The Greyhound Hotel, Carshalton

The interior is quite vast,it would take a good while to fully investigate all that was on offer,and I was in during a pub crawl.Diners and drinkers are both easily accomodated,yet for me the rather distinctive smell of various fish dishes did not sit well with supping ale.As already mentioned the ale range is underwhelming,being sourced from Charles Wells mega brewery,and my Youngs Ordinary was just that.Not high on my list for a revisit despite the interesting features.

The Greyhound is a large, sprawling pub and hotel opposite Carshalton Ponds. Dating back to 1700 and rebuilt around 1840, the pub used to be the venue where racehorses were inspected prior to racing at nearby Banstead Downs. The main bar is a large room with an elongated U shaped bar counter. It doesn’t have a very traditional feel, perhaps because it is the newer part of the building, and there were a number of sofas and comfy chairs, but most people were sat at the bar or standing. There were TV screens on showing boxing and a band was playing hits from the 70’s to an appreciative crowd. There are a series of rooms towards the back of the pub which are set aside for dining and on our Saturday evening visit there wasn’t a single table free, which was perhaps a little surprising given the expensive menu. The Swan Bar, on the left hand side of the pub is by far the most pleasant space to enjoy a drink. You enter the room past a mosaic floor with the image of a greyhound in it, which was apparently only discovered in 1969 and is thought to be over 200 years old. The room has some lovely wood panelling and is furnished with banquette and standard seating and has a small servery on the right hand wall. There is plenty to distract the eye, including several grandfather clocks, tankards hanging from the beams and views across to the ponds. There is also a newspaper clipping from the London Journal dated 1723 which apparently contains the first documented mention of the pub. There’s not much to get excited about in terms of the ale, with just three to choose from – Young’s Ordinary and Special and Wells Bombardier – although to be fair there was also the full Young’s bottled range available too. I thought the Special was a bit past its best, but enjoyed my pint of Ordinary. This pub merits a visit just to enjoy a pint in the pleasant Swan Bar but I’m not sure there is enough to justify return visits given the strength of the other pubs in the vicinity.

The Greyhound is a large Young’s pub and 21 room hotel opposite a big pond and within walking distance of Carshalton Railway Station. To the left of the entrance is a small bar that was being used for a private gathering during my visit on a recent Saturday afternoon. Behind this bar is an area that was being used by diners and the cheapest main on the specials board rocked in at £12.50. The main bar area is located to the right of the pub where smaller food portions are available for £5 from the bar menu. This area is L shaped and there are two plasma screens that were showing Six Nations rugby via BBC, although I also spotted advertisements for Sky Sports. There was only one other customer, but it still took me a couple of minutes to get served as the lone barman was faffing around. Whilst I was waiting I did manage to note that Peroni was available alongside a standard draught range and the three hand pumps were drawing Bombardier, Ordinary and Special. Live music is advertised for every Friday night and there is a late license until midnight during the week and 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. There are a couple of outside seating areas and to the right there is a large car park. This is a pleasant enough place, but I doubt that I will return as to get to here I had to walk past the nearby Racehorse and Hope which are both superior boozers.

This is a big sprawling multi roomed hotel cum pub owned by Youngs. There is a more traditional bar area in the shiplap part of the pub with lots of wood panelling whilst the larger bar area is a more recently modernised area with sofa style seating and various tables made from recycled timber. There were only Youngs Special and Best on at the time despite one pump having a Youngs Winter Warmer badge on it. A good selection of Youngs bottled beers are also available.

Randomness Guide to London - Greyhound Hotel entry

Randomness Guide to London - Greyhound Hotel entry