No.88 Bar and Grill, Kingston Upon Thames

I used to go to the Tup regularly as it was so close to work, to the point where we used to use it for business meetings and to entertain visitors. It's got reliable OK food and generally a nice atmosphere, though it gets very crowded on Friday nights when work colleagues finish for the week. Its main problem is the very expensive beer: you really wince when you get a round in here. From memory even quite ordinary mass-markets beers are pushing �3 a pint - everyone comments on it.

30 Jan 2006 00:17

The Kings Tun, Kingston Upon Thames

I'm going to defend this pub, which is much maligned but I find it ultra-reliable, with a good range of cheap beers, regular promotions, festivals and so on, and an unbeatable Thursday night curry. OK, there's loads of kids there on Friday and Saturday and when there's a cheap night on at Oceana, but what do you expect? It's right opposite one of the biggest nightclubs in south-west London! At other times it's generally quiet, clean, comfortable, there's masses of room so you can get away from any large groups, and if you enjoy people-watching it's fun observing the kids and their mating rituals. Plus if you're a guy there's a very high quotient of attractive females to please the eye.

30 Jan 2006 00:09

The Bricklayers Arms, Kingston Upon Thames

I go to this pub about once a month with some mates: the landlord Kev is friendly, the beer's reliable, the food is tasty and you get loads of it, we quite fancy one of the barmaids, and in the week it's generally quiet and a good place for a talk. If anything it's a bit too quiet - we wonder where Kev makes his money - but the place has a friendly snug atmosphere and a reliable crowd who show up when there's a football game on: they seem to come down from the Cambridge Estate, which is notoriously rough but has never given us any problems. I had a great time there during Euro 2004 and am hoping to do the same for the 2006 World Cup.

29 Jan 2006 23:59