The Hop Blossom, Farnham

Off the main thoroughfare in a quieter backstreet, this is a middle class Fuller's local for the well-to-do greyhairs and my appearance must have pulled the average age down a fair bit. Reverse J shaped interior due to the rear courtyard being reclaimed and knocked-into at some point, the original cobblestone floor remains in place and it serves as a characterful quasi-conservatory. Beyond that, through a pair of concertina doors, is a TV room. Subject to a refit not so long ago which whilst a bit mimsy and bare is fairly tasteful; mint ice cream green, slate colour trim, some 1930s repro wallpaper. When you get your eye in you can see it wasn't executed all that professionally. GBG listed with three Fuller's beers, a mildly eclectic mix in Pride, Hophead and Seafarers, the latter of which justified the placing (NBSS 3.5).

Slightly tucked away from the main thoroughfares in the centre of town, this is a quiet street corner pub with a traditional bar area and modern extension to the rear. A corner entrance takes you into the L-shaped main bar area which has exposed floorboards throughout and is dominated by the servery down the right-hand wall. The bar has a wood panelled counter front painted in a pleasant shade of green, with a nice metalwork pot-shelf above and a simple bar back squeezed between some structural support pillars. One branch of the room has a few bits of lounge furniture, which fills the space along the front wall, whilst the space opposite the bar has a row of padded bar stools and a lone table and chairs due to the room narrowing at this point. The walls have either been painted in uninteresting neutral shades, or else covered in fancy looking wallpaper and decorated with mirrors and old photos of the local area. At the end of the room, you pass into a stone floored space that was seemingly once an outdoor area, given the location of a cellar trap door. It is now covered by a skylight ceiling and has a sofa and tub chairs to one side and a drinking ledge with high padded stools opposite. The ceiling gives the space a mini-conservatory feel, which is enhanced by the provision of many potted plants and some homely bits and bobs such as a nice ceramic bottle collection, an old Singer sewing machine and to a lesser degree, a TV screen which remained off during our visit. A door to the rear leads into a compact raised room with bare boards, dark painted walls and tables served by padded chairs. There’s a nice gabled roof at one end and some simple décor including a few more mirrors, but the space ultimately feels like an overspill area and was accordingly empty when we visited. A few tables and benches are available along the pavement outside in lieu of a proper beer garden. There are six handpulls on the bar, but half of these were out of action when we arrived, leaving a choice of Fullers London Pride, Gales Seafarers and Dark Star Hophead. I ordered a pint of the latter from the genial barman and found it in very good condition. Rather off-puttingly, one of the punters sat at the bar had a very excitable puppy with him that kept jumping up and putting his front paws on the bar counters, sniffing at any drinks that were being poured and making a general nuisance of itself. This is a pretty decent back street pub that offers well kept beer and reasonably comfortable seating away from the bustle of the town centre hostelries. It feels like the sort of pub that only the local’s know about and that is part of what makes it stand out from the crowd. Worth seeking out if you’re in town.

I reviewed this pub on here in an earlier guise as picasso 09 in 2012, little has changed since then with the pub layout much the same, still owned by Fullers the beer lineup was Seafarers and Pride from Fullers along with Dark Star Hophead and Orbitter, the latter being in decent condition. Ive always considered this a pleasant backstreet pub and it remains so.