Leg Of Mutton & Cauliflower, Ashtead

Official site of Leg Of Mutton & Cauliflower - www.legofmuttonandcauliflower.co.uk

Official site of Leg Of Mutton & Cauliflower - www.legofmuttonandcauliflower.co.uk

A large pub with split level bars that were presumably once separate public and saloon bars each with their own entrance,the two doors are still there but the bars now merge into one as they wrap around the servery the only barrier being the step up from one level to the next,the higher being called the lounge bar but to be honest both areas appear to be exactly the same.A battleship grey and white interior ,all rather drab with seating around the outer perimeters of the interior throughout the pub.Three cask ales are advertised, although I only spotted two handpulls, only one available on my visit, a rather uninspiring Brakespears Oxford Gold, the two absentees equally uninspiring in my view were Doombar and Wadsworths 6x.I didn't really find anything in this pub to make me want to return,in fact the only remarkable thing about the place is its name.

On approaching this pub and before negotiating the relentless traffic on the main A24 passing by, there appeared to be a traditional two room format with separate doors giving access to the bar and lounge/restaurant. Once inside however these areas do interconnect with a change in levels however are clearly regarded separately with the drinkers in the bar where the pumps and service is and no one up in the food area. The bar has lower panelled walls, painted grey, a wooden floor, regular style seating and lots of old metal adverts, legal notices threatening all measure of things from bygone days, chalkboard food menus and so on. The upper food oriented area seemed rather more clinical and functional. Behind the island bar is a small snug, oddly containing a solitary small child sleeping in a buggy this afternoon, meanwhile an enormous white hairy dog was snoozing, sprawled out all across the bar floor. The main building is clearly of age and looks to have been extended forwards in the last 150 years or so, the rear being considerably older and weatherboarded in the old Surrey style. The demarcation line is evident in the floor. Seating to the frontage on a crazy paved patio where most customers were on a sunny afternoon, there is a quieter traffic free garden to the rear. Newspapers available. Two handpumps, Wadworth 6X and Brakspears Oxford Gold (£3.35), good value and a decent drop. Bar snacks served as well as more formal restaurant meals.