The Hope — Restaurant in London

Real pub. Good selection of reasonably priced real ale. No TV. No music blaring. Friendly bar staff. Decent pub food. As perfect as you get. Updated after COVID - the beer and food have gone up slightly - typically 50p to £1. Really nothing considering how cheap they were to start with. Still the best pub by far Updated - still excellent. Great selection of beers - you can ask to try any in a shot glass and the bar staff are knowledgeable enough to suggest what you may like based on what you have had. Tip - the pump on the far left had the strongest beer, usually only sold in halfs or thirds depending on strength Updated again. Still by far the best pub for a long way. We seem to have had a big turnover in staff, but still helpful, really good selection of good beer, good basic pub food at decent prices. Really recommend it unless it's busy and you are taking up my table space! Updated again. Yep, still streets ahead as the best pub for a long way. Beers and beers selec tion fantastic. Basic pub food excellent and very reasonable. Beer festivals usually once a month at the last weekend (Thursday lunch till Saturday, although I normally drink it by...

The Hope is the best pub in town the staff are incredibly friendly and helpful the beer and cider selection is always changing and they will always help to guide you to a drink you will like even when the bar is busy they will go out of their way to help

The hand made pork pies are the best bar snacks in town just watch out they sell out fast but don't be afraid to ask as they do keep some out the back if you need something a little more substantial the pot meals are delicious i highly recommend the Pork Bigos

The locals are Freindly and more than a few musicians frequent the place and impromptu music can just happen but the place is big enough theres always a quite corner to sit in if it's not your thing

And most important the pub is Dog friendly so it's the perfect place to stop off with your best friend when our for a walk and a few of the regular dogs in the pub are more well know than the owners and watching someone getting dragged jnto the pub by thier four legged feiend is always funny to watch as all the dogs know theres a warm welcome and somewhere warm to lay down and always a few dog...

The Hope probably comes just as close to my perfect pub as it's possible to get. And, what's more, when you don't think they can improve it any further, there's always a little extra added.

Even in the Greater London suburbs, it's rare to find a pub like this. Cosy, with a friendly, laid-back atmosphere and a brilliant selection of ales and ciders. There's five hand pumps (and occasionally more in a barrel) and the ales range from familiar local microbrewers through to ales you'll never have heard of. The cider choice is always interesting too. What's more, they've replaced the standard lagers with German Kolsch and other continental beers.

Add an aging barbilliards table in the back of the pub, standard pub grub (nothing special, but very edible and soaks up the beer) and regular beer festivals and it's clear why this pub is loved not just by locals but by beer fans who make the trip to Surrey.

It's unlikely you'll ever have cause to visit Carshalton, but if you ever find yourself heading through this area of Surrey, then The Hope is an excellent reason to make...