"I've featured my local Big Smoke pub before but on the rare occasion I found The Albion mostly empty, and serving the exceptional A&H London Black from the official glassware, I figured it was time to feature a review. I believe this was the second pub Big Smoke opened, building on the success of The Antelope in Surbiton. It's been here as long as I can remember, and at one stage had a Gin Distillery out the back which I think is now just garden seating (opted not to pap this, but there's a huge garden there with beer festivals held in the summer). Indoors, it's familiar to those who know the chain. Wooden panelling, ample seating, vinyl soundtracked vibe, 10+ ales and ciders, a multitude of keg offerings too including 2 AF options in the form of Lucky Saint and their own AF beer which has gone down well over the past month. You get a mixture of students, weekend shoppers, families and real ale folk in here, it's a nice melting pot of booze enthusiasts and those looking for a pub not surrounded by Vape Shops, a step away from the town centre, outside of the rampant demolition you see taking over Kingston. It's sort of a home away from home, despite only being some 15-20 minutes down the road from me, a chain familiarity but still less polished than those brand new Big Smoke pubs you spot in greater London. With time to kill it can be a quiet respite from the hustle and bustle of town, but with Rugby on and one of the few spacious family friendly pubs in the area it can get quite hectic. A nice problem to have for Big Smoke. Food again is similar to the other sites, a sort of BBQ meets pub grub style, with plenty of bits in-between to choose from. See the place pack out for weekends with roasts on, and various offers during the week. The pub dates back to 1845, little known about its history other than it was advertised as a sort of taproom with a view to watch the recreational sports on the green. Once Greene King, now Big Smoke, another one saved from mediocrity."
