please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
really nothing to choose between this and the crooked billet.
Even the prices are the same.
Youngs Special comes without a head.
More info and photos at my blog - http://bit.ly/1Tf0AGO
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A few doors from another Youngs pub, the Crooked Billet, another nice pub with a villagey air to it. Beer was Portobello Star which was, as people have said, quite costly. It and its neighbour are out of the way for all except locals and walkers on Wimbledon Common.
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Excellent range of ales on tap and prime location. Friendly service. Bonus points for having another Youngs pub a couple of doors down. Now who do you love best? Mummy or daddy?
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Much improved since my last visit. The landlord is a very welcoming and affable real ale enthusiast and stocks an excellent selection of beers, including two stouts on my last visit. The treacle stout was a really nice surprise in a pub where, on my previous visit some years ago (as mentioned below), the staff didn't know what a porter was!
My worry is that it's wasted on the locals, who are of the ridiculously-rich-but-quite-conformist variety and so may not appreciate the vagaries of a traditional alehouse.
kid_b - 16 Jan 2015 23:00 |
Had lunch here with some wonderful locals who showed us around as we were in from the States. Wimbledon is lovely. Had the Youngs Bitter as well as Wells Bombardier. Both were in fine shape. Food was good and we had a jug of Pimm's which was our first taste of the popular beverage. Part of a wonderful afternoon.
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Ended up here last night very good but expensive few pints of Young's.
Service very good ,nice atmosphere
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Very nice pub BUT the prices are astronomical.
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Visited this pub for the first time yesterday and it was better than expected. As well as Youngs beers, which I enjoy anyway, a fine selction of other beers including Sambrooks, which were all in good form.
In a fairly quiet location, it has a pleasant village feel to it, Very knowledgable and helpful staff added to the ambiance.
Also met the Guvnor, Andrew, who chatted to us. Very passionate about his beer.
Excellent Pub.
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Super pub. The landlord, Andrew, is excellent and should be given an award for his enthusiasm. We had a great time which is what it is all about.
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Train your staff properly please! Ice dont go in warm glasses. The whitbait came with the remnants of the fryer - ie, some left over chips. Caesar salad was less than mediocre and the bangers and mash fairly revolting with very uncooked onions in the gravy and lumpy mash. Sort it out! Manageress nice enough but other moody staff not good enough.
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A really good example of a Young's pub set on the edge of Wimbledon Common . The Ordinary went down a treat on the visit I paid in the Summer of 2011 and pints of the pub's home brew were available too. I also tucked into a chicken and ham pie - although breaking one of the golden rules of pies by not including sides and a base, the dish was deep enough with luscious filling to satisfy most comers. Outside seating and a relaxed attitide towards allowing drinkers to strew themselves across the neigbouring grass are additional plus points.
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I remember this pub from the 60's, when it didn't have a spirit license, but it used to sell a good selection of country wines (rose petal etc.)
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As pointed out in my review of the Crooked Billet nearby, this pub is located in a nice village-like location, not far from the main Common. Unlike the Crooked Billet, the interior feels more traditional and 'village-like' too. The Youngs makeover team have clearly been here and wrecked a couple of areas, which are now fairly non-descript. But the main bar area is still fairly appealing and I can imagine that the small drinking area outside at the front is very popular in the summer. Even on a winter's evening yesterday, there were some hardy souls sat outside albeit with patio heaters keeping them semi-warm. Back inside, food is served. But it does not appear to be the focus. Beers available were Youngs Ordinary, Special, London Gold, Wells Bombardier & Banana Bread Beer, Courage Directors & Sambrook Powerhouse Porter. Whilst the latter may be classed as a 'guest beer', Sambrooks beers can often be found in Youngs pubs. So the 'range of guest beers' quoted previously is a little misleading. Addlestones is the cider. I found this pub fairly relaxing and it is one I could quite possibly return to. Although service was not the best and prices were a little excessive.
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Fantastic "proper" pub with great atmosphere and decent food. I didn't realise it was in shortlisted in CAMRA's South West London pub of the year - mainly because it now has put in a huge effort on well kept real ales. It's probably one of the few Youngs pubs to be allowed to host a range of guest beers.
I went to one of their monthly beer-tasting session last night (first Wednesday of every month) run by the Landlord who's nuts about serving a decent pint. There were about 15 of us and it included a tour of the cellar, venting and tapping a few barrels - explaining how long barrels are left to settle and they only last 3 days once opened. We were supplied with plenty of (free) half-pint tasters of all their ales from Ordinary to Porter and everything in between. Beers are kept at 11-12 degrees, and they have a barrel of guest beer behind the bar for those that like a warmer flavour.
Well worth a visit!
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Pricey but very good, and they serve Addleston's cider, always a plus. Great area, atmospheric interior, nice little garden area.
Also tried their Sunday roast. Bit of a mixed bag. Veg were average, pork was pretty good, stuffing and gravy average, roast potatoes fantastic.
Worth going back to though, probably just for drinks.
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Greeted by a very friendly landlord selling an excellent range of good quality ales. Only gripe is the very high price, but having made similar observations about the clientele to the earlier reviewers I am sure that is not an issue for them!
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Friendly greeting by staff, and a good drop of Special.
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Another winner in the area, and just off the beat and track
Wimbledon is heaving with Youngs pubs
This one isn't overly big and will get packed out, but has a fair bit to offer on tap, and does serve food, didn't have any, prob none-too-cheap, but for atmosphere and friendly service definately would return
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Such a happy, drinking home from home!
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I have to agree with JamesWimbledon on this one, but I do love the pub. Its one of the three that I do on my Friday night out. Start at the Fox and Grapes, then the Hand in Hand and on to the Crooked Billet. Good beer and a pint of ramrod and special always goes down well. Friendly Staff and they are mostly antipodeans which is always good for a bit of banter about sport and they give as good as they take. As Len Goodman would say 'SevvvverRRn' but could be more if the pretentious customers would calm down slightly as some times I have been in there its like a toffs swingers party. (not that I have ever attended one of those m'lord!)
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Rah rah lovely pints of Youngs and a cheeky landlord, a slice of country living, lovely.
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Attractive, pub. Great selection of well kept beers & proper Homemade food.
Welcoming,attentive Landlord with friendly staff that seem to enjoy their work even under pressure.
Slightly on the expensive side with a mix of pleasant locals & a fair amount of visitors.
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Hadn't been in for a while, but the amount of ales this place has on is - for a Youngs pub - getting seriously large.
On my visit there was Ordinary, Special, Bombadier, Directors
Deuchars IPA and Kew Gold. Oh and hand pulled cider.
Far cry from when every Youngs pub just seemed to have two bitters on!
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Bar staff who don't know what a porter is. Overpriced food. �13 for a pint of cider, a half of lager and a glass of Pimms. The interior: tacky, like a theme-pub that's been artificially aged. There's something about Wimbledon Common that makes people absolute suckers for this kind of thing. Can't helping thinking they convince themselves it must be good because they're paying so much.
Oh yeah, and there's a "green" just outside, but in summer it's usually covered in plastic glasses and the kind of people who use the word "Glasto" without a hint of irony.
kid_b - 28 Jul 2009 23:39 |
Another country seat of pleasurable pub drinking so close to central London and a few doors away from the Crooked Billet. A treat well worth travelling to in all seasons.
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Another lovely wee pub found in God's back yard;SW19. A good display of Bitters to choose from, good, pleasant English staff. Nice smoking area with seats. Highly recommended, a short trot along from the Crooked Billet. I could live here Lord! Send me a Lottery win? Soon please?
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Dear Ullage. Go to the 'Common Room' if you don't like dogs. If we are going to ban dogs as well as smoking we might as well ban beer from pubs - then where would we be? So long as the dog isn't allowed to wander round the pub disturbing people then there is no reason they shouldn't be allowed in. My dog is probably cleaner than most of the humans who frequent pubs anyway.
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Very much like this pub and am very loyal to Andrew the manager who used to run the Ladbroke Arms in Kensington when I regularly drank there some years ago, but when I went on Sunday there were, slightly bizarrely, a large number of dogs in the pub, of the labrador type size, one of which was being held and cuddled by its owner to stop it running round the pub. My understanding is that dogs are not allowed in establishments where food is served? Can turn a blind eye to one but when about four or five are on the premises it makes it rather different ...
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Took my daughter for lunch yesterday. Staff were generally friendly and helpful. The beer was excellent quality but we thought the food was over priced for what it was - the Cumberland sausages and mash consisted of 2 sausages no bigger than my thumb - even the staff said they were embarrassed. AND is it a London thing, or what, but how is it that the price of the beer and the menu prices DO NOT include VAT - but the bill does!
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Lovely little pub for a quiet drink with good food. Although came in here with excellent company, so may have made me biased somewhat
patsy - 15 Jan 2009 16:31 |
Not a bad pub, bar staff friendly enough although seemed slight disinterested when we first arrived (odd as we were the only people at the bar). That said a friendly hello and ackonowleged goodbye. Beer good, did n't eat but food looked good and people I spoke to enjoyed it.
zak39 - 29 Dec 2008 13:19 |
Saturday lunch time. Not too busy with diners. Young girl undergoing bar training...but no greeting, no eye contact, talking to girly mates and "manager" 2 pints of Ordinary were good enough...but needed two attempts to reach the top. Staff too busy with themselves. No thank you or good bye. Pretty poor show.
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Just want to agree with the other comments. This pub is wonderful and by far the best in the area. The staff are great and the food is priced very well for what you get.
As for the previous comments I would agree about the Hand in Hand being paradise and the Crooked Billet being Hell. Avoid the Crooked Billet like the plague. It may help if the landlord of the Crooked Billet spent more time cleaning the pub and less time posting angry comments on this site.
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Whereas it is always nice to hear positive comments about a pub, my suspicion is aroused when one pub is described as "paradise" and the other as "the second circle of hell!!"
The comments posted by "Americano"just the day before on the other pub's page are of a offensive and personal nature and they definately left a nasty taste in my mouth.
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Read the comments by LondonColin - the refurb was (in my opinion) purely cosmetic and the Hand still retains its cosy feel. You want olde worlde antiquated feel, try the Rose & Crown.
Think it's a wonderful little pub - well worthy of it's claim to be Wimbledon's Best Little Boozer. The staff are amazingly friendly (and good to see the manager - Andrew? - out in the pub making everyone feel more than welcome - how many places these days do you see the manager out with the customers?).
Food is great (Caroline's kitchen rocks!) and all in all it's an amazing place. It's a cheap dig, but have occasionally wandered next door to the Crooked Billet which, when compared to the Hand, feels like it's in the second circle of Hell, whereas the Hand is pure Paradise!!
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Love going here, friendly staff, efficient, great location and great on sumemr evenings! food good and prices fair. I had a nice humus platter which was tasty!
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Not quite sure what 'oban' means when he says that the pub has not been ruined by a refurb. He obviously hasn't been in Wimbledon long.
Fifteen years ago the pub was genuinely genuine. There were stone flags and two old rocking chairs in front of the log fire. Now a huge bar projecting much too far into the customer area prevents such enjoyment. The fire remains (which is good) but there is no room for the rocking chairs, the stone flags have disappeared, and there is an awkward space where you have to push past other people to get to the other side of the bar. But despite the Aussie staff it's still as near to a country local as you can get in Wimbledon. It's friendly, there's always an old codger propping up the bar at lunchtime, and the menu is OK if you don't go too often. (Time for a change !!!)
It's popular on summer evenings too, particularly if you're a teenager who likes rolling about with the opposite sex on grass and dogshit.
Youngs beer is OK, but don't expect some mind-blowing real ale experience.
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How can it be said that a pub tied to Youngs has a "great" selection of ales when all they serve is Youngs ordinary,special and Wells Bombardier.
Its neither great in the sense of being very good or great in the sense of being a large number ?
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One of the only Traditional pubs left in Wimbledon. Great selection of real ales and lagers on the bar. The food was absolutely great, really nice to see that Young's haven't destroyed this pub with a refurb yet and I hope it remains this way. A small jewel in the crown of local pubs. Long may it stay that way.
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Brief visit for a spot of lunch, good pint of Youngs Ordinary. The usual suspects from the Youngs/Wells consortium on offer. Good food, monster portion of fish and chips, my partner had home made smoked cod and salmon fishcakes which I'm informed were good. Nice relaxed ambience apart from the noise the dishwasher makes! Daily newspapers available, low key barely audible background music.
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Hi, we had a class reunion there when it was PIRATE day a couple of saturdays ago. Great atmosphere and the bar staff were brilliant. Jessica got everyone dancing and she stole the show aswell! Thanx and see you again next time i�m on a visit from Sweden!
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Lovely, friendly pub with great food. Wimbledon is full of great pubs, but for me this one just takes the edge.
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Absolutely fantastic pub with great ambiance and p- nash!! Wonderful staff made a magical evening - The manager Andrew was particually friendly- lovely chap!! My husband and i had a splendid evening with friends. Danny {who somewhat resembles Harry potter} was charming as was the barmaid Emily who has a sweet smile. They were very helpful and polite during our visit. I will defintley be back at the Hand in Hand again!!
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Unpretentious and friendly, in a part of London where thats not the norm. Lovely multi-roomed pub, untypical of Youngs, good beer, lovely garden.
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Great pub, good quality youngs beers and friendly welcoming staff... and the barmaid called jessica is beautiful!
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Great pub,Andy is such a nice guy and done so much for this pub, good honest pub food too without the "gastro" pretensions of so many Wimbledon spots.
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After a very unexpected proposal in Cannizaro park on a very cold Sunday in January my Fiance and I headed to this pub to toast our news, the open fire, great service and excellent food completely topped off a wonderful afternoon, we will no doubt spend many more Sunday afternoon's in this lovely pub!
anonymous - 28 Mar 2007 17:05 |
This pub has always felt very comfortable when I have visited. The (wooden) seats in the front area with the low ceiling are nice and light being next to the windows. There are also some more comfortable seats further to the rear, and today there was a real coal fire on the go. Beers on were Young's Special, Bitter, Winter Warmer, plus Well's Bombardier. The Special was excellent and though I did not eat there today, whenever I have been there before it has been excellent. I agree with previous reviewers who say that the Hand in Hand retains its character, not having suffered the same fate as the Dog and Fox (and some other Young's pubs). A good, clean, friendly, pub with good beer and good food. With its neighbour the Crooked Billet it is now easily one of the two best pubs in wimbledon.
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I like this pub. Not as good as the Crooked Billet next door but pleasant. If next door is full this is definitely a viable option.
Yet to try food but the menu looks good.
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Agree with Zeitlin. I remember Andrew from when he ran the Ladbroke Arms some years ago in Notting Hill, which he turned from a fairly dull boozer into a warm welcoming very human place place. (When he left it was gastrified in a ghastly way and now lacks any charm). Andrew is now bringing his management skills and human touch to the Hand in Hand - a great traditional pub, lots of little alcoves and nooks (not some vast rectangular knocked-through room as is now the wont) with the bar in the middle. Well kept Youngs. The only sound is the sound of many happy people enjoying a good night out laughing and talking, no piped music, no dreadful acoustics (caused by the aforementioned knocking through into one space) - the Hand in hand is a warm welcoming human place, what pubs should be. What Youngs did to the Britannia in Kensington High Street is a crime - they should take note of this place. Long may it thrive.
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Great in summer, can take a rug and sit on the green opposite with a drink. Very tasty pint of Youngs. The staff were really chatty and generally pleasant. Food was good and arrived quite promptly. Nice inside, had a sort of feeling of being in an old stable, somehow, with its old wooden benches and general wood feel. Quite big inside, yet nicely cosy. Will return!
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Now under the new management of Andrew Ford one of an apparently diminishing breed of very good traditional pub managers that haven't been driven out by the apparent culture change at Youngs. Accordingly the Youngs Bitter is very well kept and the hospitality refreshingly welcome for a Youngs pub. This is one of a handful of Youngs pubs left (where staff are not constantly changing) that I now visit for an enjoyable time.
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Okay pub getting a bit rough around the edges but still offers good ales and okay food. Staff were fine on last couple of visits but with other better pubs nearby very much second choice. Near to common & village.
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How sad. I was expecting everyone to be raving about this pub, after all it is legendary. but you are right. It is full of merchant bankers. And well past it's sell by date
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What can i say...a good pub (in the summer). Lovely atmosphere and no chavs. You might get the odd hooray henry in but no riff raff from Mitcham.
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Agree with Twiglet-in the mid 1980's, this was THE pub to go to in Wimbledon, fantastic atmosphere (both inside and out), friendly staff, and a good selection of ales and food. My wife and I went on our first date there! Alas, whilst still a nice pub, has been a little bit "laddish" of late, with lager and singing of songs a'la Klingon being very much the norm, rather than imbibing of fine ales and the general hubbub of conversation. But still worth a visit, although Summer evenings will never be QUITE what they were there again...
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gone down hill a bit since the kiwi left, but still if you want a drink and a chat prob the only place to go in wimbledon!!!!!!!
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For sure, the summer evenings at the Hand In Hand circa 1985 were legendary. Sadly, the pub has lost a lot of its charm since then. Now caters almost entirely for the middle class 40+ set and has extortionate prices to suit. Don't expect change from a tenner for a three person round! But when all's said and done, the pub still can't be beat for a fine summer's night on the green.
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Great BBQs at the moment. Bitter well kept. Small Patio as well as the expanse of grass at the front, part of Wimbledon Common.
Kitchen tends to close quite early, the Billet next door generally does food later.
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Went in this establishment last night avec the other half. Good well kept beer - did't have any grub so can't comment on this. The grass in front of it looks a great place for spending a Summer's afternoon and evening. Not far from the Village so good location.I look forward to spending an afternoon ther ein the oncoming months.
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well kept ordinary and good food. it does burgers, which the billet next door doesn't, which is a plus. The pies are not too bad either. It doesnt have nearly as much atmosphere as next door and has one of those 'family rooms' with no character. It is best to avoid sitting in there, however, the rest of the pub is very comfortable with log fires in the winter.
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Still dreamin' of the great summer evenings at the Hand in Hand... long time ago though, wonder if it's still the same!
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A very good pub. Great little beer garden out front which is very pleasant for supper on long summer evenings. Also the lawn by King's which is good for lazing around in the sun. The food is lovely too, and very well priced. The beer is exceptionally well kept, usual Young's fare.... Get yea to the pub!
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Really very nice - food (especially the burgers & Caesar salads)is some of the best pub grub I've found. Beer is standard Youngs fare, well kept. Personally I am more inclined towards the Crooked billet next door so don't frequent the Hand too often, but this is a good, friendly no nonsense boozer.
Mr Lash - 5 Nov 2004 15:54 |
Iconic Wimbledon boozer. Top ale and they let me in in my AFC top plus 3 others. Comes into it's own in summer
Adam - 14 Oct 2004 11:27 |
Great pub keeps out all the soccer scum well run establishment keep up the good work
Jeff - 6 Sep 2004 04:30 |
Not bad. Good for getting a pint and sitting outside on the grass. Menu a bit limited - burger is ok but the menu at the crooked billet next door is better.
anonymous - 31 Aug 2004 15:06 |
Wouldn't let AFC Wimbledon fans in after the game, not happy as therre was loads of rugby fans allowed in shirts!
David Beck, Madrid. - 29 Aug 2004 00:21 |
Good pint but otherwise more standard offering from Youngs in a good setting.
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I lived in this pub till the age of five then we moved next door to number four crooked billet.
My mother was a co owner along with another sister and brother.
My name is nick kerslake and I now live in New Zealand anyone who rembers me and would like to contact me can on my email address
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Nice food, beers okay. One barmaid not very friendly maybe had painters in. But all in all okay place but best in summer so can sit outside on green
yum - 8 Jan 2004 04:12 |
Amazing pub, the best ale and food around, highly recommended!!
Lovely landlady and daughter!!
Donald Fisher - 13 Oct 2003 21:50 |
LOTS OF VERY FOND MEMORIES OF THIS PUB. WENT THE OTHER DAY THOUGH FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AGES AND THE FOOD WAS NOT GOOD. SORT IT OUT!
Dan - 1 Sep 2003 13:19 |
Great session last Friday - good food and beer - only shame was the AAA was off. Good Bitter and Special, though. Of the two pubs that stand close to each other here, this is by far the more friendly!
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My parents met in this pub during WW 2 and it was my local when I lived in the Ridgeway in the early 70's Our family lived in the Billet for as long as I can remember. It's a wonderful place. We used to play on the green and our parents used to bring us crisps and cokes while they drank.
Gen Souder - 19 Jun 2003 20:15 |
Superb pub - Youngs bitter and special I found to be on excellent form when I last visited. The food was exquisite and reasonably priced. A great place after a nice walk in the common!
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My Wife & I Worked @ The H&H In 1989. It Was Great, At That Time I Would"ve Rated It An 8.I Would Love To Work There Again!
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In the summer time go and sit outside on the bit of common. It's lovely.
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