The Alfred, Upper Hale, Farnham

This is an excellent alehouse hidden away in the sort of unpromising looking residential area that you’d never imagine would be home to such a fine pub. Arriving at lunchtime on a Sunday, I found the pub as packed as it can be under the current social distancing requirements, forcing me to take a seat in a marquee attached to the side of the pub in part of the car park. Some patio heaters had been suspended from above, although sitting under one made little difference to how cold I was as the wind howled outside and the whole construction shook and flapped in a manner that suggested I might be enjoying my beer al fresco at any minute. Some tables and chairs had been arranged at suitably spaced distances from each other and some fake ivy had been hung from the support poles, creating a veil that partitioned the rear part of the tent. Back inside the pub, two rooms can be accessed from the entrance – a bar through a door to the right and a dining room straight ahead. The bar had the feel of a smart public bar, with the servery running along the rear wall and some seating around the perimeter and adjacent to the counter. The restaurant looked like a well-maintained space with some nice decorative touches in a warm feeling room that lends itself well to dining. Both rooms are bare boarded, and seating includes some high-backed settles and sturdy benches serving tables of various sizes. The servery, which can also be accessed from the restaurant side, has an unusual purple bar back and was decorated with some bright floral displays. Three ales were available on handpull when I arrived, despite a board in the marquee listing a great many more, which I came to learn were either ‘Coming Soon’ or already long-gone. The options on this visit were Ascot Disruption Single Hop Amarillo, A Bloke Down the Pub Handy Andy and Bans & Taylor Plum Mild and I sampled a pint of each, finding them all to be in excellent shape, with the Mild being the stand out for me. Visiting at a time when the area was under Tier 2 Covid restrictions, I was expecting to have to order myself a full Sunday roast in order to sample some of their ale, but the pub have ingeniously created a ‘Drinker’s Menu’ comprising of lighter, but still substantial, plates such as scampi, soup, toasted sandwiches, scotch eggs and calamari, each served with a side salad and optional chips. I opted for the calamari, which was excellent and set me up for the long walk back into Farnham in the rain. I really enjoyed my time here and thought it was refreshing in the current climate, to be able to enjoy a few pints without breaking the bank on a huge meal. The staff were very friendly, service was quick and the beer was excellent – all combining to create a very favourable overall impression. Of course, I would no doubt have got even more out of my time here were I not relegated to the car park, but that’s merely a result of these unprecedented times and I’d be very keen to head back out here again once things are back to normal again.