BITE user comments - thepubvisitor
Comments by thepubvisitor
Slerpy is nothing but a nasty little troll. He keeps visiting pubs he doesn't like so that he can write unpleasant things about them.
This is a very good pub and has a great atmosphere as well as great beer. Does it matter that some older people enjoy it? Of course not.
Slerpy should just stick to peeling oranges in his pocket.
7 Apr 2016 16:18
Popped in here once - good atmosphere and good beer although certainly not a traditional pub.
One great thing about it is that Slerpy won't be here. He will be at home with a box of tissues reading the Wetherspoons house magazine.
11 Jan 2016 09:23
Foxtrial is being mischievous. He knows full well that there were not many poor beers (and certainly even less which could be termed awful) chosen by Ken, and Ken would be the first to admit that some were bad choices. Nick is learning, but there had been some stupendously dull beers on sale such as Mauldons and 1648. The fact that they have remained on sale a week later tells a tale.
28 Jun 2014 13:24
I have made a few visits here since Nick and Tracy took over, and some things are good. The pub is still welcoming and attractive to the casual visitor. I am sure the food (when the kitchen is finally finished) will be good. But the one thing that made the Surrey Oaks what it is (apart from Ken that is) is the beer. The best for miles, as others have commented on. Some good local beers, plus some wonderful hoppy treats from other partd of the country. Now it is mainly boring regional and large micro brewery beers - stuff like Sharps, RCH, Whitstable. Dull brown beers. I fear that this is going down the gastro pub route by stealth and will soon be just a clone of most other Surrey country pubs. RIP the Surrey Oaks, Camra pub of the year.
16 Jun 2014 09:50
Seeing the last review, I know what bago5 stands for - the 5 letter word begins with s and ends in e. The whole review is an almighty roland from the landlord.
27 Dec 2011 17:36
Terrible service, pub full of braying office parties, and expensive flat lager.
1 Oct 2011 11:08
I see there is a great beer festival here over the Bank Holiday weekend with 50 real beers and cider. I know where I shall be then!
I seem to spend most of my wages down here for their beer festivals, much to the chagrin of my missus.
24 Aug 2010 23:20
I will no doubt get a load of flak for this, but I do feel it needs to be said.
This is a lovely old quintessentially English country pub. Hidden away down charming country lanes, it draws customers like moths to a flame, guided by the array of fine English ales on handpump. So everything is great.
Unless you are a lager drinker. When one turns up you can see the locals chortling away in their tankards, waiting to see what happens. Inevitably the person who asked for it will be chastised for making such a faux pas, because after all this is an English pub, and not for closet Johnny Foreigners.
If you are an ale drinker you are going to love this place, and will be met by friendly locals. If you don't fit this description then you will see the pub in a different way.
Full of self-satisfied tree-hugging chumps.
23 May 2010 14:18
I'm an infrequent visitor here as it is unfortunately a bit out of the way. However it is always a pleasure to come here for the lovely friendly atmosphere (people actually talk to you when you walk in as a stranger). As mentioned by several others, there is a great choice of ale on sale, and a number of very good ciders.
But here lies the problem, and it pains me to have to critisise the pub, but I agree with Mr Grumpy. There are too many beers on sale, including on my visit, some lamentable ones from Devon. If driving I will limit myself to four half pints and out of these I can sadly guarantee that one will be off (and by this I mean a cellaring problem and not a brewery problem).
The other issue I have is that they don't sell lager. Now this doesn't worry me as I don't touch the stuff, but surely it would not hurt to at least have a few bottles of it on sale so that lager drinkers don't get humiliated when asking for it?
Still, as I say I'm only an occasional visitor here, although with a couple of tweaks to the running of the pub, I would love to come here more frequently. And if the landlady reads this, please don't take offense as this is meant to be constructive criticism.
19 Aug 2009 07:38
It is astonishing that the company who own this hell hole also run the fantastic Market Porter in London. The basic fabric of the pub is good, and it is in a fantastic position in the centre of town. Externally it looks welcoming as well.
As stated by many others, the beer is quite frankly a disgrace. Usually Harveys is on sale, but it tastes like no other Harveys you will have tried, and often takes a dozen pulls of the handpull to get a full pint. The Bombardier is worse. The pub is often full of unpleasant young local drunks with loud voices and an extremely limited vocabulary (although I wager that there are not many profanities they do not know).
The Reigate/Redhill/Horley/Sutton area is crying out for a great pub. Market Taverns, hide your head in shame as this pub is a travesty.
14 Jul 2009 20:40
A long overdue visit took place here to find a beer festival in full swing. Loads of interesting beers from near and far were on sale in a tent in the back garden and there was a good "buzzy" atmosphere throughout. The bar staff were coping well, although there were a couple of longish queues at times. I was impressed with the staff (especially a couple of lovely smiley girls who actually cared about what they were doing). Good to see a country pub doing so well, although if it had been a typical wet bank holiday weekend rather than the beautiful day it was then it may have been different. Oh, the music was good as well (old fashioned rock).
24 May 2009 10:22
The Plough really seems to divide opinion. It has its plus points, mainly its wonderful location, and until a year or so ago, the fact that the landlord brewed his own beer. Although this was a hit or miss affair, you really want to like a pub where this happens. I brought some friends from North America here and they loved the place, and still rave about it.
So far so good then? No, not really. The beer is extremely expensive (even when they brewed their own, and with no transport costs or third party margins, it was 15-20% more than other local pubs), and the pub is a free house and can therefore negotiate great deals with suppliers.
The pub is in a renowned walking and cycling area, therefore these are the customers who will be supporting the pub. So why not welcome them, let them have a free glass of water before they spend large amounts of money on food and drink? Surely anone with business sense must realise this. You are not going to get all your trade out here from the Gatwick Airport brigade staying the night, which is what at times the landlady appears to crave for.
Most of the pub is given over to restaurant, which is rarely full. Drinkers must use the rather cramped bar, and when this is full they are not allowed to use the restaurant tables, even at time when food is not served.
The pub fire is also seldom on, even in winter. Please, the owners must move on and make this one of the top pubs in southern England. At the moment it is in the basement.
14 Jun 2008 10:06
The Yew Tree 'Time well spent', Reigate Hill
Some interesting comments on this pub. However I see that food is served all day every day. If the couple who walked out in the afternoon left because they were not serving food at this time, the landlord must be telling porkies.
30 Dec 2007 09:31
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Cobbetts, Dorking
Excellent drinking establishment in a well-pubbed area of Dorking.
The staff are entertaining with a Laurel & Hardy double act performing when I was there. The Oliver Hardy lookalike (the owner) presided over proceedings creating yet another fine mess for Stan Laurel, resplendent with hipster beard, to sort out. I understand that this is the standard way of working here. Brilliant. They both really know their beer though.
Talking of which, the beer is fantastic, with cask, keg, bottles and cans from all over the world on offer. The micropub feels like it has been around for centuries but is only a couple of years old. As a rating, It has to be the perfect 10 out of 10.
24 Nov 2016 09:25