September 2025. Carshalton. Greater London.
Nope. Not a typo, a Top Ten pub, perhaps better.
It’s actually the Cryer Theatre, Bobby Davro and all, that’s drawn me back to Carshalton for the first time in over a decade, but there was zero chance I wasn’t using my £25.55 day return to confirm that The Hope is a classic.
Ben Viveur writes well about the Hope on his blog (here);
“I love the Hope in Carshalton. just named by CAMRA as the best pub in Greater London. Big achievement and entirely deserved, I think.“
And it is, based on the quality of the staff (brilliant under pressure),
the cosiness of the pub,
(look at that seating !),
the stunning cask quality (UnBarred Joosy a chewy NBSS 4),
and the most diverse custom I’ve seen in a pub all year.
Absolutely heaving, with cask selling like hot cakes. Women expertly carry three pints back to a prize spot in the corner, settling down for the evening.
And there’s the rub. Ben goes on to discuss how the presence of one universally accepted classic pub can mean that other good ones don’t get a look in;
“Go back, say, 12 years or so, and Carshalton was a great place for a pub crawl. The Hope had arrived, but you also had the Windsor Castle with a sterling reputation for cask ale that used to host beer festivals in the garden. The Fox and Hounds was decent, as was the Racehorse. The Greyhound was worth stopping in for a pint of Young’s, and the Woodman would probably offer a reasonable pint. ”
The Hope is wonderful. Let’s see what else Carshalton has to offer.
retiredmartin 
That could almost be a Spoons carpet.
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Beautiful.
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“Carshalton. Greater London.”
That top pic with ‘Charrington’; I woulda figured you’d swoon at the sight and need a trip to A&E.
“Not a typo, a Top Ten pub, perhaps better.”
Phew! I thought you were going to start a TEN POST of the best pubs.
“but there was zero chance I wasn’t using my £25.55 day return to confirm that The Hope is a classic.”
(cough) Charrington (cough)
“just named by CAMRA as the best pub in Greater London:
Blimey. I can see why you went with Top 10.
“And it is, based on the quality of the staff (brilliant under pressure),”
So, I take it Si has yet to go there? 😉
“(look at that seating !),”
Not a bum out of place!
(and is that BoJo in the pic below?)
“the stunning cask quality (UnBarred Joosy a chewy NBSS 4)”
Just curious but, how exactly does one pronounce ‘Joosy’?
“and the most diverse custom I’ve seen in a pub all year.”
Pfft. Definitely not with regards to clothing and colour.
“with cask selling like hot cakes.”
Break cakes, surely.
“Women expertly carry three pints back to a prize spot in the corner, settling down for the evening.”
For themselves?
(would explain ‘settling down for the evening’)
“And there’s the rub.”
Pfft. Mainly for tourists. Surely the ‘locals’ would suss out some ‘plan B’ pubs should the Hope be… hopeless due to the number of folk at any one time?
“The Hope is wonderful. Let’s see what else Carshalton has to offer.”
See! I knew it was going to be a 10 pub thingy.
Cheers
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Looking back over my own blog (always dangerous) I see I’ve frequently mentioned The Hope as one of the best in London, despite not having visited for more than a decade. Perhaps this year it might win National CAMRA Pub of the Year ?
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Hopefully we haven’t jinxed it.
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