please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
What are you "Davton" - the barman?
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The Old Anchor is starting to get nicely busy with food being served from Wednesday evening through to Sunday - and all freshly prepared. The quiz has moved back to Thursday evenings, every two weeks and on the last visit, the guest beer was Waggle Dance.
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The Old Anchor is now in the very capable hands of Rachel and Barry, and they have already made their mark. Good, friendly service and fantastic Sunday lunches. Quiz nights changed to Wednesday and the guest ale at the moment is Deuchers IPA - champion beer at the GBBF a couple of years ago. Give the pub a go and show your support.
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Bland premises which obviously used to be a local pub but clearly survives now as an identikit dining-room/restaurant - plasma, check; real flame gas fire, check; beech shelving showing off the wine bottles(bet they sell way more wine than beer), check; pretty but utterly sexless barmaid, check.
Every table is a high, dining table and all are booked out for the roast lunches on a Sunday. Want to drink beer - a dozen seats, maximum, for you. Shame, 'cos the Youngs ale is in good nick. Avoid unless you want to feel your life force being actively sucked away.
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A proper pub; less foody than most Youngs pub. Bitter good, though Youngs beer very unispiring to me.
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Visited last night for the first time. Very impressed with the decor, ambience and decent beer. Landlord and landlady made us feel really welcome and the pub quiz was very good. Will be coming back here for sure to see what it is like at a busier time. Recommended.
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My visit last night resulted in me accidentally gatecrashing the pub quiz, which was very well attended, but reminded me that I actually know very little if the questions aren't about pubs, beer or cricket.
The Youngs Ordinary was on reasonable form. Several years ago, I was convinced that this pub would be lost and become just another block of flats or executive offices, so it's nice to see it still going and seemingly doing well now
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Oops - I was mid sentence and didn't finish it:
the pub seems a world away from the Clubhouse next door, which is cleaky and has a team of freakish trolls serving behind the bar. The Old Anchor is a little oasis of nice.
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I've been using this pub since November 2005, just after Maureen & Clifford took over. And very nice it is too - really nice local crew, and the staff (the beautiful Tarny and Laura, and Daniel, who I won't call beautiful because he's a bloke) are all lovely people & good for a conversation. Clifford is very proud of his ales & keeps them very well, and Maureen runs an impeccable ship. I've not eaten there yet (barring a very good sausage sandwich), but the Sunday lunches are a local legend. It's nice and light if you want to go and do some drawing, with nice chunky wooden furniture, open fires in the winter. The quiz on Thursday is a lot of fun, even if I didn't win the rollover £400 round a couple of weeks ago... Attracts a sizeable rugby crowd on the relevant days (a rugby crowd who like to drink from glasses rather than plastic, and have escaped the clutches of the Tup). The pub seems a world awayMy only gripes are that Maureen doesn't play my CDs enough, and rather likes her Simply Red rather than my assorted mix of good stuff (Bonzos etc), and that the pub is a Young's pub, and not a freehouse. If it was a freehouse, no doubt Clifford would get some quality ales in. But Young's is OK enough. Huge thanks to Clifford and Maureen for letting me use the Old Anchor as an HQ for my fundraising - with their help & the donations of the Old Anchor drinkers (and the Real Ale shop where I work) we raised just over £2000 for Primhe, the mental health charity.
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The last comment regarding the beer is way off the mark. I use the pub regularly because it serves the best pint of bitter around. I've heard that this has recently been recognised with an entry in the Good Beer Guide (according some CAMRA info at the recent Twickenham Beer Festival). A proper pub.
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havent been for three years,what a change. used to have a brilliant manager great food and the best quiz ever. what has happened. beer was awful.need i say more
anonymous - 18 Oct 2006 16:54 |
Only been here once when the new landlord took over. He decided to stand by our table and comment on every single mouthful me and my partner ate.
Eat a piece of potato..."what do you think of the potatoes"
Eat a piece of Lamb....."what do you think of the lamb" and on and on.
If I want an overtly gay man to watch me eat and tell me how good it is I will make my way to Clapham Common on a Sunday night (times and fees vary)
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Enjoyed my visit.
Pleasant barstaff or was that the new landlord?
Anyway friendly welcome from locals too.
Definitely be back.
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The closest pub to where I live. Have been drinking in it since 1972 and have seen all its ups and downs over the years. It is now a place I like to drink in after several years of indifference. The beer is kept impeccably, the atmosphere is friendly, landlady and landlord are excelent hosts, who have been there from September 2005. Lunchtime menu during the week is limited to soup, sandwiches, and for those who need them, chips. Even the hungry dont need 2 sandwiches! Sunday roast lunch is highly reccomended.
This pub is reverting towards a real local pub again; want to know anything?, just ask, someone will probably be able to supply the information, or know someone who can.
Highly reccomended.
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Moved from the area a year ago and looking up my old haunts.
New owners and new patrons since I moved - Pub changed lots.
Thursday night but no football on Big screens?
Zany Quiz going on - but great atmosphere.
Regret moving now! Will visit again.
Richard
anonymous - 14 Apr 2006 14:00 |
My first visit in months last Saturday, thought I'd give it another chance. Glad we did too, the new(ish) landlord is a lovely bloke, very friendly, very helpful, there was hardly anyone in here but he offered to pull down the big screen so I could watch the rugby in case I didn't have a good enough view of the flat screen TV from my table, bless him.
Beer tasted great this time :) as did the lunch we ordered, proper home-cooked food in generous portions, quite pricey but well worth it. The home-made burgers are delicious. I really like the interior too, nice chunky tables and wooden floors, looks clean and welcoming with fresh flowers and a real fire. Looking forward to trying the Sunday lunch now!
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Great place to watch the rugby, has a big flat tv thingy plus two big screens. Yesterday they were serving Beef or pork baps for £4 which were lovely proper meat carved by the chef from the joint. Great atmosphere great service.
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Lovely pub with a friendly bunch of locals, the Landlady and landlord Maureen and Clifford are both really sound, Excellent food/drink and beautiful girls behind the bar. The building itself is very special - what more could you ask for?
anonymous - 19 Mar 2006 15:50 |
Spent an afternoon in here and enjoyed it immensely. The Guinness was good and the service seemed good as well - I couldn't fault it.
TheGP - 19 Mar 2006 12:19 |
Quiz starts again in January - Now on a Thursday. Twickenham's not too serious quiz. Win Beer, Dough and have fun all for £1.00 !
Your Quiz Host is Captain Fab
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My 1st visit was yesterday,have to say that the ervice was absolutely spot on.Can`t write about ale quality as I Was on Hogey-whish was excellent.
Really loved the look of the pub-to sum it up'BIG WOOD'...Very chunky tables & chairs...Big Candles in Big holders...
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Pub has recently changed hands - a new couple, Clifford and Margaret, have now taken over and are looking to recreate a traditional local pub. ( It is not clear however whether they were in situ at the time of the 20 August posting on this site). All I would say is that, based on my visit yesterday evening, this pub is worth visiting - let's see how it shapes up over the next few months.
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Oh don't get me wrong jesus scores, I used to work in a pub myself so I'm fully aware that it's not the job of the bar staff to monitor the beer and I wasn't in the least bit rude, nor was I expecting or wanting a refund/exchange or else I would've taken it back immediately. I just told her on the way out, in a polite and helpful manner, that it was flat and that she should inform the relevant bod, hopefully allowing the opportunity to rectify the situation before it got busy later on. But my attempt to save future customers from flat lager was met with a look of disgust from a disgruntled barmaid who seemed more concerned that I'd interrupted her cosy conversation. Poor service is all.
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With regard to cleversaz's post, I'm really not suprised the barmaid didnt respond very well to your complaints. This sort of complaint really needs to be taken up with the manager. Bar staff, generally speaking, have no idea about the beer. You should also complain when you first taste the drink. Complaining that the beer is flat when you leave the pub doesnt help anybody and generally makes the customer look like a bit of an asshole, seen as there is nothing anyone can do about it at that point. *shrugs*
As far as the pub goes, nice atmosphere, I enjoyed the few pints I had and didnt get any aggro. :-)
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Went in here the other day and the beer was flat and undrinkable, something which I told the barmaid on our way out, who didn't seem to care or offer any sort of apology, perhaps bacause I was clearly interrupting her conversation. Admittedly it was the middle of a Tuesday afternoon but that should be irrelevant. I've tried with this place and had my hopes up with the new management but after the flat waste of over £6 I think I'll stick to the Clubhouse next door.
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great food! wheres he gone you know the south african bloke that did those fantastic sunday roasts. disapointed on my last visit.
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There are a lot of pubs/bars in Twickenham - we did try to visit most of them, but this is the best of the lot. Good booze, Great staff, Gorgeous Manager - Job Done.
They allowed us to book a table for the rugby and even supplied a breakfast, with Black Pudding after it was requested. Highlight of the day was when some of the group thought we should get to HQ and others wanted to stay - Kylie (manager) decided that an old fashion drink off was the only way to decide this matter. The result was immaterial more Stella was ordered!!!
Make sure you pay this place a visit because it proves that you don't have to pay over the odds for great customer service!
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Saturday 4th June 2005: A day out with 7 beer-loving, sport-loving friends with 18 hours of drinking time sceduled. So much could go wrong.
But, on entering the Old Anchor at about 7.15am for the crucial first Lions match in New Zealand, spirits lifted and the fear subsided. Straight on the sauce and a great full English laid on. A fine morning ensued but enjoyed the place so much and were treated so well by staff and management that, not only did we stay until mid afternoon when we were expected at HQ at 12 noon, but we returned to finish the night after the Jonah vs Jonno testimonial.
Many thanks to Kylie (who had only been running the place for a coulple of weeks - yes she is Australian , but a great sport), Tovah and all the team for contributing to a great day. We'll be back later in the tour I assure you. xx
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Now that the mad dog has gone this place may be worth a visit. Have heard good things about it.
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Went for Sunday Lunch - not only were the staff very friendly, but the food was superb. Will definitely go back!
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14th March. A New Manager trying very Hard. He wasn't satisfied until he served me a perfect Pint!
Worth a visit.
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Great for the mad dog which goes beserk when you walk in. Staff seem to think it's cool. Actually it means that you don't go back there.
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Bizarre quiz on a Sunday. Otherwise great games and nice food plus comfy sofas always a bonus. Not too keen personally but nothing against the place.
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Strange place - not clear to me what type of customer they are aimed at, but no complaints about beer quality ( Youngs ) or the service so far.
John - 14 Oct 2004 17:40 |
Weird place. Old outer and new inner, but strange crowd and weird landlord. If he hates running a pub that much why does he do it?
David - 18 May 2004 01:41 |
A very good roast especially when they just start serving food. It always looks so fresh and plenty of variation on the veg. Other pubs in the area just do not compare.
Ann - 30 Apr 2004 13:46 |
this is a young friendly and livly pub
anonymous - 5 Feb 2004 09:34 |
Tends to be packed with rudeboys...not an incentive clearly
Dave - 4 Feb 2004 18:42 |
Not a great pub ordinarily but my friend Jack Matts (aka DJ Naked) has put on a few bank holiday do's there that have been good.
Good for: A night time pub. Avoid in the day.
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