The Roebuck, Hampton

Official site of The Roebuck - www.roebuck-hamptonhill.co.uk

Official site of The Roebuck - www.roebuck-hamptonhill.co.uk

This pub has been a long term target, but its location, which is slightly isolated from main transport thoroughfares, has thus far prevented me from making a visit. However, after an enjoyable morning strolling round nearby Bushey Park, I made the short detour here to find an outstanding street corner, local's pub bursting with character. The pub essentially has a single room layout, but a series of pillars and partitioning sections help divide the space into a few small seating areas. There is carpeting throughout with blue half panelled walls and a dark wood counter to the right, partly hidden on entry by a large central pillar. Standard chair and fixed bench seating runs around the perimeter of the room, with a band of locals propped on stools along the bar. The pub is full of the most incredible and eclectic range of items imaginable, presumably collected over the many years the pub has been run by the current landlord. Standard pub bits such as horse brasses, beer bottles, enamel adverts, tankards, paintings, photos of old pub outings and tobacco tin collections are all present and correct, but they are lost somewhat between the larger and more eccentric items. These include some huge ship's wheels, a ceiling covered in fishing rods, a table shaped like the prow of a boat, a model car, train, motorbike and submarine, hunting horns, displays of armed forces stripes and pips, oars, old radios, a Roland Rat doll, collections of caps, soda dispensers and bank notes plus a fine cigar store Indian. This is just a small selection of what you might find and half the fun is spotting something else insane when you look up from your pint. Most tables have clear perspex tops under which you will find newspaper clippings, coin collections and the like. A fireplace to the right has some beer engines mounted on the mantelpiece and blackboards list the mid-week food options, which seem to be homemade typical pub fayre. All this is good and well, but you need some quality beer if you intend to try and take it all in, and thankfully the ale range on this visit was Jurassic Vanilla and Bourbon Portland Porter (£3.60), Youngs Ordinary, St Austell Tribute, Sambrooks Junction and Triple fff Alton's Pride. Keg options included Dortmunder Union Pils, Budvar and Erdinger. My pint of the Porter was outstanding and the barmaid and punters alike made me feel very welcome. This I exactly the sort of pub I love, with loads of things to keep you interested and wanting to come back, but not at the expense of a warm and comfortable environment. The beer was excellent as well and I was tempted to stay longer, but instead decided to ensure I return some time soon to see what other surprises this place has in store.

I can't explain my strange suspicion of Roebuck as a pub name, but I'm glad I put any qualms aside and headed for this place. Enter to a visually busy, almost cluttered, décor but become immediately drawn into a warm & welcoming atmosphere, ably abetted by the small real fire glowing happily & providing pleasant respite from ystdy's light squall. Reach the bar to find 5 handpumps, ystdy offering Wayland's Martian (light)Mild, Doombar, Alton's Pride, Sharp's Special(5.2%), Youngs Ord. There's way too much wall & ceiling décor to record here, but it includes golf clubs, fishing rods, ship's wheel, life-size wicker Harley, 4 antique fruit machines (I was told, but could only see3, incl 1 behind bar), glass-topped tables with old newspapers sealed in, pub is carpetted throughout. To the rear a paved, part planted, beer garden with picnic sets & a covered pagoda for smokers, also access to an extra ‘garage' room, nicely furnished with pew seating and home to that 4th fruity. It was closed and is presumably used primarily in better weather, but thanks to the very friendly barmaid for switching on the lights for me to have a gander. It was quiet at 15:30 but a handful of regulars were drifting in before I had to leave and provided a local, comfortable, chatty backdrop, & sharing the craic with the staff. A chalkboard mentioned Paulaner Weissbier, and I spotted a Paulaner tap, also Spitfire smooth (wtf?). Richmond&Hounslow poty, well done. Most enjoyable visit & worth the easy 1m walk from my prev stop in Hampton. Definitely ‘on-map' next time I'm over this way.

Update –January 2013 Beer quality remains high at this CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular. My most recent visit saw the 3 regular beers – Youngs, Tribute and Sambrooks Junction – being supplemented by Vale Brewery Best and Slaters Blitzen, described as a dark ruby beer. Pub is as described below – this time I noted an old Harley Davidson bike made from wicker baskets suspended from the ceiling and a framed autograph glove of Henry Cooper. It’s still very much a locals pub and – in marked contrast to some other pubs of this ilk – passing beer enthusiasts and visitors appear to be tolerated rather than positively welcomed, but it’s still worth seeking out. Still closes between 4-7 pm on Sundays. Original review – December 2009 Smallish traditional real ale pub on the main road out of Teddington just outside of Hampton Hill. It's a single L shaped bar with a small outside patio at the back. It's a well decorated locals pub with a fine collection of bric a brac and assorted artefacts decorating the walls and ceiling. Note in particular the fishing rods hanging from the ceiling and the carved wooden Red Indian statue watching over drinkers from a corner of the pub. Tables have glass tops under which are old wartime newspaper pages. There's also a couple of large ships wheels and some old fruit machines. Note also the brewery memorabilia - a few old Watneys beer trays and an Isleworth Brewery mirror. Every time I come here - which admitttedly isn't very often - I see often that I've not noticed before. This time it was an H25 request Bus Stop sign. On my visit last Sunday lunchtime, 5 real ales were on - Youngs Ordinary, Hopback Red Amber and Elf n' Happiness and Sharps Doom Bar and Special. The Red Amber was an excellent pint. The pub has been a GBG regular in recent years and several framed certificates are displayed - see if you can find them on the wall. There's no TV's and background music is unobtrusive. Nibbles on the bar - guarded carefully by the locals - are a welcoming touch, increasingly rarely seen nowadays. Several niggles to report, I'm afraid. Locals occupying bar stools appear to guard their space possessively and seem disgruntled when customers approach the bar, trying to see what beers are on the pumps. Also, several customers, including myself, were later asked to move and the seating repositioned to accommodate a darts game. I don't mind moving, but why put seating there in the first place ? In conclusion, despite the niggles, the pub is well worth seeking out - it's on the R68 bus route from Richmond and Twickenham. Finally, note that, despite being open all day during weekdays, rather unusually it closes between 4pm and 7pm on Sundays.

Randomness Guide to London - Roebuck entry