please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Still a lovely pub, nicely redecorated and it's good to see a real increase in custom, especially for food. I do realise the food trade is what is keeping pubs alive and it's grand to see... but...and this is a big but... the prices for beer are now shocking - far higher than anywhere else comparable in the area (such as the Coopers) and higher than other Enterprise Inns - £3.70 for a pint of Betty Soggs - ouch!
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'The Dip' was tastefully redecorated a few months back and is now serving food most of the day. The menu is roughly the same as before, but that's a good thing. I've never had a bad pint, or a bad time, in this place. Can't say that about too many pubs.
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Just popped in for a quick one after the refurbishment. Quite pleasant with lots of historic photos of Hampton but £3.50 for a pint of Brakspears bitter was a bit steep. I don't think I'll make it my local. At least it's almost next to Monaf's - the best Indian Restaurant for miles around
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Great pub, great food, super friendly staff. Currently under going a major refurbishment due to be complete by the end of May. New menu planned.
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Lynne go to a rugby club to watch the matches Twickenham rugby club is about 1 mile from the dip. This might suit you better . The pub though is ok and the guinness was good (just pricey)
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Ah well, just when you think you've found a 'local'........................
We gave up on the Railway Bell this Saturday, having planned to spend a rugby-watching day there. Lunch, as usual, was good; the staff were pleasant. The pub, however, had turned into a creche.
There were babies, toddlers and young kids, running round, playing games. And just as much of a problem - parents of young children can be pretty loud themselves...............it was the bellowing dads that made us leave in the end.
So, 6 Nations over, but still some big rugby matches to come. I need help. Please, please, find me a pub where I can watch with fellow [adult] fans - within 30mins travel of Hampton......?
Lynne - 22 Mar 2010 08:42 |
This is our new favourite for most of the 6 Nations rugby matches. The TVs are new, & show only rugby - the landlord is a former player. It's comfy and cosy, the food is very good, & we've found the staff efficient and welcoming.
Having been in for a match, we took a chance on the St David's Day supper - superb; a genuinely Welsh menu and great fun.
I'm a Welsh rugby fan - finding friendly pubs in this area has not been easy for me, so thanks to the Railway Bell for welcoming me and my leek.........
Lynne - 17 Mar 2010 12:38 |
Went here once, was a rugby day and it was fairly busy with people watching the old fashioned TVs. I could have seen myself going back here if it wasnt for the fact it smelt like one big men's toilet. My mate said it was a place her Dad would like. Its recommended in the good ale guide, so maybe it is a bit dadish. The beer garden looks great, just a shame the loos dominate the aroma.
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Appalling place. Heaving with football thugs on home match days. Surly staff. What happened? just 3 years ago they did a wonderful organic sunday roast to rival the Coopers (and thats a feat in itself!) and the clientele were discerning. Is there new management or did they suddenly lose interest. Head to the Coopers or the Bell for a good evening if you are a couple.
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This is a convenient pub for Hampton main line station and many local residents pop in for a quick one on the way home. Was previously very dowdy but a well planned front garden with plenty of space has made this a pleasant place for a pint. Unlike the Coopers down the road, there is a far more even spread of sexes drinking.
The quality of the bar staff, especially when the gaffer is off is variable. I have been a victim of surly service and occasionally the main bar has been dirty, which suggests that the pub is happy to rest on its laurels, content to pick up revenue from the constant passing trade.
Beer choice is average, prices are high. No idea about the quality of food. Definitely moving in right direction but room for improvement, particularly from some of the younger bar staff, who sometimes appear to see customers as being a bit of an imposition!
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popped in last sat night. Asked for a chardonnay and was told by extremely rude woman that they stopped selling chardonnay then stood in silence waiting for me to talk no offer of an alternative at all.
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A friendly pub with friendly atmosphere provided by the locals, Sunday lunches are very good and plenty of it for the price. The pub could do with a bit of a refurb though, well a complete refurb....oh sorry, apparently it had one not so long ago....the gents toilets tiled, but if you don't mind the smell of the mens toilets and the odd flooding of the urinal now and again then pay a visit (in your wellies) to this pub, even if it just for the freindly hospitality and a beer before going to watch ther local football team, Hampton and Richmond.
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Not as good a choice as I remembered, though they did have one from Twickenham Ales; Autumn Blaze, plus Pedigree & courage. I noticed they are doing 'Friday food specials, cuisine from a bygone era' - todays is Lancashire Hotpot wi braised red cabbage, a fiver. If not, there's a good chippy over the road & I'd intended to walk down to the river with some fish&chips, a plan dashed by a cancelled train causing me to miss the 2pm close (of the chip shop).
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Nice pint and not bad food.Took a while to get served as the staff were busy chatting to people they new,Was stopped from buying another by a rather frosty landlady who told me she'd rang the bell.Lacks the atmosphere to be a real locals pub.The sort of pub that wouldn't look out of place off covent garden.But thats nothing bad.If your looking for a real quiet drink go to the other Railway up the road.
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Excellent pub for a quality pint
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Nice bitters available. Half decent boozer this.
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Lovely pub with friendly staff and locals, highly recommended. Don't be tempted to opt for the Railway Hotel - it might be a bit nearer the station, but it's not a patch on the Bell.
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The best service in town. The service is always friendly and it always feels like a welcoming local. Great in the summer when the garden is always packed to the rafters.
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Called in here for the first time breaking my journey on the train home. I'd heard there were Twickenham beers available, and I wasn't disappointed. Excellent pint in comfortable surroundings. Certainly go again.
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This used to be my regular for saturday session before the football at Beveree and a good sunday session 30 yrs ago and is second on my list to visit when i come back for the first time from oz on a holiday
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Friendly bar, local chat, Twickenham ales, great stuff. And a good chippy round the corner.
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The Railway Bell, or "The Dip" is a small friendly pub, the whole of the left hand side of the building is 'no smoking' and popular for that reason. Handy for Hampton railway station, if you're ever inclined to use the railway. The food is good & reasonably priced too. Its nearby rival pub 'The Railway Tavern' doesn't open until 3pm during the week, so "The Dip" is the place for lunch, when in the area. I too will recommend this bar. TJ
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I agree with mattygroves - in fact she was the last person I drank in there with! Good Twickenham Ales and stonking portions at lunchtime. Very reasonably priced. food too.
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"The Dip" has come a long way lately. The management have changed (so the betting slips above the bar are gone) and the bar has been refurbished, There is now a new bar (literally), a non-smoking room complete with fireplace (and the non-smoking room really IS a seperate room, not just a little area supposedly smoke free), a pleasant garden, and the cleanest windows I have ever seen.
There is a good selection of beers and wines (I favour the Autumn Blaze, I think it's called), and a full menu (burgers, bangers and the like), along with a barbeque in the summer.
The loos could do with re-doing - whilst they are clean, they are old and tired. The smoking area is VERY smoky, and not refurbished to the same standard as the non-smoking.
Other than that, it is a very nice pub, with a mix of clientele (when I've been in, it's been mostly over 30s, but not exclusively).
Recommended.
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Locals call this pub "The Dip". I wondered what they were on about at first, but that's the answer! One of the better pubs in Hampton now, tho' I'm told that there are also some good ones down the High Street. Shall go there next.
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The place has improved steadily over the past couple years and now boasts a very nice front garden with plenty of seating. Limited menu but the food is quite good, as are the beers. Beer pricing is in line with central London rather than the suburbs, but it's a pleasant place to spend an evening so the extra 10p a pint is well spent.
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Really nice pub: Friendly, welcoming, good food, lovely garden. Nice non-smoking bar.
Glad we found it when we moved to Hampton.
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It's gradually getting there. A lot of work has been done to the seating area outside and makes it look a lot more inviting and comfortable too. Great BBQ's during the summer and the quality of the ales has improved. Perhaps need to think of re-vamping the toilets now. Keep up the good work though.
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Seemed OK to me. Beer was nothing spesh, but there was a nice atmosphere.
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What a great pub - good service, nice food and virtually chav-less. Great!
TheGP - 18 Feb 2006 18:16 |
I wouldn't take my worst enemy to this place!
Totally a large bacardi & coke joint & constant scrabble playing brigade! ZZZZzzzzzzz!
anonymous - 26 Oct 2005 00:00 |
Visited on a warm evening, my second time in this pub.
Decor is okay. Beer and bar staff not okay.
The Battersea bitter was going off - metallic and yeasty taste.
The next pint - Greene King IPA - was also going off: a musty, unpleasant taste. But the landlady said there couldn't be anything wrong with it because it was a new barrel. Well, I've had Greene King many times before and this was the first time it has tasted nasty.
And all the measures were short - even a half pint was well over one centimetre below the rim of the glass.
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A well hidden and seemingly decent pub. But like Mike, the flooring made it feel a bit too Slug and Lettuce for my liking.
TheGP - 25 Apr 2005 19:22 |
Quiet pub, one of the better pubs in Hampton in fact. Better in the summer for the outdoor drinking, the inside is ok, but for some reason has laminate "wood" flooring.
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This pub is under new management and has great staff and fantastic roast dinners.
Jane Gent - 23 Feb 2004 16:34 |
Has been refurbished or something, looks fantastic! very nice, friendly atmosphere
joan - 29 Dec 2003 14:12 |
