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The Woolpack, Banstead
Banstead
SM7 2NZ
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Woolpack
The Woolpack is a nicely appointed, but some of the customers seemed rough. The car park was full of white van drivers on my visit this afternoon. Luckily most were sitting in the outdoor terrace at the rear.
Being a Shepherd Neame pub, the real ale choice was limited to Spitfire, Whitstable Bay & Bishop's Finger. I ordered a half of the latter, which was fairly average.
The interior is sizeable, with one large single room split into a number of different areas. The dining area is to the rear, but my visit was outside of meal times. So, the only people coming inside were those ordering at the bar, where several staff members appeared to be stood chatting at one end, whilst people waited for the one solitary working barmaid to serve them.
Not really a pub I could take to.
On 16th June 2022
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Woolpack
Positioned centrally in the heart of Banstead, this is a large Shepherd Neame pub with a reputation for supplying well kept guest ales. You enter via the decent sized car park, past a row of partly covered picnic benches and into the large, sprawling interior which has clearly been opened out from a previous multiple room format, but still retains a number of clearly defined different spaces thanks to the retention of some partitioning and structural support pillars. The dark wood servery is directly opposite the front entrance and to the left there is a mixed seating area which includes some formal restaurant space towards the rear. Most of the space is taken up by nicely upholstered chairs and tub chairs, which are available to diners and drinkers alike. Some partitioning keeps the formal dining space obscured from the main bar area and a few nice bits of glasswork have been retained in these panels. There is a large modern fireplace over to the right, dominating a space that perhaps is supposed to represent the lounge area. A fine patio garden with a large grass area beyond was an ideal spot to eat on a warm summer's day, although there were lot of energetic children running around, trying to spoil things. Boards throughout the pub advertised regular live jazz and an annual beer festival on the August Bank Holiday.
Three Shep's beers - Master Brew, Bishop's Finger and Spitfire - were supplemented by guests in the shape of Windsor and Eton Knight of the Garter and Tillingbourne Falls Gold. The latter was a bit of a mystery, starting off in seemingly excellent condition, but turning pretty flat by the time I got halfway through the pint. The food was a more qualified success, as my roast beef with all the trimmings was exactly what you want from a Sunday roast.
I can't say I found this pub to be too exciting, with a rather soulless interior full of diners not doing much for the atmosphere. However, the garden, food and guest ales are all bonus points and with little competition in the rest of Banstead, this is actually a bit of a lifesaver for the locals and worth a quick look in passing.
On 20th October 2015
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Nick Davies left this review about The Woolpack
To update from 2010, it seems to have settled into its niche and is very popular locally now, particularly with the more mature customer: indeed sometimes at weekends you won't find a spot in the large car park. The guest beers tend to be local, which I guess helps keep the GBG entry. However it's still vaguely uncomfortable, and I wouldn't linger.
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It bills itself as a "traditional village pub" but that's over egging it somewhat. It's no more a tradtional village pub than Banstead is a traditional village - it's a suburban local in a very pleasant and prosperous stretch of stockbroker belt semi-rural suburbia. It's got a lot better since Shepherd Neame took it over but it still tries to have something for everyone, meaning that none of it is 100% right. So you've got some bits that seem quite pubby with traditional pub furniture, then you've got another bit with those horrid leather sofas, another area with those equally dreadful high tables and an ambiance-free restaurant area out the back. There's a pleasant terrace to the front and nice garden.
The beer is good. It's in the current GBG and as well as various Shep's brews there was Black Sheep and an example from Skinner's guesting the other day. Service is friendly as is the clientele - they had 'issues' in the past but they seems to have gone elsewhere.
Shep's need to decide where they're going with this pub. It still seems wedded to its Punch/Spirit/John Barras roots: indeed it remains devoid of Shep's signage. To further gastrify it would be a mistake, it would never complete with the celebrity chef emporium as well as any number of mid-range chain outlets down the road. A sympathetic refurbishment to turn it into an ale-led community local would be a perfect way forward in an area where decent pubs are few.
To conclude, it's the best bet by far if you're in Banstead after a pint, the other choices are the Vintage Inn and the awful place on the A217. But there are a couple of far superior destinations within a couple of miles if you are exploring the area.
On 14th January 2013
- rating: 6
[User has posted 567 recommendations about 559 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Woolpack
A 1930's building in the same style as most other buildings in Banstead,part of an undistinguished urban sprawl which replaced the rural roots of this area in a policy to stimulate the economy after the Great Depression.These day it's a Shepherd Neame managed house with an emphasis on food.
The front entrance leads directly to the long,wood pannelled bar while to the right there is an wood floored area with a fireplace,sofas,high tables and stools and a gaming machine which leads to the impression that this is the drinking area.To the left and demarcated by a carpet is a lounge with an impressive bay window below which is a curved banquette and more dining tables and upright chairs.Another non functional fireplace here too,while through an opening flanked by etched glass dividers is a restaurant area,another faux fireplace and furniture arranged to maximise utilisation.There is a large garden with some upmarket wicker furniture on the patio.
Several daily specials are offered and these together with mains from the menu are generally pitched around £12.Pub grub staples are nearer £8 with jacket spuds at £6,mine was adequate but I've had better;it arrived very quickly.
The pub features in the 2012 GBG ,probably because of it's five handpumps and the problem that the local CAMRA branch has in filling it's quota of GBG entries given the paucity of really good pubs on their patch.On my trip there were three Shep's beers,Master Brew,Spitfire and Bishops Finger together with two guests Arundel Summer Daze and Itchen Valley Pure Gold,too cold and in poor nick with an inflated £3.40 price tag.
The pub is sadly dominated by a corporate feel,I found little to warrant a revisit and would question it's GBG listing.
On 17th August 2012
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]