The Kingfisher

Lovely setting, good menu, children welcome. But have been very disappointed on the last two occasions by one of the chicken dishes being overcooked with a dry unpenetrable layer half an inch thick hidden on the underneath by the cheese and bacon topping.

Went for Saturday lunch with the significant and a couple of friends. It’s one of those chain of pubs that has realised that survival or indeed gold is to be found by feeding it’s clientele as well as watering them and so has filled all available spaces with tables and menus, expanding wherever possible and including a large riverside area. We all had Sharp’s Autumn Fall, a malty winter beer, worth tracking down and I had fish and chips. Fish great, fresh and firm, crispy beer batter so ten out of ten, but as is traditional in a chain pub, the chips were average and the peas had had all the flavour boiled out of them an hour before arriving on the plate. Why? it’s not very difficult, out of the packet and into the microwave for 5 minutes. Significant had a sweet potato and asparagus salad that looked like a guinea pig’s wet dream, but was reportedly good, as was the beef and beer pie, though it suffered the standard pub trick of being constructed after the components had been cooked. Apart from which, the staff were friendly, the rooms comfortable and a copy of the Daily Express provided for those who aren’t that bothered about the news.

The Kingfisher is a really nice pub by Chertsey Bridge over the River Thames. It’s right by the lock so there’s nothing nicer than sitting in its garden in the summer with a drink in your hand watching the world go by. It’s such a popular pub that it’s heaving in the summer and can get busy all the year round, particularly on a Sunday when they do some great roasts.
There’s an open fire in the winter so it’s a snug place to spend a few hours while it’s cold outside. There’s a long menu of pub food and some slightly more gastro pub type meals.
The staff are friendly, sometimes more enthusiastic than professional, but the service is generally good.
The Kingfisher is part of the Vintage Inns chain — if you sign up on their website they send you their newsletter which often has special offers (eg two meals for £10).