The Royal Marine, Lyne

Well, its a Monday. I have an odd day off work and I had heard there was a nice cosy pub 5 minutes drive away. So I decided to visit the Royal Marine in Lyne. Everything that has been said already about this pub is correct. Its a great place to visit. They had 3 bitters (Hogsback TEA, a local bitter brewed by a micro brewery in Addlestone and a third which I dont recall). As I had just driven back from visiting the Hogsback brewery with a boot full of beer I decided to go for the Addlestone beer. I am pleased I did. I know the Hogsback is always good but the Addlestone brew was lovely with a rich flowery aftertaste. Excellent. I ordered my standard food (which should be done by every pub in the world) - steak and chips. I couldnt fault it. The steak was just right, there was a nice plate full of food. In fact I'd swear the guy who cooked it actually brought it to my table. When was the last time Gordon Ramsay did that ? On top of all this one of what I assume was a regular even let me borrow his paper to read. Very Good.

14 Jan 2008 16:16

The Magpie, Sunbury on Thames

Have just got back from a Friday lunch meal and beer. To say this is how I expect pub meals to be is an understatement. Quite superb. I had steak and chips. The steak was cooked properly, the chips were nice an chunky. All with a nice side salad and washed down with a pint of Speckled Hen. Beer - excellent, Food - excellent. I left a �5 tip - cant say more than that really.

11 Jan 2008 14:15

The Golden Grove, Chertsey

Went to the Golden Grove today as its one of my locals and I had always thought it looked like a nice pub to visit. I walked in to find I was the first customer of the day at 12.25. I ordered steak and chips only to be told they had no steak so I changed to bangers and mash. I ordered a pint of IPA. The food turned up after 20 mins and first impresions were not great. The gravy didnt move (it was more like wallpaper paste), the bangers were ordinary (Tesco's do better) and the mash was powdered catering stuff that they just add water to. What really made it bad though was someone had given a good dose of seasoning to everything so in one mouthfull it would taste salty, the next you'd get a strong black pepper taste (I came away from the pub with a strong taste of pepper in my mouth). The food was average at best so a 5/10 on this. The beer was worse. It tasted to me more like Cider (it had that cidery taste). Having had IPA many times before I know the taste and cidery it should not be (I guess it was past its best). So I give the beer a 3/10 making an average of 4/10 which is a shame as it looks quite an inviting pub from the outside. The only good thing was the price which at less than �9 for everything was reasonable (even if it was only average).

4 Jan 2008 16:20