Keepers Arms, Quenington

What a brilliant village local. A proper pub with a friendly dog, good food and excellent beer. We stayed in Quenington for a few days and ate in the pub every night (a good choice of interesting food and some of the best chips I've ever had). The genial landlord has a keen interest in his beer, with 3 handpumps and changing guest beers (some from Devon, others more local). He also wants to remove the Foster's keg line and put in a handpumped cider, clearly a man of discernment.

9 Sep 2012 16:21

The Marble Hill, St Margarets

Definite improvements at this formerly indifferent pub. I've been in a couple of times and tried 4 different Surrey Hills beers, all on excellent form. The decor is better and there is no longer music piped into every corner of the garden. I'm looking forward to trying the pizza/pasta menu and some more good beer.

9 Sep 2012 15:59

The Cricketers, Richmond

I met a group of friends here on Saturday afternoon (venue their choice). It's the first time I've been in for many years and what a depressing place it's become. It used to be the stage door pub for Richmond Theatre and had signed photos of luvvies on the wall. Now it could be anywhere. It's had all the character ripped out and replaced by a dreary blandness (the same can be said for the beer - now indifferent Greene King). And the music! Why do landlords/managers think loud wailing is an enhancement? I often couldn't hear my friends speak (which was the only reason for staying). I left early and recommended they go to the Shaftesbury next time. Another niggle is the beer pricing. Although a pint of GK IPA was �3.05 (quite cheap for the area) a half was �1.60 (�3.20 a pint). It can't be rounding up of the odd 5p (or a pint would be �3.10) and penalises moderate drinkers. It just seems greedy to me. The only positive was the staff who were friendly and apologetic when service was slow (goodness knows how they coped with the rugby crowds later on).

9 May 2011 23:15