The Dog and Fox, Wimbledon Village

Nice building and interior, great location, overpriced (4.20) and indifferent pint of Special; clientele a noisy bunch of pampered, gilded upper middle-class arseholes. Never again.

3 May 2016 16:01

The Greyhound, Carshalton

Dropped in to kill 20 minutes after fleeing the too-heavy Hope up the road. Bit of a schizophrenic place - it's a hotel pub, very historic and easy on the eye from outside, - with smart dining room and public bar interconnecting and a weird separate trolls-nest of another bar. Prices for even bar food very high - didn't try. Odd public bar ambiance: sports TV screens; some dining tables; some too-low stools and banquette-style seats. Doesn't quite gel. OK pint of Winter Warmer but the Ordinary Bitter and the Christmas Ale both off. Poor. Not a relaxing place at all, got very busy later on though. Meh.

4 Jan 2015 20:55

The Hope, Carshalton

Hmmm. I really should have liked this place. Great range of well-kept beer. Good and reasonably-priced basic food: no poncery. Open fire. No recorded music. Co-operative community venture. And yet, I didn't feel at all at ease:I think it's all just TOO much of a CAMRA cliche: not a woman in the place, more hair on chins than on the middle-aged heads therein, all worshipping so solemnly at the cult of Al-e. There's a morris -dancing poster FFS. All that was missing was a steam railway out back. I'm a real-ale loving middle-aged bloke but even I felt (and was, I think, silently meant to feel) unworthy to be in such a company of well-acquainted bores. Pity. Don't let me dissuade you from going but I 'll go somewhere more mainstream and less painfully self-conscious next time.

4 Jan 2015 20:47