Old House - Over priced!
I couldn't believe it, but I went into the Old House at Home in West Street and found that a pint of Stella costs £3.30! Only in Dorking do they consistently over charge like this. Even Central London is cheaper where you can often get a pint for about £2.70.
We have had a good moan about the state of the economy in Dorking but it is also the pubs which need to be brought into the firing line. The Dorking 'cartel' has racked up the prices for far to long. Lack of choice seems to be the main reason they get away with it but there is no chance of an alternative venue opening as the apparent influence of these greedy landlords ensures that it would always get blocked.
posted by The Cockerel @ 10:22 PM
7 Comments:
It is getting beyond a joke now!! I have been charged £3.20 for a pint of Guinness at The Pilgrim, The Bulls Head and The Kings Arms - why do we keep putting up with these ridiculous prices?? I made a comment to the barman at The Kings Arms yesterday afternoon, that the landlord must be making a huge profit margin on the prices of his alcohol. I was told that it was none of my business and if I did not like the price of the drinks at The Kings Arms to go elsewhere. Charming. ALL the pubs in Dorking are overpriced, smoky and will in my opinion, start losing customers to other towns if they continue to fleece the customer.
I stumbled onto the newly opened wine / tapas bar - The Gossip Lounge on South Street. It was a refreshing change to the public houses in Dorking. It was very relaxing, the prices were not that steep except on the cocktails ie. mixed drinks and the food did not look too bad either. There is an extensive wine list, lager consists of San Miquel, Corona and a strong Polish one and the beer consists of Old Speckled Hen. The bottled lager is priced in the region of £2.85 - not bad compared the Dorking cartel of public houses.
The owner of the new wine bar is also part owner of Cafe Rialto and he is very keen to make this new venture work. So, spread the word. He is also open to any suggestions (within reason) to help him improve the place. Please note that The Gossip Lounge is open only in the evenings from 5 to 11pm. So far, it is attracting a good crowd of people in the late twenties / early thirties, professional and incredibly more females than males!!
DORKING Dan
Price watch -- £3.00 for a pint of Guinness in Epsom and Ewell, £2.90 in Horsham and £3.00 in Reigate. Why is Dorking so damn expensive to drink in?? I have also noticed that the price changes twice a year in Dorking. When the budget is read out by the Chancellor of Exchequer and states that beer will go up by 1p per pint, in Dorking it goes up at least 10p per pint. It is not on....'not everyone in Dorking is rich and well off.' That is what I overheard one barmaid saying to a customer when he queried the rip off prices. Get real, whilst the majority of pubs in Dorking are nice to have a drink or two in, the prices might force me to go drinking in a neighbouring town.
I do know that landlords often inflate prices to deter the yob culture, perhaps that is why dorking is so expensive to drink in.
Putting up prices to deter the any yobs is a ridiculous excuse. All towns suffer this problem and they don't do it. One foot inside the Old House and you soon realise that they seem to let anyone in.
Bloody Dorkings always the same.
So, the landlords of the pubs inflate the prices to keep the yobs out of their pubs. What a ridiculous excuse. It is more likely that they want to line their pockets. Sure, Dorking has its fair share of yobs but inflating the prices won't deter them from coming back. Sadly, it will deter the law abiding majority who enjoy a quiet drink, a chat, reading the newspaper, meeting friends etc.
Was in Dorking last night (Thursday) and it was very quiet, it almost resembled a ghost town. The restaurants were very quiet and their was very few people in any of the pubs. Maybe, word has got out that Dorking IS now the most EXPENSIVE place to drink in the South East! I resent having to fork out £3.20+ for a pint of lager, Guinness etc., when in other neighbouring towns it is much cheaper. It is a disgrace for a cartel to be keeping the prices of alcohol artifically high to deter a few yobs!! Don't make me laugh. That has to be one of the lamest excuses ever. ~AP~
The pubs in Dorking are full of chavs, low lifes, lager swilling thugs etc. I cannot think of a decent and friendly pub at present in Dorking -- they are all RUBBISH!! As for the town, there are no decent shops and the place is infested with old people, people who live on benefits and nasty drunks. Dorking is a s**thole and have just read the Surrey Advertiser that the Sainsbury's superstore has just been given the go-ahead from Mole Valley. Well done -- this will stop the NIMBY's in their tracks. Bring on cheaper food, better choice and a decent chemist. Apparently, it will also stock clothes, TV's/DVD's, a butchers, a coffee shop etc. Cannot wait till Dorking enters the bloody 21st Century.
'Pubs in Dorking full of chavs,..'infested with old people' etc., can't be left unanswered, especially as the writer's intemperate bile confirms them as 'low life'. As a 61yr old, active in sport (i.e. playing football and cricket)no doubt more so than the previous writer and with too much else on to spend much time in Dorking's pubs I'll agree that prices are high and greed is the reason; no one could pretend that it keeps out the yobs. Was actually in the Malthouse, yes Malthouse, last night purely to see a particular football match and drank three very well kept pints of bitter served by very capable and friendly staff and amongst a large group of very affable 'youngsters' (most smoking but they'll grow up sometime).
The greater infestation in the town is from whingeing whinnies who carp on crassly without thinking that another view might be as valid and producing a sensible argument which might change things. Hope you're right about Sainsbury's but had read otherwise. What d'you want from a chemist? I can think of three which would have it. CB
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