Winners and Losers 2007 - Pubs and Bars
My winners and losers for the Dorking Pubs for the last year.
Winners:-
The Star
Great pub that is now well established as offering something alternative. Well run with friendly staff.
The Cricketers
A real effort put in this year with new management totally refurbishing the garden with decking, new seating and even outside ambient music. They are putting the effort in to attract new people in.
The Old House
After all the trouble this place amazingly seems to be emerging as a serious alternative to the Kings Arms for the mature drinker. It is not ideal but at least it has some life and a good outside area for smokers.
The Bulls Head
Really rough and ready but it serves its purpose. Have a few beers and its like the smallest nightclub you have ever stepped in... (though not recommended)
Losers:-
The Kings Arms
What has happened? It seems to be becoming the haunt of underage drinkers and as a result one of the oldest pubs in the town is losing its charm. Some of the customer service has slipped too.
The Gossip Lounge
A shame, but this place seems to have struggled to work. It is a shame as it was a great idea, although maybe they could have slightly altered the idea of 'fusion tapas'.
The Malthouse
Where is that? Is it a good thing?
Some Others:-
Arty P's
Still remaining consistent and popular with the office crowds. Not great food though.
Surrey Yeoman
Still popular with the office crowds but hit and miss in the evenings now the Bulls Head has stolen the younger crowds - this is a good thing form many. Probably better in the evenings for older drinkers.
The Spotted Dog
Currently off the map but still good if you want a quiet pint. Has a loyal crowd.
The White Hart
No real changes. It carries on as normal with, again a loyal crowd.
There are other pubs like The Bush and the Falkland Arms which have also undergone refurbishments but I am unable to comment on these. I welcome any comments.
posted by The Cockerel @ 12:52 AM
8 Comments:
Excellent, I will add my comments later on this evening in the "winners and losers - pubs and bars" awards for 2007. I must agree, that I agree with most of your observations of the pubs and bars in Dorking.
DORKING Dan
WINNERS -
The Pilgrim - A wonderful pub which is off the beaten track, near Dorking West train station. Great food. Very friendly pub and has a very good selection of ales from Youngs Ordinary to Old Thumper to London Pride to Adnams. Alcoholic beverages are a little on the pricey side though. It is a very well run pub by John Bateman and Richard Standen aka 'Tricky'.
The Star - Another well run pub in Dorking. Landlord is Ian. Offers open mike nights, comedy nights, vinyl nights etc. It attracts the 'arty' crowd in Dorking. Also, has a recording studio upstairs. Nice and chilled out atmosphere. Only thing, that bothers me is that is sometimes gets very crowded in here. You have been warned, this pub is very much on the small side and the toilets are situated up a narrow, windy staircase.
The Cricketers - Run by 'newish' landlord John Quinn. Excellent ales on offer. This pub is one of the best in the town centre. Great staff and the locals are very friendly. Good banter, excellent jukebox and they show some of the sports on SKY. Not really a football pub though, it is more a rugger pub! Excellent food is served at lunchtimes as well.
The Queens Head - Situated down in South Street near the junction of the Horsham Road. A real footie pub. Good range of ales. Attracts, the younger generation but nonetheless, they are very well behaved. Has a pool table, an old fashioned jukebox and a couple of tv's. If you are looking for a quiet pub in the evening, this may not be the place for you.
The Bulls Head - Run by Mo (formely of The Malthouse). Lively pub at the weekends. I think it has a late licence. Has student nights on Monday evenings, as well as host of DJ nights, unplugged nights etc. Attracts a very young following but generally, it is a friendly pub with quite a bit of atmosphere. Ales consist of London Pride, HSB and ESB.
LOSERS -
The Kings Arms - What the hell has happened to this public house??? Seems to be attracting an 'underage following' most evenings who are hellbent on binge drinking and causing as much trouble as possible down in West Street. Used to be a lovely pub steeped in history, good for a chat and a pint or two. At present, the ales are awful, the staff cannot be bothered to serve and now, they are offering shots of vodka, tequilia etc. for £2!! Just, who is this pub now catering to??? A real shame in my opinion.
The Old House At Home - Never have been a fan of this pub. Run by Simon Hardcastle, it seems to cater entirely for the footie brigade. Ales consist normally of only Youngs, which are very hit and miss!! The regulars continually block the bar, use abusive language and can get very aggressive. Shame, because it has so much potential. Also lost its late licence on Friday and Saturday night.
The Spotted Dog - Have been in a couple of times since Roy and Nellie left for pastures new. Has got very quiet and it really could do with a lick of paint inside as well as outside. The smoking ban must have hurt trade in this establishment. Not that friendly in here and the beer garden is not that well looked after anymore.
The Gossip Lounge - Started off well and attracted predominately women. Food was pretty good. Service was a little on the slow side. Have heard that this establishment is 'closed temporarily'. Needs to focus on the wine bar aspect a little more. Cocktails were very much on the expensive side. Lagers consisted mainly of strong Polish ones. No ales were on offer.
Arty P's - Started off well with Rob and Viv at the helm. Sadly they moved on, as the neighbours complained about the noise coming from the beer garden and the pending late licence. The late licence was turned down by Mole Valley District Council and Rob and Viv left for The Crown in Capel. Today, the pub seems to be sadly reverting back to the Jolly Butcher days! Food is overpriced and poor. Staff are uninterested when serving the public and as a result, the punters are going elsewhere to spend their hard earned cash. A real shame, as this pub had so much potential.
The Falkland Arms - Very odd pub that was refurbished by Youngs a couple of years ago. Very clicky still!! A very small and sadly, a very unfriendly pub. It may have been refurbished but, this pub is still to be avoided.
The Malthouse - Have not been here for a couple of years now. Have heard is still has pool tables, tv's everywhere but the prices have gone up quite considerably. Maybe, this is to divert the underage drinkers around Dorking town centre. Never liked this pub, as it was more of a youth club rather than a decent drinking establishment.
SO-SO -
The Surrey Yeoman - Used to be a lot better when it was The Hogshead. Attracts a varied crowd of office workers and young people. Good menu. Sometimes it can be a good place to drink and other times especially on Friday and Saturday nights, it is best avoided. Staff are very young and inexperienced. Alcoholic drinks are the cheapest in Dorking!!
The Lincoln Arms - Was very good before Christmas with lovely Aussie staff behind the bar. Unfortunately, the staff have come and gone only to be replaced with staff looking at their watches and talking amongst themselves. A typical station pub - attracts a dour bunch of punters waiting for their late train or they are sinking a few pints before they head home to the family. Very hit and miss!
The White Hart aka 'The Snakepit' - Can be very friendly in here and sometimes, there are people in here just looking for a fight. It is very much a locals pub. Food consists of very basic sandwiches and crisps, if you are lucky!!! This pub certainly has it moments. If you are not from around the vicinity of Dorking, be prepared for a few glares and people watching your every move.
Well, these are my reviews. I would be interested in other people's opinions.
All the best, x~AP~X
Good pub reviews Cockerel and AP. I must admit that I am not a big fan of the Old House and The Bulls Head. Both of these are quite rough, try to push the boundaries with their extended hours and are not very female friendly public houses. I agree with the both of you about the demise of The Kings Arms. It is fine during the daytime and the food is very good and reasonably priced. However, in the evenings it really turns into an underage drinking haunt.
My favourites in Dorking are The Star and The Pilgrim. Both of these public houses are very well run and female friendly. They attract a good variety of people, don't have televisions and as a result, the art of conversation is not lost. The Pilgrim, has it was mentioned in the previous comment, has great food like shoulder of lamb, curries, steaks etc. John and Richard (the landlords) are great characters who have a zero tolerance approach to underage drinking and thuggish behaviour. Ian (the landlord at The Star) has the same sort of principles. Again, he attracts a very diverse crowd for Dorking and although the pub does no food, you can bring in your lunch in at lunchtimes. You can also order at the bar for the cafe (Harleys) next door. Please note from Monday to Thursday, the pub is only open from 12pm to 2:30pm and from 5pm to 11pm.
Annie
What a load of crap - the pubs to be in Dorking r the Bulls Head, Malthouse and the Kings... Young peoples', male and female, good music and trendy. Dorking is really pathetic when it comes to decent pubs.... they are really boring, full of old farts and an exciting nite revolves around quiz nites and the footie on SKY. Me and my mates go to Redhill, Guildford and Kingston. No wonder, Dorking is full of old whingeing farts. So, what if the publicans serve people who r underage, it certainly livens up the deeply depressing, lack of atmospheric, oldly worldly pubs!!!!!!!!!!!
Phat Pete'''
Off topic, just wondered if you'd like to put the link to the Dorking Group on flickr in your Links section.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/dorking/
Come on Phat Pete, you haven't got any mates; you just go to Redhill because it's easier for you to stalk people...
Agree with most of the comments re the pubs in Dorking - Think it's been a touch year generally whilst acclimatising to the draconian smoking ban. Wish the Yeoman had never sold it's soul to the corporate devil tho, it breeds such obnoxious managers... the current harpie instructed me to say 'please' when I had to get my pint topped up... I refused to beg for soemthing I had just paid for!
Anyway, listen to me whining on; mustn't give dear old Phatso the pleasure of being right about anything.
Right, I'm off to The Kings to brave the hood-rats and bored antipodean bar-dudes in the sincere hope that the Sunday band will lift my flagging soul. See you there...!
DORKING Chris
Although the Bulls Head has had a bad reputation in the past i.e. when there were weekends of loud music, I recently went in and was greatly surprised, a new landlady and landlord, who are very friendly i was with a friend for a quite drink and did not feel at all intimidated (we 2 ladies) there was background music that was not too loud,they also have had a bar billiards table put in,which im sure will go down well with the opposite sex , the food menu was great with hot and cold food with a wide variety. well done Bulls Head
Although the Bulls Head has had a bad reputation in the past i.e. when there were weekends of loud music, I recently went in and was greatly surprised, a new landlady and landlord, who are very friendly i was with a friend for a quite drink and did not feel at all intimidated (we 2 ladies) there was background music that was not too loud,they also have had a bar billiards table put in,which im sure will go down well with the opposite sex , the food menu was great with hot and cold food with a wide variety. well done Bulls Head
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