The Prince's Head, Richmond

One of my favourite pubs. Lots of character and hidden nooks and crannies, so a good place to while away an hour or two with a book. But due to its' central location, also a good place to meet with friends, or just sit outside on the green and watch the world go by.
Friendly staff, good range of beers. The only small minus point is that it can get a bit cold sometimes (but would rather that than an overheated, stuffy boozer!).

25 Nov 2009 22:33

The Cricketers, Richmond

A good fallback option, the biggest selling point being its' location on Richmond Green. There are better all-round pubs in the area, though.

25 Nov 2009 22:28

Prince Of Wales, Putney

This used to be my 'work' local and I miss it! The food is priced high, but represents value for money, as the quality of the ingredients and the way they are used and cooked is exceptional. I agree with the comments previously submitted, ref. there being a requirement for a bit more variety on tap, but I never had any complaints with the Black Sheep etc. Really good wines, especially the Australian Riesling. Most of the staff are friendly, nice feel to the place-lots of nooks and crannies, good buzz & mix of people. Not sure about the last comment inferring the place if full of Sloaney Ponies, never got that feeling whilst in there. Highly recommended.

18 Nov 2009 19:53

St Margarets Tavern, St Margarets

We recently moved to a house close to this pub. We had friends round this week and due to the dismal weather, thought that the pub would be a good place for lunch, due to its' proximity and the fact that from the outside it looks very nice.

Good things: bar staff were polite and made good suggestions for alternative ales for our friend who was hankering after London Pride (not served here). Comfortable sofas, nicely laid out so people aren't sitting on top of each other. But in short, there were two problems, one small, one big. It was match day and the rugby was on in the pub. Fair enough, the bar area of the pub is very big, plenty of standing room for punters who were in to watch the match. TVs were blaring, again - fair enough, it's match day. But we did not expect to have to shout to be heard in the restaurant area, where there were two further screens showing the match. Perhaps this is being unreasonable, but if there is an allocated dining area in a pub, it's usually 'sheltered' from the bar area. Anyway,minor gripe, compared to the major problem. T

The food. Oh, my word. Sausage & mash all round, not hard to get right and as a pub menu standby, we didn't have high expectations and were simply looking forward to a plate of hot, filling food on a rainy day. It was on the table within 5 minutes, which raised the heckles straight away - not possible for this to be freshly cooked, is it? The mash, which was described on the menu as 'traditional mash', would be better described as 'traditional mash from the 1970s' because indeed, we were given 'Smash' (powdered mash from a packet). The sausages had been microwaved and were dry and leathery. The dish was meant to come with onions. We estimated that we had perhaps 4 slivers of onion on each serving. None of our party, including my other half, who in his own words, eats anything, finished the meal.
As we had guests with us, we didn't want to cause a scene, so I left with our friends whilst my husband waited to speak to the staff. He was told that the manager was busy.
Yes, this was a rugby day, but pre-final whistle-the pub had approx. 25 people in it.
A shame, because our neighbours subsequently told us that the pub used to be nice until a new management team took over in recent months. Looks like our search for a nice local continues.l

18 Nov 2009 19:17