The Feathers, Redhill

On the main road through Merstham, and only a couple of minutes from the station, this is a very large roadside pub with wide interior that has been given quite an extensive series of makeovers down the years. The main bar area is to the left and occupies a nice bare boarded space with the servery along the rear wall and a mix of high tables and stools plus a few armchairs to the front. Efforts have been made to retain some degree of traditional pub feel, with tongue and groove wall panelling and bullseye obscured glass panes in the front windows holding their own against some bizzare modern wallpaper with a fountain pen design. The bar has a smart counter with nice carved features and some attractively worked pillars, fronting a mirrored bar back. To the right is a separate room with simple tables and chairs, a nice fireplace and some traditional decorative bits amidst the modern makeover onslaught, although this felt like more of a dining room and was accordingly empty on my mid-afternoon visit. There seemed to be some extra seating behind the bar, and maybe a garden too, but I never made it around to this side. A large TV screen in the front bar was showing live rugby union and the barman turned the sound up at a customer's request. The pub is quite striking on approach, but I cant deny that the thing that first caught my eye was a massive banner promoting an upcoming clairvoyant evening. There are five or six handpulls on the bar, three of which were in action, dispensing Windsor and Eton Guardsman (£5.50), Sharp's Doom Bar and Taylor's Landlord. Another W&E beer and something from By The Horns were clipped with labels advising that they'd be "Coming Soon". A friendly barmaid poured a sloppy looking pint of the Guardsman, but this settled nicely and turned out to be in decent nick. One of the barmen was having a bit of, what I hoped was good-natured banter, with a couple of locals - his sense of humour was an acquired taste to say the least. I had no hopes for this pub, which I assumed would just be a ripped out, cavernous, underused local's boozer, but I found it to be doing a decent enough trade, with a modest ale range, some basic retained features and friendly service. It's by no means a destination pub, but with no other pubs for some distance, it's nice to have somewhere to dip into if passing through or waiting for a train. Date of visit - 16th September 2023

Dining Pub... lunch time specials (not on weekends), standard pub fayre. High number of real ales on and I asked for a sample of an Eton and Windsor ale. It wasn't good. Stuck to peroni. One of those places where you know exactly what you are going to get. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2JWqtdP

Official site of the Feathers with menu and wine list - www.thefeathersmerstham.co.uk