Yates's, Camberley

This has now re-opened as the Surrey arms. All I can say is WOW!! SUPERB food considering the price, well dressed professional and courteous staff, VERY nicely and tastefully appointed with solid oak lightwood tables, great use of space. Gog range of ales, but only three lagers on tap - Peroni (£4:25/pt), Estrella (£3:65/pt) and a Czech brew that I didn't try. Estrella is the best option. Pleasant seating area with four tables under a veranda on the highstreet itself.

The Wetherspoons adjacent attracts the lower quality clientelle, making this place an unexpected gem in Camberley. Hope they do a better job at keeping the riff-raff out than Yates' before it!

11 May 2014 13:02

The Shepherd and Flock, Farnham

Visited this place on Sunday night. It was very very quiet, and we counted 2 other guests outside who were just leaving, four more inside and two in the back garden. Exactly why it was this quiet became apparent when I ordered a round of drinks. I thought £4:60 a pint outside London was unheard of outside restaurants until that moment, but clearly not!

Locationally, sat in the middle of a busy roundabout is not the most relaxing of settings either, especially as the odd bout of road rage (2 in as many hours) led drivers to blare their horns at one another whilst shoulding obscenities.

On the plus side, the range of ales is pretty good - nice to see Doonbar and Ringwood offerings alongside those from the Hogs Back brewery.

On the whole, though, I would not recommend.

5 Aug 2013 14:30

The Poacher, South Warnborough

This pub is back on the market.

The six-figure rent/rates are so high compared to the Turnover that this place cannot be run profitably. So there'll be another change or ownership, as another hopeful lines themselves up in the belief that they can make a living by running this pub.

Good luck to them, and I wish them all the best. But any prospective landlord is going to need to have substantial cash backing to weather the loss-making times until turnover can be increased to bring the business back to profitability.

15 Apr 2008 13:25

The Crown Inn, Knaphill

The Crown is a good example of a well managed pub. It seems (and possibly is) too small to be a pub at all, so has a very cosy feeling. I have to admit that I wasn't too keen on being unable to sit down without other people who were standing being virtually forced to sit on my table, or having cues stuck in my eye when I was sat by the pool table.

But the landlord and landlady have certainly done the best they can, so I take my hat off to them. The beer is good and well served, the staff are wonderfully friendly, and it does feel like a home from home. Children are very welcome, but again the constraint is the space, and kids being kids .....

The Crown is a pretty good place to watch sports - the screens maybe small, but believe me, you won't be far from one! The garden is pleasant and has some facilities for kids.

Overall, a reasonable watering hole.

24 Nov 2007 13:42

The Kingswood Arms, Kingswood

The ratings below are all SOOOOOO ACCURATE! All that potential wasted, and only a 3/10 rating.

Start with the good points: nice location, great carparking, spacious pub, nice beer garden (with kids amenities) and on the lunchtime that we went, a pleasant atmosphere.

BUT.

What should have been a great pub experience was marred by a rude landlady who certainly spends her staff the art of treating customers with disdain and contempt. Friendly environment? I think NOT! Oh, and the prices? �11 for 3 pints. Think London prices and add 10% - not bad for a country pub miles from London.

With the Inn on the Green a mere mile away with it's excellent food (in the in-house "Grumpy mole" restaurant) just down the lane, scoring 6.7/10 rather than the abysmal 4/10 that this pub has earned and deserves, I know I won't be going back.

24 Nov 2007 13:26

The Dolphin, Springbourne

Although it was made 4 years old, much of johnkn7's comment is still accurate today.

The Dolphin had a major refurb in the 1980's, and when Shotz redecorated in 2003, it must have been the first refurb in history where the place was worse afterwards, than it was before. The paint job is so bad that now half of it has flaked off, the resulting decor is a confused-looking disaster.

The problem with the Dolphin is the location. It's easy to attract the "wrong" crowd in Springbourne and the Dolphin does this admirably. The pub has got through 5 landlords in the last 4 years, with all but one failing to control the thugs and drug dealers that frequent this place. The absense of locks on the toilet doors, and the fact that the top half of them is missing "saloon style" is the result of Landlord John's overzealous crusade against the drug problem.

Most of the clientelle are relatively harmless drop-out types, but although a fight can be expected most Saturday nights, it's rare for anyone to get maimed or killed. A real turning point was the refurb in 2003, when children were barred and the remenants of the family-pub atmosphere vanished shortly afterwards.

On the plus side, the pub is roomy, and being on a corner is fairly bright with a decked area outside. The leftside is quieter with ample seating and the right side being louder, with pool tables and a significantly younger feel. The beer is quite good and the bar staff quite friendly with a good sense or humour, which no doubt they need in order to work here.

Rated 4/10

2 Oct 2007 21:41