Tuesday 22 July 2008

Woody's

Wandering down by the river, we noticed the bar next to The Ram that had been closed for a few months had just re-opened.
This is how I believe it went down. A guy called Woody has a dream, a dream to open his own bar. He'll put lots of trendy things in it, paint all the walls and floors white, and even have a selection of teas, coffees and sweets.
Sounds good doesn't it? Err, in his head it may of. You see, the image(?) doesn't quite work. Woody spent his life savings and buying lots of big old oak chairs/tables and fish-eye mirrors, but then had no money left for the the other few tables he needed, so he threw in some plastic McDonald's seats. The badly painted wooden white floor speaks for itself, and he complete forgot some kind of theme. Stay outside, or go to Bar Ha Ha a few doors down.
Am I snob? Possibly.
-Alex



This venue was not the next one on our list but we fancied a riverside location so we headed down to see what we haven't yet seen, to notice this place was now opened to our surprise as it had been boarded up on every trip riverside so far. So, to save walking any further we decided to test it out.
The outside of the bar had many picnic benches and looked very busy form the outside, upon entering he place was deserted, in all honesty this could be due to the warm evening, or the fact the smell of paint was still thick in the air. Décor was quite....unique would be the best word, not quite seen anything so random especially when it come to seating but its one of those things that will either be a hit or a flop, I'm not ready to commit to either just yet. Maybe wait till the paint has dried and re-visit in the cooler months and see how its going, though we don't officially re-visit for the purposes of this site, i would like to give it another go down the line.
The rest of the night was quite uneventful apart form the looks on the others faces when Ollie presented me with ‘my’ bottle of absinthe 80% proof which i (after some peer pressure) decided to take a swig, and was the only one out of the three of us to manage about ¼ of a miniature bottle without spitting it out. Things might have got a little blurry shortly after but that's another matter!
-Andrew



Drinks Price
(Strongbow, Budwiser, J2O)

Snacks

Alex's Score

Andrew's Score

Oliver's Score

£8.30

Pistachios or monkey nuts in a glass

6.7

7.0

5.0



7 comments:

frankie said...

I have made many a trip to woodys and have enjoyed every one of them the food is amazing and the staff are very pleasant. i think the decoration is beautiful and no i dont think you a snob you are rude. The owner is not woody that is the name of his 4 years old son. the wallpaper is fantastic and all my friends who i have brought down to woodys all agree. i feel angry that someone would say this, when it is a lovely refreshing release to be able to relax by the river in a bar that doesnt smell of toilets. Offers a choice for the old and the young and such a range, from cakes and coffees. To cocktails and real fresh food. i hope that you attend woodys again and see it for what it is and try their amazing burgers and steak sandwiches, and have a pint that isnt fosters.....

Alex said...

Frankie,
May I start by offering my dearest sympathy's for the owner's four year old son who was named after a Pixar animated character (thank the lord the pub isn't, imagine how embarrassing that would be!).
I'm so glad you made light of the 'fantastic wallpaper', it's something I deeply regret not discussing with 'my friends' while 'relaxing by the river'. Now what's this about a bar along Kingston riverside that smells of toilets? I can't say I recollect any such thing. Perhaps the other pubs, being more open, gave you the option of actually sitting on the bank of the Thames (don't do it, it can get rather smelly down there).
You're right about the range of foods though, from cakes, all the way down to the opposite end of the alphabet that is coffees. I can't wait to see the old and young faces lighting up upon seeing all that's on offer!

What you don't realise is that not everyone likes a Gastropub, it's seen as a threat to the old traditional English pub. And I agree.

chris said...

Went for a walk along the river and stopped for a drink in Woody's. Was with a group of friends and we all loved it,the staff were very friendly. We ended up eating there the food was the best I have eaten in Kingston in a long time. Will be going back. Just as a minor point think your find people who name their kids woody have named them after woody guthrie

Alex said...

Chrisy! What the hell happened with that last sentence? I was yeah, this guy is actually writing an honest review here, then I read "think your find people"?? But don't worry, I won't assume your spelling/grammar is as bad as your taste-buds.
Maybe it's just me, but naming your kid after an icon of North American patriotism...? That's even more odd than a doll.

Andy said...

This place is great and looks amazing (The picture here was taken after PB's shut and has since changed a great deal)
The food is also very tasty and the bar staff are friendly. There prices are higher then else where but this is a proven way to keep hippies like Alex and his munchkin sidekicks out and allows the better of us to enjoy great food and drink in fantastic surrounding with a great view across the river thames.

Alex said...

Oh dear, Andy. Are you sure Woody's would be happy to be associated such a pompous point of view? I was keeping an open mind since we haven’t been there since ‘08.
With so much to choose from down by the river in Kingston, I don’t think anyone should have to pay ‘higher’ prices for something so decidedly, err… average. I love that this makes me a hippie.
By the way, for someone who has such a high opinion of himself, your lack of grammar and use of ‘there’ instead of ‘their’ doesn’t fill me with much hope for the place!

Anonymous said...

Woody's is one of my favorite place to visit when I'm down at the river. It's quirky and mis-matched furniture gave it a laid back atmosphere.
The food is great! Chunky fries is one of my big favorite.
I also enjoy going in for coffee and browsing its many magazine and reading materials.
I'll recommend to anyone who want something different than a pub atmosphere.