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Detail Pages
Venture, Reigate
Reigate
RH2 7JP
Pub Type
Punch TavernsReviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Venture
Located on the fringes of the town centre, this is a good-sized pub that is branded as a ‘Bar & Grill’. The pub seems to have been opened up from a previous multiple room layout, resulting in a fairly shallow but wide U-shaped layout with seating areas either side of a centrally positioned servery. The room has smart floorboards, bright white or bare brick walls and some modern skylights, all of which help make the pub feel very light and spacious. There are plenty of tables served by chairs and benches either side of the servery, plus a few hard, mid-height benches which have been formed into booths down the right-hand wall. The leaded windows along the front wall of the pub have a series of brightly coloured stained-glass inserts depicting various images including a huntsman, various species of local wildlife and a nice frothy tankard full of beer. A couple of large framed photos have been hung on the walls, but the task of visual distraction has mostly been delegated to the countless TV screens dotted around the pub, which were all showing a live rugby union fixture with the sound turned off. There were a lot of kids in attendance which made the lack of any soft furnishings very evident as noise levels were pretty spectacular even though the pub was only around half-full.
I hadn’t anticipated much in the way of cask ale here, so was pleased to find three of the four handpulls in service, dispensing Harvey’s Sussex Best, Taylor Landlord and St Austell Tribute. The latter set me back £4.50 for a pint and was brought over by the rather brusque barmaid who had also taken my track and trace details, overseen my hand sanitising and walked me to my table. The beer was in reasonable condition, but like many post-lockdown pubs I’ve visited to date, still some way from being in top shape.
This place felt a little devoid of character as a result of the pub’s opening out into a large single room and the decision to decorate it with TV screens rather than with anything of interest. The presence of four handpulls means it works well as an option for a crawl around Reigate, but I’m not sure I saw enough to make me head back out here again in the future.
On 24th August 2020
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Venture Inn
Situated a short walk uphill from the town centre this is an attractive looking pub with a black and white Tudor appearance along with panels of herringbone brickwork. Two rooms remain, each needing separate access from outside, the L-shaped slightly split-level front room is the lounge and has most of the bar although this does run through into the larger and squareish bar beyond. It was a bit of a miserable afternoon when I visited on Saturday however I was totally unprepared for the wall of heat that greeted me on entering, you certainly didn't need to keep your coat on in here. This was not unrelated to the sheer number of people crammed into the public bar, standing room only as the rugby international was shown on no less than four big screens, one on each wall.
I retreated to the calmer surroundings of the lounge, boarded flooring, mustard coloured roughcast upper walls, the ceiling in front of the bar is very low. Leaded windows, various framed bits and bobs on the walls, pot plants on the window cills and a dark brick fireplace down one end. Regular seating, mostly at upholstered benches with green padded upper cushions as well as small and bar stools.
Service was good having regard to how busy the pub was, five handpumps, Pride, Doom Bar, Tribute, Harvey's Sussex Best are all regulars, the guest was Castle Rock Most Haunted. All five handpumps are located in the lounge. Food is served, mainly from the reasonably priced Thai menu, a few people were partaking and it did look rather good.
There is a strict over 21s policy and signs state that football shirts are not permitted (rugby ones seemingly are!).
I quite liked it here but I think I would prefer to visit at a less busy time.
On 10th November 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]