please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Went for a drink last night, haven't been for years, and now I remember why I never go there, the staff are so rude! If this pub wasn't in the cute village of Shere, it wouldn't last 5 minutes.
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If you wish to pay the same price for your glass of wine, as they paid for the full bottle, this pub is for you. By the way, the price of wine does not include a smile.
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A group of 8 of us went there on a Friday night. There were plenty of staff and the pub was surprisingly empty. Despite these factors the services was appalling. It seemed we were interrupting the staff social club at times and we were treated like an inconvenience. The beer was pretty good but the food was very average. It's such a shame that such a nice pub in such a nice location is so poorly run. I can only agree with an earlier review I read in that the pub seems to be devoid of any kind of management.
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Last time we came in i commented the thought this place was on the up and had a good pint of lager,on this visit i was with some mates who all said their ales did not taste good,to which a local said the ales are never very good in here.Make of that what you will.
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Popped in here for dinner last night around 8.30 - what a joke - hardly any diners and yet our food took way more than half an hour for 1 dreadful Chilli Beef & Rice and 1 gammon steak. Friendly staff but I didn't go to eat the staff ! Needs a drastic management overhaul before we go back.
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Have been here before when it wasn't a busy Bank Holiday. The beer was fine, the food and service was of average chain quality. This last Bank Holiday Monday was, as expected, busy but catastrophically at times there was only one bar person serving hence huge queue reaching the door. Zero management ability in evidence. We almost felt sorry for the staff. Surprisingly most of the tables inside were vacant which suggests the pub could have done much better if the clueless person in charge opened their eyes.
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Called in on the way past to see if anything had changed got to say had a good pint and things look a little better than our last visit (did not eat so no comment on food).I would hate to be a local here as there are so many tourists
about (us included).Lovely village.
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Nice building with an unhappy interior: it's old and not irredeemably spoilt, but it feels uncared for. And the fridges were louder than the music.
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I live locally and would only go there in an emergency
20 years ago it was a fantastic pub
Now a typlical chain pub with bored unmotivated staff and over priced food which arrives in a lorry and has probably never seen a real chef before the unsuspecting punter eats it
It used to be the heart of the village. You won't find a local in there. Closed New Year's Eve etc etc etc...............
Very dull, just a take your money pub which preys on tourists
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I live in the area and haven't been to this pub in years. Very small inadequate bar for the size of the place and really only the location to commend it. A typical chain pub!
anonymous - 2 Nov 2007 16:13 |
It`s been 14 months since our last visit and it has not changed, its still very poor, i will say it once again it`s a Punch co. pub so what should i have expected poss. exactly what we got poor service luke warm food and average beer.
It`s still a great location.
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Went here last night and food was rubbish - no specials available, what they did have was cold/poor quality. Great pub still but don't bother eating.
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This will be our last visit after having frequented this pub.
The service was very poor, in fact had it not been for myself or a member of my party (6) going to the bar to order food, wine, (which we had to collect), etc, I am sure we would have been ignored all eve.
I might add that there were only a few other diners so they could not put it down to being busy.
Four of us ordered the fish pie, described on the "specials booard" as having cod, prawn and salmon filling.
What we actually got was NO cod, a few specks of salmon, a few very small shrimps and lots of spinach.
We then waited 45 minutes for the table to be cleared and a chance to order desert, neither happened.
I again went to the bar and put my concerns to the general manager who had an attitude of tell it to someone who cares.
One pub off my list.
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That's a 4 by the way not a minus 4.
Disgruntled but not that disgruntled!
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I have two opinions for two very different pubs.
For drinks and meals during the week it is perfect. Relatively quiet and you get a really cosy, villagey atmosphere.
Sundays are a nightmare. Unless you are one of the first people to arrive, odds are you will spend ages waiting for a table. Obviously there is not a lot the pub can do about this (hire more staff?) but when finally seated it has taken close to an hour before we've even seen a waiter/waitress before and then it's been similar intervals between ordering drinks/courses. It seems there are so many people descending on The White Horse that the staff can get away with sketchy customer service knowing full well that for every person that doesn't return there will 3 more who didn't get a table the week before so they stand to lose very little. Add the fact that scenes from The Holiday were shot here and you have an endless supply of empty headed idiots who'll come just to see where Jude Law stood. Voila, business.
A group of friends and I used to come to The White Horse most Sundays for lunch during the winter period but several bad experiences with undue delay and lazy customer service has led to us looking elsewhere.
It's a lovely pub with well kept beer and the food is worth investigating on a weeknight but there are friendlier welcomes and more definite seats elsewhere in Surrey if you are looking at this place for a Sunday.
7 for weekdays
1 for weekends
Rating given - 4.
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Hi just to update those who like me are are fans of The White Horse. After what appears to hae been a bad appointment of head chef he has now left and there is now an English head chef offering good quality British specials. I had a wonderful fish pie, but their specials are made daily and are sometimes unavailable by Sunday nights. The garden has now been finished and is well worth a visit.
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I was very reluctant to go back to this pub after reading the write ups below. However, after a fantastic evening last Saturday night - excellent food, wine, ale and really friendly service I'm slightly confused and think I may have gone to a different establishment!!! I'm not too sure if people are expecting gourmet cuisine and silver service........thats the last thing I want from a good old English pub. Shere is a must visit Surrey village and the pub fits into it brilliantly. Compliments to the staff on a brilliant evening! Pub lovers dont be scared off from what you read below....
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This is such a lovely pub but what a let down on all aspects food,service etc.I would suggest you drive on and try the great village pubs not to far away ie Albury Shamley Green or Wonersh.(not Chilworth).Until the idiot pub company that owns this wakes up.Dont you just hate chain pubs?
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So disappointing. This has been a favourite pub for years but is now off my list.
Visited on a Sunday evening arriving at about 7.45.
When we say down to order we were told by our waitress that as they had been very busy there was no steak, no roasts, no lamb and oh no pork either. But they did have fish!
Rather limited our choice but as we had previously enjoyed evenings there and were loathe to move on we all (four) chose from the limited menu. It took quite some time to attract any staff to give the order to and noticed that we were not the only ones seeking assistance, where had all the staff gone? Ordered eventually and then waited over 45 minutes for our food to arrive. Three meals at once and the other following five minutes later!
Our chosen meal was perfectly fine, nothing thrilling but acceptable pub food, nothing more.
We decided to have a pudding. Again our waitress said that as they had been busy there was not much left!
So we choose from a very limited selection. Ten minutes later another staff member (manager? we think the original waitress was too embarrassed) appeared at our table and said 'bad news. we have not got either of the choices'
I can only imagine that in an attempt to tighten margins they are woefully under ordering food in and thus the reason of being 'very busy' should have been allowed for.
The manager seemed genuinely surprised that we were disappointed with our experience. Merely saying they had had a busy day and would not have a delivery until tomorrow did not really help us and we were after all the customers. sadly we will have to find another favourite now.
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A very attractive looking pub which appears welcoming as you walk in. However, very sadly, the menu is unimaginative, the prices inflated and the service quite diabolical. Basically, the staff are not remotely interested in you and it's more like self-service. Think Fawlty Towers without any of the laughs. You'll go home feeling you've had a good meal, but rather angry that you've been ignored. Allow plenty of time as the service is very slow indeed. We were the only people in the pub and it took forever.
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GGG, is correct not shut this week, there is a sign in the pub stating that it has been postponed to later this month.
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CORRECTION - the pub is not closed this week, perhaps Crazy79 was thinking of another White Horse? They've only got a small garden so £56K would be going some.
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I Visited The White Horse again this week and am pleased to say that the service we received was magnificent the staff were very attentive to our needs, even though they were very busy they kept us informed of the wait and the food was lovely. A note to anyone wanting to visit they had a sign up saying that they will be closed 12th to 16th March for a garden sparkle where they are spending 56Kon them so that should be worth a visit in the summer!!!!
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I visited the White Horse again yesterday for a late lunch and am pleased to report that my friend and I had a most enjoyable meal.
Two big advantages of this pub are that it is completely non-smoking and that meals are served throughout the day so you can have a late lunch, rather than having to rush to get there before the meal service stops for the afternoon.
It's a cosy pub, with the log fires burning, and was a good choice for lunch on a cold, snowy day.
The food was great and so was the service.
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Went in for a few beers last week. No complaints myself though did overhear management giving two of the waiting on staff a bollocking outside the gents for something service related so perhaps those issues haven't been resolved.
From my point of view its a lovely looking pub, non-smoking and good beer. Also, service we received from the barman was decent, nice chap happy to share a joke
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I like the new style of service, I was in ther today 09/11/06, and they now offer full service to those wanting it, or you can still order at the bar if you want to. New menu very good, quality has improved from previous menu. Management and staff seemed very friendly and happy to see us. Very impressed as it was very busy, staff did inform me that Sundays between 12 and 3 are crazy busy with tourists, so if I wanted a more relaxed meal to come after 3 o'clock.
Will definately return
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went to this pretty pub in the hope for a lovely sunday lunch.
It was horrendous, really bad, the whole thing was obviously microwaved with the meat being the worst i have tasted.
i would say it is not worth a visit or £8.95 for a rather dreadul sunday lunch!!!!
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I last visited the White Horse in October last year and had a very mediocre, desiccated meal so it was with some trepidation that I went back there yesterday for lunch with a friend.
What a pleasant surprise! The pub is now entirely non-smoking inside which is fantastic! The staff were friendly and helpful (OK, it wasn't busy but hopefully they're always friendly) and there was a good choice on the menu and specials board.
The food was excellent and it was also well presented, which is not always the case in pubs. I do hope my last experience was a one-off because I've been visiting the White Horse for the past 12 years and have only ever had that one poor eating experience.
Congratulations to the chef and all the staff - please keep up the excellent food!
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This could be one of the best pubs in the south of England (no joke) but it isn`t.Punch Pub Co have got it wrong again, put someone in here who cares not any Tom,Dick Harry(or Sally, people who have been in here will know what i mean)This place`s location is fantastic,but the food & sevice lets it down compleatly.Not forgetting the awful beer.
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Typical chain owned pub gone down hill
anonymous - 21 May 2006 18:29 |
I have come to The White Horse on a semiannual basis for many years now and I'd go so far as to say it's the best it's been since the refurb in 1997.
Had a smashing lunch there today; the food - from the extensive and not terribly overpriced for Surrey menu - was really delish and we love all the little rooms; it is still essential to get there early on a Sunday if you'd like to pick your table.
We had nothing but obliging, efficient and expert service from the polite staff (Antipodean and British alike). If you compare The White Horse to other Chef and Brewer pubs (one I visit often is the Prince of Wales in Esher which suffers from all of the minus points observed by fellow reviewers -- and more) the clincher for me which sets The White Horse apart is the GREAT !! decision to start table service (for food and drinks) once you've opened a tab. Believe it or not this detracts not in the slightest from the classic "pub" experience and in fact leads to less queueing and more happiness for all concerned !
In fact, White Horse, you're getting an extra point just for that: 8 out of 10 !!
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scratch that, abinger's gone to pot as well. Go to the volunteer or the Kings in Holmbury
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This is the typical quaint little pub set in the picturesque village of shere. However all is not as it seems! It has fallen to the same fate as much of this area and has been overrun with tourists. It also gets cold in the winter, service can be abismally slow and the food is mass produced and slightly below par.
I dont object to tourists being, in fact it annoys me that they will leave thinking the White Horse is representative of a really good English pub. Try the Abinger Hatch instead.
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I've been visiting the White Horse for the past 11 years and have always enjoyed the food there, but I took some friends there for lunch yesterday and was disappointed for the first time.
The vegetables were a bit soggy and were slightly overcooked and the pie was very average and had very little meat or gravy inside (possibly reheated).
Presentation could have been better as well.
Hopefully this was a one-off as I've had some delicious meals there in the past.
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Stopped at the White Horse after a hiking in Gomshall and Shere. Overall, pub was very good. Beer selection included the local Hog's Back TEA as well as selection of bitters (Adnams, etc.) The service was prompt and efficient and the food very good. We had a Vegetable Pie and a Smoked Haddock special which both were excellent and well portioned.
Tables out front and in rear garden were nice and a good crowd had come to Shere for the day and stopped in.
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Great setting in the centre of Shere, some seats out front overlooking the picturesque village square, and more out back in the garden where they had light music playing. Not a bad pub in itself, however I agree that the service could be improved. Most recently it was the passive-aggressive barmaid; otherwise they just seem so uninterested.
anonymous - 12 Jul 2005 21:23 |
A pretty, ideally located pub in the centre of the idyllic, although increasingly tourist-dependent Surrey Hills village of Shere. The building, which dates from the 15th century, is a perfect setting for the kind of pleasant but ersatz 'Ye Olde England' branding practiced by the chain that owns the pub.
The atmosphere is bland, the service average and the food similar to what one might find in a motorway service station. The selection of beers is distinctly underwhelming.
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This appears to be a very nice pub. Its traditional frontage and low ceilings and old furnishings give it a very characteristic feel.
The fact that food is served all afternoon and until 9pm on a Sunday is a bonus, although there is a good reason for this - the delay in getting your food once it has been order means you are kept waiting for ages, and consequently the kitchen has to stay open! Having ordered 3 main meals at 2pm (nothing fancy, just basic pub grub), and having complained after an hour, the food eventually turned up at 3.30pm. The Manager claimed the order hadn't been forgotten about, but we doubt this very much.
anonymous - 17 Jan 2005 11:52 |
I have been going to the White Horse every other Sunday for two years. It is a very nice looking, low lit, cosy pub which has a real history. The food is consitently decent and well priced.
It serves food until the evening, whereas alot of pubs in the area stop serving Sunday lunch at two o clock.
The down side is that it has a very transient crowd as it is a tourist village. As a result there is no local feel. I have been going for years and have never once had a hello, or any sign of recognition from the staff.
The bar staff can be very rude and short and generally make you feel like a fool, which is a real shame.
After another rude outburst from a barman this week I have now finally decided to stop going to the White Horse as I feel my years of custom are unappreciated.
I would certainly reccomend you try it, but as a regular haunt, it's too unfriendly for my tastes.
anonymous - 6 Dec 2004 11:31 |
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