Three Horseshoes Inn, Reigate

I’ve been here twice recently in the evenings and really liked it. It had a good pub feel to it, with friendly owners and mix of clientele, mainly drinking rather than eating. It boasted eight fully populated hand pumps, five of which offered regular ales Dark Star Hophead, Surrey Hills Shere Drop, Fullers London Pride and ESB, and Young’s Ordinary, and two were changing guest ale pumps which offered Surrey Hills Greensand IPA, Pilgrim Weald Ale and Dark Star Winter Solstice on my visits. The last pump offered Black Rat cider, and Aspalls and Stowford Press ciders were available on tap, along with Hepworth Conqueror stout and the usual other stuff. I tried several of the ales, which were all well looked after, and noted paying £3.20 for a pint. It was difficult to drag ourselves away from this pub because it felt so comfortable and the beer choice and quality were so good for the area. I ascertained that they have a bar billiards table in storage somewhere. If they got it out I’d give them one of my rare ‘9’ ratings.

A couple of miles south of Reigate is The Three Horseshoes Inn, a small rural whitewashed pub that was formerly a coaching inn on the old London to Brighton road. Entering through the front door, we pass into a small unusual lobby ( or ante room ), into which is squeezed several small tables and benches. Through this is the main bar, which is a single L shaped bar, carpeted and traditionally furnished. Parts of the room apparently date back over 300 years and once comprised a forge – hence the pub name – but, despite several fireplaces and a part timbered ceiling, the overall feel is not that of a particularly old pub, but one that has been “sensitively modernised” – to use the popular phrase. The room appears to have been extended back on the left and several glass screens help create a more intimate atmosphere. Seating throughout consists of standard tables and chairs which, on my recent Sunday lunchtime visit, were all laid out and reserved for pre-booked diners. Several couples who turned up on spec could not be accommodated and left disappointed. Booked groups arriving were shown to specified tables, given menus and an allocated waitress, who then returned to take their order at the table. In my book, this makes the establishment a restaurant, although I suspect it’s more like a pub at other times, as the existence of a dartboard and a TV screen ( not on ) in one corner would appear to indicate. Drinkers such as myself and including a few obvious regulars were confined to stools at the bar and, although mine host and hostess were reasonably hospitable, there was a distinct feeling that we were something of a distraction to the main focus of providing Sunday lunches. On the right hand side of the building, and clearly an extension to the original main building, is a separate room with its own entrance ( unmarked ) which would not appear to be normally part of the pub and which was hosting a childrens party during my visit. There’s also a large garden at the rear with a facility for barbeques. On my Sunday afternoon visit, the pub ( sorry, restaurant !) was serving 7 real ales of which, somewhat notably, 3 were Fullers ( Pride, ESB and Black Cab ). Also on were Youngs Ordinary, Dark Star Hophead, Surrey Hills Shere Drop and St Austells Trelawny. Both the Hophead and the Shere Drop were in good form. It’s clearly CAMRA friendly, stocking the local branch magazine – News and Ale – and usually appears in the annual CAMRA Good Beer Guide. I didn’t dislike the place, but I wouldn’t go again on a Sunday lunchtime just for a drink. I suspect it’s a better all round experience at most other times