Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Grey Horse, Kingston Town, Kingston Upon Thames
Kingston Upon Thames
KT2 5EE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Pub SignMan left this review about The Grey Horse
This is a good sized pub and BBQ restaurant situated just the 'wrong' side of the station for the town centre and therefore full of locals rather than passers by. On my early evening visit, I entrred to a very dark interior, made worse by the venetian blinds that were partly drawn in the front windows, as well as all the dark wood flooring and dark painted walls and ceiling. The front part of the pub is formed into a sizeable seating area with button backed banquettes to the front and left, padded chairs in support and a few high tables and stools to the right. The bar is on the rear right wall and has a curved, dark wood counter with coat hooks and fairy lights across it, a mirrored bar back with a modern white tile surround and whisky boxes on top, and an insanely huge whisky board to one side listing innumerable options. The room extends to the rear down the left-hand side, past another banquette, into a rear dining room with loads of additional seating in a more formal setting. The whole pub is liberally lined with whisky boxes on just about any flat surface going and various random art prints and pictures are on display across the walls. Doors to the left lead out to some sort of partly outdoor overspill area with more seating and a trellis above with leafy plants trailing across it. Retro pop tunes were playing unobtrusively in the background and there was a surprisingly lively Thursday night crowd starting to build.
There were two clipped and two unclipped handpulls when I arrived, but my attempts to order firstly, a pint of Twickenham Naked Ladies, and then a pint of Wadworth 6X, were scuppered when both died whilst being pulled, apparently due to an unusually busy Monday evening. This left me looking at the craft keg alternatives from the likes of Beavertown, Twickenham, Brixton and others. I eventually settled on the Twickenham Session IPA and a very apologetic barman gave me an unpromted 10% discount to compensate for my bad luck with the cask.
I thought this was quite a basic, functional pub with a fairly standard, if impressively gloomy, interior and a couple of modest beer choices. The customer service was top notch though and I liked the lively atmosphere from a good crowd of local customers. A bit of a mixed bag all round and whilst there are definitely better options in the backstreets on this side of town, I wouldn't complain if I found myself back here again in the future.
Date of visit - 11th April 2024
On 17th August 2024
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Grey Horse
Tidy looking street corner pub. The main high-ceilinged bar at the front if the pub is best described as ‘bookend shaped’ and has a dark varnish floor, burgundy leather banquettes and intricate green ceiling moulds and a large Bass mirror. Noted that a regular comedy night was advertised. There’s a massive whisky list on the wall, at least one bottle from each Scottish distillery is available we were told. A formal dining area is located in a rear room with a jumbo wall mural of Hendrix, though no-one was eating and the over-loud music probably wasn’t helping matters much. Four pumps, three on - Youngs Special, Cameron's Fridge Magnet and an unbadged Twickenham Grandstand (very good shape). Eight kegs also available with some leftfield selections as well as a wall shelf of bottles and cans. Friendly barman. Overall, not bad for the area and we enjoyed our 15 minutes here. 6.5
On 4th July 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5552 recommendations about 5533 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Grey Horse
This pub doesn't seem to have changed in the five years or so since the previous reviewer's visit. I saw the sign for the Ram Jam Club, so presume that live music is probably still a feature here. But the room at the back - the former billiards room judging by the skylight - has tables all laid out for diners, so doesn't look like the sort of area where they would have live music, but I've never been here in the evening so don't really know. There is a tenuous music connection though, with the exposed brick wall at the back having a mural of Jimi Hendrix on it.
The main bar at the front has the counter in it, and would once have been sub-divided into three rooms I think. the rear part of this room might have been the saloon bar judging by the surviving glazing on the left. It still has a few original features, including the Lincrusta style ceiling and the curved window on the left, plus it still has a very nice Bass mirror on one of the walls.
The ales on were Young's Special; Castle Rock Elsie Mo; and Twickenham Grandstand (£2 a half) - plus Rosie's Pig cider on handpump. I didn't see a menu, but they clearly do food. Other points worth mentioning are the board games at the back, the large screen TV (residing on a massive barrel at the back); plus when I was in there was some jazz/blues music playing.
It's impossible to form a firm view of this pub based on my short weekday lunchtime visit, when I was one of only two customers in there, but it looks to be a comfortable enough place. Unfortunately my Grandstand was only just drinkable, but perhaps I was just unlucky. I'd visit again.
On 28th June 2016
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Grey Horse
This pub is well known locally as a music venue and indeed has live bands playing 7 nights a week as well as hosting a comedy club. Bands play either in the back room of the pub, the former Billiard Room, or in the separate building to the rear known as the Ram Jam Club. The main pub room to the front remains fairly traditional though and is a quieter and not unpleasant spot for a drink earlier in the day. Some original tiling remains in the front entrance lobby and the moulded ceiling, etched glass and area of dark wood panelling are decent original features. The room is L shaped with the bar in the corner, wooden floored and seating is at standard tables with pew type benches and chairs. There is a TV, high on an end wall; this was on mute showing racing results on text while a juke box played at a sensible volume. Decor is mainly band flyers and gig adverts, there is a book swap club here too. Young's beers, Ordinary, Special and Bombardier. A decent pint of Ordinary was £2.99.
I've never been to a gig here so I can't vouch for the pub as a music venue but as somewhere for a late afternoon pint it was fine.
On 8th April 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1710 recommendations about 1683 pubs]