The Shy Horse, Chessington

Several years ago this was a roadhouse called The Fox and Hounds, nowadays renamed, operated by Vintage Inns and firmly targeting a clientele looking for decent pub meals in a comfortable setting. All necessary boxes are ticked, a large car park, extensive outdoor seating looking onto farmland, real fires and a rustic farmhouse style décor inside. Although opened out, reclaimed timbers and a mid-room fireplace give a bit of separation, flagged flooring and fake ceiling beams help to create the intended ambience. Décor has a fair bit of horse related stuff including some silly slogans but there are also old farming scenes and a few maps. I didn't bother checking out a menu but suffice to say there were plenty of takers for food on a midweek early afternoon. They haven't gone completely down the restaurant route thankfully and seating looks to be free to choose apart from one area. There were five handpumps, Doom Bar x2 and Hogs Back TEA x2 with one unclipped. I spotted bottles of Thornbridge beers and also some from St Peters in the fridges. The pumps had those small jars showing the beer colour which naturally with the above choice were virtually identical. This place seems to be thriving, the car park always seems to be busy. The pub simply would not work anymore as a wet led operation in this location but no issue with dropping in for just a drink so good luck to them.

Very much a family dining establishment now, with usual rustic farmhouse sort of décor. There is a drinkers' area in the middle, but even this tends to be overtaken by diners when busy. Does at least have some interest in real ales, with Cask Marque listing and occasional guests alongside the usual Doom bar etc.

This pub is something of a landmark on the Leatherhead Road, being a large detached building, with a bus stop named for it and a car park and largish garden, and mostly surrounded by fields. Food is big business here. As you enter you are greeted by the "wait to be seated" sign, but although the vast majority of tables are laid for diners there are a handful not so laid and I guess drinkers could just plonk themselves at one of them. Table service is provided in the dining areas. A fair bit of effort to make this place seem welcoming and comfortable. There are some very distressed ancient posts and beams as a decorative features, plus a couple of fireplaces with coal effect fires alight, though not really needed on a mild and sunny October day. It's really quite elegant by pub standards, although the presence of a fruit machine flashing away detracts from the ambience slightly. Three handpumps were on the bar but only two in use during my weekday lunchtime visit - dishing up London Pride and Brain's Rev James (£3.15 a pint). A standard Vintage Inns menu is available, with main courses from £7.95 (gammon steak) upwards and the pub standard fish n chips (or in here it's the "sustainably sourced cod loin") at £10.95. This is the sort of pub you go to specifically for a meal. It's somewhat out of the way, although the 465 bus from Kingston stops outside, and is definitely not somewhere would drop in for a pint if you're passing. I liked it in here, but now it's not really a traditional pub, and I'm not likely to visit again unless Mrs R wants to come here for another meal.