please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Looks like a nice pub from the outside. But inside, it is more of a restaurant. In fact, when we first arrived, we bumped into a fellow drinker who had been refused service. He was told to come back later if he wanted a drink. We decided that we'd better head back to the Olde Swan and return later. Upon return, the afternoon dining session was complete and they were preparing for the evening session. Whilst there was nobody else in, they did initially seem reluctant to serve us, having thought that the doors were locked. Ales were Proper Job, Doom Bar & Hobgoblin Gold. Very disappointing.
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This pub had an extensive makeover earlier this year and is now a great food and beer venue. Haven't tried the food (but will soon!) as menu looks very interesting with plenty of choice. If you like your ale they run a loyalty scheme where you get your tenth pint free! On my Monday evening ,very quick visit, they had 4 guest beers - Goddards Fuggle-dee-dum, Moorhouses Blonde Witch, Skinners Betty Stogs and Hook Norton Lion. The regular ales are Pride and Doom Bar plus Golden Grove brewed by Cottage brewery. Friendly, knowledgeable staff and pretty busy for a Monday night too. Will most definitely be back for both food and ale!
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I had Sunday Lunch here last Sunday. Waited too long and when the meal turned up their idea of a roast chicken dinner consisted of a tasteless leg of grizzle overheated and over priced. Staff not interested and badly trained as well as looking unwashed for serving food. Over all a terrible experience topped off with a warm larger shandy. Best left to go bust in my opinion, they dont deserve customers.
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Interesting pub... The inside is certainly not what you expect from first impressions on the outside.. Went on a Friday evening with children as had heard it had a good garden for children. Play area is fantastic. Surroundings lovely - woods and lots of grassy areas.
Food - was good..but limited. The menu was described as temporary but most of the few items listed were not actually available.
The inside of the pub does not do the outside justice at all - souless and lacking in warmth. However the barstaff were friendly, service was fast ( but there were only a handful of customers) and the kids enjoyed it...
I would return as it ticked all the boxes for a night out with kids to grab a bite to eat...
This place could be a goldmine with a little bit of effort...
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hey alex... i mean ebdon.... do you think we can skip this pub? i just hearrd that hello mate and his botswana piece is gonna be there celebrating their anniversary, dont fancy bumping into them. last time i caught the clap from one of them after a hefty threesome.if i see them again i might get tempted... dont want my little franco dribbling when i go to florida; dont fancy wearing pampers in Tampa.
let me know
p.s they were going on about seeing a photo of you in the crown on the wall by the dartboard.....discuss
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anyone seen that bit in american werewolf in london where they go into that pub full of wierd, (barn full of secret keep it in the family kids), everyone stares at you... music stops playing, somebody misses the dart board, over protective locals, not very welcoming. went on a pub crawl with some limp wristed city boys who promised it was worth the stop, i was climbing the fing walls. murder.... it was a perfect pint pour though and the toilet was very clean
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On the outskirts of Chertsey, half way up St Anns Hill, is The Golden Grove, a former coaching inn on the old route to Windsor.
Set back somewhat from the road, the pub features low ceilings and heavy beams, but it's a rather characterless and unremarkable interior. There's 2 adjoining rooms. A rather worn and dirty carpet has clearly seen better days and, to be honest, the whole pub seemed a bit scruffy and run down.
It markets itself as a "family pub" and the enormous garden at the back and side of the pub features a large children's play area ( with climbing equipment etc ) that would put many a local authority recreation ground to shame. The pub was advertising a Bouncy Castle, Hog Roast, Face Painting etc for the forthcoming August Bank Holiday Monday. "Fine Dining" - 5 courses for � 25 - was advertised for Saturday evening, 28 August.
On my recent Saturday afternoon visit, there was a distinct absence of families, just a few locals propping up the bar.
Beers on were London Pride, Bombardier and UBU Purity. I didn't detect any real commitment to real ale, nor did there appear to be much real ale trade, if my visit was anything to go by. The London Pride - � 3.10p - was moderate, at best.
I found this a rather uninspiring pub and it's not down for a return visit
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Did not much enjoy this pub - we did visit on St George's day though, when it was festooned with flags, filled with rather boisterous locals and had some rather 'seasidey' seafood on offer at a trestle table. Atmosphere wasn't quite what we were expecting, but should probably give it another chance on a 'normal' evening.
4_ale - 19 Jul 2010 16:30 |
Since my previuos post the beer has gone up to �2.50 in the happy hour-nevertheless a bargain-well worth a visit
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Happy hour-6.00-7.00pm London Pride �2.00 per pint-well kept-brilliant!
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Great little pub friendly staff and locals, food is nice and all home cooked
Ale was London Pride, Mad Goose & Directors
Good selection of soft drinks & hot
Heated out door smoking area & large outside childrens area
& dog friendly my dogs got thoroughly spoilt by the staff and customers alike
Its good to see this pub has changed a lot over the last few years
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Apparently Keith Moon used to drink in here.
I thought it was against the law to serve an Alcoholic ?
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the last review i think was a bit harsh.i found this public house very friendly.the staff are all willing to talk to you which is very rare theese days.whilst i did not eat there the food looked fine.a most pleasent visit.
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Went to the Golden Grove today as its one of my locals and I had always thought it looked like a nice pub to visit. I walked in to find I was the first customer of the day at 12.25. I ordered steak and chips only to be told they had no steak so I changed to bangers and mash. I ordered a pint of IPA. The food turned up after 20 mins and first impresions were not great. The gravy didnt move (it was more like wallpaper paste), the bangers were ordinary (Tesco's do better) and the mash was powdered catering stuff that they just add water to. What really made it bad though was someone had given a good dose of seasoning to everything so in one mouthfull it would taste salty, the next you'd get a strong black pepper taste (I came away from the pub with a strong taste of pepper in my mouth). The food was average at best so a 5/10 on this. The beer was worse. It tasted to me more like Cider (it had that cidery taste). Having had IPA many times before I know the taste and cidery it should not be (I guess it was past its best). So I give the beer a 3/10 making an average of 4/10 which is a shame as it looks quite an inviting pub from the outside. The only good thing was the price which at less than �9 for everything was reasonable (even if it was only average).
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A very traditional kind of pub, popular with local people. The problem being it's a bit out of the way, and far from the town centre. Gets quite lively on occasion but is more of a place to go for a quiet drink really. I like the Grove, it's a nice place.
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We went for lunch there on Mothering Sunday. We realise that it's a busy day everywhere but we were disappointed with the service. We waited for over an hour for our meals to arrive - only to see them served up to the wrong table. We then had to wait a further 20 minutes for replacements. When they finally arrived, the main courses were okay. We were further disappointed by the "home made apple pie". We were served a tiny portions of a sugary pie with hardly any fruit in it that tasted like it had just been reheated in the microwave.
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This should be a great old country pub but it falls well short, the inside is cheap, outdated and unwelcoming. Went on a cold Wednesday night but instead of a snug cosy atmosphere it felt uncomfertable and transitory.
2 ales on, Tetleys Cask and Pride, OK to drink but no great shakes.
Could see this as having great potential for an Anthony Worrell-Thompson gastropub maybe. Not a bad place, but massively underacheiving.
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Ummm funny little place.
Looks nice and cosy from the outside, but you get in to find a rather stark bright and shiny bar. I've been in a few times and have never had any problem with the staff. But as a previous poster says, he may just have been there on a bad day.
However, the most odd thing about this place is the food. To look at the Grove from both inside and out you'd imagine the bog standard pub fare - chicken, fish, pie all with a healthy Jamie Oliver dollop of chip. You'd be very very wrong.
The food is superb. I mean really good. It�s somewhat on the pricey side but you'll struggle to find better quality food in the town. I�ll save you the bother � you won�t find better.
Strange. But well worth a visit, especially for the food.
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Keith Moons old local back in the day (see his excellent Biography, "Dear Boy" for many stories involving this actual pub)
Went in and it is a nice country type old pub. My only slight gripe was the barmaid was a bit miserable, which wasn't that welcoming, but it might have been a one off so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. Seemed an allright pub though.
TheGP - 18 Aug 2006 10:47 |
Paul - 6X and Devizes are the same one!! You meant "Tetley was the other". BTW, real ale drinkers don't seem to go here much. I had a pint at 1:45 PM and was told it was the first they'd pulled that day!
As the person who originally suggested this place, I went back to sample the new food. Not the gourmet evening, just a regular lunchtime. There are five main dishes (rump steak is leader of the pack) and five lighter bites. Quick service, high quality. A bit nouveau cuisine-ish, i.e. not a massive portion but attractively laid out.
Speaking of attractive it's still a gorgeous pub. And a gorgeous bar maid too! Sadly, the new owners have retained the smoke-wherever-you-want policy for now.
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Went on Saturday evening and had an amazing meal - David the chef has sourced good ingredients, local where possible, and paid close attention to detail. The "fine dining" menu is �30, and while only 3 courses are listed you will actually receive amuse bouche, between-course palate-cleansing sorbets and even a "pre-dessert", all of the very highest quality.
We had scallops and black pudding with apple sauce and an open goat's cheese ravioli, which was packed with flavours - rocket, lemon, black olive tapenade - but with no one of them to overpowering. For main course we al lwent for the fillet of beef - it came from a farm down the road in Lyne as was incredibly tender and tasty.
Couple of ales - 6X was well-kept, Devizes was the other.
Lovely large garden with climbing frame for the kids and picnic tables dottedaround. Nighttime is accompanied by lit oil torches.
The new chef and all the staff were friendly and attentive/ They're obviously ambitious for this pub and going by our meal it deserves to succeed.
Fine dining menu is Thursday/Friday/Saturday only, as far as I know, with a bistro style menu the rest of the week.
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Understand this pub is now under new ownership. Ad posted in the local paper that the chef is Michelin trained, and they are offering gourmet meals for �25. Went along one Thursday evening, every table in the little 20-seat dining room was taken.
Menu was excellant - presentation was fantastic - everything built up in a 'tower'. Open goats cheese ravioli pasta, followed by selection of duck followed by the most awesome chocolate selection. In between each course there was an amuse-bouche. For �25 this was great value.
Plans to build a new conservatory dining room out the back. Deserves to suceed. My only comment - get rid of the fruit machine as you walk in - this does not present the right impression of the quality of pub you are trying to create!
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Beautiful looking old traditional pub allegedly four hundred years old. 2 or 3 real ales include Wadworth 6X. Food served 12 - 2:15 daily, and the five homemade dishes are delicious - and quickly served. (The non-homemade dishes could be bought from a supermarket.) All food is very cheaply priced. The drawback is that there are no areas of the pub free from tobacco smoke; it seems all the customers and staff smoke.
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