please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
With one of the finest beer gardens in East Surrey, overlooking Priory Park cricket club, this pub has the most potential in Reigate; it has a good location on West Street and has reasonable decor.
Apart from that, nothing good can be added. The staff have a great time laughing and joking - or on their PC's. Because.....the landlord is hardly ever there.
Food and beer are average - the staff are a lot less than that. New management and staff please.
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Now, hold on chaps. As much as I never thought I'd feel the need to espouse any positive opinions on the Blue Wanker bar the good views from the garden, recent visits suggest some changes have at last been made for the better.
Local quaffers may know of the scandalous sudden departure of this pub's manager (it seems Punch who once owned it have sold it and the Red Cross to some finance company or other, who put this guy in to manage both houses), who to cut a long story short left the pubs high and dry with an uncertain future. I don't quite know who has come to the rescue, but it seems a new manager has been found who actually cares about decent beer, as suddenly we find a diverse range of 4 cask ales on the bar. I have received differing reports as to their quality, but my last visit found all in excellent nick - to a traditional ale lover Reigate is a desert these days, so to finally find a pub that offers more than just Pride, Ordinary and IPA is a real hit. Not sure whether the current incumbent is temporary, but the barmaid assured me that this was the way it would stay from now on.
Don't get too excited otherwise; the place remains exactly the same. As the evening wears on more and more youngsters arrive who sadly overlook the new ales in favour of grossly over-priced lagers and alcopoos, the music (and the punters) gets louder, and the food remains decidedly average. I fear the changes at the pumps will be of no interest to the general under-age crowd that populate the pub of an evening mainly due to the beer garden. But hopefully a more mixed clientele will emerge once the word gets round. If you like an interesting selection of ales (£2.65 average price) then support the Anchor if you can (preferably at lunchtime or before 8PM).
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Good view of Cricket in Summer,poor beer,no customers lunchtime weekdays,dead.
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This pub is a bit too modern, wooden floors, and a distinct lack of indoor tables. Plenty of outside room which is nice during the summer, especially when there is a cricket match going on. Food is modern and reasonable. People in the pub are reasonably young, although there a broad range of type, ranging from goth to townie. You get some older customers, usually very glamourous, but i think this pub is mainly a starter for a bigger night elsewhere.
anonymous - 4 Oct 2007 11:00 |
Reminds me of the Nelson Mandela bar at Uni - utter rubbish! Beer lousy, dreadful wine and I think I was served by a five year old?! Nice garden though but full of v.dodgy chavs in the Summer....unless you like tats and rings?
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Glad I amuse you scooterroy. That's what CLOWNS are for, but at least some clowns know how to punctuate a sentence.
You don't have to go to this pub, you could just stay in at your parents place and drink bottles of Bombardier.
This place has gone downhill a lot in the past year, but it's still somehow one of the only decent pubs in Reigate. I'll just make sure I don't go in there when scooterroy is on the warpath, he might do me in.
Ian_D - 20 Oct 2006 14:06 |
Previous owners have gone bust, (as predicted). However not much sign of improvement either here or in the Cross.
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To anyone who enjoys a good pint of real ale, good conversation with a mixed clientele, good service and a comfortable atmos, think again about going to the Blue (W)Anchor. In the '90s they used to purport operate an over-21s policy. They let in anyone over 18. Then it went to an over-18s policy. They let in 16-year olds. Yep, if you're 30 you feel old here now. Ostensibly a charming old Reigate pub, but inside lurks a lecherous den that is pandering to the growing brigade of "more money than sense (or taste)" under-25 middle-class Reigatians. Over-priced and poorly-kept ale can barely compete with fizzy, even more over-priced lagers, and the conversation of Catherine Tate's Lauren mixed with Harry Enfield's Tim-Nice-But-Dim prevails, but without the irony. A poseur's pub with no soul - but as ever, Punch Taverns are quids in as it seems to be eternally popular. Okay if you want a quick leer at some of Reigate's decent-looking young ladies, but I'd recommend hiring an adult DVD - at least one gets the comfort of one's own home!
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this serves the worst pint of real beer in reigate. went in on saturday and got a funny from the bar staff for asking for london pride instead of joining the crowd and asking for a pint of ice with a splash of magners. the person at the bar first had to ask the manager how to pull a pint then put it in a glass which seemed to still be full of fairy liquid. dont waste your time here. go straight over the road to the nutley
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Wow I just can't wat to go in there and see all the rugby players what an incentive to spend over the odds on average beer, Ian-D what a CLOWN
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This pub deserves a little bit more credit than others care to give it. They sponsor a local Rugby team, so it's nice to go there and see all the players on a Saturday evening after a game.
The beers are passable (I only ever drink Guinness and it's good here), never tried the food but like someone else said "who eats?". The beer garden is fantastic, especially when there's some cricket on as the garden overlooks the local cricket pitch.
Some attractive clientele puts this pub at the top of my list for Reigate pubs, but then again we're not exactly spoilt for choice... The Market Hotel, The White Hart and The Bull's Head are all either chavvy pubs or too smoky.
Ian_D - 28 Nov 2005 12:32 |
Shame really - could be nice. But its basically a meeting point for 55 year old company directors and thier spiffy kids.
It has the atmosphere of your average Dental Surgury.
As a pub, its got everything it takes to be great. Given the state of this and The Red Cross, maybe the owners should take the hint & look into early retirement?
anonymous - 3 Aug 2005 13:09 |
What pool table??? And yes very expensive with nothing going on in there.
anonymous - 20 Jun 2005 17:06 |
Lets get 'ringbolted' indeed. Was a beautiful pub, but has been eaten away at by a well known disease, MDF. Food is frozen nutrionless crap, but who eats? Watch out for vomit and over crowded toilet use (popular destination for rich kids snorting columbian marching powder).
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I have to agree, the Bluey and Red Cross have gone downhill. I guess they were invested in and are now being run purely to make money. The Red Cross absolutely reeks of urine by the gents and both pubs are extremely expensive
anonymous - 21 Apr 2005 18:45 |
Owners seem to have lost the plot!
Both this pub and the Red Cross (same owners) have gone down-hill fast.
Pubs are dirty, beer quality is a bit of a lottery, Staff seem not to care, all very sad really, as they were two of the best pubs in reigate.
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All in all a great place to drink, with a fantastic atmosphere.Let's get "RINGBOLTED"
anonymous - 27 Sep 2004 09:21 |
Nicely decorated and does good food, quite pricey - not for pikeys
claire - 30 Jun 2004 15:41 |
Style bar fittings and fixtures and off the peg "modern art" on the walls don't suit this old pub. Paved beer garden is an improvement though. Wadworths had gone off but was exchanged readily by pleasant staff.
H.O.F. - 21 May 2004 01:17 |
Im student at the Grammar and i like the new makeover, the staff and the atmosphere plus nice new look for the beer garden, it's going to be a good summer...Stellas a bit pricy though!
Dom Jago - 10 Apr 2004 19:35 |
Woah! They've had a 'makeover' It's now a trendy city style bar with chrome and pine furniture. This would work if they could get rid of the old dark wood beams, looks a bit odd.
Atmosphere is still good, prices are still pricey and I can only presume the garden is still there.
Not sure how the studenty regulars will like the new look, it all seems a bit too posh, not the place to be seen wearing your faded hoody and old trainers.
smuj83 - 16 Mar 2004 15:40 |
The best pub in Reigate without a doubt. Fantastic, friendly management... brilliant staff... good crowd of people.
anonymous - 19 Feb 2004 10:53 |
Nice pub but gets VERY busy at the weekend. Nice and very big garden with heaters. A bit pricey (most pubs in Reigate are, keeps the riff raff away darling).
Friendly staff, not a great selection of beers (unless you're a lager-lout). Food smells good, never tried it though.
The mens' toilets reek of piss, PLEASE BUY SOME URINAL CAKES!!
smuj83 - 19 Sep 2003 16:31 |
Beer now at a less astronomical rate, pool table gone - Hurrah !
Garden nice but full of students!
streaker's can be regularly seen ron the priory cricket ground
Northern bloke - 23 Jun 2003 16:54 |
ridiculously over-priced, but great beer garden.
wilson - 31 May 2003 10:28 |
Full of friendly people, can be either a nice quiet evening, or a great night out, with a FANTASTIC beer garden.
Kat - 8 Jan 2003 18:21 |
Remarkably good food. None of your boring old pub grub; this is modern fresh nosh.
John - 3 Jan 2003 11:46 |
Excellent garden which offers a view onto the Reigate Priory Cricket Club. Surrey legends Monte Lynch, David Ward and CK Bullen have all played there.
Mrs Swann - 30 May 2002 13:54 |
nice place, nice garden
anonymous - 17 May 2002 21:09 |
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