please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Sublime location and decent beer. I sat here in the warm April sunshine and have only just remembered. Worth the walk up up from Reigate if you ask me. Sit outside sink an ale and look across at the hills and exhale. Pencil in inhaling at some point otherwise it will all end.
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much improved..
Staff now match the location, back to its Sunday Times best.
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wonderful location spoilt by indifferent staff.
Beer selection is good but service is so Slow....
Gets 5 out of 10 would be higher if the staff could add up
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This is perfect if you want to spend a long summer's evening outside with friends.
The track leading to the car park is very rough and could easily damage your sump, so be careful.
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Back to its best after a dodgy couple of years. Varied Real Ales, Harveys, Fullers, St. Austell, Hogs back. Good Ciders too . Can get busy with diners and their Canine friends so best tried on a sit outside day !
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Very welcoming despite being so busy/popular. Worth going the extra mile for.
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Fantastic Sunday lunch, don't miss it
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popped in twice on sunday busy lunch trade and quieting down a bit at four. decent shiraz and small glasses of coke available - rare these days. all staff busy but friendly and a lovely welcome from emily one of the barmaids/waitress - have we met b4 I dont remember?
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I took a bunch of cyclists up here for roast lunch in November. It was excellent, although squashed! The pub was packed but I had reserved a table so we were ok- book ahead! The lunch was scrumptious- although this probably also had something to do with being famished and a couple of hours cycling in the November air! The land-lady (?) I'm guessing here- was a bit harassed and was not quite as friendly as she might have been- but she warmed up in the end! I will be leading another pub ride to here in 2012! Great location, and lovely outside in summer.
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A fantastic Character-filled pub is the Skimmington Castle. My experience was excellent with a wide variety of ales, lagers, ciders and spirits available. The bar staff were friendly and efficient, particularly a charming South African who served us with great professionalism and courtesy. Our lunch included a tremendous fish pie and thai curry and the atmosphere encouraged us to extend an afternoon visit to the late evening. Tribute was excellent and I will definitely be returning to this particular location for their famous Sunday roast. If my last visit was anything to judge by my tastebuds will be tingling well in advance
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Pub seems to have more character than of late, same the bar staff are still useless.
Saturday night, busy and only one person behind the bar? No concept of making eye contact, and though i never got to try them only one bitter on. ( i gave up waiting)
I wont be back.
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Tribute (�3.40) and Harveys just gone off. One handpump with clip turned around. Lovely country pub, nooks and crannies and decking looking over the car park. Worth seeking out.
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Check your bill when paying for food. We were overcharged and one of our friends was undercharged! Despite the muddle, good lunchtime sandwiches and baguettes, plus nice pint of Tribute in this off-the-beaten-track but deservedly popular country pub.
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About a year & a half since I was last here and I have to say the place has improved yet again. Two groups of about eleven persons each happened to turn up at the same time and despite some minor chaos around the bar the
staff managed to look after us all pretty well. St.Austell Tribute & Harvey's Sussex on to start with but the Sussex ran out pretty soon. Food very good and a wide choice on the menu.
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Lord forgive them,for they do not know what they have done ! I took six friends to The Skim for lunch on wednesday 18 th August .Wow what a difference,upon arrival we were greeted by the new manager,a smile greeted us and nothing was to much trouble.He showed us to our table outside on the decking and somehow managed to remove the empty glasses and dirty plates,which was obviously not part of the foreign barmans job,before we sat.He made my seventy nine year old mother feel like a queen,he was the topic of her conversation all the way home ! When lunch arrived we were one order short so as five began to tuck in the manager duly apologised and he took time to keep me amused until the chiming of a bell signalled my lunch was finally ready.Never have i been made feel so welcome and what a pleasure to be greeted with such charm.What a masterstroke by the owners,they finally solved the jigsaw,a manager to bridge the gap between a bar and a restaurant.However,just learnt hes left.dont know what mothers going to say when we tell her her prince charming has ridden off into the sunset! Must add the food was excellent and the manager made lunch superb.Owners an error has been made!
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Food expensive but good quality, excellent pint of Adnams Bitter, landlord very friendly and knowledgible about beer � always a good sign!
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Take as you find I guess. Went there yesterday, Sunday, lunchtime with a friend. 1 of us had the Cheese Ploughmans which was fine, and the other had the Basil Quiche with salad and Roast Potatos. No real complaints. Yes, slightly pricy as were the drinks but in this day and age not much above the 'norm'. Fairly busy for a Sunday. We ordered quite early and the food was delivered very quick, so on this 1 off visit basis will rate it as an 8 but other patrons do not seem to have been so lucky.
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The beers were OK (Tribute, Adnams, and a Horsham ale) but the food could have been so much better.
We had our doubts about the food when we saw how few people were in the establishment at 7.30pm on a Saturday night - possibly only 4 tables occupied.
I had the pan fried liver and bacon with new potatoes which was good but the boiled mixed veg that came with it was obviously the frozen packet stuff and was unappetising. My partner had the Red Thai curry with mini garlic bread nan and was in her words 'the worst curry she had ever eaten'. When the waitress asked if the meal was OK we gave her our opinions and as compensation had the cost of a glass of wine removed from the bill.
The food is a bit on the pricey side considering the iffey quality - �8.95 for the liver and the same price for the curry.
I would suggest going elsewhere if you want food, although the nice place for a quiet pint.
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My partner and I went to the Skimmington castle on the Sat 26/6/10. The pub was quiet apart from a few people outside drinking. My partner and I had travelled here on a friends recommendation - oh how I wish we hadn't. Upon ordering our meal - two rib eye steaks, one rare and one medium I was told there where no rib eyes this was at around 7pm on a Saturday evening! I was offered an alternative of a 10oz rump instead, which I decided to order for us both. The steaks duly arrived and at first sight my partners looked undercooked and on further inspection a cut through the meat it most definitely was - it was almost raw and mine was no better, we returned them both to be properly cooked, when they returned my partner said hers still wasn't cooked properly and mine was okay but not right. I informed our waitress that the steaks still weren't cooked correctly as specified when ordering (rare and medium) and was then rudely told I hadn't ordered medium and rare but medium rare and rare, even so my partners steak wasn't even rare never mind medium rare. My partner sent hers back for a second time and this time the manager (I think) came over and said I understand you have a problem with your steaks I said yes and said i have been a chef for 26 years and know when a steak is cooked correctly or not and she said she did too, meanwhile I had just accepted the chef couldn't cook steaks so decided to eat mine. I actually finished my meal before my partners offering returned - burnt on one side and STILL raw on the other. We had also ordered pepper sauce which had been left on the table during this debacle so had coagulated in the jug and wouldn't even come out. When I ordered our meals we were told they would have chips, onion rings, mushrooms and peas but all we got was peas and chips. My partner ate her steak and we asked for the bill and left in disgust.
Needless to say I will never return to this totally unprofessional pantomime of a pub and would recommend that anyone thinking of visiting changes their mind and goes to a professional establishment.
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Just had lunch with wife and two friends, we all had their pies, different, we recon that they could be the BEST PUB PIES in Surrey. Staff friendly and courteous. Very good value. and a lovely setting.
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Visited here end of Nov 09. Nice choice on the pumps and friendly staff. Fish, chicken pies great as were the desserts. Despite no veggie option on menu, a delic mushroom stroganoff with a few roast pots on the side wad rustled up for our veggie. The abundant outside seating will encourage us to revisit on a dryer and warmer day!
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Re-visited this pub for the first time after a change of management. Food very good, reasonably priced and with quite a varied menu. Had St.Austell Tribute & Green King IPA on. Also had an Adnams pump but it was off when I was there. Beer excellent but pricey (�3.20). Seems to be walker-friendly now: boot scrubbing system outside the front door.
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Never a dissapointment! Always enjoy eating here!
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Visited today after seeing it mentioned in the Daily Telegraph good pub guide. Well worth a visit, especially on a sunny day, (which sadly it wasn't), sunny atmosphere inside though and we were made to feel welcome. Smashing pint of Greene King IPA gave me the appetite for the fish pie which didn't disappoint, my wife had the lamb which she really enjoyed. The friendly staff and great service made it a very pleasant experience. We'll be back!
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Went there the other day. Had a wonderful fish pie & my wife had red thai curry. Great food, great atmosphere, will be coming back.
jrc83 - 22 Aug 2009 00:20 |
had a birthday dinner there last week and it was superb food, going to book my mothers 70th there, spot on i thought, really friendly and really reasonable, ps lamb was gorgeous by the way!!
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used to come here a few years ago and it had gone slightly downhill but i was delighted to find that they are back on track. the food from a selection of fresh fish on the specials board which i had to the sandwich my husband had was first class at a decent price too. ive always loved the location and will certainly make the most of the place again!
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the magic of the skim is back, lovely atmosphere, friendly staff, food better than ever, a lovely evening....
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I stopped off here after completing the Brockham Green to Reigate Heath walk.
Thought it was a great little pub and very nice/quaint inside. NIce beer garden outside is very peaceful. Addlestones on draught which is always nice to find.
The barman was especially friendly and I followed his advice to the letter:
"Oh well, you've finished your walk, you might as well get p*ssed now"
Also have to toally disagree with the previous comment (by degodier) about the lunches, as I didn't find them pricey at all.
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Went up the other day at luchtime and we had a nice though slightly pricey lunch, outside in the spring sunshine. I'm going back!!
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Hell's teeth! What have they done?
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Open again, which is an improvement.
Other improvements include stripping the main room bare of all the decorations, potties, ephemera and the ring the bull game, closure of the tiny bottom room, installation of a garish lager font, having the most basic Punch Taverns beer range and having every single table reserved for eating.
As we had to stand in a corner blocking the path of the waiters to-ing and fro-ing with their Sunday bloody roasts we didn't stay long enough to discover any of the new management's other improvements. Points reduced from 8 to 5.
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Opening later this month - I'm told.
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The Surrey Mirror had a piece on this, now closed, pub last week. Punch Taverns own it and the reason for closure remains unclear; however standards had dropped (see recent reviews). Punch say it will reopen soon - but the competition within 2/3 miles, on and just off the A25, is huge.
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Shut tight and deserted at lunchtime today, Saturday. Does anyone know what's going on?
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Had not been to the Skimm for a while and I know alot of people have been moaning about it locally but, this really is the best pub in Reigate ok the food might not be the best and they probbaly need to get a top chef in but its decent pub grub. I can only speak as I find and Simon and Cammy and the rest of the staff are always really friendly and the beer is more often than not of a very good quality so lets get behind it instead of putting it down because come the summer you moaners will still be down there as you know it really is a decent pub. So if the food can improve this really will become a 9/10 pub.
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A really decent pub. I love the atmosphere, the staff and the choice of drinks. The food however is average and a real let down for the place. If only they served better food I would give them a 9/10 rating.
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i was very impressed with my first visit to this pub, the staff were very welcoming and actually noticed me. The pub atmosphere was good and the beer well kept. I didn't eat, but the food i saw being served seemed of average fare, with generous helpings. I'll be back!
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Oh dear what a shame this pub used to be great the food was fantastic and you had to arrive early to get a table. Not anymore arrived tues 1pm for lunch pub practally empty and I can honestly say i had the worst meat and potato pie i have ever tasted absolutely disgusting. Great pity!
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Eat here for the first time in a while. Certainly menu is a lot smaller than before but the four of us enjoyed what we had and the prices were fair. The staff were helpfull and pleasant and the beer was excellent.
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Not sure what happened to the food it used to be out of this world but some how it is worse than McDonalds now. No atmosphere cant find any friendly staff and dont get me started on the manager (or so he calls himself piss up in a brewery comes to mind) One to avoid
anonymous - 16 Aug 2007 02:08 |
Love this place. Very querky, great food, Lovely staff. Keep it up
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Used to be excellent, unbelievable how fast it has fallen apart - woeful!
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Apparently the food used to be good, but this really isn't the case now; it's very over-priced and quite dull. A group of us went for lunch there on a Saturday and we were ushered out of the door at exactly 3pm, as the pub closes every afternoon except Sunday. Overall not very impressed at all.
anonymous - 10 Feb 2007 17:48 |
Beer still OK but there has been a change of landlord in the last few months. The quality of the food has slipped after the high standard of the last 5 years. It is also expensive for the small portions. Shame, it used to be a smashing pub. Will wait a few months before I go back to see if they get a decent chef !!
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Go there regularly and take all my aussie mates. Great food and beer. Only one bad dog experience - and it smelt. Why can't dog owners leave theeir mutts outside?
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Excellent food and beer but far too many dogs for my liking, specially the ones that sit on the seats! Dogs on seats is not acceptable, especially for a pub that serves food
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Quite difficult to find, particularly if you don't have a map.
Once there, it's pretty nice. A collection of little rooms inside makes it feel much smaller than you'd think on arrival. But if the weather's nice it would probably be a lovely little spot to while away an afternoon over a drink or three.
Even the large amount of canine customers appear to be well behaved.
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Nice pub, although the last time I was there the garden was full of snooty middleaged be-blazered types braying at each other about their 5-series Beemers.
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A great pub, with excellent food and beer, friendly to walkers.
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not sure what food goosegog ordered but the food I had on the last three visits was ace. Especially the crayfish and prawn salad. mmmm
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The Skim' is a lovely pub set in a secluded, serene location. It benefits from a fine choice of ales and ciders and friendly staff. No-nonsense food isn't astounding but then neither is the price. Nice for some Sunday grub and a few beers. Well worth a visit
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my favourite, I love this place, really great memories from there, all the best to managers
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Great pub with excellent cider. Lovely atmosphere and pulls a very good pint of Guinness.
Shawn & Lee (SA & OZ)
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I agree with the others, a fine pub - pity it shuts in the afternoon but you can't win 'em all.
Nick - 12 Jul 2004 12:16 |
great pub. hadn't been there in years and poped in the other day. nice fire going. friendly staff.
mel - 9 May 2004 17:09 |
Really nice pub. Packed out when we went there but not noisy or rowdy. Had a really cosy atmosphere. Food was lovely and the service was just as good. A really good country pub - wish I lived nearer to it!
Joanne - 15 Mar 2004 15:30 |
Excellent country pub, one of the best in the area. Excellent position, Excellent Food, Excellent Beer (Adnams), Friendly Staff. Quaint old building with loads of history
Terry Gates - 12 Mar 2004 08:08 |
Great real pub! excellent place for walkers cyclists to stop, i have been going there since i was knee high...perfect summers evening end or lunch stop whilst out cycling ect.
GaryLager - 11 Jan 2004 18:03 |
Wow, first comment! This pub is so cool, although DEFINATELY not for a romantic evening drink, or a night out with friends, but ideal as a quiet stop off after a long day. Incredibly popular watering hole for local walkers, cyclists etc, and a very friendly place. Big Dave is wonderful and always has a pocket full of dog biscuits
Helen - 11 Nov 2003 19:38 |
