The Queens Head, North Kingston, Kingston Upon Thames

Reported as closed in last week's Surrey Comet, however I had a drive past today and it remains open with a banner outside proclaiming that it is under new management.

Occupying a prominent street corner position on the main road between Ham and Kingston is The Queens Head, a large solid looking red brick Victorian pub. This is a pub that I’ve passed numerous times over the years on the Number 65 bus, but, prior to last week, never actually bothered to call in on, principally because it seems to have suffered from a number of name changes and reincarnations over the years. Previously Eddie Ryans and then The Owl and Pussycat, it has now reverted back to its original name of The Queens Head. It’s a large single bar pub with several different areas, and, with entrance doors on each street, I would imagine that it was once a typical multi room Victorian pub, although sadly, no original features remain to confirm this. The Queens Head describes itself externally as a “Pub and Kitchen” and, as we enter, we see a typically extensive menu on the trademark fixed blackboard on the wall. Close by this, another blackboard tells us that the pub believes in organic, fair trade and farm assured produce. We’re told that their meat is supplied by Bentleys of Surrey and that they also supply such well known establishments as Claridges and The Fat Duck, plus also Marco Pierre White. Notably, against this background, what one might expect to be a food led destination pub with an urban professional thirty something customer base is, based on my two visits, nothing of the sort, but instead very much a locals pub with an atmosphere and ambience that reflects this. The interior extends round both sides of the centrally positioned bar counter. The area on the left is bare boarded, with standard tables and chairs for dining. The light coloured walls are decorated with a mixture of old retro advertising posters ( eg – Oxo ) , a few brewery mirrors ( eg – Tolly Cobbold ) and some old photos of the pub, from which we see it branded as a Charringtons Entire house. Near the back of this area is a fireplace with a brick surround, over which is a Bass mirror. Here, a small framed print tells us that, in 1745, the pub landlady of The Queens Head at the time was punished for scolding by being ducked in the river from Kingston Bridge in a cucking stool, an event that apparently drew a crowd of several thousand onlookers. Behind this fireplace is a small snug area with several sofas which leads out to The Coach House Garden – a rather scruffy outside patio area that had clearly not been cleaned or swept for some considerable time and which contained, on the tables, some of the dirtiest glass ashtrays that I can remember seeing for ages. Just inside the door, a damaged model ship was sitting rather forlornly on a small table. Whilst not a sports led pub, the pub advertises the availability of Sky Sports and, on my Saturday visit, a total of 3 televisions were tuned to the Blackburn v Man United game. One of these screens was in a small snug area round the right hand side of the bar, where there’s also a dart board. There’s 5 handpumps and, on my Thursday visit, Sheps Spitfire, Greene King IPA and Youngs Ordinary were on, with the Spitfire - £ 3.50p – being excellent. On my Saturday visit, only Greene King IPA was on, served through one of those tall chrome swan neck fonts that seem to be cropping up. I didn’t detect any real emphasis or interest in real ale and, with the notable exception of the pleasant barmaid who made a point of asking if the IPA was OK, I didn’t detect what I would regard as a particularly warm or welcoming atmosphere. Like the esteemed Maldenman, whose review incidentally I hadn’t seen before my visit, I’m not sure where this pub is trying to position itself, and I’m not sure they know either. I’m not planning on getting off the Number 65 bus again to investigate further.