"The fantastic tasting and great value pizzas, along with the great selection of beers save The Norbiton from a poor review from me. I come to The Norbiton quite frequently because it serves a purpose as a great place to have good beer and really good value (and delicious) pizzas. Not that I tend to go for this, but I do like the fact it’s so on top of the sports calendar for those that want to come for that. Due to its position and the fact it is undoubtedly quite popular for the reasons I mention above, the atmosphere is generally quite good too. My main bugbear with The Norbiton, and similar pubs like it which offer a contemporary pub aesthetic and encompass an emphasis on ‘craft beer’, is that the staff service and engagement with its customers is actually really poor in comparison to those that make an effort with their customers. For some reason, places that align themselves with this aesthetic almost seem as though they’re ‘too cool’ to engage as you might expect from any other hospitality environment, serving customers as though they’d just woken from a deep sleep or as though they’re simply not that interested in serving you. It has to be said there are some friendly members of staff that smile, say hello, and generally engage like you might expect, but they are in the minority. I only labour this point because The Norbiton has a great formula other than the reception it’s customers get, and it’s the element that doesn’t cost anything that lets it down for me."
