Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 6th October 2024) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by paulof horsham
Submitted on Friday, 7th April 2023
With picture contributions to 5176 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (23 more images)
Detail Pages
The Kings Head, Guildford
Guildford
GU1 3XQ
Served areas
Reviews of The Kings Head (Average Rating: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Kings Head
A pint’s revisit after a long day’s walking. Not much change inside. Five ales on; Doom Bar, Spitfire, Whitstable Bay, No 19 Steam and Long Man Bitter, the latter of which was in good nick. Imbibed in the rear flagstone garden with roof terrace which had life-sized two suits of armour overlooking proceedings. Quite a pleasant stop and the beer choice has improved (though maybe I got lucky – Alan visited not long before me and his sounded less exciting). According to WhatPub the pub was acquired by Sheps last year, so perhaps it depends if the manager has sneaked a good one into the cellar. Worth a visit when in town. 7.5
October 2013
What appears to be a Greene King-branded pub that seemingly isn’t GK at all. The building is apparently quite aged (GII listed) although you’d be forgiven for not noting that from its functional-looking exterior. However the split-level interior has a few heritage tick boxes – nook-and-cranny layout, low ceilings, hefty beams, stone flagged floors, exposed brickwork, castle location etc. Indeed some press cuttings framed on the walls record an incident a few years back where one of the beams gave way and the pub suffered a partial collapse as a result. A few ales were available though it was a fairly mainstream choice, the only one of the five of note was an Andwell brew. Quality was fair across the board. A beer festival was advertised on a blackboard outside so let’s hope they did a better job of sourcing stuff of interest! Pub seems to be a hangout for minor lawbreakers as I spotted Vicki Pryce (she of the Chris Huhne speeding points court case) in here. There is apparently an outside courtyard and terrace area but we missed that. Overall it wasn’t a thrilling experience but would probably warrant a revisit if I’m in town again. Rated 7
On 2nd October 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5391 recommendations about 5374 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Kings Head
The Kings Head is a decent looking pub that is close to Guildford Castle.
Once inside there is a T shaped room with the front area being bare boarded,the seating here is pew seats and chairs and one tall table with stools,the bar is midway down the room on the left side,there is a pool table on the left side,the rear area is up two steps and is carpeted,there is normal tables and chairs and some tall tables and chairs here.
The pub had a good choice of Shepherd Neame real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Shepherd Neame Whitstable Bay,which was a very nice drink,the other real ales were Shepherd Neame Red IPA,Spitfire,GK St Edmunds and Doom Bar.
I thought this was a decent pub to have a drink in while on my Guildford pub crawl.
Pub visited 13/5/2017
On 21st July 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Kings Head
Just around the corner from Guildford Castle, this is a Grade II listed pub that dates back to the late 16th Century. The pub has a single room interior, but the use of split level and the positioning of the bar midway down the left hand wall, means that there are three distinctly different areas within. You enter to a bare boarded front room with lots of lovely old dark wood beams and a rather cosy feel. Standard tables and chairs mix with comfy lounge furniture, with most of the tables laid for diners. There is a large inglenook fireplace to the right and some excellent local photos have been blown up and displayed along the end wall. A step takes you up to the quarry stone floored bar area with a dark wood servery to the left and limited high stool seating opposite, plus some framed medals (military?) hung along one of the ceiling beams. More seating can be found in a raised space to the rear right, where more of the tables had been formally laid, whilst to the left, a screen helps obscure a rather quaint snug which had a lot of old paintings, photos, cigarette cards and the like on the walls. A door to the rear leads out to a fine paved garden with lots of benches on the large lower level, flanked by enamel beer adverts and overseen by a life sized knight who stands on the top of the rear wall. Steps to the front take you up to a small terrace with a mix of high stools, metal garden furniture and more benches, again with some old adverts lining the perimeter walls. Menus listed pizza, burger and pub classic options, although a board inside stated that these were on offer at different days of the week.
The pub appears in the 2016 Good Beer Guide and accordingly there were five ales available at the bar - Robinsons Trooper and Dizzy Blonde, Hog's Back TEA, Wychwood Hobgoblin and Shepherd Neame Whitstable Bay. A friendly barmaid poured me a lively, but ultimately rather good pint of the Dizzy Blonde which I enjoyed in the garden, soaking up the last of the sun's rays.
I felt this pub had tried to simultaneously pitch itself to traditionalists and a younger crowd, with compromises made at either end of the spectrum. The pub has been opened out a lot but it retains a traditional charm thanks to the dark wood beams, fireplace and snug, whilst the garden and late opening (2:30am on weekends) will draw a younger crowd looking for something different to the usual drinking barns. I thought that this worked quite well overall and was very content enjoying a good pint in comfortable surrounds.
On 31st May 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3219 recommendations about 3219 pubs]
View more reviews of The Kings Head (13)
Something to do whilst the other half is shopping in Guildford by Steve of N21
Pubs Galore is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
- Official site of the Kings Head - www.thekingsheadpub.co.uk
- Facebook - Kings Head
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Kings Head - whatpub.com
London Road (Guildford), 0.77 miles, 14 min walk (show)
Shalford (Surrey), 1.48 miles, 28 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 31 May 2016 by Pub SignMan
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 15 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Beer Festivals : Yes last updated 15 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Beer Garden : Yes - courtyard and terrace area - last updated 15 April 2014 by Quinno _
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 15 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Car Park : No last updated 22 January 2015 by Moby Duck
- Darts : No last updated 31 May 2016 by Pub SignMan
- Function Room : No last updated 31 May 2016 by Pub SignMan
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 15 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Jukebox : No last updated 22 January 2015 by Moby Duck
- Live Music : Yes last updated 31 May 2016 by Pub SignMan
- Micropub : No last updated 31 May 2016 by Pub SignMan
- Pinball : No last updated 15 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Pool Table : No last updated 31 May 2016 by Pub SignMan
- Quiz Night : Yes last updated 22 January 2015 by Moby Duck
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 15 April 2014 by Quinno _
- Real Cider : No last updated 15 April 2014 by Quinno _