please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Still closed. I'll be back to try the Bear at some point and hopefully it will have re-opened.
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STILL closed. There is a gap in the market in this desert for a decent real ale pub, a gap that this pub used to fill. Someone see sense and take it over.
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Still currently closed, though Fuller's are supposed to be in negotiations to take it over and re-open.
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Appears to be closed which in a town with so very little choice is desperately bad news. Rumour is of a pending court case, allegedly.
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Good beer, great service and first class food. Job done! An all round very enjoyable evening had by all
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Refurbed pub on the High Street. Heaving on a 6 Nations night. The Pie + a pint for £9.95 offer was good value on a Six Nations Saturday. My pint of Native from the Whitstable Brewery was in excellent condition. The Polish waitress was charming.I'd recommend this - but it's just a bit too busy.
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Local CAMRA pub of the year. Tuesday night and 7 beers available - GloucesterCascade, Fyne Hurricane Jack, Hop Studio Gold, Broth Cock o the Walk, Wylam Angel, Tickety Brew Munchner. Special price mon to wed only £2.95 which in this area in fantastic. All great condition and staff that are pleasant, friendly and knowledgeable, well worth a visit.
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Popped in with my brother in law for a swift pint one Sunday lunchtime and the place had a few punters in with most eating.
I had a very good pint of Crown Jewels from the Whitstable brewery and we sat upstairs on the "hidden" roof terrace enjoying the sunshine on this particular day.
All in all a pleasant expeirence and a pub i will return to when i'm back in Esher.
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Why don't the staff at The Albert give you a gin in a glass together with a separate full bottle of tonic you have paid for? Their practice is: fill up the glass with ice; put the gin in the glass; fill up to the brim from a medium bottle of tonic that they have behind the bar; then they don't give you the rest of the bottle of tonic. Consequently there is always half a bottle of tonic left ... which they use for someone else, pouring from a low shelf behind the bar. Is this a practice between the staff or does Jonathan the owner tell them to do this? I want my bottle of tonic - I've paid top price for it - it's not to be shared with someone else.
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What a disappointment. Drinking area of the pub looked ok, ordered a pint without a please or thank you from the barman. No big deal as we were there to eat.
Promising looking menu on a Thursday night but everything we had was over cooked. Sole was a dry as a bone. Veal was chewy and very salty. Worst still was the service. Told we couldn't choose a larger table as we were only three....hilarious when we were virtually the only diners there the whole evening (I wonder why). Surly woman taking our orders, never smiled, was sarcastic to my 86 year old father when he took his card out of machine too soon.
Shame really as we are local to Esher and I particularly would've returned again and again had it been it good, but with food and ambience this poor and service even worse, it'll never happen unless wholesale changes occur.
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Strange place, not unpleasant. Had a great steak, and a few beers. Some very drunk regulars in when I was there, but they weren't much of a nuisance....just a bit lairy. I'm told it can get very busy, although some of its old clientele have apparently moved round the corner to the Wheatsheaf.
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Continue to do excellent beers from local brewers - Hogs Back, Pilgrim etc. - and have screens tuned to all sports with rugby being very popular along with golf, cricket, footie and unsuprisingly where it is Horse Racing.
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We went for Sunday lunch and it was excellent. The food was fabulous, the staff were great and it's a very decent pub. It's not dirt cheap but for a 3 course meal I consider it a reasonable price and good value for money.
The portions were more than ample. We felt like we'd had a proper meal and been given good quality food.
The staff were all attentive and pleasant. We had 4 young children in the party which is never easy however the staff just go on with their jobs and were extremely helpful.
I'd highly recommend.
anonymous - 14 Jun 2010 15:44 |
I went in here for a mid-week lunch and the food we top-notch.
The manager was friendly and service was good.
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I hear rumblings through the grapevine that this place is up for sale. Any truth in it?
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Ouch! Prices in here are very much Esher at �3.25 a pint for real ale.
That said it does have at least 5 on the pumps which are interesting for Surrey and was served by a very pleasant Czech lady. There are also some unusual lagers on tap and bottled too (Czech possibly?).
May return in the furture...will just need to sort out a loan tho lol.
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I agree with Trev. I was in there at 8.30pm and the large restaurant area was empty apart from two dinners. The beer selection was good (Hogsback Tea and Shere Drop, as well as others. The one I selected was off - which the friendly barman suspected and readily swapped. All the tables in the 'drinking' area were occupied - all by the kind of clientele you'd expect in a pub with signed rugby shirts on the wall.
The music was a bit too loud for my taste. Oh yes, the beer's now �3.20 a pint. It's certainly clean and smart, with a good beer selection. Just not exactly 'homely/pub-y' if that's what you're after.
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Something of the olde worlde pub atmosphere has been lost as a result of recent decorations. And the pub seems to have an identity crisis: very packed with beer drinkers at the front, very posh and expensive restaurant to the rear. The restaurant is under-used; surely it would be better to provide simple pub/bar meals, as there may be more demand for them? Nonetheless I must compliment an interesting choice of 6 or 7 real ales, and very quick and efficient service by the bar staff even when busy.
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Smart and modern looking sort of place but still very definitely a pub with a range of good beers on including Surrey Hills Shere Drop.
Kingston and Leatherhead CAMRA (Surrey) Pub Of The Year this year.
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A small pub in the centre of Esher. The lounge is dominated by a large u-shaped bar and seating is confined to a few high table and chairs sprinkled around the bar. There is a restaurant in the rear. It was busy when I was in there and soon got very noisy. A fine selection of beers, including Surrey Hills Shere Drop and Wychwood Last Resort (I think that was the name). It was very expensive though at �3.10 per pint. An unusual pub to sell real ale since when I was there, the clientele appeared to mainly middle class professionals who were mainly drinking wine or lager. It is worth a visit but I will not add it to my regular haunts.
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Clean, smart, modern pub feel which, fortunately, keeps a range of (expensive) ales...as always quality is up and down but that is more to do with ancient dispense systems.....why don't the new brewers find something better than uncooled pipes to uncooled pumps? Interesting high quality cider from France..good initiative..standard lagers sadly but menu is the draw which I cannot comment on.....BQ 8.2
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Typical Esher pub where you'll fin plenty of hooraying posho's. Don't let that put you off too much though as they do serve a good selection of beers, and the food is nice in a pricey Esher kind of way. 6 ales on tap when I visited & they show sports too but not too obtrusively. The only slight downside was that I had to sit within spitting distance of Joe Cole & I'm an Arsenal fan! Good place overall
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Anyone looking for ale would worry reading the sign �Bar, Restaurant, Private Dining�, but I was steeled by GuideDogSaint�s mention of several great beers. Six of the eight handpumps were on, offering Surrey Hills Ranmore & Shere Drop, Twickenham Ales Scrum Down, Hop Daemon Golden Braid, Cottage Whippet Pawfather, Pride, all �3 or, most annoyingly, �3.10 for 2 halves! Horseshoe bar at front entrance, good enough drinking area, signed rugby shirts, a few old shots of locale, plasma screen, tall round tables with stools. Beyond this a long narrow stretch of tables laid for dining, banquette seating one side under windows (blinds throughout), chairs the other. A small admin position oddly sits between the bar & rest � I doubt I would enjoy being seated for a meal next to a phone & computer point. I didn�t see the main menu, bar sarnies were �3-�5, wine list was good but the decent stuff accelerated pretty quickly from �18. Beer choice was good and such a selection suggests that they have the evening throughpull to support it but I tried 4 at lunchtime and they were just ok, leaning slightly toward tepid, and were poured from on high in that one-handed (off-handed!) �glass-sitting-in-drip-tray� fashion. Can understand �pretentious� comments elsewhere but I can think of many worse places for a few pints if the beer was pulled thru & served properly.
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Mark for this place is being dragged down by some old ratings.
In here on Wednesday and 8 real ales were on, I tried the Surrey Hills Shere Drop and Albury Ruby, Crouch Vale Amarillo and the Waylands Addled Ale. All very nice particularly the Albury. They also had Twickenham Original and Naked Ladies, Pride and Brewers Gold.
A must visit if you are in the area, worth making a trip for if not.
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The pub has had more management attention recently and sells the biggest range of real ale I have seen for a long time. Surrey Hills, Pilgrim, Crondall, Hogs Back and Fullers. Good range of wine too as the owner is a wine merchant.
Food does look quite expensive at �16 up for a main course in the restaurant area.
Friendly helpful staff and good service.
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The reason for such generally mediocre service is that the owners also own the restaurant 'George' on the High Street. They put a hell of a lot more into that place than they do the good old Albert.
To the owners: Do the locals a favour and sell it to someone who gives a crap, please.
anonymous - 2 Dec 2006 04:14 |
Visited the Pub 7th November 2006, took a couple of guests, service appalling, youngsters who in their defence were very pleasant but hadn't a clue as to what they should be doing, Drinks order incorrectly taken. Soup was ordered by one guest but no spoon, upon the second time of asking two spoons were offered this took 5 mins so far soup getting cold. Which spoon would guest like to use, desert or soup was the question!! soup spoon was the obvious answer, doh! Order was incorrectly taken in first place, delivered to the wrong table in an other instance, bill was presented for 4 covers only three of us attended!! Shame they don't have a manager anymore, used to be good. Doubt we'll visit again
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Anonymous gets rather hot under the collar about reviews querying how good the Albert is. I would say that the staff are lovely, as are the owners. However I doubt that even they would deny that they have concisously gone after a rather moneyed crowd, and that leads to lots of people talking about how much they are worth, whilst wearing clothes too young for them, and women with no wrinkles and perma-tans. The food is great, but a little overpriced
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In the below reviews this pub has been accused of attracting the style above substance, shallow, pretentious type. Its been dissed because some Chelsea football players choose to drink there and the landlord accused of trying to make it too trendy. Who are you sad people? Go and drink in a student bar or down the legion. Fabulous pub, great food, great atmosphere, best staff anywhere and full of genuine and friendly locals.If you want a spit and sawdust place full of scruffy oiks then no you won't like it.
anonymous - 14 Dec 2005 16:00 |
Full of blokes who are up there own arses and women looking for their sugar daddy.
19119 - 19 Sep 2005 20:14 |
Fantastic pub, great food, especially the Sunday roasts. Good atmosphere on a Friday and Saturday night.
Best place in Esher to go and staff are brilliant too!
anonymous - 19 Aug 2005 21:51 |
Basically, the 'Circle of Hell' Dante never found. Chelsea squad drink in here - tells you all you need to know. The clientele here personify style above substance, and the price of everything outweighing any notion of value. Shallow beyond belief.
anonymous - 28 Jul 2005 14:51 |
The bar in this place is a pick-up joint for the well heeled over 30's! Very good atmosphere, does attract some very nice "expensive" looking female clientle, also known to attract various members of the current Chelsea squad, who shall rename nameless, just incase Jose is reading!
Although bar is tightly packed on a Friday and Saturday night, getting a drink is not a problem, bar staff are excellent.
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very nice bar very nice barstaff in particular a nice young australian he was very chatty and made an old lady happy. If only i was twenty years younger and not so rotund he could have been the man for me.
This would get a ten if i could get a date with this young man ( does he like 53yr old woman)
great atmosphere keep it (so too speak)
anonymous - 7 Feb 2005 16:05 |
A large restaurant "round the back" makes the bar small, and the huge bar itself makes space for us, the punters, even smaller. Having said that, it's not a bad pub, quite a good atmosphere and, most importantly, it's totally devoid of chavs (but then again, it is Esher)
The Parkhillian - 25 Oct 2004 19:19 |
Amazing sirloin steaks and brilliant value for money, love the atmosphere too
Kerry - 21 Oct 2004 14:38 |
Sunday lunch was a rip off - very expensive wine, inedible pudding and fairly naff main course. Service very slow and offhand. Won't go again - used to be a nice old pub.
Liz - 5 Oct 2004 16:53 |
Great monk fish ....
kelly - 28 Sep 2004 15:23 |
We only went because nearby pub at Moore Place was so awful but glad we did. Amazingly smug Surrey-type regulars (swingers?!) but v funny to watch (incl brill Rod Stuart lookeylikey!). Wil def go back to try the food - prob the only way to get a seat.
Daevid - 18 Sep 2004 13:59 |
One of the best Steaks ive had in a long time. GREAT food.
James - 9 Sep 2004 17:19 |
This used to be your archetypal old man's pub but the landlor retired and its now very beige walls and wood floors. Incredibly friendly bar-staff make up for the rather idiotic punters. A lot of middle aged men and women in clothes far too young for them, flashing their cash. Great atmos for rugby though.
Ciar�n - 26 Aug 2004 15:34 |
A largely middle aged crowd on Friday / Saturday nights, probably all divorcees and on the pull. Very crowded and can't get a seat, often spilling out onto the pavement outside. Good food and drink.
Barry - 17 Jun 2004 15:42 |
Has limited seating area and so most times I have been I have been left standing for a couple of hours. Good food and a reasonable pint.
Bob - 20 May 2004 12:34 |
Dirty, old mans pub.
rob - 30 Apr 2004 15:24 |
I�ve been there once and thats just because of the RFU history. Got me self a few over priced pints but it was worth it. Nice personal and very nice visitors who bouht me some funny Smirnoff Ice.
Classe "The Swede" - 26 Jun 2003 02:14 |
The only reason this place gives the impression of being busy is because the moron who refurbished it decided to replace the drinking area with a bar that covers two thirds of the pubs total floor area. Lovely for the bar staff- they have acres of space in which to pour overpriced drinks, but not so good if you are one of the 15 people crammed into the remaining cutomer area...
dave - 3 Jun 2003 17:46 |
friendly atmosphere.good food.nice lights outside!
jeni - 19 Mar 2003 10:25 |
I have always rated this pub. It has made the transition from friendly spit and sawdust local's local to classy friendly pub very well!
Paul - 18 Mar 2003 16:33 |
Local boozer by day and week-nights, packed to the rafters on a Saturday night.
Cheaper than the Bear, more fun than the Wheatsheaf and less knocked-down than the White Lion
Mine's a pint of Tea.
Peter - 18 Mar 2003 16:33 |
Smart pub with a good selection of beers and an excellent reputation for its food. The sausage and onion sandwich is my lunchtime favourite.
Angus - 18 Mar 2003 14:15 |
Very nice pub with a local feel on Sundays and Weeknights, but with a very lively Friday and Saturday night. Often frequented by Racegoers due to being so near Sandown Park. Also does excellent food in the Restauraunt section- but you will need to book.
Mike - 18 Mar 2003 13:37 |
