please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
the most expensive pub in the world
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Better than expected, beer (Landlord) was damn good. Quick & friendly service. Used to hate this pub in the 80s, but not too bad this time. One downside is the name - "famous..........." Pretentious.
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The govenor john is a decent bloke, but they seem to have taken the eye off the ball when it comes to customer service. the staff should be reminded that they are there to serve and should focus a bit on that rather than seeing the customer as a problem..... come on john crack the whip a bit.
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Sometimes it's not the pub or the people that run it which are the problem but it's the punters. This pub is famous for one thing; attracting lager top-swilling Chelseas-supporting chavs like bees round a jam jar. Nice barmaids though. It's swings and roundabouts I guess.
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Very well run pub, but I'm afraid full of 'builder and football types (Live football).
When can we have a pub that caters for the 'Village' community, as far as I can see The Wheatsheaf is the only one, now that the King Bill is now an Italian restuarant.
I sincerely hope that the Village is not becoming part of London suburbia.
We deserve more than that
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What the hell has happend to the food here been in a few times over the past couple of years and it has went down hill big style .I used to go in at least once a week when it was the chef before the french one "get him back"the spring is just as good now.Great place for a pint though
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nice pub, bit expensive, typical mans pub. some locals need some morals when it comes to women! dont go in on weekend nights or your see what blokes in ewell are really like. also love to talk people business. to many keep going into toilets alot!
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What a surprise I've been abroad working for some time now and retuned home to finalise a contract so thought I'd do a tour of the village, started at the 8 Bells, bit disappointing, wheatsheaf quiet but nice old fashioned pub, Spring nice surroundings food poor, warm and slow, staff ? what staff waited ages, Star not like the old days, Greenman (it wasn't famous when I left) but what a surprise lovely staff, served by a very nice young lady and later by a big foreign chap both excellent, welcoming and friendly beer was good and I've used it for the food which was fresh and very nice, didn't mind waiting a bit as it was fresh and the beer was going down so well. It's taken me a while to do all this and find Beer in the evening but I will be a regular and take friends there as the staff and regulars are all very friendly. The guvnor introduced himself at the weekend as he'd seen me a couple of times which surprised me as it's so busy but he seems a nice chap and the regulars seem to hold him in pretty high regard.
My Pub and will stay that way till I'm off again.
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This is a nice pub, just stay away from the main bar, can be a bit rowdy and cliquey round that side. Food is always good as is the beer and other drinks.
Certainly better food here than the Spring!
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Paid a very quick visit and enjoyed it. Local drinkers in the front bar-quite lively. Quieter in the side bar. Ale well kept with reasonable selection. Managed a main course in the restaurant and were very pleasantly surprised. Good freshly prepared food, interesting menu, not all standard fare-reasonable veggie selection as well.
How come this pub is rated as low as the Star ?
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I actually like this pub. The beer is always very good and the staff pretty polite. It is not a bad boozer but they do let themselves down at times. Sometimes the governor can be a bit 'in your face' but my main gripe there is they take your money all day but cannot wait to get rid of you attitude.
Now take Saturday night. They had the Haye fight booked and when we had asked the female bar staff had no idea that there was a fight even on. Fair play to her she asked the questions and found out and she informed us that they would be showing it but would be closing at their normal time. In fairness they showed the whole fight but as soon as the fight finished all TV's went off (not even interviews), bar stools on the tables and the pub was being prepared to close. I just think with today�s licensing laws, booking a big fight, having a full pub of people buying beer it would have been good to let the customers digest, discuss and reflect on what happened.
Next time a big fight is advertised in the Infamous Green Man I think I will stump up �15 and another �15-20 for a couple of crates of beers for me and my mates. That way the 8 of us can save �40 - �50 each and watch the fight properly at home! Thanks Governor you certainly know how to look after your clientele!
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I have started using this pub again after giving up on the Eight Bells ( landlord asking the clients to do free repair jobs is taking the mick). The Green Man is a warm friendly pub, the beer is always good and its nice to sit round a big table for a chat with your mates, there's nobody butting into your conversation with loud one liners and you are served by polite bar staff not grumpy chavs in baseball caps keep up the good work.
anonymous - 27 Feb 2010 13:57 |
We went into the Green Man with some friends for dinner recently and the bar manager who knew someone at the table came over to chat. He was so drunk he could just about speak. A few of us were worried about the quality of the meal after that, but it turned out OK. I dont think I would go back there to eat. Maybe its more of a boozers place.
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A pub that is nothing out of the ordinary with fairly standard beers on tap. Does have a fairly nice restaraunt area though and a "sports" area for darts and telly.
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Quite a large pre war building of no architectural merit .Four real ales available,Adnams Bitter,Youngs Bitter,Bombadier,Spitfire,nothing out of the ordinary,a little pricey but drinkable.The food is good quality and is cooked rather than boiled in a bag or microwaved.The lounge interior is rather featureless,but the restraunt area is a bit smarter and the lunchtime crowd are respectable.However in the evening the pub becomes a lot more boisterous,and there is usually a big welcome committee of smokers infront of the public bar which gets infested with chavs,many supporting Chelski ....enough said.When I was a lad and the Knights were in charge this pub was called The Green Man,not sure why it is now "Famous" ,more likeley "Infamous".
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Very sadly this pub has gone down hill rapid in the last year, it is now a pemanent home to loutish football watching builders and I can only assume thats why they need the rude and obnoxious barman, to keep them in line.
It really is a shame as it nearly became a very good pub.
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Likes me lager I do but sometimes flat , good sports pubs for football rugby horses. Food very good but please improve the beer and ask the girls to smile
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over the top in price
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Funny that. I've been drinking the Guinness here most days ever since John and Clive took it over a few years ago and have never had to complain. Top pub, excellent staff, good food and a pretty good range of beers. Now it just needs a shove ha'penny board and bar billiards.....
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Staff are slow and untrained and don't really understand the concept of "Customer Service" , one typical reply to my compliant was well "no one else complains" or "in six months we never had a beer returned" , this pub really needs a Top Bar Manager.
The Guinness is like taking part in a raffle , you have no idea what standard you are going to get , some of the staff don't even know how to serve it properly , and woe betide if you complain !
Pity really as it has the makings of a decent Pub
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Okay interior. Certainly not refined. Food is meant to be excellent, but yet to try it - menu is totally unispiring though: Burgers, ham egg and chips, liver and bacon etc it is certainly not pushing any boundaries.
Be warned: it plays a lot of sports, so it fills up quickly with a lot of boisterous supporters on specific days of the week.
Nice staff and plenty of seating inside and out. Outside is on a busy high street with loads of traffic though.
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The best pub in the village by far.....
To be honest with you all, I can't comment on the beers/bitters as I'm a spirits gal. But, I'll tell you something about the food....it's good, and I mean REALLY good.
There's always a great vibe about this place too. Bar staff are friendly, fast and gorgeous to boot. Regulars are polite. You get a real ecelectic mix of people in this place...both young (not too young) and old all mixed together, and that's what it makes it a really great place to drink.
Also...a good place to watch the footie/F1/racing/. Just glad the footie season's finished for the time being.....I get to stay away a little and replenish the liver.
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Really great pub, staff friendly with relaxed atmosphere. The food is fantastic, proper fresh pub grub with good portions! Good childrens menu too.
Highly recommended.
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Spitfire, Ordinary, Bombardier, Adnams Bitter and Twickenham Spring Ale. Large pub with a central bar. OK
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Spitfire, Ordinary, Bombardier, Adnams Bitter and Twickenham Spring Ale. Large pub with a central bar. OK
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Spitfire, Ordinary, Bombardier, Adnams Bitter and Twickenham Spring Ale. Large pub with a central bar. OK
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Great pub
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Great pub for the sports inc the atmosphere when games are showing. Landlord is a diamond guy, knows everyone by name and is always around which you need in a local boozer.
Even better are the selection of cold beers!
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I am surprised about the comments below. I found the pub staff friendly, courteous and on the ball. The food was excellent with a good range for all. They also had a nice range of ales. I think in comparison to how the pub was before the new owners you really can not rate it under 10.
My wife is extremley picky about pubs, the cleanliness and the environments but this excelled even her standards. Very accomodating for families, couples and same sex groups.
I would highly recommend it.
LordB - 31 Dec 2008 10:29 |
Not really a pub anymore, trying to be the jack of all trades etc. Staff need to be woken up before you can get a drink and a bit of PR training would help. Apart from that, good food if a bit expensive, clean and no noticable drug problem.
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Not a fantastic pub but the food is currently superb.
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Have not been for years and recently visited it and i was dissapointed. No atmosphere and took quite a while to get served.
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Not a patch on it notorious heyday of wild west style fights and broken furniture... shame those days were good fun
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Takes ages to get served and you feel you have to say thanks when the lazy staff eventually do serve you.
No consistancy with the quality of beers , great one day , terrible the next (can't figure it out).
Sports bar - (are you havin a larf!!)
Food ok
Pity they don't take the staff on a day out to see how things should really work !
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A large village (well suburban really) pub, quite busy early evening. Three seperate areas plus a dining area to the rear, although tables in the left side room were set with menus and condiments too. Extensive food menu of regular dishes plus some ambitiously priced specials.
Five ales on handpump, Taylor's Landlord, Youngs Bitter, CW Bombardier, Shep's Spitfire, and Adnam's Bitter. To me, if you are going to serve five there should be a bit more effort to get a more interesting guest or two in? The beer tried was in fairness top notch.
A rather nice cast iron and tiled fireplace in the left bar was somewhat unusually hidden from view by a table. Would've made a nice feature.
Not bad, a bit large for my taste, but certainly serving a decent pint. Better than its current 5.2 rating.
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Nice pub but shame about the 20 minute wait to get served the larger is average and over priced compared with the rest of the village. Wouldn't put this on a return visit list
johnl - 27 Dec 2007 11:30 |
Were a little disappointed with this pub although friendly enough and nothing to complain about. Just prefered the Star
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Been using this place for a long long time now and must asy that since its been taken over its BRILLIANT good selection of ales and lagers (for the people that enjoy chemicals) staff very attentive and fantastic food, i would say its some of the best food I've tasted for miles around and that includeds the White Horse and Red Room which are both good but not quite as good and as for the interior very comfortable and tastful without being clinical.
Fantastic place to hang out keep up the good work.
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Went here to try it out yesterday very nice inside much better than it used to be food not too bad either, I must say though as i have a child the white horse next to epsom hospital is the place for me they win with the kids play area and while the food is similar but it just pips the green man to the post. Having said all that the green man is the place for me after whiling away a few hours at bourne hall
anonymous - 12 Jul 2007 19:54 |
Well I love it here, a good local mix of people of all ages and types. Fair selection of beer. My daughter loves it and she's only 5. Better than the Spring....
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poor clueless service at bar.Soooo slow.
Food overpriced.nice but portions too small.
Annoying layout.
anonymous - 17 Apr 2007 22:38 |
One of the best pubs in town, Nice selection of ales, the best food for miles, brilliant bar staff and waitresses.
Top score all round.
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Tried this pub on the last two friday nights and cant get excited over it hard to pin point what is lacking here but somehow not a place I want to drink in seems to lack any atmosphere. Beer was good, place is tidy but yet just not right have been in in the daytime and it is a better place.
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Visited recently and thought it was fantastic especially since my last visit a year ago, increased the amount of real ales and I tried 3 of them (GREAT) been back and tried the food because I'd heard so much about it and it was as good as the beer if not better, Staff where helpful and a delight, Tv'S seem to be well positioned and even got a no smoking tv room for sports ect, anonymous should have another look with your eyes open (how wrong can one person be?) All in all a great improvement and a great pub for the well sighted !!
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good ales and loads better since the revamp but something about the place that just aint right.tries a bit too hard,plasticy new feel,bad layout.teles arkwardly placed for viewing and staff think its the best pub in the world which it patently isn't.
anonymous - 29 May 2006 00:39 |
What a great place this is, food is to die for friendly staff and a great feel, i went there before the refit and what a dive, it's great to see the Greenman back on the map as a premier pub, oh and the beer is spot on well worth a visit.
anonymous - 21 Dec 2005 10:49 |
I must admit, i've just looked on the new Green Man website, and i'm amazed!
As a former employee of Moose Inns, it's great to see.
I can't wait to go back in and see for myself. Stuart
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The Green Man has now reopened after a sympathetic refit. I wouldn't call it a massive overhaul but it has been given a gentler, calmer feel that hopefully will attract the older, less boisterous crowd. Then, with a bit of luck, the Green Man will regain its rightful place as Ewell best pub.
One note to the owners, though. You might want to put a bit of WD40 on the door, it sticks alarmingly often.
But I implore everyone who thinks The Spring is bland and The King William chav-infested, to give this pub a try. You might like it.
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They have a new web site wwwfamousgreenman.com evidently it's to be updated regularly well worth a visit. Hope you enjoy the pub when it opens.
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The Green Man was a fantastic pub to have a drink or two in and to work in to gain an insight into the day to day antics of the lives of the local folk.
However, there's always a dark side. To avoid deformation of character I'll avoid mentioning any names. The landlord in my day ordered out-of-date beers, poured dregs back into the kegs, ripped off the staff,me being one of them, on one occasion assulting a member of staff. The list of things I witnessed is endless.
I'm sure the new captain will do a tremendous job in the pub which will be of great benefit to it's regulars, staff, neighbours and the community as a whole.
anonymous - 17 Sep 2005 13:58 |
Can't rate it at the moment but I've been told that it's being taken over by a new guv'nor and if it's who they say then watch this space it sounds promising, I know it's going to be brought back to it's former glory if not better.
anonymous - 29 Aug 2005 15:41 |
Nice, friendly pub with great food. They have theme nights once a month now and the first one is in July- Gangsters and Molls!!!
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Imposing building that probably attracts a fair passing trade. What they must think of Ewell Village after visiting the Green Man doesn't bear thinking about.
If new to Ewell, try The Star, or The Spring, or The Wheatsheaf. Give yourself a treat by avoiding the Green Man. You deserve better.
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This pub was the downfall of the village. There is a new manager there now and she seems to be doing a good job. They have a nice new menu and the food is good. I think they should think about having live bands in this pub as it will atract a crowd which equals more takings. There is ample space for any size of band and it will bring some life to this once graveyard pub.
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Having not visited the pub since moving away, I am in no position to offer any other comments other than, although a little rough around the edges, the staff, Chris, Darren and Paula in particular, always made me feel nothing short of welcome.
This is more that can be said for other pubs in the area
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funny really I love beer and beer seems to love me and this pub is great , always a couple of seats for me to park up for the night.
You love it
Ginga Townie - 12 Jul 2004 23:17 |
In the last 2 years it has become the poorest pub in the village. Poor staff and food terrible The toilets are a disgrace and should be investigated by Health and Safety. This has to be the poorest pub in the south east.
j - 30 Apr 2004 20:44 |
I have had many happy hours in this pub, having worked next door. I agree, however, that it is not the same as it used to be in 1986/87 and since then, when the original licensees moved out. After that, there was a time when a friend and I walked in and it was really awful - beer on the floors etc etc. However, fond memories.
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This is probably the worst public house I have visited in Surrey. The staff are unmotivated and ill-trained; the food (such as it is) is unimaginative and microwaved from the freezer. If you are visiting Ewell Village there are several fine establishments; the Green Man is not one of them.
Richard Lacy - 20 Jan 2004 12:39 |
Whils a little on the dim side, it has character, warmth and a friendliness that other pubs in the area do not possess.
maybe i'm biased, but then again, I also live there!
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The staff appear to be completely uninterested in serving customers, and the licensees only emerge from their flat upstairs when it is time to count the money. I shall never use it again.
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I was in The Green Man last friday (07/03/03). Good atmosphere, loud but not uncomfortable, good beer (ok lager!). Does anybody know why this pub is called The Famous Green Man? I only ever knew it as The Green Man, so why is it now famous? Looked on the net, can't find anything. Nice pub though.
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