The Eight Bells, Epsom

You enter to be faced with what could almost be a meet and greet booth but is actually a walk through link between rooms where the bar sits centrally. The side to the right goes back a fair way, a swirly sensory challenging carpet to the front bar area and beyond a calmer wooden floor. A bay window overlooks some pleasant outdoor seating with fields beyond, you may need to go and look at this vista every now and again to dismiss the interior view from your retina. There is a serviceable dartboard at this end. The decor continues to be bold with a patterned wallpaper and migraine inducing banquette covers. To the other side there is a smaller room with a different stripy carpet, a fireplace and incongruously a number of Popeye cartoon "stills" framed. Black and white local scenes tone it down a little bit as do a few books on small shelves in the larger room. This is a GK "Meet and Eat" franchise, big menus on the tables therefore, no food smells and no one eating, in fact only a handful of customers around 2pm on a Thursday. TV sports advertised so probably busier of an evening. Just OSH and Abbot on handpump, the Abbot was as Abbot is, although only £3.30. The previously mentioned white van man clientele were not in evidence, perhaps the refurbishment has resulted in this or maybe it just isn't safe to drive having been exposed to so many colours and patterns.

A Greene King tied house which has had a corporate makeover.The pub splits into two areas either side of the front door with a lounge feel to the left with garish coloured upholstery and dining tables while to the right has the feel of a drinking area with a curved banquette below the window,the bar ,bench seating towards the rear and a darts board with a good throw and an oche set in the wooden floor.There are two Sky Sports screens down here ,however this is another screen in the lounge so you wont miss any of the sports action .Sensibly the volume was mute when no matches are on ,and the muzak was playing at a sensible volume.Every table has a value pub grub menu with 2 meals for £10 but I suspect foodservice is at work here so expect reheated tosh. The two handpumps were serving GK Old Speckled Hen and Abbott (a poor ale in ok condition) which summed up my feeling about the pub,its all a bit dull and boring.

The 8 Bells has had a recent refurbishment and is now a comfortable place with many more tables to eat at and a wider menu is on offer. However, the food has been frozen and heated up, usually served over-cooked and not all items are available and there are no 'specials'. At the time, Thursday curry night only offered Korma although other curries are advertised but were not in stock to the great disappointment of customers who had turned up for a 'curry and a pint', they won't be back. The landlord wants to raise the standard of clientele of the pub which currently attracts predominantly male afternoon drinkers, who may be more interested in the quantity than quality of beers and ales. There is a good lunchtime food and drink trade from the nearby offices with many tables occupied, but not enough bar staff working at lunchtime to cope with the peak in demand. The cook cannot keep his eye on all the fryers with the result that the food is burned so perhaps more staff in the kitchen are required. This is a pub of two halves, on the one side the landlord is trying to cater for families who will stay for a few hours to eat and drink and on the other side there are single men drinkers, a dartboard and a pool table. In my experience, pubs do not get repeat family clientele if they have a dartboard and pool table on show. Dartboards and pool tables suggest young male adults being loud and lairy and families, i.e. women, will make their husbands take them and their families elsewhere.

This is a Greene King pub, but the IPA was off (although the clip remained on show) leaving Abbot as the only real ale on offer. The pub itself is quite comfortable with a good quality red carpet on the floor, and mainly normal tables and chairs but with a couple of sofas on the right. The layout is similar to many pubs with a small area to the front of the bar counter on the left (occupied by a handful of regulars during my midweek late afternoon visit), and with a larger area to the right stretching to the back of the building. This larger area has a couple of TVs on the walls, with one of them switched on and showing Sky News, and with a pool table and dartboard at the back. It’s quite an attractive and comfortable pub, but I doubt whether I would envisage a return visit without a better ale selection. That’s just a subjective opinion of course, as I’m really not a fan of Greene King ales.