Crown Inn, Westcott

Ended up at this pub by chance today after a muddy dog-walk meant we were less than welcome at other local establishments. The landlord could not have been friendlier or more welcoming to the five of us and our two dogs, despite a slight cash-flow mishap on our part which meant we had to nick out to the cashpoint mid-order!

We had a lovely leisurely lunch and could well have stayed all day. The game pudding was AMAZING, as was the mutton stew, the meat for which we were told came exclusively to them from Wales. The home-cured ham with eggs and chips also went down a treat. I can't remember a better, heartier pub lunch in years, and it was good value too.

Lots of pubs seem to have been refurbished to death or have become soulless, packing in too many people to draughty conservatories and losing the personal touch by relying on ever-changing rostas of agency staff. Not so here: The Crown felt like how pubs should be: no-nonsense, great beer, brilliant food.

This is definitely our pub of choice in Dorking now and we will come back next time we're walking the dogs on Ranmore Common. Lovely unpretentious stuff. More pubs like this, please!

30 Dec 2008 18:00