Woodies, New Malden - pub details

Took a mate from Essex to see the place, he thought it a bit eclectic and a touch "60's".....Beer on form as always, service with a forced smile (but you wouldn't have it any other way these days).

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loveleedshatebates - 5 Sep 2011 14:08

'memorabilia ' I have just been scrolling through all the posts on here and the word 'memorabilia ' keeps coming u and it is making me feel very very old! As so much of the memorabilia is mine(or was).

Now living in Australia, i crave a pub like Woodies(and a decent curry). They just do not exist here.

Have many good memories of Woodies and i have been told that there are a few faded photos of me still on the walls.

Was last there about four years ago and i noticed somebody had stolen the 1977/78 ipswich town FA Cup winning teams autographs! GIVE IT BACK!

Also, i worked there part time when i was 18 under the expert tutorlage of the fearsome JOYCE!! Does anybody know if she is still alive? Really respected the lady, she taught me a lot, and not just about beer. She had old fashioned values and also posessed a wicked right hand to the back of the head if you were not out of her pub by twenty past!

Enjoy Woodies, i did!

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thephoneman2000 - 27 Aug 2011 06:42

If you visit Woodies' website, it will tell you that it's 'New Malden's Best Kept Secret.' It's so secret, that we had to phone to find it. Boy, are we glad we did.

The superb experience began with the aforementioned phone call. The assistant manager (hi Ben) was so impressed with our determination to visit his establishment, he'd chosen two of the seven (I think) available real ales for us, poured them before we arrived, and bought them for us. He made us drool with a description of last weekend's beer festival (and it was a proper festival at that, with loads of beers on tap), and the brochure from it. We couldn't have been made to feel more welcome.

The pub is indeed hard to find - it is in a sports' ground, but not the LSE sports' ground (important to note - it's where we looked first). There is a large car park behind it, and the building is a single story oddity - it doesn't hugely resemble a pub. Once you walk in though, your eyes will be assailed with ... stuff.

The pub is football themed, but not in the kind of eight-million tellies blaring the Chelsea game at full volume. Whilst there are a couple of LCD televisions, indeed, showing the footy, they are not hugely obstrusive. Instead, what makes this a football pub is the sheer amount of memorabilia on the walls, ceilings, tables, bar - indeed, every available space. It is, even for a non-football fan like me, fascinating.

The beer is superbly kept. I had a couple of pints of one Redemption's offerings (I had tried their beer before when they first opened at a beer tasting). It was just right - the temperature was spot on (just a little below room temperature), and it was clear and tasty. This is clearly a pub that values its real ales.

The staff - all of them (even those not working but using the pub as their local) were amazingly friendly, kind, funny and welcoming (if a bit squeaky - you know who you are! mwhahaha).

There is a small beer garden/smokers' corner. It is neat and tidy, though not amazingly interesting (compared to the pub's interior, especially).

This is a pub I will certainly be visiting again - if I lived a bit closer, it would be a pub I'd be happy to call my local.

Visit soon.

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mattygroves - 26 Aug 2011 13:30

Excellent beer festival last weekend - many thanks to Linda, Roger & all the staff. Looking forward to next year's festival now.

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craftman - 23 Aug 2011 11:26

Had a good beer there on Saturday. Did not seem at all 'clickly' but that might just be the time of day I was there. The 2 mates I was with went through the range of bitters and found them all spot on. Not over keen on the decor, reminded me too much of old Jacks steak house up town ( a truely great place, he will be v much missed, RIP). The Carling was very acceptable. Shame it's a bit out of the way if you are going by train. Will definitely be making a return.

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Barbeerian - 24 Jul 2011 15:06

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