O'Neill's, Wallington - pub details
Address: 89 Manor Road, Wallington, Surrey, SM6 0DE [map] [gmap]
Tel: 0871 951 1000 (ref 3981) - calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras
Wallington (0.1 miles), Carshalton Beeches (1 mile), Carshalton (1 mile)
Chain: O'Neills
Pub facilities/features:
- Wireless internet access (provided by The Cloud)
Are you the Licensee? Click here.
> Current user rating: 3.7/10 (rated by 21 users)
> Hotels nearby: Search
> Local guide: Surrey pub guide
other pubs nearby:
Whispering Moon, Wallington (0.1 miles), John Jakson, Wallington (0.1 miles), Dukes Head, Wallington (0.3 miles), Windmill, Wallington (0.4 miles), Fox and Hounds, Carshalton (0.5 miles) - see more nearby pubs
user reviews of O'Neill's, Wallington
please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
5 most recent reviews of 18 shown - see all reviews
| Made my one and only visit to this pub last Friday whilst on the quaff with a couple of mates who probably should've known better, but then as the previous reviewer rightly points out, one is hardly spoiled for choice for high-quality ale houses for the more discedrning drinker in this area. In its defence, the Melbourne (as it should be re-titled on BITE), presents itself witha little more distinction and character than the by-numbers formula of the woefully-average O'Neill's brand. It was bright, lively - being a Friday evening - and not altogether unpalatable as a backdrop for a quick drink. Saying that I personally didn't feel it was a place one would wish to remain for any great length of time, and I believe my antipathy was shared by my co-drinkers, who like me were comfortbale enough to stay put for a pint, but the increasingly youthful, pre-club and frankly chavvy atmosphere wasn't a draw. Ale-wise, I ended up consuming a whopping 12 pints or so during the combined lunchtime/evening sessions, so I am unfortuantely not best-placed to comment on the quality! I don't recall exactly what we had, and neither does anyone else. But I can confidently state it was perfectly acceptable and no drinks were returned. I seem to recall service was also reasonable enough, though how representative any of this is of how the pub usually operates I can only guess. Ultimately, this was, well, passable. But not a 'destination' pub to my mind. TWG - 10 Jan 2012 10:55 |
| It has to be said that off the six and a half pubs in Wallington this is the best one. The Windmill requires at least eleven toes per customer , the Whispering moon although cheap , has no soul what so ever and is staffed by unfriendly and incompetent MacDonald’s rejects , the John Jackson is okay but still feels like drinking in a retail unit , the Dukes head has prices that will soon overtake the hourly rate they pay their staff , the Rose and Crown is patronised by drinkers who think abandoning their children in the beer garden whilst they spend the whole day in the pub drinking Stella is good parenting , the bar at the Grange doesn’t really count as a pub and the Red Lion ( no matter what the Royal Mail might think ) is in Hackbridge not Wallington . O’Neill’s or the Melbourne as it has now been renamed , has reasonable prices , a good selection of drinks and food , a friendly atmosphere and live music nearly every Friday and Saturday night . Most if not all major sporting events are televised and when there is nothing on the background music that is played is actually reasonable, not the offensive noise you might find in many pubs in Sutton or Croydon. The staff are friendly and well trained keep the place running as smoothly as could ever be expected. However there is room for improvement. When this pub was taken over by a new parent company they decided to give it an interior make over with frankly nauseating results. The front end of the pub now looks like a cross between a front room on an Essex council estate and collective vulgarity of every Blackpool BnB landlady who has ever lived. To say that the designer had an appalling lack of taste would be like describing the UK’s immigration policy over the last forty years as a mere oversight. A large part of the back of the pub has now been carpeted, which would be fine had they not filled the area with so much furniture that when there are any real amount of customers no one can move around the pub and the women’s toilet is isolated in the corner, it’s a good job they can hold it longer than us. Furniture is the one thing that does let this pub down, there is simply too much of it. If we lived in a world where most people were intelligent and considerate enough to move their chairs out of they way when they had finished using them, it would be fine but we don’t. We live in a world where frankly the general public are neither particularly intelligent or considerate. Chairs being strewn all around the pub is not just irritating but frankly dangerous on busy nights. Rikstir - 5 Apr 2011 15:41 |
| Now changed back to The Melbourne, some Real Ale. molyneux - 21 Mar 2011 12:58 |
| I asked the barmaid for "extras" (see entry below) and got a slap for my troubles. Still, I like that kind thing, so mustn't grumble. This is a pub with the kind of bar that could do with a 45-deg mirror on the corner, so the barman can keep an eye on people rolling up to the jump at the front of the pub. Or a hotel reception bell would do the trick. This used to be the Melbourne, which I remember as a kid. I first drank here soon after it became O'Neils in 1996. I presume the Melbourne would have been divided into the snug and the public bar. Unfortunately, the open-plan design of the present pub doesn't benefit the original layout of the bar. Hence, the three-sided jobbie you've got now with a no-man's land at the front of the pub. It's not that the bar staff are lazy -- not at all -- but sometimes it can get lonely stranded there like a poor shivering waif dumped on the workhouse steps ... I digress. If you're new to this place, then, head straight for the main bar facing the rear of the building, or use the side entrance on Melbourne Road, or shout at the top of your voice, "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND ALL THAT IS SACRED, FEED ME BEER!" A shame really, because this dead-zone is the only thing that mars an otherwise well-run, friendly boozer. Any pub with a picture of James Joyce on the wall must be good. It's a clean place. The barstaff are efficient, and they too are clean (I think). One of the barmen one afternoon suggested the Guinness Cold because the regular stuff was off. I value good service like that. The pretty dark-haired lass over the jump could smile a bit more, though. The locals are a decent friendly bunch. There are four tellies, well positioned so they're not intrusive. Not even during sports events. The Guiness is pucker, but I'd expect that in an "Irish" pub. No mirrors in the men's bogs for some strange reason I can't fathom. I'll have to ask but I'm afraid it's got something to do with vampires. A pity too that they put up the toilet signs in English. Always a bubble watching newcomers stopped in their tracks with a full baldder. Good atmosphere in this place when it gets busy. Small area out the front for drinking on a summer afternoon and getting heady off the scent of car fumes. twobladders - 22 Apr 2010 16:23 |
| the manager don't run this pub the staff do, rickpat - 8 Sep 2009 17:23 |
see more reviews |
