The Ferry, Thames Ditton

Now primarily a Nepalese restaurant, but retains bar area, stays open all day for drinks and welcomes drinkers. Doombar was on offer in tolerable, although not prime condition.

The official Ferry site with menu - www.theferrythamesditton.com

The official Ferry site with menu - www.theferrythamesditton.com

This is an inviting looking attractive pub situated on a corner plot, green tiling, leaded windows, planting displays to the front terrace all suggest a welcoming traditional pub. It is however nowadays pretty much food led and less traditional inside. Wooden boarded flooring, lots of potted ferns, exposed brick faced bar, light decor and large decorative mounted plates on the walls. The picture rail has some kind of trailing plant trained along its length. There is a wall mounted TV which was off. The single room is U-shaped with the bar central, all the tables to the rear were set for formal dining. There is a bar menu, eg steak and ale pie £10.50, plus a la carte, 2 courses £18.50, three £22.50. Tuesday is steak night, Wednesday tapas night. Two handpumps, Pride reversed leaving the Hobson's choice of the equally prolific Doom Bar. Very quiet during my Friday lunchtime visit with just one other customer and notably no one eating. It's a nice looking building but it just doesn't feel like a pub should do, but that is probably deliberate.

There were two ales on here – the ubiquitous London Pride and Young’s Bitter. I had the Young’s, which was OK, and at the sort of average price of £3.20 a pint. It looks like a pub from the outside with its green tiling (Charrington’s?), but inside it’s more like a wine bar. Furnishings are mainly dark brown leather or leather effect banquettes and chairs, dark varnished solid chunky tables, and an exposed brick bar. It’s bare-boarded of course, with light varnished old boards. Some, but not all, tables were set for diners. There was nothing memorable in the way of décor. Basically it’s a pub that has been made over to such an extent that there’s little or no pub character left. Maybe it does a decent trade in the evenings, but during my weekday lunchtime visit there were only two other customers in there, while at the real pub down the road (City Arms) there were a dozen or two. It’s not really my sort of place, although I can see that it might appeal to some, and I can’t see myself returning.