please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Nice pub over looking pirbright green, youngs original is a bit to cold but the other two pumps seem ok, more on the food side of things.
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I can't really make my mind up about this place. It's not really a pub any more but a M&B top of the range gastropub. Food good some days and average on others, whilst the beers (Pride, Youngs Ord and Bombardier last time) taste ok, they are too cold, as if they're being pulled through a cooler or something. Mrs Smudge likes it anyway which I guess accounts for something!
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After a strenuous walk around the Pirbright ranges The White Hart was the first of the two pubs on Pirbright village green that we came to so in we went.
It was a Friday lunchtime and the place was packed out and the five of us struggled to find a table, eventually given a reserved one by the barman. Standard real ales of Youngs Bitter and London Pride were available, but they were fine. Waitress service from a pleasant young lady, who like the barman clearly originated life outside the UK. Food was perfectly acceptable, no more or less what you would expect in such a place, at the normal sort of pub prices.
The White Hart isn't really a pub anymore. It's a restaurant that contains vestiges of the pub it once was. It's clearly popular and I wouldn't object if we re-visited in the future. It's just that a proper pub would be preferable.
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After a strenuous walk around the Pirbright ranges The White Hart was the first of the two pubs on Pirbright village green that we came to so in we went.
It was a Friday lunchtime and the place was packed out and the five of us struggled to find a table, eventually given a reserved one by the barman. Standard real ales of Youngs Bitter and London Pride were available, but they were fine. Waitress service from a pleasant young lady, who like the barman clearly originated life outside the UK. Food was perfectly acceptable, no more or less what you would expect in such a place, at the normal sort of pub prices.
The White Hart isn't really a pub anymore. It's a restaurant that contains vestiges of the pub it once was. It's clearly popular and I wouldn't object if we re-visited in the future. It's just that a proper pub would be preferable.
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After a strenuous walk around the Pirbright ranges The White Hart was the first of the two pubs on Pirbright village green that we came to so in we went.
It was a Friday lunchtime and the place was packed out and the five of us struggled to find a table, eventually given a reserved one by the barman. Standard real ales of Youngs Bitter and London Pride were available, but they were fine. Waitress service from a pleasant young lady, who like the barman clearly originated life outside the UK. Food was perfectly acceptable, no more or less what you would expect in such a place, at the normal sort of pub prices.
The White Hart isn't really a pub anymore. It's a restaurant that contains vestiges of the pub it once was. It's clearly popular and I wouldn't object if we re-visited in the future. It's just that a proper pub would be preferable.
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I love this pub. It has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years. Very modern decor, always busy. The staff are extremely efficient and friendly. Love the food. I had a starter of chicken skewers with peanut chilli sauce. Delicious. I love this place as do my friends. There is certainly no competition with other pubs in the area. They come no where close to being as good and great to socialise at.
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Well, you can only speak as you find, and we found this pub very acceptable when we had lunch there yesterday. The bar was quite full and everyone seemed to be having a good time, though the restaurant almost empty, dark and very cavernous. We stayed in the bar and each had a shoulder of lamb, chips and veg. Good pub grub. Also tried some wine which was better than average. Service was OK too even though there was a bit of a rush on. Not bad at all.
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Gosh, based on the earlier reviews I am wondering if I went to the same pub!! We visited on a World Cup semi-final night for some dinner. The food was absolutely outstanding (I eat out a lot, I'm not a foodie as such but I know a good meal when I meet one!). The service was friendly and attentive, they even allowed us to order desserts after the end of serving hours.
My partner is a lifetime CAMRA member and real ale nut and had no complaints whatsoever about the beer. The garden is lovely, inside did look a bit gloomy but it was a gloriously hot sunny day so no surprises there.
It seems to me this pub must have a severe degree of 'hit and miss' to it. I am not a regular, but I do live locally and based on MY visit experience I will return - I just hope it's not a disappointment!
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Had lunch here today - 15.06.10. Not impressed.
Mackerel pate was crude, served with butterless doorstop of bread. Cumberland sausages cooked to shrivelling, on top of watery great dollop of Smash. Notional scraps of onion on side, Bisto gravy.
Average age of diner = 75. Staff pleasant enough, service slow but not impossibly so.
Decor dark and dull, rather nasty chairs, small tables far too close together. A Harvester would've had better food and ambience.
Largeish car park mostly full of BMW's, top range Mercs etc. - doubt they belonged to pub patrons!
Won't bother revisiting.
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The problem with this pub might just be M&B's alleged corporate micro-management of their sprawling pubs estate. The menu I'm told is chosen for it and is always wacky. Never seen ham, egg and chips for example. Or many other normal pub/gastro pub items. They have the best butcher in the area a hundred yards away and yet they have to have centrally purchased tough as old boots meat. And then there's the fish.... I ask M&B why once and they said it was to ensure consistent high standards. What a joke! Staff appear to be low paid so are either temporary students or from other lands. Not that the latter is a problem per se its just that they're more frightened than others to challenge M&B's obviously bizarre ideas as to how a Surrey village pub should be. The chefs are seemingly worst hit as they change frequently meaning that what quality might be achieved with the sub standard B Bros style frozen packets is variable at best. Can't blame them as they are probably continuously under training or the management are running the kitchen that night. One chef only lasted a shift. As others have said it is a shame. Best thing we can do is encourage them to sell it off and some inspired individual might make it what we all want it to be. Worst thing though is that it is frequently busy so this is unlikely as they are making a mint. Problem is I don't enjoy cheap and cheerless.
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What a shambles. Ice cold Speckled Hen followed by an awful pint of London Pride. Beer is just not looked after. We ordered food at 1.15 and it took 20 minutes for the staff to tell us there was no more gammon so we had to change our order. Fish and chips arrived at 2.15pm - fish undercooked and chips cold. Staff don't seem to care. Pirbright is quite rightly embarassed by having this shambles of a pub on their village green. Please buck up or move out!
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Lovely location and large garden, great for a summer lunch. Food was good although the starter portions were a little on the small side. However the overriding memory of this place is the horrendous service - took over an hour to get a simple main meal and this was after asking where it was 3 times. We had to clear our own plates as there were wasps everywhere and were not served in any order at the bar. The problem seemed to be that there was no one in actual charge of the place - highly unusual for a busy Sunday in August. A real shame as this place has loads of potential.
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Extremely dispiriting. This could be a wonderful village pub - it has a splendid location beside Pirbright village green, and looks nice from the outside. Unfortunately, the inside has been completely, and very badly, renovated in the last couple of years - it now adopts a very pretentious "it is a hotel or a cocktail bar" look quite out of keeping with the traditional English pub or its village location. Most of the pub is given over to a dining area, and indeed I had visited for that purpose. The food was quite tasty, if very standard pub fare, although the service was awful - waiting staff barely able to speak English, and a drinks order made during the starter course which only arrived at the end of the main course (the waiter was chippy and defensive about this when it was remarked upon, which only made things worse). Ale-wise, I wouldn't bother: only one draught when I visited (TT Landlord) which was averagely served, and I didn't get the impression this pub cared much about its bitter.
This pub is testimony to much of what is wrong with English pubs: it must be very depressing for Pirbright locals to have this on their doorstep. Avoid.
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Extremely dispiriting. This could be a wonderful village pub - it has a splendid location beside Pirbright village green, and looks nice from the outside. Unfortunately, the inside has been completely, and very badly, renovated in the last couple of years - it now adopts a very pretentious "it is a hotel or a cocktail bar" look quite out of keeping with the traditional English pub or its village location. Most of the pub is given over to a dining area, and indeed I had visited for that purpose. The food was quite tasty, if very standard pub fare, although the service was awful - waiting staff barely able to speak English, and a drinks order made during the starter course which only arrived at the end of the main course (the waiter was chippy and defensive about this when it was remarked upon, which only made things worse). Ale-wise, I wouldn't bother: only one draught when I visited (TT Landlord) which was averagely served, and I didn't get the impression this pub cared much about its bitter.
This pub is testimony to much of what is wrong with English pubs: it must be very depressing for Pirbright locals to have this on their doorstep. Avoid.
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I must admit that I had never been to the White Hart before it's renovation, but I was introduced to it by many who had, as it's been the unofficial watering hole of my regimental shooting team for many years. As a result I can't compare it to how it was, but I can say that it is now fantastic with great food at a reasonable price and an excellent selection of real ale... just what one needs to chill out after a day on the ranges.
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Well, I don't think the critics here are harsh enough! Puts village pubs to shame - pull your finger out White Hart and do something about the food and service!! - dreadfull.***********
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Gosh...! Some hard critics here! I had the good fortune of being introduced by good friends to the 'White Hart' pub(on the Green)on bank holiday Monday last, and not knowing the area at all, I was quietly impressed. Someone has gone to a lot of trouble with transforming the decor, and it works! It may not be "oldey-worldy" but it was clean &tidy, with plenty of new furniture to sit at. The staff were all 'young' but all very efficient and attentive. The food that we tried was excellent.
I'm not sure what the over-critical reviewers here want in a pub... The Hilton Hotel is in Park Lane, Mayfair.
But if you're in the Pirbright area, try this out for dinner, or just a drinky, you might be pleasantly surprised, I was. (Maybe I'm easily pleased or something..!!) I prefer neat &tidy and new, to 'spit & sawdust' any day...! I can't help it, i blame my parents!
White Hart, Pirbright - Luvvit !!! 8/10 TJ
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Remebered this pub from a few years ago and wandered in for a pint ~ and found a sanitised warehouse masquerading as a pub ~ no decent beers on, so I just wandered out again and went to the Cricketers. What a shame - great location, crap pub.
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Now the White Hart after a refurb, I disagree that that was a downgrade. The food at first was great, as was the service and variety of choices.
However the quality of all of the above has dropped tremendously over the past year and now the only reason for going is on a sunny afternoon to have a few bottles of Aspall's Organic (which I can't find elsewhere).
Open sandwiches are a disaster and their insistence on serving dodgy veggie sides to all main courses is off the ball to say the least.
Made the mistake of ordering a burger recently - cooked medium, turned up with the consistency of my shoes and burnt to a crisp.
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Gone back to being "The White Hart" and had a re-furb as a ghastly "gastro pub". I personally think it's now atrocious. Some dreadful tartan/burberry effect carpet, extortionate food prices (for the quality that is) and the beer selection has gone down the toilet.
SUCH a shame, as the Moorhen was a lovely pub to go and chill out in.
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Lovely pub in a great location but disappointing average food.
More a food chain pub/restaurant than a local village pub.
anonymous - 6 May 2005 19:43 |
Amazingly gorgeous reasonably priced pub - you MUST try one of their baguettes with a pint of guinness. Take the kiddie's out the back and let them run wild in the playground - wonderful family atmosphere. I have never had a bad meal at this pub and the service is always excellent.
Kimi - 14 Apr 2005 13:21 |
