The Railway Tavern, Carshalton

Very much a sports oreientated pub with numerous flat screen TV's around and all were onwith the sound up during our visit. Three Fullers ales were avaialbe whcih were ESB, London Pride and Seafarers. Wasnt too sure of the ESB we had but it might have been affected by what we had been drinking beforehand.

A single roomed pub with a central bar of light wood,squint ended,and with globe lights over. The windows are etched and obscured, with the pub name picked out. It's a comfortable pub with standard traditional seating,half panelled walls, and clearly well looked after and spotlessly clean. There are loads of award certificates displayed proudly around the place. The immaculate interior is matched outside too with an abundance of flowering tubs and baskets, both on the frontage and in the rear walled garden. There is enough railway memorabilia in here to keep an enthusiast happy for a good while, with old steam train engineers drawings, signs, maps and so on. Somewhat curiously for such a small pub, there are a fair few TVs dotted about, none particularly big, and all switched off on my afternoon visit. It's a Fullers pub, Pride, ESB, and the former Gales Seafarers were on. My ESB tasted a little of line cleaner so I returned it and pleased to say the barman pulled a bucket through and replaced my pint without question. A solid clean and tidy pub, well run, I'd have no hesitation in returning. Note however the hours, 12-2:30 through the week then re-opens at 5, all day Saturday and permitted hours Sunday.

Randomness Guide to London - Railway Tavern entry

Randomness Guide to London - Railway Tavern entry

A Fuller's pub – they had Seafarers, London pride and ESB on, but no sign of Discovery or Chiswick. The Seafarers was good, and at a decent price of £2.70 a pint. Sarnies priced less than £3 were also a good bet. The pub looks good from the outside, with numerous well-tended hanging baskets on show. The interior is also clean and comfortable; carpeted throughout, with normal tables and chairs, and some stools. There are no less than five small(ish) TVs spread around the walls of this one-room pub, but thankfully none were on during my weekday lunchtime visit. The walls are adorned, as you would expect, with plenty of railway memorabilia. The inevitable games and fruit machines were also present, but for some reason they weren't imposing enough to detract from the quiet atmosphere of this decent little pub – probably because nobody was playing them and thus they were forced to remain silent. There's also a small beer garden, being used by a handful of smokers during my visit. Basically, it seems to be a decent, well-run little pub. I would be very happy to drop in for a pint if I find myself in Carshalton again.