The Victoria Inn

You're walking up Hill Rise towards the park, and The Victoria Inn sits there like it's always been part of the furniture—because it probably has. This is the kind of pub where people pop in for a quick pint after work and somehow end up staying three hours, chatting to whoever's at the bar. The atmosphere hits different depending on when you visit: weekday afternoons are properly relaxed, weekends get noticeably busier with Richmond locals and people heading to or from the green. The crowd skews genuinely mixed—everyone from families grabbing Sunday lunch to groups of mates on a night out. It's unpretentious in the best possible way: no craft cocktail nonsense, just solid pub staples and honest pints at reasonable prices.