The Hope, Carshalton

Without doubt the Hope is the friendliest pub in Carshalton! And the beers are a delight and to die for! As a Dark Star Hophead fan, it is great to have one of my favourite beers on tap all the time! Saves going to the Green Dragon, Half & Half, Cricketers or Evening Star in Brighton!

Added to this is the shear diversity of real ale offerings at any one time. It is like having a continuous real ale festival at your local pub with a variety of milds, bitters and stouts. Something for everyone! I also appreciate the regular beer festivals every few months with about an extra dozen real ale offerings. If anything, more should be done to advertise these festivals.

This is a real community pub and if you come after 8pm on a Friday or Saturday, there is often a jam session with local musicians. Everyone joins in and there isn't a clique-queness about the place. In line with its community aspirations, I was pleased to hear that the pub has been bought out by a group of locals as a cooperative. Added to this, there have been the Straw Jack festivities over the summer and more recently a wedding held at the pub.

The bar staff are extremely friendly and welcoming and I wasn't surprised that the Hope won the CAMRA Sutton Pub of the Year award. One assumes that this is the start of better things to come after only two years of its relaunch.

What could improve at the pub? I'm glad the Hope are sorting out food at the pub; pub grub and food are always welcome. Though they'll need to up their game in comparison to the Sun and Racehorse who have developed a good reputation for pub food in Carshalton. The loos really need fixing and I'm glad that a start has been made to the women's loos. The same is needed for the men's loos in due course. I would also welcome some Belgian bottled beers in the fridge such as Duvel, St Bernardus and the infamous West Vleteren (if they can get some). Like many real ale drinkers, I always like the odd bottle of Belgium monastic beer. Makes me feel spiritual! The carpets have seen better times and need a really good and deep spring clean to get of the old odours out of the carpet and revitalise the pub. I wouldn't be surprised if the carpet changes colour after a spring clean! And, lastly, something needs to be done about the fruit flies in this warm weather. They are a real menace and a Hope problem as I don't find them in other pubs!

Despite my gripes, this is by far the best pub in Carshalton if you like real ale and a friendly community oriented environment. Even if you don't like real ale, you'll find it is a hospitable pub full of conversations and good humoured people. You'll find a good selection of other drinks that may take your fancy. I say this as someone who has no vested interest in the pub.

7 Jul 2010 13:54

The Windsor Castle, Carshalton

Punters are generally friendly and very welcoming with a core of regulars. The only beer I like is the Harveys and sometimes they've had Dark Star's Hophead to compete with the emerging Hope pub down the road. The Hope has been real competition for the Windsor as many regular punters have left for the diversity of its real ale offerings. The staff are generally friendly but there are two exceptions; one a young man who gives the impression that he's doing you a favour by serving you and the other a young feisty woman who has a similar attitude. If you're lucky, you may get the odd smile from the landlady if she's in a good mood. This is definately not the case with the landlord who appears in a constant state of meditation. I've heard that the landlady has asked bar staff not to get friendly with customers! Surely a chat with the bar staff is a normal part of a pub encounter? The Windsor used to get many punters for its food especially on Sundays but much of this has dried up now. I think the Sun (pub) and the Racehorse are the places to eat in Carshalton now! Best time to visit the Windsor is on Saturday evenings when they have live music. This is when the place gets packed out. The downside is the difficulty of having a chat with friends or get to the loo easily! I have to admit that I come to the Windsor to meet many of its regular punters rather than its beer, food or service. Though I fear that many regular punters are leaving for other pastures in Carshalton.

7 Jul 2010 12:54