Broadway Bar Cafe, Surbiton

A modern glass fronted bar with a single room, boarded in the centre, swirly 70s style orange carpet to each end. The bar is on the back wall, there are a couple of raised areas which break the room up a bit. There are a pair of pool tables down one end with a TV over the same area, mostly high tables in the central area with more traditional stuff each end and on the raised decks. Outdoor seating screened off from the pavement facing the traffic. Still the three handpumps, Broadway Ale (£2.95 now, decent value) think it might be EPA, Bank's Mild and Doom Bar. Food is served and cheaply too, home made chicken curry £6.90, sausage and mash £5.75, various sarnies and jacket spuds from £2.95 to £5.50. Loads of rules displayed on various signs that makes one wonder really as to why they are needed, shirts to be worn, don't bring your own food in, no watching the sport without getting a drink, don't sit on the pool table, surely all basic manners? The place really isn't that great, devoid of character, rather like an airport lounge but it serves a purpose to the locals as there is nothing else nearby now and you can't help but feel they are trying to make something of it in difficult circumstances.

This is a modern bar in a high street in the shadow of Tolworth Tower. It’s a glass and concrete block on the exterior, and the interior is equally characterless. There are a couple of pool tables in the left of the room and a stage on the right, which was in darkness during my midweek lunchtime visit. Some flashing lights above the bar added a layer of garishness to the place; there were some stools at ledges surrounding the central pillars but otherwise furnishings were normal tables and chairs. They normally have a few aluminium tables and chairs outside, but on a wet and cold November day they had been brought in to litter the main bar area. The only wall decor is assorted adverts. One the plus side, however, they did have three ales on – Brakspear’s Bitter, Doom Bar, and Broadway Ale (£2.75 a pint) about which I was pleasantly surprised when the barmaid was able to tell me that it was brewed by Marston’s. Food was available with main courses around £6 - £7, sarnies from £2.95, and the all day breakfast at £4.95. This bar is nothing special, but it does sell real ale, and is the nearest thing to a pub in Tolworth since the demise of the Red Lion and the Toby Jug.

Large shop conversion, not very inviting from outside, but despite name inside is actually a well-run pub. Aimed more at the younger, lager-drinking, football-watching end of the market, but not bad of its type if that is what you want. Well-priced food available most of the time and beer seemed in good order.