George Abbot, Guildford

Official site of George Abbot - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

Official site of George Abbot - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

The 4th pub I visited on a Friday night while in Guildford, really busy as the football was being shown on several screens around the pub, gave me the feeling this was more of a chain pub but was very close to the station so I would go in again if in Guildford.

The George Abbot is a plain looking corner pub that is handy for Guildford train station. Once inside there is a single opened out room which runs the width of the pub,the bar faces on entry. The floor is tiled and the seating is tall tables and chairs near the bar and normal tables and chairs elsewhere. There were four real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Wimbledon Pale which went down well as my last drink of the crawl,there was also Wimbledon Common Pale,Wimbledon Tower and GK Abbot. The TVs were showing the Stoke v Arsenal game. The pub was very busy on my late Saturday afternoon visit. I thought this was a decent pub to end my Guildford pub crawl in. Pub visited 13/5/2017

An open plan interior,with a couple of nooks and crannies and hidden corners,very modernised inside but with a mixture of old and new as evidenced by the bar with its traditional tiled face but topped with stainless steel,all well described by Malden man below. Beers on the bar were Greene King IPA and Abbot, Plain Ales Inntrigue and Innocence along with Nethergate Suffolk County Ale. Football was on the TV screens and the pub was quite lively. I liked this pub a lot and would include it on a Guildford pub crawl.

The pub is clearly formed from what was once two adjoining buildings, inside there is a large semi-divided single space with a beamed ceiling although the fit out has a very modern feel. As you enter you are "greeted" by a suit of armour standing guard. The bar is along the back wall, the counter front is faced with grey and black glazed tiles and small lamps adorn the counter. Six handpumps, GK IPA and Abbot, Cottage Scrum Up plus three from Plain Ales of Wiltshire, Inspiration, Hairy Hooker (£4.00) and Sheep Dip. The seating is at regulation height but with a random selection of chairs and tables, just one area of high benches forming a U around a centrally located large screen. Several other screens are dotted around, all had the 6 Nations rugby on yesterday. There's a bit of exposed brickwork, some clearly recent wooden posts, a few shelves containing books and nick-nacks and a feature wall decorated with wallpaper depicting building drawings. Food is served but I didn't see any menus mid Saturday afternoon. Not a bad spot if a bit bland inside, I was not expecting too much but I was surprised to find the Plain Ales and enjoyed my pint while watching the last 20 minutes of the rugby.