Picture of Orange Tree, TW9 2NQ

Historical version 8 of Orange Tree, TW9 2NQ (view current version)

Good Beer Guide pub very close to Richmond Station, one of the "posh" Young's pubs.

It's one of the pubs that people collect in on rugby days, since it's convenient for both the train station and the buses to the stadium, and hence gets very busy on those days. On sunny days, there are often a lot of people congregating out the front, where there is a fair bit of seating sheltered beneath large umbrellas/parasols, but there is often space inside. Inside, there's one small sofa in the front bit, as well as upright chairs and tables of varying height. They also have a bookable function room in the basement.

Martin visited some time prior to July 2007, and had a very fine steak and ale pie (for about £10, so not the cheapest, but IMHO worth it). (Pie-fascists note: fully enclosed in good shortcrust pastry.) I have been impressed with the helpfulness of the staff here - on one occasion allowing us to sit in the non-smoking section despite not ordering food (pre smoking ban, the table service food area was the only non-smoking area), and on another occasion loaning us umbrellas from the lost property while we walked round (nearby) Kew Gardens.

Kake visited on a Wednesday afternoon in July 2008. Beers available were Bombardier (£3.05/pint), Young's Special, and Young's Bitter. There was music, though not too loud, sort of poprockjazzfunk, which although feeling a bit incongruous wasn't loud enough to be annoying. There were a few other customers in but it didn't start getting busy until 6pm approached, and the table service area to the rear remained empty.

Food served all day from noon onwards, according to the Orange Tree website and the Good Beer Guide (though from 11am-9pm according to the Young's website). A blackboard spotted in July 2008 gave the price of a Sunday roast as £11.

Accessibility: The approach to the entrance is cobbled (though with flat cobbles rather than rounded). Although access to the bar and seating areas is step-free, the toilets are up a flight of stairs and there was no evidence of an accessible toilet.

Getting here: Come out of the station and turn right; it's on the other side of the road, conveniently just by a pedestrian crossing.

See also:

Last visited by Kake, 23 July 2008. Opening hours taken from the 2008 Good Beer Guide.
OS X co-ord: 518066 OS Y co-ord: 175263 (Latitude: 51.463521 Longitude: -0.300211)
This is version 8 (as of 2008-07-26 02:26:59). View current version. List all versions.