I spied The Inn on the Pond using a well-known search tool when I fancied a relaxing Sunday drive…read morein the country with an old pal. Booking a table an hour or two before through the website was a breeze. When we hit traffic in the godforsaken Croydon area, I phone them. Yes of course the booking could be delayed. This is the kind of lovely pub which has a bowl of water outside for dogs and a nice little pile of muddy wellies at the door. The restaurant part is in the back, a slightly dingy room, with no views over the pond sadly. Also quite noisy on a Sunday thanks to assorted children. The Sunday menu offers some delicious sounding dishes. Being in vege mode, it was an easy choice to get the couscous stuffed peppers with halloumi. My companion plumped for a hearty pie. My stuffed peppers were delicious and fresh tasting, while the pie disappeared without trace as we enjoyed our conversation. We followed it up with a lemon verbena crème brulee and a dark cherry and almond tart. The crème brulee was a delicate masterpiece, while the tart was good fayre but a slight heavy on the pastry. Prices are a little higher than I expected outside London, but good value for the quality and service. The management must be good because all the staff we interacted with were pleasant. The staff all seemed to be enjoying their work so seemed like a great team. There's nice walking directly from the pub. I imagine it will be very pleasant in summer, and I hope I get a chance to return.

Edit 21st June 2008: Downgrading this to 1 star after…read moreanother visit to The Inn at the Pond resulted in a fetid-smelling and tasting burger being served. After a really good first meal (I'm leaving my original meal in for fairness), this meal was a massive let down. We found ourselves entering the restaurant wondering why there were so few people in it for a Saturday lunchtime and left wondering how they were still open, with a sample of food taken to provide to Environmental Health. Service was terrible: after waiting at the entrance for a couple of minutes, we had to wander around the (mostly empty) restaurant to see ourselves to a table, despite the fact that the waitress has clocked our arrival and said 'hello'. Drinks, which you'd think they'd be pushing hard, given the massive mark up, were really slow in being offered and topped up. The food (the edible element) was average. Nothing special, particularly considering the premium prices being charged. If you're silly enough to visit, please don't ask for the burger. For one thing, the texture is all wrong - it's obviously been over-mixed (almost certainly by machine) and the burger my wife tasted and smelt foul. When we complained, the management claimed (without smelling our burger) that the smell was due to the addition of cumin and herbs. So, first off, the smell of the burger served was definitely not just cumin. Secondly, any chef who puts anything but beef, salt and pepper (and, at a push, onion) into a burger better know they're doing. The chefs at The Inn at the Pond don't. I don't know what's happened since our first visit, but I'm really disappointed that this place hasn't lived up to its potential. It's not even average at the moment. Avoid, avoid, avoid. Original review: The Inn on the Pond's recently been refurbished, and our visit happened to be three days after opening. The Inn's decor and furniture has a lovely warm feel to it, and the management have done well not to be tempted into the trap of going for a retro-rustic feel. The food is posh pub grub (I wouldn't call this a gastro-pub). Between us we ordered the minute steak ciabatta, the honey roast ham and cheddar baguette, and the thai-spiced fishcakes. All the dishes were excellent, with my fishcakes giving enough of a kick to be noticeable without drowning out any of the other flavours. The chips that accompanied the sandwiches were nicely crunchy on the outside. I'd have preferred them in a thicker cut but to be fair to The Inn they do advertise them as 'frites'. Service was attentive and relaxed (in a good way), and the staff were very friendly towards my 16 month old daughter. I'm not sure the layout of the restaurant will cope with too many young families, but the lack of a children's menu and high chairs probably shows that The Inn on the Pond isn't really geared towards that part of the market. (Luckily for me, my daughter is quite happy eating normal food that hasn't been dumbed down for children.) The Inn's currently in a 'soft launch' period -- as The Inn's website puts it, so we do not do a 'Terminal 5' -- and the menu on offer to us was supposedly limited. Personally, I think it was about the right length, and I'll be interested to see how they cope with the extensive menu currently being touted on their website. Recommended, although I hope this place doesn't become too popular, since it's my local and I'd like to be able to get in without too much trouble.

This pub/restaurant was the respite destination following our two hour trek through Kenley Common…read morein the thick snow yesterday and I'm pleased to say it didn't dissapoint. Although the pub was packed with walkers warming their cockles, and despite the fact we were an un-booked party of 9, we were seated immediately. With these sort of places, the charm is always magnified in winter; when the fire crackles in the background, the heavy wooden beams conjure country cottage cosiness and the view of the snow falling through the windows looks like a picture postcard. That's not to say that this pub is all surface and no substance, it's just the substance is rather.... mediocre - just a nice local. The Vintage Inn chain always tend to find these large country cottages and at first many think that this is an independent. Our table tucked into the tasting platter to start, which was warming and tasty (breaded mushrooms, XXL pigs in blankets, toast, onion rings and onion marmalade surrounding a pot of melted camombert) but nothing ground breaking or not covered in wheat. Roast beef was the main of choice and although none of it was of awarding-winning-gastro-quality, you have to remember you are paying only £6.95. And when you consider that - it's a pretty darn good meal. It was served with the traditional trimmings; baby carrots, green mixed veg, roast potatoes and parsnips, Yorkshire pud and gravy. The service was good and the house wine, a rather nice Australian Shiraz, was only £9.95 - a bottle! (I'm sure I just paid that for a large glass recently in Central London....). Good value = quality + price and I think this place just about sums this up.

Service was okay, bit slow and not too approachable…read more Food was okay, but nothing to write home about, good atmosphere and good settings as far as location so nice to stop off when going for a walk. Dog friendly too which helps.

Good service, good atmosphere thanks guys!…read more Good food and nice quick service, proper local pub which is nice as it really makes it a warming atmosphere Thanks so much we'll defiantly be back! Good friendly family pub too, and dog friendly which helps! Good beer garden too

Great pub. The purpose of my visit with a mate was because we had some coupons from a recent…read moreFullers promotion. The place has bags of atmosphere and the London Pride was very good. Staff was friendly and great service. Only thing with this place is the car park is a tad small if its busy. Would definitely recommend going here and I would go back any time.

This was a very welcome pit stop on our ramble today. On this lovely mild winters Saturday we were…read moredoing a round walk from Farthing Downs which took in the wonderful, and aptly named, Happy Valley and the very picturesque village of Chaldon. The Harrow Inn is situated just off the famous and well used Pilgrims Way at the far end of Chaldon so it's a popular choice with both locals and the walking fraternity. It's an old pub from the 16th century which still has plenty of character, with a real fire, a nice large wooden bar and tiles on the floor (which is probably a very good floor covering with all the muddy walking boots tramping about). There is plenty of seating, including a good set of stools at the bar, and a separate restaurant area out the back. Staff are young, welcoming and quick off the mark which is just what you want when you are walking and do not have the option of watching the afternoon drift away over a few lazy pints. The pub carries the Cask Marque which normally means that you can expect a decent pint of well-kept real ale. There were 4 cask ales on today but it was a pretty standard selection so we went for the Tribute from the St Austell Brewery in Cornwall. After a good tramp through Happy Valley and a fairly muddy section of North Downs Way this went down very well; cool and clear, bronze of colour with plenty of flavour. We soon ordered up another to go with our lunch which was not long in arriving. My haddock, chips and peas were a good choice and at £8.25 it's a reasonable price for this part of the country. The fish was the size of a whale, fresh and came encased in a crisp beer batter. Chips were ok but I would be very surprised if they had been peeled and cut in the kitchen. B's choice of sausage and mash with braised red cabbage was much less successful. The two sausages were fine; well-cooked with a nice colouring and a good meaty taste. What let this dish down was cabbage that had far too much crunch for this kind of comfort food and the ultimate crime - iffy mash. Lumpy, undercooked and badly seasoned. What a shame!! However, I would hope that this was just a one off from the kitchen and this is a pub I would still recommend if you are walking in the area or just passing through. The many locals in the bar with their very well behaved kids, watching the rugby, certainly seemed to like the place. 3 stars because it's a crime to make a hash of the English pub classic of sausage and mash but I'm sure this will be amended on a future visit.

Super nice food! Good value for money and great atmosphere…read more Bar staff are lovely and good customer service. Good and quick service with a great buzz in the pub Nice walking surrounds too, meaning you can stop off mid walk for a quick drink

I enjoyed this pub quite a bit while I was visiting England. I was staying in Whyteleafe down the…read moreroad and bounced between Whyteleafe Tavern and Olde Surrey Hounds. I did little more than drink some beer in this place, but the patrons and staff were friendly and didn't even make fun of the silly American, they made a tasty sandwich (a BLT if I recall correctly) on some of the best brown bread I've ever had. I still talk about that bread... If I'm ever back here (and I hope to be), I'll have to pop in again. Nice little place!

Another pub experienced in Caterham, The Royal Oak can be found in the high street. It's exterior…read moreis very old and the inside is quite traditional, the food here is very good! One of the best chef's for a pub I'd say! The menu prices and drinks prices are average and fairly good value for money. It's a lovely, wholesome pub.

A very good place to eat ! ITS value for money. THE interior is maybe not so attractive , but the…read moreservice is very good as well as the food. They also served a nice glass of wine! We ate here with two kids and they liked it also.

Spent many a hour there with all the lads,lots of memories…read moreGood luck to yeah all,hope yeah are well Shaun

Great atmosphere here, food is nice, good service too and a nice little place to go. Whether there…read moreis only 2 of you or if there is 20+ it's a great place to go, perfect for kids too, as we've taken the grandkids here and the staff were great with them! Thanks guys

Lovely friendly little place, nice pint of Harvey's, just the job, excellent pint. Don't do food…read moreother than rolls, but they were good value too. Has a video and book charity shelf; you take one in and donate a few coppers to take one out.

Wonderful staff, great atmosphere with a superb selection of Ales Wines and spirits. Also lots of…read moredifferent events throughout the year.

Food is amazing. Came here with my daughter and husband for midweek dinner and the food was unreal!…read more Good customer service, and defiantly service with a smile most of the time. There are a few that aren't so approachable or smiley but most are. Service was quick when we went and all enjoyed the food. Would recommend

Garbage, reheated food that was still icy in the middle. Curry tasted of reheated chicken bathed in…read moresupermarket curry sauce from a jar. Still waiting for the after effects, could be bad

The Feathers in Merstham is an old fashioned pub that focusses ond delivering quality food and…read moredrinks. The selection of ales, whiskeys, beers and ciders is astounding. As with all pubs what makes The Feathers work is the atmosphere. The wood interior, the fire and outside the park benches to sit on during lazy summer days. The Feathers is refreshing change from chain pubs that focus on packing people in to get drunk on mediocre beverages. The Feathers misses out on full marks as some drinks can be quite expensive

Lovely pub - very nice feel to it however on the one and only time I visited I waited 20 minutes to…read morebe served without even an acknowledgement and when the barman came over and another customer shouted he had been waiting longer (which he hadn't) the barman simply abandoned my order and went to serve him. On returning to me he then informed me they were totally out of soft drinks (partner is a tee total) but no signs up to state this so he was left with a glass of tap water. Food came quickly and i must say it was very tasty. I will return soon as I do believe it was just a bad day due to being understaffed but I really hope this isn't the usual service as if it is it certainly needs reviewing!