The Ravensbury, Mitcham

Official site of The Ravensbury - www.theravensbury.co.uk

Official site of The Ravensbury - www.theravensbury.co.uk

This establishment appears to be going downhill rapidly since the demise of Butcher and Barrel. When we called on a midweek evening I suspect we doubled the paying clientele. Others present included two barmaids with a very poor command of English, a fat shaven headed bloke in a vest who seems to have a hold over at least one of them, and three listless looking lads who weren't drinking anything, just hanging around making the place look scruffy. One handpump claiming to dispense Doombar, which I decided to give a miss, then just three or four keg lines working, the rest obscured with parcel tape. Stuck to Wifebeater, which came up flat doubtless due to a dirty glass, but then the whole place hadn't seen a damp cloth for a while. Expect the boarder-uppers to be on the scene any time now. A sign in the car park says "Social misfits operate in the area so don't leave valuables in you car". Quite.

This is a large bright and airy pub, thanks mainly to the large full height clear glass windows in the front elevation and the light coloured décor internally. The bar is opposite the main entrance and has a part boarded, part tiled floor. Mixed red coloured seating with a few sofas and low tables in the windows. The main bar area is a cut-off L shape, beyond to the right hand side is a large dining room with set tables, this area occupied by a handful of diners during my mid afternoon visit. As this area seemed exclusively for eating I decided against wandering around for a snoop but I did spot a large framed old map, I assume of the local area. As for the food offering I didn't investigate so no idea regarding style, price or any deals. The bar itself has a modern back with various shelves and pigeon holes, vases, jugs and a few books along the top shelf. As regards the ale selection, frankly having read other reviews I was disappointed. Five pumps, two without clips, one reversed, (Young's Bitter) leaving two on, the double whammy of ubiquitous beers, Pride and Doom Bar. I had an ok pint of Pride (£3.10). The pub isn't really traditional in any way and seems rather food led, the large side garden looks ok but suffers from being right next to a busy road junction and roundabout. I took the trouble to tramp here from the Mitcham tram stop, a fair old trek, I probably wouldn't do it again on this showing.

The Ravensbury is a large roadside pub located in the midst of Mitcham Common, a five to ten minute walk from Mitcham Junction station. I vaguely recollect this pub from when it was known as the Ravensbury Arms, but it has since had a rather dramatic make-over which has left it looking almost like a gastro pub. You enter into the main bar with the servery directly opposite. The room has a mixture of light wood and tile flooring with standard tables and chairs and the odd comfy seat at the front under the large windows. The neutral paint job makes the place feel a bit bland and uninspiring, although the ample servery with large bar back decorated with a lot of miscellaneous nick nacks is quite a pleasant distraction. Past the left hand end of the bar there is a raised carpeted area with banquette seating which is quite small and cosy looking. At the opposite end of the building, the restaurant area is set up with similar décor but more formal table arrangements. A TV was on near the bar showing football whilst an unobtrusive soundtrack played in the background. There is a huge garden to the right of the pub which features its own outdoor bar, and there are loads of benches at the front of the pub near the car park. I was pleased to find a pretty good ale choice on my visit, with O’Hanlon’s Yellowhammer, Fuller’s London Pride, Oxfordshire Ales Churchill and two ales with handwritten pump clips which failed to specify the brewery – ‘Firkin Ale’ and ‘Diamond Jubilee’. One real cider was also available. I was served a good pint of Yellowhammer – maybe just a tad too warm, but otherwise it went down well. I thought this place had quite a lot of promise and the ale selection certainly means that a stop off here would be worthwhile. However, the refurb has robbed the place of any character it may once have had and I’m not sure I’d want to stay here beyond a quick pint or two.

The Ravensbury Arms is a large pub that is situated to the south of Mitcham town centre. Once inside the pub was very smart witha few different rooms,i had a drink in a room at the front this room had comfortable seating and was carpeted. There were two real ales on the bar i had a drink of Youngs bitter and this was a decent enough drink the other beer was London Pride. This was a comfortable enough pub to have a drink in. Pub visited 7/1/2006

This used to be an Ember Inns pub, and although it is now rebranded as a Butcher and Barrel pub it still has some of the Ember characteristics. There are a fair number of red upholstered sofas and armchairs, some high stools/tables, but mostly normal tables and chairs – and the dividing shelves with vases and the like on them. Flooring is a mix of bare boards and tiling. There are wine racks in the bar back, jugs and bowls on top of it, and the potted plants dotted liberally about the room give the place the look of a drawing room. The building itself is a large stand-alone affair, right beside Mitcham golf course, and has a large garden to the side of it containing numerous picnic benches. There were five ales on during my visit – Wandle, Landlord, Pride, Doom Bar, and Skinner’s Betty Stogs. A sixth pump had a clip for Red Squirrel’s Red Tail reversed. The Betty Stogs was at a very competitive price of £2.85 a pint, but wasn’t in particularly good nick – possibly because I had the first one of the day. The barmaid had to work hard to get a full pint served, both for me and my chum who had the Landlord, as it was coming out very frothy. There is a separate dining room to the right of the bar area, but I didn’t see the menu, as we went for one of the daily lunch specials (roast of the day) which are available for a fiver between 12 noon and 6.00 PM. The chicken and veg was OK, but the roasties were chewy and soggy, as if they had been microwaved. Clearly a lot of effort has gone into getting the pub looking smart enough to be a destination pub for diners, as I would not have thought that there is sufficient housing nearby to have enough local regulars to make it a going concern. Although the ale and food wasn’t good on my one visit, I might have been unlucky, and would like to give it another crack of the whip sometime. In short, the jury’s still out as far as I’m concerned.