The Ram

Pub with a great outdoor space overlooking the Thames. Big beer lineup but be careful with your beer ordering.
Had trouble with a couple of beers tasting like vinegar which is usually a problem with unclean lines or just old beer. There was also a fair few kegs out leaving our choices very limited. They did replace them but being that there was more than one beer with this issue it was was a bit concerning.
The staff can be pretty hit and miss. I had only pour me half one gin, realise it was wrong so top it up with the correct gin. He was pretty rude about it to the other bartender.
The food looked big, hearty and typically pubby.

Best fish and chips I’ve had while in the UK. Pretty quick service and decent prices. Advertise a vegan menu but don’t serve it any longer?
Plenty of seating inside and out and seems to be clean as I didn’t smell anything like others mentioned. Love the doodle that seems to own the place. believe his name was Charlie… I would definitely go back for more fish!

Despite the interior looking relatively recently refurbished, the strong smell of urine in the toilet end of the pub was rather off putting at first. I’ve always been fond of the Ram’s riverside location however, and at the other end you can grab some bay window seating and maybe catch a glimpse of Kingston’s famous, historic and basically simply incredible Coronation Stone (which I can tell you about in GREAT detail).
Drinks wise, there are some locally brewed ales here and some other stuff of which my beer drinking friend approved, so that’s good. Non drinkers are also well served with two of my personal favourites — Appletise and Big Tom as well as some Fentimans etc. We really do treat non drinkers so much better in bars in the UK than they do in the US (fountain soda? NO. Disgusting. And nonsensical given far broader US range of fancy sodas).

The Ram, not far from Draper’s Court, near the police station in Kingston, is a popular venue for both working lunches and live music on Wednesday evenings.
The Ram is a real ale pub and seems to be a free house — when I was there recently I drank Doom Bar, whilst my husband drank Abbott. In addition, they have a good selection of both wines and lagers.
This is a large pub, with a long, narrow garden at the back. They serve food both at lunchtimes and the evening, and seem to have a good selection. When I ate there many years ago when I worked in Kingston the burgers were excellent, but that really was some time ago!
The staff are very friendly and efficient. I was there for the live music on a Wednesday (which was very good, even if my daughter’s boyfriend is the bass player), and it was very busy — mostly youngish folk, but besides me and my husband, there were a smattering of oldies.
The toilets are clean but dated, and could do with a refurb. Otherwise, this is a good real ale pub — I recommend it.

Hmmmm, this place seems to have gone a bit down hill the past few years. The pub seems full of lager-​louts (on the 3+ occasions I’ve been there), the staff are definitely indifferent about pride in work, the outdoor tables (the best bit) are worn, dirty and crumbly in parts — and the whole place lacks a comfortable feel to it.
On the plus, grab a pint and sit outside the back entrance on the Thames path and watch the people stroll by or the boats and ducks/​swans float by Fantastic for a sunny, summery evening! But wouldn’t recommend it on a cold winter’s day when the inside décor and lack of warmth would put me off.
I haven’t eaten there because The Ram is usually a stopping off point on the way to somewhere else — usually I’m just there for a change of scenery if I’m tired of always meeting at the Druid’s Head or similar.
But, as always, these things need to be tried for themselves. Just don’t have hugely high expectations, and go there for an outside drink or two with the Thames as the view and the prospect of moving on somewhere else afterwards
cheers

The poor old Ram is looking very tired and weary, definitely way past its best. It’s a great shame, given its brilliant location: right on the pretty stretch of the Thames, heading from Kingston towards Surbiton (on one side) and Hampton Court (on the other).
It didn’t start well, with staff who were looking the other way and talking amongst themselves whilst supposedly listening and taking our order. My friend’s beer of choice: Doom was aptly named and should have been condemned rather than enjoyed. (He’s a Doom aficionado, by the way, so knows his stuff). Aside from the beer, attention to detail was sorely lacking, there was stickiness everywhere.
The outside area — which should have been perfectly placed to take-​in beautiful riverside views and activity — was curiously laid-​out, bricked and trellised-​in to such a degree that the ‘view’ was all but obliterated. The umbrellas, supposedly providing shelter and protection from the elements, were verging-​on more holes than umbrella. The overall feeling was of a venue that was unloved, in need of some nurturing and a makeover, on all levels. We left disappointed at such a waste and a missed opportunity.

Get ready for the sun and head to The Ram. The ouside seating area overlooks the river and is always lively. The drinks are reasonably priced and it is a great place in the day or the night.