The Star, Leatherhead

Refurbished, food-led pub located in a rural area just on the London side of the Surrey county boundary. Seemingly much extended over the years, with a small bar / seating area by the entrance, a side room to the left and a much larger seating / dining area on the right-hand side. Just Doom Bar and Adnams Lighthouse available from the four handpumps.

This is a roadside, mainly food led pub with four interconnected areas. The bar is in one of the middle areas facing the main entrance from the sizeable car park, both side rooms seem to be exclusively for dining, the smaller one to the left was full with a private function in attendance, the much larger one up a couple of steps to the far right has a "Please Wait to be Seated" sign. The menus looked fairly ordinary if extensive, mostly typical pub fare rather than gastro despite the battleship grey colour scheme. Mains ranged from £9.50-£13.95 with steaks or a full rack of ribs being a few quid more. The bar and the area off it are bare boarded with the dining areas being carpeted. Lower walls are wainscotted, one area has an exposed rafter roof, decor includes old maps, local scenes, pictures of the pub and a display of cigarette cards. Music was playing quietly and I didn't spot a TV. Sadly the wood burning stove was out of action, it would have enhanced the place on a chilly day. Still the same two beers on, Doom Bar and Palmers, (£1.85) a half. I can't really blame the pub for the food emphasis, it's the sort of place you almost have to drive to so it would never survive on drinks and snacks; drinkers are adequately catered for in any case however be prepared for the inevitable slow service at certain times as most are ordering food and paying with plastic. Outdoor seating is available on a raised deck, set back from the road at the front.

Official Star pages - www.baronspubs.com

Official Star pages - www.baronspubs.com

Large, four-roomed pub on the main road from Leatherhead to Chessington, with a large car park in front and a strong ‘gastro grey’ theme to it both outside and in. The bar is to the rear middle, the area to the front occupied by comfy chairs, the next fairly empty, and the rooms to either end set for dining. Drinks on offer included the fruits of two banks of four ale pumps, each doubled up with Doombar and, surprisingly for the area, a well kept Palmers Dorset Gold. The food menu had mains priced around £9-12, and revealed it to be a Barons Pub Co establishment, thus you can fork out £10 for a loyalty card which gets you a whopping 33% off the price of your food orders, provided you book your table in advance for a time when you probably don’t want to eat anyway. Live music on the third Friday of each month was advertised, and a beer festival on 21-23 September, with 35 beers and ciders to choose from, to coincide with its main annual charity bike ride and raffle events (a mountain bike and other prizes were hanging from the pub ceiling). All in all this struck me as a well run establishment, with friendly and efficient service from a team of almost homogenously blonde young staff, well kept albeit limited ale range, targeted mainly at couples and families wanting a nice meal together somewhere without any character to distract them. It’s not my cup of tea really, but it seems to do its thing well. I wouldn’t mind dropping in again for a pint sometime if I was passing, but wouldn’t really go out of my way to do so.