February 2024. Teddington.
Look, this trio of new GBG entries in South-West and West London weren’t classics, and as flying visits I cam hardly claim to have been won over by the (well) hidden charms of Raynes Park and New Malden,
but Teddington looked a proper town,
and the 10 minutes from my wee stop at the Railway revealed a place better than Twickers, which is all you can wish for round here.
The Abercorn emitted that golden light that makes pubs impossible to pass,
even when they’re pumping out Take That.
Mrs RM seemed pleased to see me, turning up at the exact moment two “burger and pint for £15” deals arrived.
The Porter (top) tasted a bit “sour”. I’d written Big Smoke off as a novelty outlet best suited to airports and posh suburbs who know no better and this confirmed my prejudice.
“What do YOU think, Mrs RM ?“.
“Tastes a bit sour”.
Luckily, the nice barman agreed, and swapped them for a couple of pints of the Big Smoke Pale; much better and matching a “dirty burger and fries” to perfection.
To be honest, normally I’d have gone “Hmmm” and wrote this off as a marginal cask outlet, but the two young staff were SO enthusiastic, sniffing the duff Porter and enthusiastically pulling through the cask on the other bar that I actually wanted to stay for another half, a chewy Verdant that redeemed the place (3.5).
Perhaps it was the lovely staff, or the unexpectedly good beer, or the shared condemnation of the murdering of the Dolly/Whitney classic,
but Mrs RM and I had a great night, though how the conversation ended with Roger Waters popping his clogs I’ll never know.
retiredmartin 