The Running Mare, Cobham

This is a fairly straightforward little pub. The main bar area as you enter is furnished with standard tables and chairs, but there was a separate room on the left with eight tables seemingly intended for diners as they all had place mats on them. But it was almost empty in this room at mid-afternoon on Friday, and there was no problem with us sitting in there and just drinking a pint. There were a good number of drinkers in, and we enjoyed the rare experience of what looked like some regulars moving aside from the bar to let us get there to buy our drinks. Politeness like that is much appreciated. We saw standard handpumps on the bar counter for Young’s Bitter and Special; St Austell Tribute and Hogsback TEA (£3.25 a pint). The TEA was OK, though not as good as I’ve usually found it. We also saw a couple of what looked like keg fonts for Courage Best and Young’s Bitter, but the barmaid informed us that they concealed handpumps behind them, dispensing cask ale. I wonder what the business thinking is behind making handpumps look like keg fonts? Surely not to dupe unsuspecting keg loving beer drinkers into drinking cask conditioned ale? I didn’t see a menu, although there were various chalkboards around the place, and I did see one punter tucking into some bangers and mash. I wouldn’t say that this is a “must visit” exceptional pub, but I thought it was a decent enough place to stop off for a pint, and I would be happy to drop in for another pint if I was in the area.