Toby Carvery Ewell, Ewell, Epsom

Official site of Toby Carvery Ewell - www.tobycarvery.co.uk

Official site of Toby Carvery Ewell - www.tobycarvery.co.uk

Toby Carverys vary, and some can be dreadful, full of screaming kids. This one is rather sedate, competently run and very popular: even early on a weekday evening the carpark was full and the restaurant busy with middle-aged and older diners. The bar is OK, clean and tidy, fast service with a smile, and does get a few locals - there's not much else along here - with just Pride and Young's Ordinary among the usual fizzier options. If you want a break from the A24 for half an hour it's fine for what it is.

This is another pub that has been converted into a chain restaurant cum pub. Inside it’s like every other Toby Carvery you’ve ever been in with most of the establishment fitted with tables reserved for diners, and a few tables and chairs in the bar area which are usually occupied by those waiting for a table. Clearly the building has been extended over the years, making the interior a labarynth of inter-connected dining areas. But the Toby chain is head and shoulders above the Harvester chain because they generally do a couple of real ales. This one did three – Ringwood Rheinbeer; Young’s Bitter (£2.70) and London Pride (£2.80). Almost everyone eating here goes for the carvery, although they do one or two other things, including a vegetarion option. The 3-course carvery menu in December is £10.99, or £13.99 for a few more choices plus mince pie and coffee. However they are certainly doing something right as the two restaurants in this area that I've visited are always doing a roaring trade. These places are fine if you want a cheap and cheerful carvery meal, but if you are looking for the pub experience then they definitely do not fit that bill.