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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Malden man
Submitted on Saturday, 25th April 2015
With picture contributions to 1703 other pubs
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Detail Pages
Railway Tavern, Chelmsford
Chelmsford
CM1 1HT
Served areas
Reviews of Railway Tavern (Average Rating: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about Railway Tavern
Long and narrow pub immediately opposite the entrance to Chelmsford railway station. It currently opens at either 10am or 10:30. So, it made a good first stop for us in Chelmsford after leaving the station. We were the first in shortly after 11am on a Friday morning.
There is a seating area at the front as you enter and a larger area to the rear beyond the bar. Beyond that was a door leading to an outside seating area.
Handpumps are used at either end of the bar. But ales are also listed on blackboards, also at each end.
Ales are mostly from East Anglia. Greene King Abbot is a regular beer. So is Red Fox IPA. Wily Ol' Fox was another Red Fox beer on offer. Other guests were Dartmoor Jail Ale, Maldon Puck's Folly & Woodforde's Mardler's Mild. The real cider was Weston's Rosie's Pig.
What struck me most about the pub was the friendly nature of the 2 barmaids. We told them we were doing a tour of the town's pubs and they invited us back for a nightcap at the end of the day.
Certainly a pub I will go back to at some point and a fitting start to our crawl.
On 13th October 2020
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Railway Tavern
Just across the road from Chelmsford station, this is a nice old fashioned pub that must’ve been serving visitors to the city for decades past. The pub has a long, narrow interior that is squeezed even further when the servery appears on the left hand wall, midway through the building. There is a cosy small seating area to the front which was packed when I arrived on a Saturday evening, but seating options are severely limited until you get beyond the far end of the bar. This narrow space sees the dark wood servery dominate, but it is worth stopping as you pass through in order to admire the attractive windows with their patterned decorations on the opposite wall plus the bar canopy which has been decorated with various train themed landscapes. The rear part of the room has recently been refurbished and I’m told that there used to be furniture inspired by old Pullman carriages, but this has now all gone except for some partitioning screens which still bear old ‘LMS LNER’ and ‘GWR SOUTHERN’ plaques. Now we just have some striped back banquettes and standard chairs, which were admittedly nice and comfy. Rail enthusiasts can still admire the old railway themed paintings and photos which are dotted around the entire pub and keep the theme alive. There is a patio garden to the rear which I didn’t get around to exploring, staying indoors instead where I was subjected to an 80’s pop soundtrack.
The barman here was extremely friendly and talked me through the pub’s ale policy and their current range of beers which comprised Red Fox IPA, Greene King Abbot Ale, Tiny Rebel Beat Box, Woodfordes Mild, Adnams Broadside, Sharps Special and St Peters Porter. I had a pint of the Red Fox IPA which I had to neck pretty quickly as my train home was due sooner than I’d expected, but it was in decent shape, so that was no real hardship.
This is a pretty nice station pub with very friendly and helpful staff, good natured customers and some decent ale. The place needs to keep on top of its game with the Ale House a short distance away offering a wide selection of ales in contemporary surrounds. This place makes a compelling case for a more traditional drinking environment and Chelmsford is therefore blessed with two high quality station pubs – one for when you arrive and one for when you leave!
On 7th November 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Railway Tavern
This is a long and narrow one bar pub which extends back a fair way. The bar is towards the front, set along a side wall, the front area has colourful magenta and green boarded walls with complimentary striped banquette seating, the area then narrows naturally along the bar area where the panelled walls become blue, then extends out again to the rear which is set out as a period Pullman first class railway carriage with authentic seating in booths, lots of railway memorabilia and an incongruous bit of 70s style modern art. There are some risqué framed prints, stepped up a level in the gents.
The beer range was excellent, Mighty Oak IPA, Woodfordes Wherry, GK Abbot, Sharp's Special, Red Fox Mild, Truman's Runner, St Austell Proper Job, and Milestone Mosaic. Prices were good too, generally being at the lower end of the £3+ range. Meals are served however I didn't check out a standard menu, chalkboard specials included Battered haddock, chips and peas for £8.95 and Italian beef and tomato soup for £4.95 including a roll.
Service was very friendly and the landlady (I assume) helpfully pointed out that there were further ale choices at the far end of the bar before we ordered.
A great pub, we pondered hard as to our preferred choice near to the station between this and the differently styled Ale House but we couldn't split them, so it is another rare 9 from me too for this place. Well deserved.
On 26th April 2015
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
View more reviews of Railway Tavern (6)
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- Official site of Railway Tavern - www.grayandsons.co.uk
- Facebook - The Railway Tavern
- CAMRA WhatPub :: Railway Tavern - whatpub.com
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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 06 November 2013 by john mcgraw
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 06 November 2013 by john mcgraw
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 06 November 2013 by john mcgraw
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 06 November 2013 by john mcgraw
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 06 November 2013 by john mcgraw
- Car Park : No last updated 06 November 2013 by john mcgraw
- Darts : Yes last updated 17 January 2015 by Aqualung .
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 17 January 2015 by Aqualung .
- Function Room : No last updated 07 November 2017 by Pub SignMan
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 06 November 2013 by john mcgraw
- Jukebox : No last updated 06 November 2013 by john mcgraw
- Karaoke : No last updated 06 November 2013 by john mcgraw
- Live Music : No last updated 06 November 2013 by john mcgraw
- Live TV Sports : Yes last updated 17 January 2015 by Aqualung .
- Micropub : No last updated 28 April 2015 by john mcgraw
- Pinball : No last updated 06 November 2013 by john mcgraw
- Pool Table : No last updated 06 November 2013 by john mcgraw
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 31 January 2007 by hondo .
- Real Cider : Yes last updated 17 January 2015 by Aqualung .
- Wheelchair Access : Yes last updated 18 May 2014 by Aqualung .
- WiFi : No last updated 28 April 2015 by john mcgraw
