During my long career as a Pubspy I have enjoyed many firsts. Due to the fact that this is a family paper, I can’t go into many of these incidents in much detail, including the one involving the barmaid and a half-cooked sausage, but thankfully I can tell you about the novel experience that befell me at The Lamb, in Surbiton, last week as it was cleaner than Mr Muscle’s toilet seat.

As I supped my lager my idle day dreams were interrupted by the sound of a grown man making an impressive range of animal noises as he read a story to his child. The Lamb, you see, is a strange old boozer.

Stepping inside it is a little like wandering into a children’s playroom or an old junk shop. The pub’s interior is dotted with inflatable toys, dusty board games and an old rope, while the garden is adorned with fading bunting and a rusty VW camper van.

It is certainly nice to be in a pub that isn’t part of a sterile chain or a polished, “I’ll have a Norwegian wheat ale and a plate of pan fried pig snouts with a balsamic glaze, please barman”, gastro ponce hole, even if does feel like it is straining too hard in its attempt to tumbledown.

What can’t be argued though is that the musty fug that hangs around the place, like an unwelcome relative on Boxing Day, is authentic and at least the toys and the other ephemera are put to good use.

When I visited the pub last week there were at least two young families settled in for an afternoon of lager and Buckaroo, with the aformentioned animal imitator taking the best possible advantage of the child-friendly facilities.

An innovative service that The Lamb also provides is a cheese counter to meet all of its patrons dairy needs. A quirky touch that sums up a pub that you’ll either find kookily endearing or irritatingly contrived. No matter which camp you’d fall into, it’s certainly worth a visit to find out.

The Lamb, 73 Brighton Road, Surbiton, KT6 5NF DECOR: XXX Junk shop chic that you’ll either love or loathe DRINK: XXXX A decent selection of beers PRICE: XX A little on the expensive side ATMOSPHERE: XXXX Warm and welcoming STAFF: XXXX Fast, efficient and friendly