please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Pleasant bar, almost in the round. Serves Youngs, Pride, Trooper and Broadside. £2 a half. Food smelt good. Great setting on Ham Common. A lengthy explanation of the name on a plaque at the front. Nice walled garden but too close to traffic to be better than a slightly quieter table with a view towards the cricket on the Common at the front.
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Was looking forward to a lunchtime meal and a pint here yesterday, but it was FULL. Every table either occupied, or marked as reserved. That's good for the management, I guess, but resulted in me having to go to the much less salubrious Hand & Flower :-(
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I have often been to this pub while visiting friends in the neighbourhood and it's a very nice place to relax with a pint or two. Being a Youngs house is, to my taste, unfortunate but they have London Pride so it's not a disaster. The interior is homely and minus the fruit machines, crappy music and other accoutrements that attract the wrong type of clientele. It relies on a certain amount of passing trade as it's set back off of a main road but there are a number of regulars who are
the antitheses of the Wetherspoons variety. There's a large garden at the rear and seating at the front. All-in-all a very good pub.
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Lovely pub. Nice enclosed garden at the back. Dog friendly.
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Imposing looking pub in a pleasant location although it's pretty bland inside. Had a reasonable pint of Youngs though.
anonymous - 11 Dec 2011 16:01 |
had the great plesure of running this fine pub a few years ago,still brings back happy memories of the staff and customers,what a cracking little pub,hope some of the old customers are still around,will pop in soon.
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This pub has to be the most beautiful and quaint looking in Ham! Not the liveliest place to visit on a friday night, and it can be quite expensive depending on what your tipple is, but it has a fantastically warm and friendly atmosphere - and my hubby (an ale drinker) often comments on how well the beer is kept.
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A great pub. Good atmosphere, open fire, family friendly but also a good spot to sink a few pints. Food excellent, a little pricey but worth it knowing its home cooked and you get all the other benefits. If the New Inn got ruined like the Fox and Grapes in Wimbledon and Plough in East Sheen I wouldn't be happy. Long live the New Inn.
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About 7 or so of us popped one Sat late in October after sitting in a cold hall for the afternoon while on a course. OK glad that there is notices for new signage as, never having been there before I almost missed the place twice! However I would say that I didn't look too deeply at the decor much, but was pleased that there was no blaring music, slot machines etc and the clientel where very pleasant in a quite way, which suited us nicely as we're not locals and came in for a social meal in a quite place. Given some of the places I've eaten the prices where not bad, but not cheap and I only really looked at the specials. The Lamb was delish and the only complaint I had was I wanted more. I couldn't try the ales unfortunately as I couldn't drink, but there was a nice selection and the coffee I ordered was ok. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Parking was not a problem and since it is close to a venue we attend regularly in the winter, it is a pub that I'll take my other half to for a meal and a beer. Having said that it's not a place that I think you'd get slaughtered at, but more of a place to quaff a pint or to with a meal, without it being a restuarant, where you gan either chat to you mates or read a book. These pubs are few and far between nower days, especially hard to find somewhere like this if you're not a regular drinker.
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Excellent food if a bit pricey. Quiet but popular. Good to have no music.
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Well appointed, attractive looking pub situated on the edge of Ham Common midway between Kingston and Richmond and easily accessible via the number 65 bus from either.
Despite it starting to look a bit tatty from the outside and in need of a lick of paint, The New Inn has a rather upmarket slightly old fashioned country pub air to it and is a welcoming reminder that you're actually in Surrey and not a London suburb. It makes a fine change from the pubs in Richmond, Twickenham and Kingston, which, with one or two honourable exceptions, have now unfortunately started to look and feel increasingly urban and "Londoney" in recent years.
The New Inn is cosy, carpeted and food orientated, but, based on my visit, still a pub and not a restaurant. The L shaped bar services a number of different seating areas and a large outside garden at the back. There's also a few seats on the pavement outside at the front where you can watch the traffic crawl front.
It's a rather sedate affair - no music, fruit machines etc and, not being in the town centre, doesn't attract the circuit crowd or the Friday/Saturday night psycho's. It's not a youngsters pub - and all the better for it.
Reflecting the area and the pub's preferred customer profile, prices for both food and drink are high.
On my recent Saturday lunchtime visit, beers on were Deuchars IPA, Adnams Broadside, London Pride and Youngs Ordinary - which I suspect are the regular offerings. The Deuchars IPA - � 3.27p - was quite good, but the Broadside less so.
I'll continue to pop in here every now and again
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Back for the first time in just over a year, and sadly the place has not improved, poor service, shabby looking staff, overpriced food, and dowdy atmosphere.
Avoid like the plague, unless you are already dead !
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The New Inn is a really nice pub that thankfully does not play loud music and have sky sports. so you can hold a conversation without the need to shout. The staff are quick, friendly and efficient. there is a choice of real ales and a food is available throughout the day until 21.30 in the evening. On the negative side the cost of food is exorbitant in my opinion 25% higher than you would expect to pay for a similar meal in other local pubs. Also the beer is about 10% higher. To summarised Great pub but expensive.
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Even though the pub is just a few minutes walk away I find it too unwelcoming to make a regular point of going there. Wife and I went in recently in the early evening for a refreshing drink after a walk but after standing around for quite a few minutes with no reaction from the one member of staff on at the time we left.
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Personally, I think the food here is really good. I can't comment on Sausage & Mash (which apparently tastes like smash) because I have never ordered it here!!!
I have had specials from the chalk board & have never been disappointed.
I live nearby & go there regularly.
Order the Chef's Salad & you won't be disappointed. The Fish 'n' Chips is great too.
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Average selection of larger. Friendly staff. Great to see a full rack of ribs on the menu! I think all the food is from a packet, my girl friend ordered sausage and mash. Mash tasted like smash! such a shame food seems to come second for such a lovely pub and location
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Friendly bar staff, pleasant enough pub for a quiet and comfortable drink.
patsy - 15 Jan 2009 16:32 |
There is usually a good choice of beers here, though they are normally all quite common ones, e.g. Adnams, but the place is too dominated by food for my liking. I have tried the place at various times and on various days of the week but it always comes across as soulless and uninviting. Nothing about it to keep you away but nothing, apart from the food, to attract you there either.
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The fact that the barmaid and customers at the nearby Ham Brewery Tap recommended The New Inn for good food is praise indeed! They were right. Interesting selection of dishes - including 8 'specials' - very tasty and (despite what khisanth wrote) not especially expensive. Two regular real ales and two guests. Friendly service.
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I quite liked this place. Nice drop of ale and pleasant bar staff. Lovely from the outside.
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A pub that looks good on the outside isn't always a winner on the inside.
Dreadful lacklustre service from bar staff who find it a huge effort to pull a pint for you and who have been clearly ordered not to smile or say 'Hello' 'Please' 'Thank you' or to possess any other such simple social skills, they are all like a bit of an Orwellian nightmare.
My Fiance and I ordered food which arrived cold after 45 minutes and (surprise surprise) was the wrong order, when I voiced my opinion I was told that the Landlord would come and talk to me, 20 minutes and ever so slightly warmer food later we were greeted by a scruffy unshaven arrogant idiot in a grubby apron who basically told us that there was nothing wrong with his overpriced-luke-warm excuse for food, and basically if we didn't like it we knew what we could do... Locals have said the management could do with some 'updating' and I can see what they mean !
A good looking pub from the outside, but in reality a 'Venus fly trap' which will suck you in and part you with your money with overpriced badly managed ales and awful food AND service. Do yourself a favour and head either for the Dysart down the road, which has real class, real ales and excellent food and service, otherwise the Legless Frog which is a new place which is fast gaining popularity for it's food and wines.
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Lovely old pub on perhaps the most gorgeous village green in all of London.
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A gorgeous family pub for a quiet cosy drink. Nicely laid out, nice beer garden and a good location. Nice range of beers and guest ales.
The food here is absolutely wonderful, they changed chefs a while back and quality improved dramatically. Slightly pricey,but you get big portions. I had pot roast pheasant yesterday which was delicious!
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I tend to use the New Inn for a quick few drinks at the end of the evening, i.e. I get there about 10:30! Then it is usual fairly quiet (but not dead) which probably explains why I have never found the smoke to be a problem there (unlike the Hand and Flower nearby). The beer is normally pretty good and there is a reasonable, if fairly standard, choice. Shame that the staff are more interested in cleaning and restocking at that time of night so you almost feel as though you should not be there.
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This used to be such an excellent place to go and have a few beers and meal of an evening.
However, I seem to be more and more disappointed every time I go there.
Went there for lunch last week, and the food was poorly prepared, nice enough menu, but not well done at all, and not good value at all. Sad, as I used to go there often, but it's just another mediocre pub now to me.
Sad, as it's a lovely place, and was brilliant until not so long ago. Hopefully the current people will move on soon.
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I've commented favourably on this pub twice in the last two or three years, but I've changed my mind now.
I have visited once or twice a week for four or five years. The main area has always been extremely smoky and the pub does nothing to stop people smoking at the bar.
They used to have a smoke extractor which was quite efficient, until the pub was renovated about four years ago. But now there's nothing to remove the dense fog of smoke.
I never used to mind too much, because I could go outside in the summer, or sit in the small no smoking section at the back.
But the last few times I've been in they've cordoned off the no-smoking area for private hires. So I've just had to face the overpowering smoke of the idiots who forget they are killing themselves.
This pub was given a year to adapt to the smoking ban that comes in on July 1st. And what has the New Inn done to prepare for the smoking ban? Why, close the no smoking area, of course.
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Most good pubs are purposely steering towards food at the moment as this seems to be the way forward as soon as the smoking ban is brought in. Not a bad thing in my opionion. It's either that or they close down. We all like good food and a decent pint nowadays rather than a nice fag and a good pint and we are all witnessing a change in the old fashioned boozer. I'm all for it and if I hear any other grumpy old bastard moan about the demise of what they see as their descent local turning into a restaurant or such like well heres the reality - It's going to happen wether you like it or not. 7/10.
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Decent pub with an emphasis on food, which was OK, but not great.
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I often wander in on a saturday afternoon and have always found it to be an incredibly friendly place.... with perhaps the finest looking barmaid in the whole of Surrey behind the bar.
Oh, to be ten years' younger and a little leaner
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Seems rather a pleasant pub, although it does seem a "Go to eat on Sunday lunchtime" type of outfit. I thought it OK though.
TheGP - 31 Jul 2006 12:54 |
This is really a restaurant that also happens to sell beer and I cannot imagine going in here just for a drink (except when doing the Richmond Road crawl of course!).
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We descended on the New Inn last night and found some positives and negatives with this pub;
POSITIVES
Background music played at an acceptable level.
Good quality Real ale;
Excellent and well presented food served we believe until after 9pm;
Smartly dressed, efficient and friendly staff.
Good Service;
Clean pub;
Nice atmosphere;
NEGATIVES:
Some seating uncomfortable and in need of replacement, springs starting to show;
Poor smoking policy- Pub very smokey unacceptable when eating food small non smoking area at rear which was full and it seemed as non smokers were treated at lepers tucked away from the main pub area.
Worst or all smoking permitted at bar which is a health hazard to both staff and customers and the licensee should follow the lead of a large number of pubs by removing bar ashtrays and putting up a notice "No smoking at bar"
OVERALL
Far more plus than minuses and one of the better pub in the area which seems well run.
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A well run and clean traditional pub. Music is very much in the background so you can hold a conversation here and it attracts more of the mature age groups. You won't find hordes of under 25's here. The staff look smart dressed in white shirts/blouses and they give excellent service. he food is a high standard but quite expensive for pub foods. A good selection of real ales and wines. Like a previous contributors I would like to see smoking banned at the bar and whilst not an advocate of completely non smoking pubs this issue could be resolved by switching the smoking and non smoking areas thus making the bar surrounds a smoke free zone. The pub is well kept and clean and the only point that precludes me fromgiving it the perfect 10 mark is the smoking issue which I find unpleasanthere.
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Excellent pub well kept beer with a choice of real ales albeit a little pricey. The staff are efficient and friendly, it has a great atmosphere and the food is good. My only minor critism is they allow smoking at the bar which is unpleasant whilst waiting to be served. I wish they would go along with present thinking and ban smoking at the bar then it would be perfect.
Twojs - 17 Oct 2005 18:02 |
Bloody good pint of the delicious yet all too rarely seen Spitfire. Shame we had to wait four and a half hours for our food (or so it seemed). Roast beef wasn't particulalrly nice, when I eventually found it beneath all the parsley sprinklings (is it REALLY necessary on a roast dinner?) very nice Yorkshire puds and two to boot but didn't rate the spuds, roast or new. My friend's seabass on the other hand was delicious so maybe I just chose the wrong thing. Prices fairly typical for the area. Pleasant location to sit and watch the world go by in the last dregs of summer, surrounded by beatiful shades of autumn, if you can ignore the traffic noise polluting the afternoon. Nice inside too. Will go back sometime and try something else on the menu cos I've had a roast dinner here before about a year ago and it was far nicer than today's offerings.
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I rather like this pub, even though I'm not a fan of Young's pubs. Beer has always been well kept, staff friendly and the food is actually very good with a wide choice - have a look at the 'specials' board.
Recommended for a Sat/Sun lunchtime couple of pints and a meal.
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I thought I should post another comment about this pub, even though nothing has changed.
The thing is, I've had so many pints in other pubs recently where the beer has been going off.
But the beer at the New Inn is always perfect. I have never had a pint that smelled of sulphur, or tasted metallic.
It serves the best pint of Young's I can find. Plus there are two or three other changing beers to try.
So if you want a reliably good pint in a pleasant location, come to the New Inn.
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Best food for many miles, very good staff and management.
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This 250-year-old 'new' pub is beautifully sited opposite Ham Common and close to Richmond Park. Nice choice of beers and food generally above average. Great atmosphere with tables out front and beer garden around the back. A bit touristy but also popular with locals and cyclists.
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Clean, tidy. A bit lacking in character since a refit a couple of years ago but at least it's not too smoky or tatty.
Has Youngs ordinary which is always in good condition, plus one to three reasonable guest beers, which is much better than most other pubs.
You can get food up to about 9:15 which is reasonably priced and better than Chef & Brewer stuff - perfectly okay, but not really good, if you know what I mean.
There are three or four tables out front where you can look out over Ham Common, and a walled courtyard garden at the back, although it's a bit noisy from traffic passing by.
Overall it's a really adequate pub - absolutely nothing bad about it; you wouldn't necessarily bring your Australian cousins here to experience the perfect British pub; but you'd be pretty happy to drop in whenever you're passing. Which is more than can be said for the ghastly Brewery Tap pub nearby.
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Decked out like the living room an old person who really cares! Not a bad thing for a rural pub, its bucolic air no doubt pleasing to the retired locals who come here to drink. Worth a visit in passing.
Good for: Daytime drinking on rainy days
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Excellent, staff are great, food was brilliant and just so quick to arrive (well about 10 minutes) and great guest ales, would seriously recommend to anyone I like :-)
Rob - 4 Jan 2004 22:03 |
