The Star, Hampton

A solid traditional pub, U-shaped round the central bar with old-school décor and furnishings. A couple of sports TVs kept the locals amused, while a nice open coal fire was warming on a chilly day. Outside there are a few benches in the car park and a covered smoking area. Old-school beers also, with Courage Best & Directors and London Pride on pump. Condition of the Best was good (Cask Marque accreditation). Food seems to be restricted to toasties and the like. Unexceptional and unassuming, pubs like this are something of a rarity in the area.

This pub looks quite nice form the outside, but the interior doesn’t really live up to the promise of the exterior. It’s on the very busy Hampton High St, although there is a fairly small seating area on the right with a few picnic benches – it couldn’t be described as a pub garden, but it does afford a small area for smokers, or those wishing to sit in the sun a warm May afternoon, to sit and enjoy a pint. Inside there was a TV on showing Sky News; seating was banquettes, stools and standard wooden framed tables; and flooring is mainly what looks like modern synthetic imitation floorboards but with a bit of carpeting at the back. The dark painted beams look to be false, and the pine clad front of the bar counter adds to the cheap look. But its really redeeming feature is the mass of china jugs, teapots and vases of all shapes, sizes and colours suspended from the beams, the dusting and cleaning of which must be a labour of love. There are also some china plates displayed above the picture rail level on the walls. Overall the pub is a bit of an enigma – some of the cheapest looking elements of a misconceived makeover are coupled one of the best displays of chinaware that I have seen. There were two real ales on – Courage Best and London Pride. There was nothing wrong with the Pride I had. I don’t think that I would rush back to this pub, although there’s nothing nasty about it, and if someone suggested meeting up there I don’t think that I would try and dissuade them.