percentage charge to all food orders, including a tray of chilli bar snacks, this venue appears to think they are trading in the centre of the city not the outskirts of a suburb. Having a £16+ round when only one alcoholic drink out of 4 is being purchased is a definite deterrent from coming back here again, if you have a small island to mortgage then you probably could have this as your local, but otherwise I would recommend heading elsewhere.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Wine menu Real ale WiFi Outside seating
Amaretto & coke, pint of coke x2, orange juice, chilli snacks: £16.35 (!)	Alex - 3.1 Andrew - 2.0 Dave - 3.6 Oliver - 4.0

The Plough

2010-02-16T20:30:00.011Z

It's a quiet Tuesday, not many people to serve, but somehow we still had to wait until someone had finished telling his 'what do you call a blind deer?' joke to the barmaid before we were attended to. When we did get served, the Guinness was left half poured under the pump and she disappeared to fill up the dishwasher round the back. She did come back after 10 minutes and was confused to why we were staring, waiting with our coats still on. The barman wasn't much better, after ordering another round, he took our money and left the drinks behind the bar. It's a quiet Tuesday for god sake!
One thing did amuse me though were the menus. Black type printed on a black patterned background is a huge fail for those of us who like to use our eyes.
A nice comfortable pub with ordinary prices, it's just a shame the staff haven't got a clue.
-Alex

Having arrived quite late it was not long off me getting in a round at the rather modern looking pub. I was slightly bemused when after placing the order the barman disappeared, I assumed to pour out the drinks, and then reappear a few minuted later to take payment, after cash has exchanged hand he stood there waiting for the next customer not realising I was still waiting to be given the drinks I had just purchased and after a few seconds of eye contact and the whirring of bring cogs, he remembers only after I ask him if I could take the drinks back to the table. This may sound like a long winded moan about it but unfortunately the rest of the pub did not have much else that memorable, apart form a deceptive step on the way to the bathroom that I am sure had I had at least 6 or 7 more drinks, and alcoholic ones at that, I may well have stacked it. You have been warned!
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Outside seating
Pint of Guinness, Amaretto & coke, J20: £9.10	Alex - 6.6 Andrew - 7.0 Dave - 6.3 Oliver - 7.0

Pig and Whistle

2010-02-09T20:30:00.018Z

If you like your pubs full of blokes whom are into sports, you'll love the Pig and Whistle. Hordes of loud West-London middle-aged geezers drinking pints of larger, propping up the bar whilst cheering on football at every given opportunity. Impressive then the pub still manages to have an dry atmosphere.
Not being big fans of football we jumped on the quiz machine. We were given a simple question: 'Which of these numbers is a square root? A. 9 or B. 16'... now I'm no mathematician but when we picked answer B. we didn't expect a big fat Game Over sign to appear... what the f...? And quite difficult to prove if you wanted to contest it!
After the football ended we were left in an empty pub, with poker on the TV and some disgusting Big D pork scratchings. Probably won't be coming back.
-Alex

A very large open plan pub with a bar that spans the full length of the back wall, quick service was very welcomed. The website advertises a car park but after a certain time the gates are shut and your left to find a place on the street to park. Not an issue but if you advertise a car park, surely it should be open when the pub is. Not much happened to not this evening, just the general chit chat and catch up since last week, and apart form a mathematically challenged quiz machine I cannot think of a negative point for the pub itself, but then again I find it hard to find a remarkable positive point either.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale WiFi Carpark
Pint of coke x2, amaretto & coke, crisps x2: £8.25	Alex - 4.8 Andrew - 6.5 Dave - 5.6 Oliver - 5.0

The Naked Turtle

2010-01-26T20:30:00.068Z

Jazz club... nice. The Naked Turtle has a bar, a restaurant, a lounging areas and even seating outside for the alfresco types. Relaxing and listening to a pianist coupled with a professional singing waitress is quite a unique experience (at least for me). With the friendly table service and subdued lights, it really sets the ambiance of the place to a good standard.
I really enjoyed visiting here, if I was to come back I'd definitely like to sample the food. Bravo!
-Alex

Was not too sure what to expect with this place, met the others inside as I was a bit late and they had sat in the bar area waiting for us to arrive, after ordering some drinks we relocated to the entrance of the restaurant bit, sharing a small areas with a family having a meal on the other side of the room and an open curtain to the performance area/seating so we could hear when one of the waitresses got up to do a number. Quite a nice place and the table service was not expected but very welcomed. I would definitely like to come back on a Friday/Saturday evening to see what the atmosphere is like then.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Wine list Outside seating Jazz Singing barmaids
Amaretto and coke x2, pineapple juice x2: £9.60	Alex - 8.6 Andrew - 7.4 Dave - 7.8 Oliver - 8.0

The Hare & Hounds

2010-01-19T20:30:00.081Z

A gastro family orientated pub. Has a strange feeling of emptiness, probably due to the hugeness of the whole place, giving it that distinct lack of character There's a strange cocktail lounge for 'private parties', that you can privately hire. If you're wanting a good time, for the love of god, please go into Richmond town.
Food looked okay, although steep prices for a place that feels like a foyer. Very, very ordinary. Zzz...
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Wine menu Real ale Scrabble
Amaretto & coke, orange & lemonade, Feel Good juice: £9.61	Alex - 4.0 Dave - 5.4 Oliver - ?

The Royal Oak

2010-01-12T20:30:00.133Z

Hesitantly pushing the wooden door open from the dark, cold street, we entered and walked up to the small bar. The biggest woman I have ever seen loomed over us and began pouring our drinks (I had to check the floor behind the bar wasn't a raised platform, she was of such colossal size). Glancing at TV as we paid, I noticed the screen was frozen on a certain meerkat advert, and one of the locals was chatting about how he "doesn't get it". I can assume the lack of intelligence was limited due to months of staring at a broken Freeview box.
A shady character sat in the corner on his own, he never moved from his seat and the barmaid took all his drinks directly to him. Upon near closing time, he abruptly got up and left, leaving an untouched pint on his table. This started a domestic between the barmaid and the owner. It was at this point we felt it was time to go.
I like traditional pubs but The Royal Oak was lacking energy and on the whole, felt rather stale.
-Alex

Another pub off the beaten track, well, the main road between Kingston and Richmond at least, the royal oak appears a lot bigger on the outside then inside, the bar itself seems to take up a majority of the floorspace, but this didn't seem to be much of a problem this evening as the level of trade was relatively low, the half of the pub we sat in only had the four of us and one lone mane reading the paper at the back. There is something very unremarkable about this place, it is defiantly a local and I think its more of a place you go to with a few friends for a catch up than an evening out as the amenities within are very few.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Sandwiches served Bar snacks ~~Real ale~~ (was off) Dartboard Sports screen
Pint of Fosters, pint of Guinness, JD & Coke J20: £11.20	Alex - 4.7 Andrew - 5.0 Dave - 6.1 Oliver - ?

The New Inn

2010-01-05T20:30:00.102Z

Despite the first snow in 2010 forecast for this evening, we actually turned up hoping by the end we'd be snowed in and have to resort to surviving on beer and crisps for a few days. Just as well that didn't happen really, this is one of the few pubs I've been to where they didn't have any Amaretto, no pork scratchings and ignore numerous requests for 'no ice'. To their advantage though they did have some tasty Pickled Onion Monster Munch.
The only other people in the pub were the four locals sitting behind us. As a special treat (probably for life service to the pub), a birthday cake was produced from behind the bar and presented with the usual song. That was about as electrifying at the atmosphere got.
-Alex

A standard out of town type pub, level of trade was quite low but then by the time we left there was enough snowfall to have a bit of a snowball fight as well as slide about in the car before getting onto a gritted road (which was actually quite fun, in a non dangerous sort of way....honest). a pretty uneventful evening once again however this may be because we were wondering if there was enough snow to get a day off work the next day.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Outside seating
Bulmers, JD & coke, pint of orange and lemonade, J20: £12.00	Alex - 6.4 Andrew - 6.0 Dave - 6.1 Oliver - ?

The Hand and Flower

2009-12-15T20:30:00.056Z

I try not to be influenced by other peoples reviews when looking for the next pub to visit, but this one was looking extremely ominous. From the comments on beerintheevening I was expecting to get captured by a family of Chavs, thrown in he back of a van, and driven around for three weeks until the news had got bored of the story and then dumped me under a bridge somewhere.
Disappointingly, it turned out to be nothing of the sort. Friendly staff, good service and cosy surroundings. I'm impressed at the way they've kept the traditional pub at the front, keeping the restaurant separate towards the back. It appears to be doing quite good trade with the locals, being the only table free had us sitting on a kid sized choir bench. Bah.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Outside seating
Amaretto & coke, J20: £4.80	Alex - 7.7 Dave - 6.8 Oliver - ?

The Ham Brewery Tap

2009-12-08T20:30:00.039Z

Unless you live locally you're not going to find this place without a map. Which is a shame, because it's a pretty good pub. Events happen almost every night - from Poker, karaoke, quizzes, Sunday meat auctions to the occasional live music. And if that doesn't keep you entertained there's always the pool tables, darts and a couple of one arm bandits.
I'll forgive the barmaid for not knowing what the Amaretto was, as she was easily entertained by the number of Pork Scratchings (or as the barman put it, hairy pig hooves) one human-being can consume in one night.
Couple of things need sorting by the door - if smokers waft doesn't get you, deep vein thrombosis from being stuck under the tiny table with the bed-lamp will. Also, look out for the bloke who looks like a serial killer (I'm too scared to give out a more detailed description than that).
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Pool table Dartboard Sport screens Outside seating
Amaretto & coke, J20 x2: £6.50	Alex - 7.6 Dave - 6.2 Oliver - ? Sandeep - ?

The Victoria Inn

2009-12-01T20:30:00.008Z

This has to be the smallest pub I've ever been to, it was much like intruding in someone's living room at first. There are no distractions from quiz machines or huge plasma screens, and when it gets busy (well, busy as in 15 people), I must say it does get rather cosy.
The barmaid is great, the second time we went up for a round she'd memorised our order from before so all I had to do was give a nod. She got a bit excited when we didn't tell her our glasses were empty though.
Apart from two loud girls by the door, behaving like it they were auditioning for an episode of Sex and the City, it was a jolly good night.
If you're looking for a friendly, traditional, personal pub you can't go wrong here.
-Alex

Tiny, that pretty much sums it up to be honest. Impressive service form the barmaid, and a really nice atmosphere I would love to come here again, however as there are only 5 or 6 tables in the place there might be a pot luck for entry let alone getting a seat during a mildly busy time.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Real ale Bar snacks Sports screens Outside seating
Pint of Youngs, pint of Fosters, coke, J20: £9.20	Alex - 7.9 Andrew - 8.5 Dave - 8.7 Oliver - ?

Lass O' Richmond Hill

2009-11-24T20:30:00.159Z

A big out-of-towner, the Lass still holds it's looks and furnishings of a traditional English pub, but unfortunately that's where the familiarity ends. Many of the staff are Polish, one that served us had a look about him that if you so much as looked unsatisfied with your order, he'd wait until you left to go home, silently follow you out, then punch your stomach in half and calmly return to the bar as if nothing happened. The tacky plastic Weatherspoon-style food menus don't do the place any favours either.
Apart from us, there was only about five other people. Food was advertised to finish at 10pm but probably due to the lack of customers, the chef went home early. At quarter past 10 we we asked to finish drinking up, no last orders, nothing. Well rubbish.
A few minutes before we left, we witnessed group of teenagers come in off the street and head over to the cigarette machine. Not able to get it working, they asked the barman if they could have some change. Strangely he made a sarcastic joke about them being only 15 before happily handing over the change, even counting loudly in song as each coin was fed into the machine. Soon after, he came over and explained to us he charges one fag every time he does this, quickly adding "they are my friends". Wow, that makes it all okay then, carry on Mr Polish guy(!)
-Alex

Revisit - 09/11/2010
The polish barmen selling kids cigarettes have gone, the place has been refurbished and new owners have moved in.
Being one of the first opening nights there was a pub quiz on to entice the punters. First prize was a £100 bar tab, second prize a bottle of wine. Most amazing thing about it? There were only three teams playing, including us. Yeah we had a good chance but as luck would have it, we came bloody last as usual. We did get a pot of nuts as a consolation prize though.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Carpark
Amaretto & coke, coke, J20: £7.02	Alex - 7.8 (was 6.5) Dave - ? (was 4.3) Oliver - ?

B@1 (Be At One)

2009-11-17T20:30:00.005Z

This is a typical weekend 'get pissed quick' launchpad before you go to a club. For a Tuesday it was surprisingly busy. Four girls dancing to the overly loud music with their camera phones in one hand, unlit fags and cocktails in the other, a group of guys blankly staring at their glasses not understanding how they came to be empty, and a drunk 40 year old propping up the bar, ogling over the women.
The place is tiny, I don't want to imagine how sweaty and hot it gets in there at a weekend, although they do have a basement if you really hate oxygen. Upon entering we were greeted with an overly happy "Oh hey guys! How are you! How was your day!". Yeah great, I really want to make small talk over this deafening raucous - just get me a drink! The alcoholic drinks aren't cheap if you miss happy hour and the barman sucks, thinking it's cool to juggle an empty plastic cocktail shaker. Even a ham-handed monkey could do that.
Due to the high prices and unable to make conversation, we left after one and returned to here.
-Alex

This one probably shouldn't feature in our ‘Pub’ guide as it really is a bar/club than a pub/bar but it was in the list so we gave it a shot. It defiantly seems that the best time to come here is during their happy hour where its buy one get on free, because nearly £7 for a drink is a bit of a bank breaker for a Tuesday evening, on the plus side their non alcoholic drinks are reasonable if you happen to be the designated driver. We left after one round but purely because we could not afford a full night there without feeling like we should head on to a nightclub or something afterwards. Having passed this on a fri/sat evening I can vouch that it does get extremely busy and for their prices for happy hour at least I can totally see why!
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Cocktails Happy hour Loud music
Zombie cocktail, orange juice: £6.80 + £1.50	Alex - 6.2 Andrew - 6.9 Dave - 7.7 Oliver - 7.0

The White Swan

2009-11-10T20:30:00.074Z

I loved this little pub, it is everything a pub should be. Being located down a quiet lane nearest Twickenham Bridge, The White Swan is the place to go when you want to avoid all the riff-raff of the town centre. There is little to disturb as you drink a pint of good old ale on the comfortable heated benches. Good service comes with pair of gorgeous, friendly ladies. A lot of emphasis seems to be put on their food, which I may come back and try at some point. Strange to say it, but I hope it stays quiet and doesn't get ruined by any future popularity!
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Wine list Outside seating
Pint of London Pride, coke, J20, 2x pork scratchings: £8.10	Alex - 9.0 Dave - 7.6 Oliver - ?

The White Horse

2009-11-03T20:30:00.181Z

Dear Mr W. Horse,
Thank you for your hospitality on Tuesday the 3rd. It's not often one gets to witness wonderfully pretentious, middle-class women discuss work, as they consume lettuce with a dainty fork. I never realised how much strife these women had to endure on a daily basis with their clients. It was rather upsetting to listen to.
The wonderful art dotted around your gastro is a sight to behold. My associate summed it up quite poignantly when I asked him what he thought of the Kate Moss picture by the window, bluntly saying - "Shut up, I don't give a sh*t", before continuing to consume his bag of Tesco doughnuts.
Having noticed your website says the staff are both 'fantastic' and 'lovely', I was a little disappointed in the reality. The faces I witnessed were showered with worry and discontent, perhaps someone of working-class calibre had inadvertently stumbled into the place? Worth looking into lest it happens again.
We ordered a few bags of your posh crisps and I must say they do have quite a unique taste. The favour of clay injected into dried frogs pallet is a secret recipe that should remain a secret for generations to come.
I'd like to say I'd come back again, but with you being located on such a ridiculous little road where the majority of cars are actually bigger than the houses, I am regretfully forced to reconsider - for fear of grazing my Bentley, of course.
Yours sincerely,
-Alex

A very fancy gastropub, basically it looks like someone came to an old traditional pub (as it looks from the outside) and turned it into half fancy restaurant and half after dinner bar. This didn't deter us form sitting on what was clearly a seat in the middle of the restaurant area for our drinks, however once the doughnuts came out we quickly relocated to a sofa area a bit further from the bar. Not to hide the doughnuts, just the sofas came free and looked more comfy.
Overall a very uneventful place and located where it is, it would have probably got more local trade had it remained more ‘pubby’ as it is surrounded by houses, its current layout is more designed for Richmond high street.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale WiFi Outside seating Carpark of death
2x Amaretto & coke, orange juice & lemonade, J20: £11.20	Alex - 4.5 Andrew - 5.2 Dave - 5.0 Oliver - 4.7

The White Cross

2009-10-27T20:30:00.071Z

Another fine Young's pub. The White cross never has a quiet moment, the summer months see this as the busiest place in Richmond for a riverside drink.
Staff were pretty good, except one barman who seemed to be in a state of narcosis, having to dumbly recount our order twice before totalling it up at the till. Plenty of places to sit, both upstairs and downstairs. Attracts a good crowd, no lager louts or football crowds here. Bloody good beer. Food was on the bit of the expensive side, but the toilets were nice.
-Alex

Very nice pub right on the river front, rumour has it that during a very high tide you can actually be trapped within its walls as the raised exits have no dry route to the outside, what a shame, get another round in!. They have a square bar that serves on all four sides which came make for quick service, but sometimes you can be overlooked, this would usually be a pain but the have 3 or 4 people constantly serving so your never waiting too long. We sat in one of the more open, dining type areas and had a very good evening.
Definitely one we will visit again.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale WiFi Outside seating
Pint of Fosters, pint of Young's Special, coke, J20: £10.57	Alex - 8.3 Andrew -8.2 Dave - 6.4 Oliver - 8.0

Watermans Arms

2009-10-20T20:30:00.066+01:00

Set in an alleyway just up from the river, this charming Victorian pub is one of the oldest in Richmond, and it certainly hasn't lost any of it's character. From hourly chiming clocks, little trinkets above the bar, warm log fire, and a beautiful Golden Retriever lolling happily on the carpet, it gives the place a nice homely feel. Over in the corner, there's a framed photo of someone holding a huge fish over the bar - you have to admit it's a rather peculiar thing to bring to a pub.
Things picked up around 11pm as a few of the locals came in for a pint. Apart from the locals there was brazen northern couple, they didn't by a drink, but there was a discussion about whether that the Jolly Roger was either associated with 'watchmakers' or 'gold merchants' over on the quiz machine (clue - it was the other option).
I could quite happily come back here in the future, only thing I'd change is to turn off that damn pervading Sky football.
-Alex

Conveniently set just off the high street on the way to the riverside, this is a nice small youngs pub that really has the ‘proper pub’ feel to it, we sat on the benching round the edge of the bar at a table next to the door and enjoyed a quiet few drinks. Surprisingly trade picked up quite a bit just before most pubs would be calling time, slightly quirky but not in a bad way. An otherwise unremarkable evening but this just added to the night and actually made for a pleasant evening.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Outside seating
Pint of Guinness, pint of Young's Special, J20, cheese & onion crisps: £9.25	Alex - 8.8 Andrew - 8.0 Dave - 8.3 Oliver -7.5

The Triple Crown

2009-10-13T20:30:00.049+01:00

One for the locals. Not the most remarkable of pubs but it does have a dartboard (first one I've seen in Richmond), two sports screens (burning a lovely shade of blue) and worn, patched up seats. Being so close to the rugby ground, I had a bad feeling this pub was going to be a repeat of last weeks tacky Sun Inn - thankfully not the case. Overall a nice place with good beer and service.
I just wish they didn't sell those disgusting 'Big D' brand of snacks. You know the ones - so bad, you wouldn't even notice if someone had previously sampled them and put them back in the bag...
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Real ale Outside seating Dartboard Sport screens
Pint of London Pride, pint of Tea, J20: £7.10	Alex - 6.4 Dave - 6.5 Oliver - 7.0

Sun Inn

2009-10-06T20:30:00.008+01:00

One for the rugby fans. This pub has so many photos and 'collectors items' that they've had to start nailing them to the ceiling. Looking around, I saw a pair of boots in a glass case allegedly worn by Jonny Wilkinson. If this were true he probably tried them on in a shop, thought they sucked, then the sales assistant eBayed them. There are also some horrifying photo-shopped pictures of someone being rugby tackled whilst smiling, and signed photo of a naked, fat man holding a trophy.
Please make note of The Sun Inn's four commandments (all of which are vocalised and posted throughout):

Thou shalt not be served if you stand at the bar 'here'.
Thou shalt not be less than 18 years of age to use the cigarette machine (just in case there are any under-age patrons having a pint).
Thou must not use the supplied foot pedal to spin the Victorian sewing wheel under the table, replacement is uneconomical.
Thou must listen to two classic 80's tracks of equal length at the same time. We care not that the vocal does not fit with the backing.

-Alex

An interesting place, definitely run by a die hard rugby fan, assuming the owner is the bloke in the pictures that appear to have been made at one of those £1 photo booths you see in shopping centres. Unfortunately the only spare table on arrival felt like the seats were a lot narrower than normal and there was some weird mechanism that appeared to be pedal powered. This seemed to serve no purpose apart from spinning a wheel around, so, naturally after a couple of drinks we tried to see how fast we could get the wheel to go. Alas this fun was short lived as they are apparently expensive to fix you have to wonder why they are put in a position where you will naturally use them, I dread to think what sort of security they would have to employ on a Friday or Saturday (or even a match day).
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Real ale Outside seating Rugby
Kopparberg Pear Cider, orange juice & lemonade, J20, 2x Scamp Fries: £11.00	Alex - 5.9 Andrew - 4.5 Dave - 5.1 Oliver - 2.0

Slug and Lettuce

2009-09-29T20:30:00.008+01:00

In a dull, dull pub chain,
there was a dull, dull quiz.
On the dull, dull quiz,
there was a dumb, dumb quiz-master.
Over the dingy, dingy music,
The dumb, dumb quiz-master,
made spazzy disabled noises.
Over in the dull, dull restaurant,
two vegetables were served.
There was battered asparagus.
There was battered broccoli.
And then there was a depressed Andrew *snivel*.

-Alex

Okay to start off with I was not depressed, I was tired, very tired this evening, I nearly didn't turn up but thought I had better as I had missed a few recently. There was not too much going on when I arrived, the others had got there before me and already found a table. When the quiz started we decided to relocate from the seating area to the bar area so we could carry on talking. The guys ordered food which looked plentiful and nice, however I wasn't eating (again, tired, not depressed) so couldn't vouch for it personally.
we’ve been here before and will probably come again but cant see it being one at the top of the list of places to go.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Real Ale Quiz night (Tuesdays)
Pint of Guinness, pint of London Pride, J2O, orange & lemonade: £10.95	Alex - 4.9 Andrew - 6.5 Dave - 5.9 Oliver - 6.0

The Shakespeare

2009-09-22T20:30:00.012+01:00

A mile out of town, next to Sainsbury's. Apparently this little pub attracts very little business apart from Fridays when they have karaoke on, woo(!)
When we arrived the barmaid was gossiping to her friend on phone and very surprised she had some customers, she kindly finished her call gave us some drinks and put on some music.
We soon learnt there was a another patron in the garden at the back. Not a regular, just some strange middle-aged business woman who had been drinking wine since work closed. It was quite clear how drunk she was when she shouted the name of the current song before ordering another drink; "Staying Alive, get me another drink!!". Twenty minutes later she said her goodbyes and proceeded to take her car keys out of her handbag. The barmaid offered her cab, but she just slurred "I'll be okay" and staggered out the pub. Never to be seen again, I don't suppose!
We spent the rest of the evening playing pool with some chipped, hexagon like balls.
-Alex

A small pub on the outskirts of Richmond, this pub is a quiet one, probably in need of some modernisation, but not massively so. We were, as Alex mentions, one of very few others but then being a Tuesday night pubs like this will only usually have their regulars/locals weekdays, however in this case, the location wouldn't suggest a booming trade on the weekends either as its location is only really set up for if you want a late night snack form the 24hr sainsburys on the way home.
Pool table always a plus in my book and we managed a few games, we all noticed a ‘merry’ lady at the bar and it wasn't till she walked out we realised she was holding a set of car keys, one guy look out the door to see if she was walking driving or what but she was long gone.
Cant see myself coming back here without having a good reason but its not somewhere I would avoid, just a bit of an awkward location.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Real Ale Pool table Outside seating Karaoke (Fridays)
Pint of Fosters, pint of Guinness, J2O: £8.60	Alex - 6.2 Andrew - 6.5 Dave - 6.5

Rose of York

2009-09-08T20:30:00.015+01:00

This place is huge, it's essentially a hotel first and a pub second. A beautiful building set over a stunning view over the Thames (if you get the right table).
We expected a rather quiet evening - being as it were a Tuesday and it not being in the best location from the centre. What we didn't expect was an atmosphere similar to a library on Christmas eve. There was only one librarian working, and he had replaced all the books with 1950's looking beverages.
I had no idea what I was ordering with their fancy calligraphy bottles, so fruit juice it was. We walked out to the garden, being the only ones out there, in the dark, with moths flying round our heads we didn't really stay out there for long. Moving inside to opposite the bar, the only sound to be heard came from the humming refrigerator. For the next two hours we sat there, bored out of our skulls.
On a side note - to all those thinking about staying at the Rose of York - please be aware breakfast is served at 11pm the night before, this includes all cutlery, cereals and orange juice (it might be a little warm if you leave it to the morning).
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food(?) served Real(?) ale Outside seating Carpark
Orange juice, apple juice, coke: £5.10	Alex - 3.0 Dave - 4.0 Oliver - 2.0

Roebuck

2009-09-01T20:30:00.010+01:00

Oh my days, this is like a pub, in Richmond, it’s like on the Hill. And there’s like loads of American’s, and its soo cool right, because they’re all like under 21 and well excited because they can’t drink alchopops across the Atlantic yet.
I got fed up with their annoying accents after two minutes; they took over the whole god damn pub and we had to queue for ten minutes just to get a round in. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice pub, but that day just gave me a brain haemorrhage having to listen to the drivel of thirty kids shouting over each other.
One thing did amuse - one of the yanks pecked two girls on the cheek on the way to the toilet, randomly turned to us at the doorway, raised his eyebrow and nodded. OMG, that was so a Richmond Arms moment.
-Alex

One of the closest pubs to the park entrance right at the top of the hill i was assuming that this would be one of those ‘local’ pubs that will have a handful of regulars in on a Tuesday evening and that’d be about it. This was not the case as little did we know that this is just around the corner from a American university campus where term has just started and cue a ton of American students making the most of the drinking at 18, not 21 laws. This being the case the bar was rammed, at one point we were considering getting two rounds at once to save the wait time but every now and then a majority of the crowd went outside to the other side of the road before coming back in for their next rounds. Overall i quite liked this place, holds a good atmosphere with varying numbers of people inside however i would say they could do with the service area being a bit bigger to accommodate more customers at one time as the current setup seems to funnel people into an area that can really on comfortable hold 4 or 5 people so during busy times the crowd round the bar can come back a good few meters.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real Ale
Pint of Guzzler, J2O, coke: £6.10	Alex - 6.6 Andrew - 7.2 Dave - 5.9 Oliver - 7.0

The Richmond Arms

2009-08-25T19:02:00.010+01:00

Not quite what you’d expected in a pub – a spinning disco ball and flashing coloured lights on a Tuesday. We got our drinks from the very friendly barman and sat down in the corner. Oh look, a leaflet for a gay event at London Zoo, that’s nice. YMCA being played on the TV? That’s just an advert, it could happen anywhere. Hang on… where the hell are all the women in this place? Oh dear, are we where I think we are? Yes, we were.
There was this 68 year old man trying to chat up a bunch of young boys on another table, wondering which one of them was going to take him home. After some persuasion and disturbing conversation, they all left together.
A few handlebar-moustache guys came and went. We played Monopoly on the quiz machine. Two girls did eventually come in, but as usual fantasy is nothing like reality, one was anorexic the other was rather butch.
We left with the barman bidding us ‘loves’ farewell and frustrated we didn’t notice the pink union-jack blowing in the breeze when we went in.
-Alex

Didn’t quite realise what demographic this pub was aimed at straight away, as Alex mentioned, did not pay much attention to the outside decor when I arrived as I was running a little late. When I got to the pub I found the others and got myself a drink and only after a short while it was evident that we were in a gay pub. To be fair the evidence was clearly obvious if you take only a second to have a look around, especially the pink union jacks, but we’re not prejudice and stayed for the rest of the evening, sampled practically every flavour of crisps that were on offer.
Overall, a nice enough pub but not for me.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Outside seating Bar snacks Disco disco
Pint of Fosters, J2O, pint of Amstell, coke, five bags of crisps: £15.65	Alex - 6.9 Andrew - 5.0 Dave - 5.6 Oliver - 5.0

The Red Cow

2009-08-18T20:30:00.009+01:00

One of the busiest places we’ve come to visit since we’ve started the blog, very much a puller for the locals. From wannabe drunk opera singers, to fat old ladies knitting away in the corner, we were slightly worried we might be sitting at someone’s favourite table when we found somewhere to sit down.
Tuesday night is pub quiz night so we thought we’d have a go. Got half way and gave up, we were that rubbish. I did like the free sandwiches that were going round though.
The three of us stayed late into the night with a few games of dominoes, before going home and removing our pipe and slippers.
-Alex

1. It was over crowded, 2. It was expensive, 3. The quiz was sh*t, 4. The free sandwiches that were offered were salad based, and the other tables got ham sandwiches, 5. The football sucked.
-Dave

Pub facilities / features: Food served Real ale Sports screen WiFi Outside seating
Pint of Youngs, J2O, coke: £6.60	Alex - 7.5 Dave - 5.3 Oliver - 6.0

The Princes Head

2009-08-11T20:30:00.006+01:00

On the corner of Richmond Green, an average sized pub with half a dozen tables along the outside walls.
The bar-staff appeared to be preoccupied with a pizza delivery rather than serving us. We were given ice in a drink when asked for none, and then she left it behind the counter as she went to serve someone else.
After a couple rounds and a bag of 'Playdoh' flavoured crisps later, we were sharply hustled out and asked if we wanted the dregs of our drinks poured into plastic glasses.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale WiFi Outside seating
Pint of London Pride, J2O, coke: £7.10	Alex - 6.0 Dave - 5.7 Oliver - 5.0

Pitcher and Piano

2009-08-04T20:30:00.006+01:00

Right next to Richmond Bridge, this pub/bar has only two indoor tables, the rest of the seating is terraced out the front, although its quite well enclosed should the weather turn sour.
The bar-staff are employed for their facial hair styles and pretentious drink pouring 'skills', after which they will give you back your change on a silver tray, suggesting they should be tipped for doing their job.
It was impressively busy for a Tuesday night but we managed to find a place at the top of the terrace. Unfortunately on our right we had the tenacious smell of cigar smoke from a bald European man, and to our left we had a waft of cigarette smoke from two middle-aged 'birds' sharing a bottle of cheap wine. By 11 O'clock closing, the three of us inhaled enough smoke to power a steam boat down the Thames back home.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served Wine menu NO bar snacks Outside seating
JD & coke, orange, coke: £7.10	Alex - 6.1 Dave - 6.5 Oliver - 9.0

The Orange Tree

2009-07-28T20:30:00.009+01:00

Another great Young's pub in Richmond (the other being The Old Ship). It's a beautiful well maintained pub, just how a traditional pub should be without all the stupid, quirky modernistic furnishings you get in the new bars. Plenty of comfortable places to sit and a mixture of young and old customers.
One peculiar thing was the price of a round. Buying exactly the same drinks from a different bartender worked out to be 20 pence more expensive. Not much, but it's still makes you wonder.
Look out for the strange woman who feels she needs to let the whole world know she's leaving the pub. No one wants to see you poking your head back round the front door and shouting back to your friends for the third time. Just get the hell out.
-Alex

I have often seen this pub with huge crowds outside it on a night out, but oddly enough have never been inside. Inside there were plenty of large sofas and chairs which made for comfortable seating. We sat ourselves at a low level round table surrounded by 4 armchairs and continued with our rounds. Event-wise there was not much to comment on, just us 4 and a handful of others all enjoying a quiet evening drink. The prices do seem to fluctuate on a half hourly basis but apart form that there are no downsides to this place I would happily return here again.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Wine menu Sport screen Outside seating
Pint of Foster's, J2O, pint of Young's Special, pint of coke: £10.47 / £10.67	Alex - 8.4 Andrew - 8.5 Dave - 8.2 Oliver - 8.5

O'Neill's

2009-07-21T20:30:00.008+01:00

Probably the most popular pub in Richmond. Weekends are obviously the busiest and you'll find it hard to find a seat gone 8pm. It can also get quite rowdy when the live music or sports are on, but it's in a good location, cheaper than most, staff are quite affable and the menu looks quite nice...
..I actually had a taster today - it was stuck at the bottom of my pint glass (which was far too late to see something like that), a crusty cute little green thing it was. They also lose points for not selling crisps or nuts, which is probably a way of making you buy food off the menu.
Keep an eye out for the unshaven bloke who stands at a fruit machine all year round, with a pint in one hand and bunch of quids in the other, he never takes his jacket off.
-Alex

Quite a random pub this one, as I have mentioned on the Kingston Pub Guide, I am rather a fan of the O’Neill's chain of pubs and this one is no exception. The randomness of this pub is that it is quite easy to arrange to meet people and then miss them when you’re all in the same pub. This is mainly due to it having 2 entrances (3 if you count the beer garden). As Omar and I arrived we found a booth ad sat down waiting for the others to arrive, 20 minutes later we get a call asking where we are to find that Alex and Ollie had already arrived and sat down in another part of the pub. A nice large pub with a wide selection of quiet corners and overall in the traditional Irish theme. One of my favourite Richmond pubs for a while now and defiantly on the list to re-visit.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served No snacks :( Real Ale Outside seating Live music at weekends
Pint of Foster's, pint of Tetley's, J20, orange juice: £9.80	Alex - 8.0 Andrew - 9.2 Oliver - 9.0

One Paradise Road

2009-07-14T20:30:00.005+01:00

Anyone posting to this address probably gets pissed off from having to write out the first line twice.
Just up the road from the cinema, this little 'gastrobar' as I like to call it, was run by two young foreign girls. Although they had no ales on tap, we were pleasantly surprised to find they were offering bottles of London Pride instead.
It was a relatively quiet evening with a group of students in one corner talking about pregnancy and a business man on his Blackberry at the bar, all who left much earlier than we did. It became apparent that we had overstayed our welcome when all the tables and chairs had been stacked, and the barmaids were waiting by the door with their bags over their shoulders. Although, they were still very friendly as they unlocked the door to let us out. Perhaps they don't get many customers who stay past 11pm on a Tuesday.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food served No snacks unless you want a plate of olives. Real ale TV Screen WiFi
Bottle of London Pride, orange juice, coke: £7.70	Alex - 7.7 Dave - 7.2 Oliver - 8.0

The Old Ship

2009-07-07T20:30:00.013+01:00

One of my personal favourites. The welcoming atmosphere, character, friendly staff, choice of beer - it's all here!
An old traditional Young's pub with plenty of old oak and warped window glass right the way round. The slanting floor will inadvertently slide your buttocks off your chair but there's plenty of places to get comfortable around the central bar, with additional seating upstairs. The sports screens are thankfully tucked away and aren't overbearing like in some pubs, there's no thumping music to shout over either.
As an added bonus at the end of a night, you'll often see a random old bearded guy trying to order a beer or 8 bags of crisps. There's being homeless and then there's just being bloody greedy.
-Alex

One of our regular Richmond pubs we meet up at when not out on the guide, the Old Ship is a traditional pub of two halves, literally. The two halves are fairly identical but adds to a quirkiness of the bar that seems to go down quite well with the regulars, us included. The atmosphere is always welcoming, there is never too long to wait at the bar and the staff have always got a smile on their face when they serve you so this is the ideal venue for an evening get together. Again, this is one of our normal regulars so this is one we will be torturing to for sure.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Real ale Sport screen WiFi
J2O, pint of Youngs Special: £5.12	Alex - 8.7 Andrew - 9.2 Dave - 6.5 Oliver - 9.0

The Hope

2009-06-30T20:30:00.010+01:00

We were looking for a place called 'Molly Malones', but after being unable to find it and trawling the streets using its address, we realised it had been taken over and renamed to The Hope (not sure if the name was chosen due to the fate of other local pubs).
It is a quirky modern pub, you'll find zebra skin seats, odd wall clocks and several chandeliers and mirrors dotted around. The design does work well.
We sat in the back garden (half of it was being dug up for what looked like landscaping reasons) until about 11pm when the owner released his Greyhounds, it seems that whenever dogs are around Andrew becomes a victim of their excitement.
They also have a Dyson hand-dryer which creates mutant ripples across your hands, which is nice.
-Alex

I was late this evening, very late, I didn’t arrive until gone 10pm, but in the small amount of time I spent there, I met the others in the beer garden but shortly after we moved inside as the temperature started to drop and they released two dogs in the back garden for a runabout, the seemed to be coming up to us (well, me) so the move inside was welcomed. Just on the outskirts of the high street, shortly on the way to Kew so it’s far from central in Richmond but still close enough to appear to do a good trade on the major nights out (Friday and Saturdays).
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar Snacks Real Ale Outside seating Dyson Hand-dryers
Pint of Doom Bar, glass of orange juice: £4.65	Alex - 7.5 Andrew - 7.0 (30min visit) Dave - 6.9 Oliver - 7.0

The Mitre

2009-06-23T20:30:00.013+01:00

"You're not from around here are you." said the white-haired barman. He was searching behind the counter for something we called a 'J20'.
"Is this what you're looking for?" he asked, dusting off the purple bottle.
The old man was right, the pub was so out of our usual jurisdiction, we had practically driven to North Sheen.
We thanked him and took our drinks outside to bask in the last of the evening sunshine. The three of us relaxed and chatted amongst ourselves, as the barman walked around, watering his many hanging baskets. The quiet residential area was made up of a pretty row of courtyard houses on one side, and a bunch of square council flats on the other.
I noticed that the pub was quite well respected by the locals, despite having very little clientèle. It's not often you see a lady run up to a pub with a bicycle puncture and ask for help.
Charming, and very traditional.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Real ale Bar snacks Sport screen Pool table Outside seating
Pint of Youngs, J2O, pint of Guinness: £8.30	Alex - 7.4 Dave - 7.3 Oliver - 8.0

The Marlborough

2009-06-16T20:30:00.008+01:00

From the outside, The Marlborough looks to be your old run-of-the mill local pub. You'll need to venture through it's internals and squeeze though it's rear to realise how big it really is. When we got there, the back-door was bustling with people enjoying a BBQ, but it could have easily accommodated a couple dozen or more masticators.
After enjoying the last of the sunshine in the garden, we moved back inside, just missing out on the Tuesday quiz. Comfortable seating arrangements and friendly staff makes this another good contender if you're wanting to avoid high-street crowds. It gets mighty expensive if you're just ordering soft drinks though.
-Alex

As I parked the car up and approached the pub, I will be have to admit to being slightly apprehensive by the fact that 2 gentlemen lurking outside the alley 3 buildings away from The Marlborough. Both looked like rejects from a Charles Dickens novel and probably smelt as bad from that era, first impressions always last so with that in mind I thought that this pub is going to be full of sodomites and lecherous old folk who do nowt more than to prey on the young and dribble into their bean filled beards.
So, inside I go looking around for anyone who’s turned up thus far, I walk to the back which was looking more and more like a kitchen… I think I’ve walked too far, a lady approached “there’s more seats out back” she says. Poking my head around the corner I noticed there was a sign saying something about a conference, shouldn’t be here I says to myself (but managed to fight through later) and carry on walking back to the bar thinking I’m the first one here I thought.
I got served by man who bears similarities to a Viz character “16 year old disinterested fish and chip shop girl” except in this case, it was a bloke, obviously! Why did I even have to explain that? I don’t know, let’s crack on shall we? The Marlborough boasts of having one of the biggest backdoor (oh I say?!) gardens of any pub in Richmond (or London, I cant remember) but needless to say, it was pretty huge, very nicely laid out, masses of greenery, although on the personal level, I wouldn’t be too happy in the summer with the amount of insects and other flying creatures this woodland of a garden may attract.
Other than that there isn’t much to complain about in this pub apart from the prices, a little on the steep side, so students, take heed, this one is not for you!
-Dave

This pub is quite deceptive, looks quite small from the outside but goes on and on and also has, as advertised, the largest beer garden in Richmond. We made the most of this feature and grabbed a seat in the garden and enjoyed a couple of rounds before heading inside where we found a low level table with some square stools to have our final round before heading home. Being so far out of town and nearer the park this is probably more one for the locals or those who are on their way back into town form a day in the park. I know if I am on my way back from the park with friends it will be one of the ones I wouldn’t mind stopping at for a drink or two.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar snacks Wine menu Real Ale WiFi Lots of outside seating
Orange juice, coke, orange juice & lemonade: £6.59	Alex - 7.6 Alison - 9.5 Andrew - 7.9 Dave - 6.9

The Lot

2009-06-09T20:30:00.007+01:00

Difficult to miss if you're just walking past, The Lot doesn't look like much from the outside. But once you get beyond the concrete entrance and venture inside the pub, you'll find it's bigger than imagined.
From the moment you walk in, it's obvious you'll find no one over the age of 30. It's more of a student union, with discounts offered if you are a student. Coming here on a Tuesday, it was relatively quiet and easy going. I'd be apprehensive coming back on a weekend, as there's a strong possibility it turning to a crèche for lightweight teenagers.
Apart from the wobbly stools (assumed to deter old people with dodgy hips), and the barmaid who gives you a bitter with 1/3 head, it's not a bad place... for a week day drink.
-Alex

On a personal level, being as this is my first review and first pub attended on Tuesday night pub crawl review weekly, I have to say, unless you were actually looking for this place it would be nearly impossible to find via car, this place is so well hidden it would almost be a contender for the Madeline McCann Hide & Seek championships. Ok, maybe not that hard, but my recently borrowed Garmin Nuvi Ultra sat nav is sometimes about as useful as a three legged blind donkey running the Grand National. Anywhos, back to the review. Being a very studenty bar, it had a very relaxed atmosphere, the service was pretty good, she smiled at me, which is an automatic plus in my books, although many a times I did have to physically point out to her what I wanted. “Can I have a pint of Guinness please?” “erm….cider you say?” “Erm no, that’s Guinness” a typical conversation would go…but she smiled as doing so, so all is forgiven. The retro arcade games, pool tables and jukebox makes for some late night drunken entertainment, although least can be said for its 1950s style sofa, and their overly dangerous stools which could give the leaning tower of Pisa a run for its money. All in all, a quality bar!
-Dave

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar Snacks Pool tables Arcade Machines WiFi
Pint of Tetleys, J2O, glass of coke: £5.95	Alex - 7.1 Dave - 7.6 Oliver - 8.0

The Fox and Duck

2009-06-02T20:30:00.010+01:00

We pulled up in the side road next to the pub, as we had suspicions the our suspension may collapse due the many pot holes in the carpark.
Entering through the back, we were served by a woman so depressed her face was almost dragging along the floor. They only had one ale available here, I don't know if Green King is supposed to taste like it had been passed through half a dozen people, but I can't say I managed to finish it. Stuck to the Guinness after that.
It was too dark to sit inside, and had to make do with sitting next to the main road where we were randomly heckled by passing drivers. It was strange that only started when Andrew turned up :)
Not all negative though, they did have a beautiful white Husky.
-Alex

This is probably the first pub in Richmond you reach when coming in on the 65 from Kingston, quite handy having a bus stop just outside it, however the only outside seating in here is practically on the pavement on the roadside. This wouldn’t be all that bad if it want a rather busy road with the occasional car full of chavs shouting some incoherent babble to whoever may be on the pavement at the time. The pub seemed to be staffed by woman and a wolf which seemed weird at the time but the level of trade was that they probably could have done without the woman being there.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: One ale Bar snacks Main road seating Gravel pit, aka carpark
J2O, Orange Juice and Lemonade,: £7.80	Alex - 5.6 Andrew - 5.3 Oliver - 5.0

The Dysart Arms

2009-05-26T20:30:00.010+01:00

From the outset, my expectations of this 'pub' were quite high. I've driven been past a few times and it has always looked quite appealing, given the Tudor-like architecture and views over Richmond Park.
After almost running over a few geriatric joggers, we pulled up into the car park and walked round to the front. We were welcomed by two huge windowless wooden doors, no clue to if this was the right way in. Once inside it's instantly clear this is not a pub at all. It's a restaurant that serves a beer or two. There are no soft furnishings apart from cushions on the wooden chairs, the tables are either covered in cutlery or leaflets, and the lighting is subdued and candlelit. There's some whining jazz music being piped out in the background and a full sized piano in the corner (I can imagine it not sounding brilliant with all the hard flooring and walls).
We walked up to what can only be described as a counter, where apart from Adnams, it wasn't obvious what beverages were actually available. Upon request, a heavily accented German guy pointed to each tap and said something incoherent, after the second try at this, we just opted to point at a tap with hope it was something drinkable.
Due to the uncomfortable atmosphere, cluttered tables and wanting an area that wasn't invading someone's dinner party, we ended up sitting outside in the cold until Andrew arrived.
The Dysart Arms hopes to cater for those who like to pretend they are a class above the rest. To everyone else it's yet another characterless gastro.
-Alex

I wondered when I arrived why Alex and Oliver were sitting outside when it had quite clearly been raining earlier in the day. I got their orders and made my way inside to get the round in, and found first the unwelcoming solid wooden door with no windows, at first I thought it was a wall decoration and had a quick glance at the side of the building for the actual entrance, alas there was none and realised this was it. Went to the bar and had a look about while I waited to be served and the decor here was, well, plain. Stone floor, tiled walls, plain wood tables and chairs it was neutral colours all over. After looking at the drinks list (there was no other way to see what was on offer) I returned to the others with the drinks. When it was time for the next round we decided that it was too cold to sit outside anymore so headed in and I found the atmosphere as bland as the decoration, some jazz being quietly piped in around the place but that was about it. I doubt that I will choose to come here again.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Wine Menu Some Real Ale WiFi Outside seating Car park Depressing impersonal service
Two pints of Staropramen, orange juice: £9.10	Alex - 3.9 Andrew -3.0 Oliver - 2.8

The Dukes Head

2009-05-19T20:30:00.013+01:00

Although we spent 30 minutes driving around trying to find a parking space (and have since learnt there was a carpark), I can honestly say this is a damn fine pub.
The Dukes Head has the perfect balance of traditional character. It's hasn't tried too hard to modernise, and yet it manages to avoid old-man-syndrome. Being tucked away behind the station on a quiet residential road, it's great if you wish to avoid the high-street crowds. Groups of young and old, comfortable seating, proper ale and a bartender who looks like she'd not take any crap from anyone.
A hidden gem for sure.
-Alex

This is defiantly one I would like to return to (and indeed have since our initial visit and must add the food is also good!). Defiantly a proper pub by definition of the word. Quite off the main road through Richmond this doesn’t see much in the way of passing trade and seems to reply a lot more on their regular locals which adds to a pleasant and welcoming atmosphere which seemed to be good for groups of all types and ages. If you’re looking for a place to sit down with friends and enjoy a few drinks then this is the place for you, if not then it’s probably wise to stay nearer the high street.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Real ale Bar snacks Sports screens Carpark Outside seating
Pint of Youngs, two J2O's, orange juice and lemonade: £	Alex - 8.9 Alison - 8.75 Andrew - 8.9 Oliver - 8.0

The Duke

2009-05-12T20:30:00.020+01:00

Your typical gastropub, with emphasis on the gastro rather than the pub.
Getting our first round in, we were quick to note that the prices were rather steep, with some beers and ciders costing more than a Tesco Value Toaster (welcome to the world of increased duty).
We sat down at a table over by the front window and quickly became aware of a strange 'vibrating sensation' coming from the floor. For the couple of hours we were there it was nothing more than a light massage, but I reckon if you were there for the whole afternoon, you'd probably go numb from the waist down and have to drag yourself out the door using only your fingernails.
Overlooking the gastro there's an evangelical church, where dozens of cloned, little old ladies looking for redemption were hobbling out onto the streets during over the course of the evening.
To divert attention away from the hypnotising flow of grannies, I thought I'd try one of the £3 non-alcoholic cocktails, Mint Zinc I think it was called. It took 10 minutes to make and consisted of lumps of cucumber, sliced lime and crushed mint in a glass of ice. Perfect... if you want a face like a bulldog licking acid off a thistle.
-Alex

I was late this evening so the guys had already had their first round in before I arrived. Quite a modern looking place with big wooden tables and chairs but still reasonably comfortable. There really wasn’t much to comment on this evening that Alex hasn’t already mentioned, maybe it was because 2 out of 3 of us were drinking for once (I drove), or maybe just the uneventful atmosphere in the bar, Alex’s weird concoction of a drink with, what I can only describe as a stinging nettle in it was the highlight of the evening. We left way before our usual departure time (which is usually when time is called or after) and believe the place was probably still open when I got home that evening, just wasn’t too much keeping us there unfortunately!
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar Snacks Real Ale (Tea / Cornish) Wine Menu Cocktails WiFi
Pint of Tea, orange juice & lemonade, orange Juice : £7.55	Alex - 6.3 Andrew - 5.3 Oliver - 6.0

The Crown

2009-05-05T20:30:00.010+01:00

Being so far away from the town centre, The Crown's not going to draw a huge crowd, especially on a Tuesday. I was expecting that.
Arriving we saw three hunched over old regulars at the bar, one horizontally enhanced woman, two screens playing football and a barman. We ordered drinks and trundled off to the far wall, finding a place to sit down on two scrawled up leather couches (Wayne if you're reading this, someone with the initials V.H. left a message to say "you is well fit").
To give you an overview of the evenings entertainment, the main highlights were me knocking my pint over and a young lady walking through to use the rest-room.
With times as hard as they are, I'm not sure how long these places have left. Sure it was nice enough with good service and all, but it was a bit like an old retirement home. After these regulars go, who's left?
-Alex

A very spacey pub, on the outskirts of Richmond. While it was not very busy there were a few in to watch the football but quietened down after it was over. This meant very prompt service at the bar and even when there was some spillage asking for some napkins to clear it up, the bloke came over to mop up the table and clear the empties.
An otherwise uneventful evening if you don’t count the car talk between Ollie and Omar, and the downloading and playing of Wolfenstein on my phone by Alex.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Real Ale Bar Snacks Sport screens Outside seating Carpark Commode amenities* *Might be a lie
Pint of Fosters, 2 x J2O, pint of Youngs: £10.25	Alex - 6.0 Andrew - 6.1 Oliver - 6.5

The Cricketers

2009-04-21T20:30:00.007+01:00

Ahh what better way of spending a warm, sunny Tuesday than in a pub on Richmond Green. The Cricketers is a small charming pub full of regulars young and old, with friendly bar staff and a fine selection of ciders / ales.
Upon seating, we noticed a game of giant Jenga. It was at this point we decided that if the tower should fall, that person would drink a shot of what they hated most. Although everyone at some point managed to knock the tower over, there were two of our small group that managed to knock their shots over in the process, therefore avoiding the forfeit. How very convenient.
In other news: Oliver baffled an eccentric handlebar moustache man by building a bridge of Jenga blocks half way off the table. Andrew was yet again fixated by TV adverts, and Alison suffered mental exhaustion.
-Alex

Off to the side of Richmond green this is defiantly a good summer pub, and a traditional one at that. While outside seating was available we decided to sit inside as it hasn’t yet gotten to quite that warm stage...yet.
we found a pair of sofas and settled in for the evening, and then started playing Jenga, whether or not they were actually there for Jenga purposes or decoration by the fireplace is still unclear but no one seemed to have an issue so we continued and all took turns in loosing, As Alex was driving his forfeit was a bag of Cheese and Onion crisps. No wonder he was annoyed when mine and Alison’s shots got knocked over by the ending of another game, it still meant I went to work the next morning with shoes smelling on Tequila and a bag that reeked of Sambucca!
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar Snacks Real Ale Outside seating Large screen Jenga
Kopparberg Pear Cider, Smirnoff Ice, JD & Coke and J2O: £13.15	Alex - 8.1 Alison - 8.0 Andrew - 7.6 Oliver - 7.0

The Bull

2009-04-14T20:30:00.018+01:00

Very much aimed at the younger market (mainly 18 year old girls, judging by the running and loud screams coming from the WC), The Bull quite frankly feels seedy and cheap. From it's horrible external brown matt paint, to its tacky internal Christmas lights, it is one I recommend to avoid.
Andrew was already drinking at a small table when Oliver and I arrived. Greeting him with some sci-fi DVD's, he unexpectedly got quite excited and managed to kick his beer off the table.
After choosing from the boringly common selection of lager and bottled beers, we moved away from the beer mess and sat down towards the back (anywhere else just felt like we were on an adult film set). Here we were - trying to get comfortable on cigarette burnt plastic seats in a dark compartment, with the only source of light being a blurry BBC News 24 LCD screen and a candle. Not my idea of a good time.
At around 23:15 a bored barmaid walked over and told us "Can you leave, the place shut twenty minutes ago". Being at the back we downed our drinks and made our way quickly to the door, only to notice people still chatting away and we were the only ones leaving... what's that about!?
The Bull does serve a purpose though, it keeps the riff-raff out of the nice bars.
-Alex

This is not so much as Pub as more a Club that’s open during the day, and the atmosphere does not change throughout. The seating areas are quite varied, while waiting for the others I was on a sofa with a low height table which was okay until you go to cross your legs and kick your drink over the edge. We relocated at this point to a more of a diner cubicle style area but the issue with this was that they had fit 4 of these into an area the really should have only had 3, this meant that not only was the gap to sit in quite narrow (something I admittedly had an issue with finding a comfortable sitting position in) but sitting opposite someone meant you were practically interlocking legs. While this works probably when talking to the opposite sex on a busy Saturday night, 3 blokes having a quiet drink on a Tuesday proves this is not a good design.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Bad phone reception Hospital food smells better Bar snacks? Forget it.
Pint of Fosters, J2O, pint of Youngs, glass of house red wine: £8.35	Alex - 2.0 Andrew - 5.2 Oliver - 5.0

The Britannia

2009-03-31T20:30:00.023+01:00

Tiny quaint pub, hidden down a small cobbled alleyway, just off from the high-street. A nice retreat from the packed shops and riverside on weekends. Although it has the charm of a traditional pub, it also sports a large plasma screen for sports and, although we didn't venture up ourselves, a roof garden. They also hold comedy evenings on weekends.

After being quickly served by the friendly barmaid, we settled at the front window. Probably wasn't the best place due to the seating which had collapsed leaving what looked like a trapped animal at one end (the photo doesn't do it justice). I can only imagine it was left like this as a shrine to the worlds longest binge drinking session.

Great little hidden gem, all the little quirks just give it character you'll normally not see in an ordinary pub. Make sure you stay to till closing, one doesn't want to miss the infamous giant green wheelie bin passing through the pub!
-Alex

A Very nice pub off the beaten track of Richmond, it is found down a small side road. The friendly bar staff were always quick to serve our order and although some of the seating was questionable and chosen by Alex and Ollie before we arrived we were able to spread out and continue quite happily.

Unfortunately passing the pub a mere week and a half later we found that I has since gone into administration, another casualty of the seemingly increasing numbers of bar closures in the area. A sad loss for sure, I'm just glad we got to experience it before it was too late.

-Andrew

Revisit - 23/11/2009
Returning here after refurbishment, gone are the dodgy sofas and sports screens. In their place there are old people hunched over their pints, animal taxidermy in perspex boxes and some strange aboriginal music. Someone needs to put a stool in the toilet for people with short legs, it's obvious they can't reach the urinals.
Come last orders I heard an old lady talking to an old man as he was leaving - "Try not to rape anyone on the green tonight dear...". Ahhh, ain't that sweet.
We did get what was left out of the Amaretto bottle for the price of one measure though, so not all bad.
-Alex

Pub facilities / features: Food Served Real Ale Wine Menu Roof Garden
Amaretto & coke, JD & coke, orange juice & lemonade, tonic water: £10.90	Alex - 7.4 Andrew - ? Dave - 6.2 Oliver - 7.0

Shaftesbury Arms

2009-03-24T20:30:00.007Z

After driving around for 20mins trying to find a non boarded up pub (five off our list have been recently closed up), we gave up and decided to visit the Shaftesbury Arms being as it was close to where we were.
A traditional family run business, with a welcoming atmosphere and friendly bar staff. Looked to have two areas, a bar seating area and a restaurant, which had some lovely looking food.
We had three rounds and a couple of shots. I don't know what it was, but I still felt quite drunk throughout the next day...
-Alex

I loved the log fire they had going in this pub, and the Thai menu sounded delicious..though I resisted the temptation. Was nice to stumble across a pub that hadn’t been shut down, and I’m glad it wasn’t because this was a lovely evening and a lovely pub.
-Alison

Well, after the 5th closed down venue on the list (and us being very thankful we went back to the car to head to the next one and avoid the 15 minute walk out of town to the 1st one), we settled at the Shaftesbury Arms.
This is defiantly one of your ‘local pubs’. The landlady seemed to know a number of the customers there but was still happy to pause a conversation to serve us our order. We found a corner, then switched to the other randomly, a continued on with he evening.
The evening was a fairly quiet one with not much happening, apart from Alex deciding on pint for the first time ever.
By the time the landlady very kindly came over to inform us personally that it was last orders we decided to resist the temptation of another round as we had already hit the shots and probably all feared it could be counter-productive, the mild hangover the next day was definite proof of this.
Food from the restaurant half gave off pleasant aromas throughout the evening and may even have been tested had dinner not been had before arriving.
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Bar Snacks Real Ale Wi-Fi
Pint of Fosters, J2O, pint of Youngs, Smirnoff Ice: £11.05	Alex - 7.5 Alison - 8.0 Andrew - 7.3 Oliver - 8.0

The Angel and Crown

2009-03-10T20:30:00.006Z

This is the place to come if you love your football, not for those with a nervous disposition I may add!
The pub was packed with supporters for the Liverpool vs Madrid game, and even though I don't follow the game, I felt like a proper geezer standing shoulder to shoulder with this lot. The pub literally shook when a goal was scored.
As soon as the game had finished though, we were pretty much the only ones left in here, so we found some comfy seats at the back and chilled out.
Other thing to note were the strange sweating jars behind the bar. Although the labels on them said they contained crisps and sweets, they had certainly fermented into a liquidised jar of goo. Most odd.
-Alex

This pub was full of men watching the football, and the atmosphere was a good one. Definitely the place to be if football is your thing! I arrived early and despite not being interested in football in the slightest, did not feel unwelcome! We were lucky to find a couple of very comfy sofas near the back and nattered the night away. An enjoyable night and quick service at the bar.
-Alison

Pub facilities / features: Football Football Football Outside seating
Bottle of Budweiser, J2O, vodka and lemonade: £8.00	Alex - 6.5 Alison - 7.5 Oliver - 8.0

All Bar One

2009-03-03T20:30:00.012Z

One of the big chains you see in almost every town. Full mostly of people who have just left work and happy with the old 'you know what you're getting, so why try anywhere else' approach.
I'm going to tell you why you should try elsewhere. When I arrived I had to stand and watch for fifteen minutes as some pretentious woman slowly gave every glass of wine on the menu a sensory examination. This is with three bar staff (two of which were distant Europeans and obviously had little experience working in a bar). Finally, I ask for a 'southern comfort and coke' and was looked at like I was talking another language, eventually a barman stepped in and we got our drinks. Upon closing, a barmaid swipes our unfinished drinks and vanishes before we can say a word. What the f...
The crisps, cost £1.20, have the taste of cardboard and ironically display how they were specially made with 'bland crisps' in mind. All a bit rubbish.
With so many other places to go, I can see that All Bar One's only reason for being here is to make an easy profit from the Richmond workforce.
-Alex

As the weather was not so good this evening I headed in to get myself a drink while waiting for the others and then realised as this was an All Bar One (which I have been to the one in another town quite often) the drinks on offer are the more fancy foreign ones and not your standard selection (Fosters, Strongbow, Corona, and Budweiser are all strangers here). Finally choose one that I recognised and found a table, it was quite busy so I was lucky to find one that would accommodate all 3 of us. I noticed that the ambient noise level is very high, much like other All Bar One's the décor is wood panelling, wood floors and wood tables which causes a lot of echoing from everyone talking, and the sounds system could have been a few levels lower too, felt like talking with raised voices all evening (just adds to the echo). We were about to leave when we noticed a torrential downpour outside so stayed for one more (reluctantly) and as Alex wasn’t drinking we did the Snack round instead, shocked that an £8 jumped to nearly £11 by adding 2 bags of (rather tasteless) cheese crisps, Ollie reckoned it was the first time since we started Kingston that I had questioned the cost of a round, something worth noting!
Overall I’d say this place is okay for a quick drink after work, but not somewhere to stay for very long (unless its pissing it down outside and you have no choice!)
-Andrew

Pub facilities / features: Food served Real Ale Wine Menu Bar Snacks 66% Non-English Staff
Pint of Amstel, pint of London Pride, cranberry juice: £8.00	Alex - 5.0 Andrew - 6.5 Oliver - 7.0