Browns Kingston, Kingston Riverside, Kingston Upon Thames

A very pleasant location along the riverside walkway and giving fine views across the Thames ,you will be greated at the entrance if you wish to dine.However you can proceed directly to the bar and there are tables here not set up with cutlery where you can settle for a drink.It's a modern open plan interior ,although the bar is sectioned off with a half height partition,and there is more "drinking" seating up some stairs behind the bar.However the tables with the best views are all set for diners. There is no real ale,just 5 fairly mainstream keg options doubled up over two sets of fonts. This bar will never appeal to pub traditionalists or real ale drinkers but does serve a market for those who are not too fussy about what they drink,or are happy to dine in a chain environment.My cup of tea was decent enough.

This place is branded as a bar and brasseie so you know it’s not going to be a traditional pub. And of course you would be right. Most of the tables are laid for diners, but near the bar counter there are a good number of tables not so laid, plus some tall stools at ledges round pillars. Of course I sat in this area. There was no suggestion when I walked up to the bar that I should wait for table service. The mix of brown and green paintwork and upholstery, coupled with the potted aspadistras and grand piano, gave the room something of a drawing room feel. As well as the main room on the corner, which contains the bar counter, there’s another seating area (for diners I think) up half a dozen steps on the left. There is also a good number of tables and chairs to the front and side of the building which look on to the river. There was a fair amount of hustle and bustle in the bar area as waiting staff were zipping back and forth through it with food and drinks orders for those enjoying table service. I didn’t get to see a menu as I was not sitting at a “dining” table. But what drew me in was the sight of a pump bearing a London Pride clip (£3.50 a pint), plus there was another pump unclipped, although in the past I have seen it with a reversed clip. As a bar and brasserie this one looks OK, especially if it’s a nice day and you want a meal at one of the outside tables, but as a pub – not really. I can’t see me coming back here just for a pint of London Pride.

Official pages of Browns in Kingston - www.browns-restaurants.co.uk

Official pages of Browns in Kingston - www.browns-restaurants.co.uk