Duke of Clarence, Hampton Hill

This is the third time I have been in the Clarence in the past hand full of years or so but I was pleasantly surprised! Many many moons ago I used to pop in occasionally for a quick beer on my way home from work when there was an old Irish guy running the place. At the time I would only really stay fro one and then pop off home.

I have not been living in the area for years now but when flicking through beer in the evening I saw a few comments and I couldn�t believe how bad some people had rated this little pub! so I decided to pop in a couple of times to see for my self and to be honest there was not a lot I could fault! The bar staffs were chatting away with a few of the customers but when I walked in they soon hopped to attention and welcomed me with a very pleasant smile!

I paid what I felt a fair price of �3.20 two of the times but I did pop in one day at about half five and they only charge me �2.50! This apparently is what they do every weekday around that time for a few hours! I was shocked! I didn�t think that pubs could afford to be that reasonable these days!

The d�cor has not changed much but it�s like a classic car, it doesn�t need to be perfect to be right! I think it was the character of the place I liked the most! I was speaking to one of the locals that I recognized from back when I lived in the area and the new manager overheard our conversation and introduced himself to me! Looks quite young but seemed to have lots of fresh new ideas!

Despite the fact I do not live in Hampton anymore I think I certainly will be returning on a more regular basis! If I could give it 11 out of 10 I would!

23 Feb 2010 14:02