The Foley, Esher

The Foley page at the Youngs site - www.youngs.co.uk

As of a couple of days ago this felt like a slightly down-at-heel old Young's pub. There was a handful of evident regulars playing darts in the public bar, and a few groups of people on some of the tables in the large garden. Special and Ordinary were the only draught ales available - a seasonal would have been nice, even/especially if Young's don't want to push the boat out with a guest beer. My overall impression was that this pub has a lot of historic character, but is stuck in a bit of a rut and needs to find a way to recover some life. A sympathetic bit of brightening up and another beer would be good ways to start.

The Foley page at the Youngs site - www.youngs.co.uk

This is a Young’s house with Bitter, Special and London Gold on, but no guest ales. There were some menus on the tables – main meals were around the £7 - £8 mark, and sandwiches around £4. The pub still has two separate bars – what would be the Public Bar, although it wasn’t labelled as such, is traditionally bare-boarded, and contained what looked to some local, and probably serious, drinkers. A dartboard, a couple of tables and chairs, plus a few stools at the bar sums it up. The “Saloon Bar” can be reached by a short corridor from the other bar, although it does have its own door to the street. This room is a fine example of faded splendour, with furnishings of settles, normal tables and chairs, all of which have seen much better days. The carpet’s in reasonable nick, but the wallpaper is stained and torn, and the skirting board and doorframes are chipped. It’s probably due for a refurb. There are the usual sort of miscellaneous prints on the walls, and a large garden at the back, although I didn’t visit it on this occasion. But a couple of important plus points deserve a mention – the real log fire on the go, and the adequate supply of London Drinkers on a shelf in the Saloon Bar. This struck me as a pretty ordinary no-nonsense pub. It’s not worth seeking out, but OK for a pint or two if you happen to be in Claygate, and are happy with Young’s ales.