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 15th June 2025) with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Star, Wallington
Wallington
SM6 0DE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Pub SignMan left this review about The Star
One of the few surviving pubs in Wallington, the Star is a large Craft Union boozer close to the station, with sizable front and rear bars. A porch leads into the main front bar, which is bare boarded and has the servery in the middle of the back wall. There is some low wood panelling with plain and wallpapered uppers around the room and large windows to the front. The bar has a grey painted tongue and groove counter and plain bar back devoid of any points of interest, whilst over to the right there is a raised, carpeted seating area with some tables and chairs that looked like the best bet for a seat in this part of the pub. Passing beyond the bar, you move through to what would've once been a separate rear bar, but is now opened out somewhat, into a large, bare boarded space dominated by two pool tables, leaving enough room for some high tables and stools around the perimeter. There's an impressive raised ceiling with a skylight here, which ensures it's a lot brighter than it might otherwise have been, and the room has been liberally decorated with Crystal Palace shirts, flags, scarves and so forth. The walls have nice, near full height panels which look a lot better than those in the front room, and things are rounded out with a dartboard and some slot machines. To the right is a screened off seating area with a long banquette down the end wall and a door to the rear that leads out to the beer garden. Lots of muted TV screens were showing a live non-league football fixture with dull pop tunes playing in the background.
Despite having three hand pumps on the bar, two were unclipped and one had a turned Doom Bar clip, leaving me at the mercy of the keg range, from which I tried the Brixton Reliance Pale. My pint was served by a barmaid who wasn't in the slightest bit interested in serving me, but I fared much better with the friendly locals who were happy to chat with a stranger.
This pub has been knocked about a bit but retains enough of a notional two bar layout to at least feel like it's catering for a range of customers. I felt quite comfortable here but would've preferred some cask ale and any form of acknowledgement of my existence from the bar staff, which means I'd be more inclined to use the nearby Wetherspoons in the future.
Date of visit - 6th May 2024
On 28th September 2024
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3361 recommendations about 3361 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about The Star
A big old boozer which has become Craft Union, so it has been done up a bit and is more or less fit for purpose as a locals' sports pub. They do at least include a couple of cask ales now, with a fair TT Landlord on offer (and Doom Bar clip reversed) and almost at Yorkshire prices too! The pub itself has some nice high ceilings and a large games area featuring pool and darts, as well as several TVs.
On 24th September 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3680 recommendations about 3615 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Star
Large pub with a knocked-through C-shaped interior, which looks to have had a recent exterior makeover. Enter to the old top bar which is a geezers hang out - two pool tables, darts and tellies with sport. The rear area is more comfortable with some pretty tiled flooring, third length blue painted wood panelling and a raised carpeted seating area. Toilets were surprisingly clean and out back is a decent little seating area with astroturf and three beach hut style booths. Three ales on all under 3 quid a pop - GK IPA, Doom Bar and Youngs Bitter, the latter of which tasted musty, unfortunately. It serves a purpose and if the beer was better it'd be worth a quick look.
On 1st July 2017
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5589 recommendations about 5570 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Melbourne
A large Victorian style pub of the type you don't generally see this far into suburbia, I assume built to serve the railway over the road. A central bar, the room winds back around to the rear. TVs and music; unfortunately as every one of the numerous handpumps were all clipped with that pernicious beer GK IPA I didn't bother the till, to me that is a sign of lazy indifference or perhaps the clientele just don't drink real ale. I certainly won't bother again.
On 18th March 2014
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 1710 recommendations about 1683 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Strongers . left this review about The Melbourne
The Melbourne is a large pub that is handily placed opposite Walllington Railway Station. To the right of the entrance is a small raised seating area that comes with a plasma screen. Some more seating faces the bar as it runs along the left hand wall and there is a larger seating area at the rear. Both of these areas also come with plasma screens and Sky Sports is advertised, although Six Nations rugby was being aired via BBC during my recent Saturday afternoon visit. Out the back is a beer yard that houses some picnic tables and a smoking shelter.
Peroni is available and the bar is also stocked with standard draught products. Three hand pumps are supported and these were drawing Landlord, Pride and Pedigree. I didn’t see any of the twenty or so other customers eating, but pub grub is advertised with the mains costing around £6.50. There is an open mic night every Sunday and live music is advertised for every Friday and Saturday night.
This place used to be an O’Neill’s pub so it is much improved in its present guise and it is perfectly acceptable for a couple of beers after a long commute. If I lived locally I would even consider watching midweek football here, but this place isn’t worth making a special trip to visit.
On 8th April 2012
- rating: 6
[User has posted 6133 recommendations about 6099 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Melbourne
Previously an O’Neill’s bar, this pub has now reverted to its original name of The Melbourne. Although the exterior is painted black, never a good sign in my opinion, it’s a marked improvement over its previous incarnation. It’s one of the growing number of Stonegate pubs. There were three ales on – London Pride, Pedigree and Sambrook’s Wandle. The Wandle at £2.70 a pint is a good bet price-wise, although I think this ale can be a little underwhelming at times. The menus featured pubco pub grub at reasonable prices.
Furnishings are essentially normal tables and chairs, with the inevitable banquette seating and stools at the bar. The bar is a large horseshoe on the right, with the drinking area stretching around it to the left and rear, with what would have been separate rooms at one time with separate doors leading from the main road and probably Melbourne Road on the right. There’s some unusual floor tiling comprising foot-square pattern blocks encased by wooden surrounds, plus a bit of carpeting and bare boarding. They still have the trademark Victorian (or possibly Edwardian) cast iron pillars with ornate capitals, but everything else is modern. I’m not yet familiar enough with the Stonegate chain to form an opinion of their pubs, but they seem to have made a decent stab at improving this one. It’s certainly not a destination pub, but OK for a pint if passing.
On 7th May 2011
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]