please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Food, service and hygiene are all good - and as Biggus says, it may be 'the best run pub in Reigate.'
What it lacks is atmosphere. It 'dosen't feel like a friendly local' - a previous poster said. Atmosphere is what the Rat had, and the friendly Jimmy Dansie.
The Venture Inn is on the market.
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I still cant understand the reviewers that preferred this pub when it was the Desert Rat. When Tom took this place over it was a run down, dirty, nasty horrible hole, full of people nursing a small coca cola while playing pool for hours on end.
It is now, without a doubt, the best run pub in Reigate, the beer is good, if not its not for sale. The food here is exceptional, & you never see a dirty table.
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Very quiet indeed...was much better as the Desert Rat at least it had some atmosphere! Best avoided.
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The Venture Inn has improved over the last couple of years. The beer quality is better and more consistent and the Thai food cannot be faulted. I have eaten 7 or 8 times here and the quality is always of a high standard and can be relied upon. One minor criticism, it would help if the bar staff could speak English and understood what a full pint meant.
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We're lucky to have this place in Reigate. The range of drinks are all great brands- wine, real ale, lager and soft drinks. Not cheap but I did an 'ale sampling' crawl a while back and it was the best qaulity that day. Thai food doesn't disappoint, but only bowls you over on the heat of some of the sauces... One improvement? Doesn't feel like a friendly local. I'm a local and perhaps not friendly myself but it's up to the staff to say hello to me or the wife, (we can drink in silence at home).
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Possibly the best food to be had in Reigate for the money. Good beer, interesting wines (for a boozer) - and not too expensive either.
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Enjoyed the beer and atmosphere here. Can't speak about the Thai food on offer. Will be better once smoke free.
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This isn't the most absorbing, innovative or enjoyable pub around. On the face of it it is fairly average. But relative to what else Reigate is offering just down the road in the centre, especially to the more traditional non-Knightsbridge-aspirant visitors, this is rapidly becoming one of the best places to go for a few jars. The Venture offers a range of 5 beers, most are "obvious" but it includes 1 more unusual guest, and all have been well-conditioned in my experience.
There is a fine range of good malts for the serious whisky quaffer, and half-decent wines. Don't expect to pay anything less than exorbitant prices; the Venture has always been expensive, but then again it's been caught up in recent years by many other Reigate pubs.
The really clever thing here is that they've resisted the temptation to create a single-bar barrack-room by knocking the middle wall through, which has meant that there are 2 distinctly separate bar areas, both offering a different experience to their respective clientele. The left bar is more middle-class, groups and couples, all having a jolly but civilised time, broadly favouring the ales. The right bar is perhaps a little more yoof and bloke-orientated, with a big screen for footie etc and a predominantly lager-drinking bent. The 2 sides seem to peacefully co-exist and it makes for a pub that can offer an equally good night to both camps. Friendly and efficient barmaids always help raise the standard too. Good effort, keep on improving. This definitely deserves a higher average rating than 5.0!
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Not a bad pub unless you happen to stumble in on one of the "traditional" music sessions. Of course if you actually like bloody awful Irish folk tunes played with grim determination by middleaged men with beards, jumpers, Asperger's Syndrome, ego problems more in keeping with the members of a teenage boy band and an inability to grasp the fact that a slip jig's in 9/8 time then this pub's okay every night.
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Scooterroy is omnipresent in pubs- see London, Bristol, West Midlands, Oxford, Cambridge, IOW etc.. Went in here the other Sunday night and had a "nice" "mellow" time just chatting and drinking with a few pals. So improving
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Scooterroy must be a priory drinker..
this is a good pub, its suits the the local residents well and is one of the better pubs in reigate by far..
anonymous - 30 Sep 2005 12:25 |
Paul McD obviosly sampled the complete range of intoxicatng liquor before he wrote the comment OR he is a relation of an astronaught because the only place that has less atmosphere than this is the MOON
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you will never find a pub with such a great choice of beers largers and wines. great atmosphere, sports bar is always full for football.good food.full credit to Tom and John for thier work.
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I totally agree that when it was the Desert Rat it was a league better than how it is now. The locals were very friendly and it had a really special atmosphere (specially the games room) no chavs and a great mix of every type of decent folk. Albeit along with the bus station opposite it has sadly gone. I remember when the new landlord told me that the target customer was lunch time office workers. booooooo!
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The Desert Rat was a far better pub in the day. 2 pool tables, dart board, pinball, juke box, table football..
Ahhh those were the days.
Souless pub now...
Ronnie - 12 Nov 2004 11:08 |
Used to quite like the Desert Rat - the games room was excellent. However this ain't a bad place either. Good for football.
Nick - 14 Oct 2004 19:31 |
Lovely looking pub inside and out, with a good selction of draft lagers and Ales.
Very well layed out with that great pub feel.
Scott - 24 May 2004 10:28 |
They serve Lowenbrau - what more could you want?
anonymous - 10 Mar 2004 22:23 |
Brilliant pub, so much better than the desert rat! Vast improvement.
Clive - 5 Mar 2004 21:34 |
discusting- my late grandfather was a desert rat in WW2,pub originally named in honour of their regiment,name changed and offended vetrans and their families, will never set foot in there again purely on that.
GaryLager - 11 Jan 2004 17:59 |
Nice Pub, but one of the increasing number of irritating ones that taunts you with a blackboard of tasty food, but when you've ordered you pints tell that its only served at lunch times. (probably only between 1pm & 1:10pm on a Good Friday.
geoff_soper - 24 Sep 2003 13:59 |
This used to be a bikers bar in the early 80's. Jammed packed with low lifes - is it any better now?
a non emous - 23 May 2003 11:43 |
Excellent pub situated next to Julians barbers. Brilliant for a sporting sabbath and the food provided is excellent.
PJ Lindley - 14 May 2003 13:20 |
They always have a good selection of ales (4 or 5) and two widescreen TVs for sport. The other bonus is the very comfy leather sofas in the smaller bar.
David Cockbain - 13 May 2003 10:10 |
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