The Grove, Surbiton

With the excellent Antelope just a little further along the road, I normally pass on by this Greene King pub. But before paying my latest visit to the Antelope, I spotted a guest beer in the Grove that I'd not had previously and decided to give it a try. The interior is a fairly bright affair with seating curving around a central bar. Leaflets near the door were promoting Christmas lunch (it's that time of year again). The house beer here is Hardy & Hanson's Surbiton Best Bitter. Guests were Timothy Taylor Landlord, Hogs Back TEA & Southwark Routemaster Red, the latter being the beer that had drawn me in. At £2.75 for my half, it wasn't really worth it. There may well be a CAMRA discount that could have softened the blow, but I'd just arrived on a flight into Heathrow and wasn't carrying it with me! As with the last review in 2016, I didn't really feel like lingering too long here. With the Antelope a stone's throw away, why would you?

Official site of The Grove - www.thegrovekt6.co.uk

Official site of The Grove - www.thegrovekt6.co.uk

Another pub along Maple Road, the Grove is a large Greene King house which has tried to enliven its beer range, perhaps to compete with the nearby Antelope, but still comes across as more of a food-led pub. The interior is laid out in a large L-shape with the main area running from front to back down the left side of the building, whilst a smaller space can be found to the front right. Walls throughout are painted various shades of grey or cream, with one notable bare brick section to the front providing a welcome alternative. There are sturdy floorboards around most of the room, with a nice checker board tile effect reserved for the servery area. Seating is almost exclusively made up of regular tables and chairs of the sort ideal for dining, with a few high stools thrown in for good measure. Pictures of the Thames and other such local scenes break up the wall space a bit and there was a large pull-down screen to the front, although this was out of action on a Sunday afternoon. The front section of the pub is on a lower level to the main bar area and has more of the same in terms of decor and seating and was empty with most customers favouring the beer garden with its raised decking space which gives way to a pleasant tree-lined lawn with lots of colourful plants. Those remaining inside were subjected to what I can only describe as an 'avant-garde' soundtrack and for a pub with such gastro stylings, I was surprised to find no-one eating - maybe the prices (Sunday roast beef - £15.50) had put them off. The servery, like the room, is also L-shaped and has a dark wood counter supporting two sets of handpulls, each doubled up with the same four beers on this visit. These were Greene King IPA, London Beer Factory Chelsea Blonde, Bedlam Golden Ale and By The Horns Mick the Miller (£4.00). I had a pint of the latter, served by a barmaid who can best be described as economical with her words, and thought it was okay but a touch too warm to really savour on a hot afternoon. This is quite a decent gastro-style pub which certainly benefits from offering a few local brews alongside the usual Greene King suspects. For me, the place was a bit characterless, but the garden was a definite plus and I can't say I was uncomfortable here, although things may have been different had I arrived in the middle of their Sunday lunch service. I'd say it's worth a quick look to see what they have on, but doesn't really suit an extended session, unless you're feeling rather flush and decide to splash out on some food.

Massive,corner pub.Modern interior.Very busy rear garden and noisy pub quiz inside on my visit.GK -ipa,Sambrookes -wandle,Trumns -swift and the utterly delicious Darkstar -apa.Liked this pub a lot

Large set back building, with a pub/dining format and apparently owned by Greene King but there is little to outwardly indicate such. Large knocked-through L shaped interior with wood floor, chequerboard bar area, battleship grey paint job and some exposed brick walls. The usual framed sepia prints of the local area adorn the walls. There’s a nicely appointed garden which is remarkably spacious. The large TV was switched off (looked like a temporary thing for the Euros) though the slightly over-loud music (and too much Red Chilli Peppers) grated a bit. Four pumps with a fair mix; 2x Greene King but also a couple of locals in Twickenham Naked Ladies and a good half of Truman Gypsy Queen. Also noted two Redwell kegs. A slightly over-familiar barman (sounded like he was going through a set retinue of 'get to know the customer' questions but better than a grunt I guess). Not bad, been in similar places that are a lot worse.