Radius Arms, Whyteleafeback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Easily Britain's most uncomfortable pub, it was put together on a budget that clearly wasn't used.Several levels below spartan.
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A wide variety of beers all on gravity dispense,there are handpumps but they are unused.
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Superb. Great ales from top breweries such as Marble, Crouch Vale, Fyne Ales, Ilkley, Burning Sky, Dark Star, Cloudwater and Arbor as well as local ales from Kent Surrey and Sussex, all served in great condition from the temperature controlled stillage room. The owner's generosity (no sign of cheap beers from the 10 different beers a week breweries or multi nationals) and commitment to sourcing and serving great beer shine through. "Great Wall of Cider" and English wine for fruit based drink loversStranger, woman and dog friendly.
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Always has a good pint or three/four avaiable. Quality very good, Landlord friendly, overall a good micro pub, and worth a visit.
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A friend and I received an inexplicably frosty reception here. We walked in at 9.20 on a Thursday evening, knowing the pub closes at 9.30. The woman on the counter consulted the guvnor, who grudgingly served us: "You'll have to be quick." Ten minutes later he chivvied us again, having just served drinks to his clique of cronies. Unpleasant and unnecessary, this attitude goes against the ethos of a convivial micropub.
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Superb place, for all the reasons below. Go there now.
As well as two railway stations nearby, the 407 and 434 buses stop outside.
10/10.
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Weeell well well. After six months of dithering I got my inflated carcass over to the Radius with a mate of mine who needed some cheering, and as envisaged, disappointed I was not, and it proved to be just the therapy needed.
As previously stated, this is a simple, no-frills micro-ub venue which inevitably follows a now well-entrenched formula over in east Kent, though unbelievably still something of a novelty next door in Surrey: an old shop unit converted to a beer-house, serving cask ale and cider only plus a few extras, no meals but nibbles, no music, no machinery, ad-hoc breweriana and assorted bric-a-brac for decor, a single toilet, benches facing each other to promote convivial chat among usually-like-minded punters, and a tap room at the rear. It isn't an original formula, being based fiaarly and squarely on the Martyn Hillier mould - but then if it works, why change it?!
And boy does it. Perfectly-kept range of up to five cask ales (one as local as Westherham, one as far-flung as Orkney) and many more ciders (not sampled but observations showed similar variety of origin. Vince was a jolly affable sort of governor and just the right chap for this project - I understand he persevered hard to secure this premises after rejecting about three earlier possibilities. Happily, it seems to be paying-off.
It's so close to convenient transport hubs too - two train stations (Whyteleafe and Upper Warlingham), and bus stops on either side of the main A22. Other stores are nearby for possible additional convenience, including the Pridmore bookies next door who happily furnished me with cash back in the absence of any ATMs.
Really good vibes, clearly based on genuinely hard graft and desire to fill a much-needed gap in the local pub scene, both in the village itself and beyond. Long may it reign - next time I visit I want to see half the ceiling covered with clips!
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Is the person pictured standing in the doorway; the new bouncer!!.
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What a fantastic Micropub
No Lager. No music. Just great like minded people who are friendly.
Always 4-5 Real Ales on rotation.
Cider & wine for the lady....
The landlord is brilliant.
Take a trip to this gem.
10/10
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The fact that the pub lacks fruit machines and piped music is also the reason that there is no lager. Real ale drinkers generally have a sufficient quantity of brain cells to allow them to hold what are known as "conversations" renendering such additions redundant.
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Typical micro pub, no music or fruit machines (or lager) run by friendly Governor. Tables down either side of the walls, with bar at far end.
Worth a visit.
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This pub is excellent. No Musak; no Sky TV just good beer a good conversation.
It's so good that my wife even likes it. This has never happened before in over 40 years of marriage.
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First visit to the Radius Arms the other evening and what a revelation. Small cosy, almost off license style inside, but huge on beer, banter and atmosphere. No music either, thank the lord! No need for it. The place fills with atmosphere so quickly.
Beers served straight from the cask although I noticed 3 or 4 engines. Possibly for future use? 5 or 6 Ales on and changed as soon as one runs out, although I think I could see a possible 12 through the glass to the cellar.
If this is the type of establishment to replace all the crap pubs that have closed, then we are in for a real treat!
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Excellent addition to the burgeoning Micropub scene. Superb ales and ciders and hosted by the genial Vinny.
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