please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
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The Cap In Hand is another Wetherspoons pub situated on a busy junction of the A3. It was reasonably busy on Sunday morning, with both drinkers and diners. I managed to do a bit of drinking and dining. Most diners head for the light and airy conservatory at the front, where you can have a lovely time watching the traffic! But there are other more secluded areas of the pub. The ale range was Everards Sir Ruan & Regimental IPA, Tillingbourne Falls Gold, Adnams Yeastie Boys, Marstons Zeunarts IPA, Ruddles Best, Sharps Doom Bar, Fullers London Pride, Brains White Out & Caledonian African Pale Ale. The 2 Westons ciders were Old Rosie & Marcle Hill. Ok, but preferred the Coronation Hall.
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Since my rather damning review of Oct 2009 I am pleased to readdress my opinion of this pub.
They now have a good number of local ales on tap all the time, things have been cleaned up and tidied and the staff seem to be doing a good job especially the boss who seems to be interested in getting the local beers in. They also seem to have made an effort in weeding out a number of undesirables and find that a Sunday lunchtime is a much better experience than in the past.
Upped my rating as a result and well done to all those concerned (I am making a similar review for the Edmund Tylney in Leatherhead too).
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Good range of well kept local ales from £2.15 a pint. Clean. Good staff. Fairly easy to get served - even when busy. One of the better Wetherspoons.
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A lovely pub, a great beer, and superb staff. No more has to be said.
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standards have continued to slip at the cap in hand so i'm told which is now empty on weekend nights.
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same as below on this location, new manager and staff and things have slipped off-course slightly. food service is very good early in the mornings, and they had the conservatory closed off for a 'large booking' the barman said, maybe things are starting to pick up? still one to try out.
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Sadly this establishment has gone downhill in the last six months. A change of management has again meant someone else thinks they can do a better job then the previous incumbent. The range and quality of the ales has taken a dive and the food has not been great when we have visited. We will keep testing the water to see if things change and I will post a comment here if it does.
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This is a great pub and one of the best 'spoons around. Staff are a bit hit and miss though - either brainy or brain-dead. Beer is good and changes frequently. Great mix of families, Saga card-holders and dodgy alchies. Never any trouble, food is fast and generally good and pub is kept clean. Only problem is the Naz parking which makes it impossible to leave a car overnight.
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went in here on tuesday just gone (1st june 10) and you'd seriously be forgiven for thinking this wasn't a wetherspoons.. took my family for the steak night and good food all round... they seemed very busy for a tuesday evening, lots of people eating but no complaints from the kids!
the cask ales seem to be different every time i'm in there, spoke to one of the chaps who said they prefer to order in from local breweries instead of keeping to the status quo. impressive considering the other local pubs here only seem to stick to the same old same old.
we drove up from hinchley wood but the pub's on the corner of a roundabout to kingston and the a3/m25 so it's well placed for drivers or for public transport. definitely a 'food pub' - worth checking out.
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One of the nicer Wetherspoons. I thought that a early Friday evening, just before Christmas, might be pretty horrific in any pub in the UK but the Cap in Hand was very pleasant with a very good selection of beers and nice, attentive staff. It was still nice when we left just before 7pm.
Of course, two hours later it might have been horrible - but when we were there it was really good. I can see why it's in the Good Beer Guide.
(I'd suggest that Oakman100 and arkaye try visiting The Cap at about 5pm on a Friday.)
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Despite my previous message I must endorse Oak's more recent comment. Whereas I felt I could previously have brought professional colleagues here, the general level of drunkenness would prevent me from doing it anytime soon as a 'general British pub' in future for foreign clients. I did it because this pub offered the best of British ales and European lagers, and nobody got offensively drunk.
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Sadly I feel I can't use this pub any more as it seems to be a real rough house at all times of ther day. This is no indictment to the pub itself but it is a Wetherspoons and it's in an area which does attract some undesirables (I was intimidated once whilst playing a fruitie which I only put �2 in) and have heard that punch ups take place on a regular basis. A terrible shame as this has been GBG listed and undeniably they do sell a fine range of ales at a keen price. I prefer to pay more though in a more relaxing atmosphere and feel safe.
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Great Pub.
Attentive staff (the usual drunken clientele sidelined very professionally). My Polish lagers arrived quickly and smoothly, as did (within earshot) the ales. I like this pub. I'm worried about myself - I keep giving Wetherspoons pubs good marks because I can enjoy good beer, quietly, while in conversation or, if I need to, over work. It's a pub!
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One of the better Wetherspoons. I was in on a Monday night which meant that the JHB, Fagins and Pilgrim Progress were all available soon but the regular Spoons beers of GK IPA & Abbot and Pedigree were joined by King Red River Ale (also a regular), Bishop's Finger, Hog's Back TEA, Ringwood 49er and a truly wonderful Triple fff Comfortably Numb.
Bus goes right by, worth checking out.
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Oh My GOODNESS. What a brilliant Pub. I have just had a Thai Green Curry with a lovely India Beer, Coors, to wash it down. All for 6.09. What a bargain.
My wife cant wait until Valentines Day evening, she is going to get a lovely sausage from the CAP IN HAND.
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Typical Weatherspoons set-up with cheap real ales and cheap food. However the low prices mean we have poor service and the beers are unreliable. I suggest you avoid this pub unless you are desperate for a low cost dining experience.
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an ok pub if you like the normal wetherspoon experience avoid on friday and saturdays becuase of the undesirables that seem to gather there every week. Food ok but i've been to better pubs in the area
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Crap food.staff disinterested.lukewarm. pre cooked.
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I like this pub and it's probably the one I go to most in the area.
Have a wide range of regular beers 5 being the average amount. Good range of lagers and the usual well priced stock of wines etc.
Lovely conservatory, some cosy sofas and a fire, 2 large screen tvs for big sporting events, it went non-smoking way before the ban and have a nice covered seating area at the front for the addicts out there.
Food has been hit or miss recently but staff are quick to respond and their Customer Service is spot-on.
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A lovely pub which i frequent twice a week for the grill and currey night i have never had any problem with the quality of the food apart from the odd 30-40 wait. The staff seem to be friendly and look like they have a good time behind the bar. I would recommand the pub
anonymous - 23 Jul 2007 22:34 |
Large Wetherspoons on the Ace of Spades roundabout. Large car park but access slightly awkward. Large airey conservatory next to long thin lounge plus a smaller patio. Fine range of cask ales well served. Not your usual Wetherspoon clientele - younger and more middle class. Much nicer than your usual Wetherspoon.
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Fine for service, good for price and selection. I just wish that they could figure out how to serve food hot.
Last week we ordered two "well done" sirloin steaks. One with Chips one with Jacket Potato. The one with chips was cooked ok but dry and warm, the other one was cooked medium and was just hot. Adding the butter to the potato was a problem as I had to stuff it fast in my mouth before it congealed to a cold lump. Peas - as always are cold the moment they hit the plate. Chips generally warm enough to start but soon they are clammy.
Eat quick.
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Haven't been here since it went non-smoking. It's a bright airy pub with good car-parking and just off the main road.
Our visit followed a disappointing one to the 'Coronation Hall' in Surbiton. On entering we were greeted with what looked like a decent display of festival beers. Fullers Discovery, this was off as was the Bishop's Tipple. The latter according to the staff had run out despite the festival only starting that day and it was only 2.45 pm!!! Other than Exmoor Beast and Robinson's Lighthouse all there were was the usual fall back ones. A slight improvement at least they were advertising the festival and a well produced leaflet was available of the festival beers. Another surprise was being able to taste the strongest beer in the list, Thomas Hardy at 11.7%. Brilliant. Overall somewhat disappointing but at least fractionally better than the one in Surbiton
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For a Wetherspoons and also non-smoking they are not quite as family-friendly as we expected. They seemed a bit overly keen to get rid of us and our friends the other day, and we certainly aren't a bunch of "chavs", we just happen to have a couple of lively kids in our party including one with special needs, moderate learning difficulties and behavioural problems that are not his fault or his mum's fault, so why can't ppl be a bit more understanding of this?
We went there especially because of Wetherspoons reputation, mainly because it is no smoking entirely and we mostly hate smoke around us and the kids, and because of Wetherspoons reputation for being generally quite family-friendly, and also fairly vegan-friendly (they do vegan veggieburgers) as we are mostly vegan families and part of a local veggie group.
Nice to be able to eat well and nice being able to breathe, but a bit disappointed that we were made to feel quite unwelcome when we had made such effort and travelled on public transport most of us, outside of our usual area, for a meet at this pub because of the no smoking rules! What a shame, they have so much going for them otherwise and could be a great place if they were a bit more family-friendly (in the daytime of course, should not be too much to ask).
anonymous - 19 Sep 2006 14:37 |
Poor cellar management, I went in there the other day, ordered a pint of lemonade and a pint of Lowenbrau (guest lager). Lemeonade tasted of nothing but soda water and the lager was warm. It may be cheap, but slow service, bad drinks and beer garden full of chavs outside smoking has put me off.
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OK I'm not smoker but I don't mind smoking pubs as long as its not blown in my face and I can escape it. In the Cap if you turned left when you went it you could usually forget it was a smoking pub as the entrance area made sure the smoke usually never reached us non-smokers.
But since it went non-smoking.....
After an initial rush of older non-smokers in the place it seems to have died a death. There is no atmosphere in there anymore - (and I don't mean smoke). We still go in there, as the beer selection is very good and its cheap.
But who wants a pub with a man playing with his organ for entertainment?
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Very nice food and nice bar staff but its a non smoking pub and theres too many Chav's.
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What a change since it's gone no smoking....if you want a chat and a seat and to be Chav free it's got there, I must be mad as a smoker but I do like it now :)
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A good selection of beers at usual excellent Wetherspoons prices. A large non smoking conservatory although when it gets busy the service is very slow. Used to be superb but has gone down hill slightly over the past 12 months. Still worth visiting if you are a real ale person on a budget.
Twojs - 17 Oct 2005 18:22 |
Hard to see what they've done to the place (closed for referb),and now a non smoking pub.Built a wall and some fencing outside so as to keep the undesirables hidden from view.Bar staff sometimes in a daze,but as always with j.w's it does the job,and compared to prices elswhere you can't complain!
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Good beer. Amazing value food - particularly Thursday curry night.
Clientele a very mixed bunch but the no smoking "library" area is very civilised
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Brilliant pub!!!
It has managed to collect all the chavs,down and outs,spongers and losers in a the surbiton/chessington area and put them all in one place leaving everyone else free to enjoy all the other pubs in the area without any problems.
Well done,keep up the good work.
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Bar staff are friendly but slow, makesure you go there at the weekend eve if you want ne sort of atmosphere !
boring during the day, food is not great but everything is cheap.Its great though for a few pre evening drinks...
anonymous - 1 Dec 2004 13:07 |
IM NOT SURE THAT DIMPLE CHOPS HAS COMENTED ON THE RIGHT PUB (SERVICE IS QUICK) I DONT THINK SO , THIS PUB IS MORE THAN WELL KNOWN FOR ITS TIRESOME SLOW SERVICE !!!! IT HAS A MORE THAN LARGE BAR BUT THE STAFF SEEM TO ONLY SERVE AND HANG ABOUT THE KITCHEN DOOR END , IVE FELT SORRY ON MORE THAN ONE OCASION FOR CUSTOMERS WHO EXPECT TO GET SERVED AT THE OTHER END
TONY - 4 Nov 2004 20:07 |
food is boring (as with Weatherspoons in general), v. cheap but this is reflected in the amount of trouble they have there. After 3 nights of fighting I decided to drink somewhere else!
anonymous - 4 Sep 2004 13:03 |
nice pub cheap as you like ( 6 pints for under a tenner )cant beat the value , friendly staff , could do with a rear garden for those who get bored with watching traffic jams.
tony - 31 Aug 2004 17:24 |
The outside looks really clean and the lighting is very bright
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good all round wetherspoons pub. good friendly cheap service, barmaids are polite and not too dressy and the guys look clean and not out to impress, good going to al the barstaff. keep all of that dressy stuff to the ovr priced bars in kingston and surbiton. i love it there.
gemma - 24 Jan 2004 15:54 |
Not a bad pub. Good Wetherspoons prices and a short walk from home. I always see old faces from Primary school in there!
Theres always somewhere to sit even on Saturday nights and the service is quick. However I have felt a bit sick after having a jacket spud for lunch on 2 occasions.
dimple chops - 14 Jan 2004 22:23 |
A good Wetherspoon's on the Ace of Spades roundabout. Nice light conservatory, big comfy sofas & the usual JDW's lack of music & TVs. What an improvement on its previous lives as The Academy & Southborough.
Devious Dave - 30 Oct 2002 14:30 |
