please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
And that miserable sausage man still whinges if his view to the football screen is blocked.
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All gone downhill since Maria left and getting very expensive.
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Unremarkable. Other comments sum it up. Good meeting point for a couple of pints on the way to somewhere else. One good thing is that there is plenty of space.
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Average pub like so many in the immediate area. No particular attractions within. A sense of being unclean accompanies you when you realise you've given them cash which could be better spent elsewhere for very low quality ale. Does have sport on tv though and usually easy enough to grab a table. Seems from other comments that the service is as hopeless as ever.
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Routine Youngs/Wells house, fairly busy as town centre/ station pubs tend to be but nothing too special in fact rather ordinary if Youngs fans don't mind the pun. Beer ok.
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Good pub been going for years but your right the bar staff need a kick up the backside. Mincer landlord a bit of a slacker on his staff
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WheelieBin is right - it probably is the best pub near Wimbledon station. The roof terrace is good if the weather permits, and the pub has got a decent selection of drinks.
Service, however, is very sketchy. When busy the barstaff serve randomly and out of order, when quiet it's hard to rouse them from the group huddle in the corner.
Apart from that it's an enjoyable pub.
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It really isn't as bad as people make it out. It is after all the only uncomplicated and unpretentious pub to drink in in Wimbledon Town. Make an effort with the staff and they will make an effort back - they're only human. It is over-priced - but it's a Youngs so it's a given. It is too smokey - but that will change from next week.
Just a decent, plain boozer. And they are few and far between these days.
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Loose the rude aussie/kiwi barman with the attitude problem and this place would be a whole lot better. Won't be going back.
anonymous - 12 Jun 2007 13:46 |
I was unlucky in that I went to this pub on the night of a big football match. Packed out, Noisy, smokey, horrible. Roll on July 1st.
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ianbeer is fortunate to have gone on Wednesday. On Bank Holiday Monday the management arbitrarily decided to give the restaurant staff an evening off and provide no food at all! It just goes to show this isn't primarily an eaters' pub. If it was, this would have been one of their more lucrative nights.
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Just been here for dinner on a Wednesday evening. Ate in the restaurant section that used to be Finch's. Service was excellent and the food was as good as you would expect from Young's suppliers. My overseas companions were suitably impressed and, being American, were literally amazed by the quality of the Wells & Youngs bitter. Portions could have been a little larger and the smoke did get in from the rest of the pub. So... only 7/10 where it could have been 9/10.
Great crowd of friendly people in the front when we left 3 1/2 hours later. I'd recommend this place to anyone. Looks like Youngs are getting it right here - no, I don't work for them!
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Not the same as it used to be following the refit. As well as the wine bar, there used to be three separate bars - each with their own atmosphere and clientele. It's now one big bar, with features you'll recognise from other Youngs/Wells&Youngs pubs that have been "done-up" in recent months. A real shame.
It's an OK pub and handy for the station. But not particularly one to go out of the way for.
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Classic! I just read the reviews and I see quite a bit has changed at the ole Alex..I was one of those starving backpackers that worked there back in the 1990's for a few years off and on between travels.
I was there for the first renovation and wine bar renovation it was great. My memories of this place slowly soured over time with crap staff with crap attitudes being employed and the good ones moving on.
If the food is crap? and the landlady is still Betty? I am surprised, she always was a great support for the kitchen and an elegant lady as well.
Such a shame that a once stylish pub with friendly staff has reverted back to the days when it was filled with old cranky barflys that always got their way for fear of a nasty letter written to The Ram Brewery.
Sometimes it's better to flick the crap punter to make way for a better style (friendly) punter that will want to bring their friends for a knees up!
Those "fruit machines" have ruined many a pub the world over trust me!
The guys and the fruit and vege stand outside where a crack up.
The Bungle from Downunder...lol
anonymous - 6 Apr 2007 15:40 |
whats up with the bar staff? moody german bloke with an alice band. get a hair cut and ask the barber to shave your attitude. serve bitter in cold or room temperature glasses for gods sake! especially with youngs.
anonymous - 29 Mar 2007 16:59 |
Myself & a mate visited this pub recently on a Saturday & found it to be average to worse for both Guinness & normal strength lager (eg. Fosters/Carling) of the 3 pubs we went to that day (the others were the Hand & Racquet & The Walkabout - urgh!). I tried some ales after the Guinness didn't go down too well, and they were much better (Winter Warmer I think :S ). They have several screens including a big screen, though the big screen quality is not great - the brightness & colour was all over the shop.
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Surely the best pub in the whole of Wimbledon, now that the Dog and Fox has gone No Smoking and pretends to be Finch's and the Rose and Crown still charges about 50p more for any drink and isn't worth it in the slightest..?
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The non-smoking area is not so effective as it used to be now that they have opened it up with the bar on the right (looking from the main road). But I have never had a bad pint pint, based on numerous visits over the past 20 years or so. What really bugs me about this pub is the ankle high tables in the non-smoking area that make it impossible to eat anything requiring a knife and fork unless you want to eat Japanese style. Nothing wrong with eating Japanese style, but would you want to kneel on the floor here? Used to have some interesting photos in the non-smoking area - particularly one with Edward VII, Queen Alex and other European royal families. May be still there. Good pub for a swift pint if you are passing through Wimbledon, and agree with (most)other reviewers that it is still the best Wimbledon pub this side of the Village.
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At least they had Ram Rod on as well as Bombadier, Special and Ordinary last time I was here.
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Why are there no decent pubs in Wimbledon? This is the best there is on offer without going to the village.
Overall it is ok (beer, food, decor) but not what I want as a local.
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Almost four pubs in one: A "posh wine bar" at the back, a smoky "old mans pub" a bit further round, a decent "sports bar" in the next room and a continental style "roof terrace" up top. Can get busy on match days, but never so busy that you feel squashed in.
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I like the place. Crap food though. Beer always great but they run out of bottles too much. I hate walkabout.
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The best pub in Wimbledon...yeah, I know how bad the others are...but still. I like the fact that half the pub is split so as to be more of a 'bar' than a 'pub' (the 'Smart Alex'), so it can cater for different tastes. It's been a good place to watch football in, and the beer is well kept. I found the staff to be okay, and the old blokes in there are better than the chavs in Edwards, and as much as I love Aussies, I sometimes want a quiet pint rather than a party in The Walkabout, the only other bearable pub in Wimbledon, and The Alex is perfect for this.
Vicky
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Biggish Youngs pub, with several different drinking areas that should appeal to everyone. Beer OK. It would be nice if the bar on the roof terrace was open.
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Unbelievably smoky. Not enjoyable.
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Went in last week and really like the place. Old features, but quite swish and very accomodating. Youngs Beer is always good and the staff are pretty friendly. Big screens for the footie.
Thumps up!
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One of the better pubs in Wimbledon, but this is hardly say much. The openair part outside part is it's most redeeming feature, but this is often shut even at the height of summer. Why?
anonymous - 1 Jun 2006 01:53 |
Youngs St Georges was good, and to be fair real ales have been good on all visits so far. Certainly a pub with a split personality though with the Alex's 'wine bar' at the rear and the more trad pub at the front. Staff not friendly and no smoking area a joke. Old guys watching the horse racing on the afternoon of latest visit was quaint. Have to try the roof terrace next time round, though suspect fumes from the traffic may be a problem.
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oh my word,what an awful pub.lazy dreadful looking barstaff,crap beer and i spent an hour there no one spoke a word to me or cleaned my table,yet another awful youngs pub 0/10
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A good pub. Sells youngs which are generally good beers everywhere. Has a golf game machine where you can win prizes. But most likely to be a waste of money
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oh boy, what a collection of hardened alcoholics. Overpriced and uncomfortable with a passing selection of junkies who do the rounds playing the fruit machines in the wimbledon circuit. If this was the only pub in town i'd slash my wrists...fortunately the hand and racquet next door is much better.
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Finished work really late, went to meet mates here last weekend and was turned away from the door at 11 because its their "door policy" not to let people in after that. I wouldnt mind but the place was half empty. mates met me outside and we went to o'niells instead!
anonymous - 16 Feb 2006 17:59 |
I think that 'terfysgwr' is being somewhat harsh here. Yes, it's expensive, but it's a Young's pub in Wimbledon so that's hardly a surprise is it? It is no more expensive than most other similar pubs in the area.
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Well pricey - even for Wimbledon
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Excellent pub. Overpriced. Zero staff training. Tables wiped once a day if you're lucky. Ridiculous 'No Smoking' designated area sandwiched between smoking areas. Even encourages smoking at the bar! No wonder the staff look so pissed off. Overbearing studily rude humourless chief barman. Surly landlord. Very pleasant landlady. Staff used to be antipodean backpackers doing a lap of the world. Now mostly east Europeans.
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A pub of two halves, a traditional feel at the front, a more modern bar 'out the back'. I was in the rear, so to speak, and it was quite pricey.
Very busy when I visited, but it was a late-night shopping night two weeks before Christmas, so I only have myself to blame.
May go back one day to try the food, if only to see if it really is as bad as previous contributors say.
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Further to below comment they played Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightnin'"" which pleased us.
(I spelt visited wrong.)
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We visted the other day for lunch. The Youngs bitter, house white and the fish & chips were all fine. Food portions were large and the cost wasn't too evil by London standards.
Will go here again (I don't live southside no' mo). It's certainly my fave place to eat and drink in Wimbledon.
Staff were OK. It's pretty pointless to complain about staff in london pubs anyway, as they tend to only last a few weeks on average.
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Want to really love it and the refurb is ok but the miserable staff with attitudes and the piss-taking price of crap food is too much to suffer. They make you feel like they're doing you a favour but letting you in! Beer in good nick though. A 5/10
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I have mixed feelings for the Alex. I feel obliged to go in there every so often as it's where my Dad hangs out after work. I resent giving the grumpy bar staff my money, and it's always too smoky in there. But where can anyone go that is not smoky these days?!
Now that they have revamped the bar a little there is a bit more space but I for one still wait ages to be served, even when it is not packed. Even after several (hundred?!) visits there over the last few years the bar staff make no effort in remembering the customers. Unless of course you are one of the ones who sit at the bar day in day out!
The food is unbelievable. That is, you pay up to £7 for what is basically a ham sandwich!
At the end of the day it's a typical Youngs pub, but I wouldn't say it's one of my favourites.
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Youngs draught beers. Best pub food anywhere, but expensive. Gorgeous roof garden (you just must see the hanging baskets). All staff friendly and helpful with the exception of one snotty female.
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It cost me over £6.00 for two poxy drinks the other day. Ridiculous.
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I was shocked at the crappiness of the food, ridiculously expensive and you don't get a lot for your money. Also, £2.60 for a pint of lemonade is taking the piss.
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a horrible pub which sells low quality food at not low prices. The only reason this gets a 5 (and not less) is that it has the smart alex wine bar next door. Although not the best pub it is the best you are going to get in Wimbledon town. If one has time then a trip up the hill (£3.60 in a black bus) is better but if you are meeting people in town then this is more convenient. In the summer there is an area outside to drink in which although not a secluded beer garden is slightly off the road so is not too bad.
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Pretty grotty in keeping with most of the other pubs round here - mouldy beer, swirly patterned carpets, just a bit tired really. The Smart Alex wine bar next door is no better - OK it's cleaner but the staff are equally surly and the beer is equally poor. Hop on a 93 up to the village, much better.
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Dodgy Stella defo. Had the squits for days. Leave well alone.
anonymous - 22 Dec 2004 11:59 |
The 'old' part of the pub is very dirty - could really do with a lick of paint and a new carpet.
anonymous - 31 Aug 2004 14:26 |
Can't comment on the prices (not my round) but the quality of the bitter was excellent. A bit of a gloomy wood panelled Youngs pub but convenient located near the station
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Went in there on Monday during the afternoon. I had previously been in there for a pint one evening a long time ago, so went in and was presently surprised. Though popping in once during the afternoon can give a false impression of the pub, it had a friendly atmosphere, a great area to watch the big screen. Sitting in an air conditioned pub with a pint watching TV was just what the doctor ordered in the hot weather. Scores 7 rather then 8 because I had a pint of Carling which costed 2 pounds 80, but thats par for the course in a Youngs Pub. They charge you quite a lot if you have the gall to buy beer that isn't brewed by them.
Like some other Youngs Pubs I have been in, nice but a bit over priced.
I like pubs - 9 Jun 2004 21:21 |
If you are over 40 and love rubbish austrailian accoustic combo's playing'Rugby Funk' You will love the smart alex part of this pub. Its the type of pub that doesnt let you in with trainers. It is designed for 40 plus alcoholics with red noses and old painted up tarts. Food is terrible chain pub rubbish, but more expensive than L'Escargot or the Ivy. The old part of the pub is great, fantastic atmosphere and great Youngs Ale. Roof Garden is hidden treat in Summer.
Mark Allen - 22 Apr 2004 16:10 |
An "authentic" pub in Wimbledon - now quite a rarity. Went at lunchtime on Easter Monday. Quietish but with good range of Young's ales and above-average pub grub. Best of all....a non-smoking section, so can eat your lunch without retching.
MarkW - 13 Apr 2004 00:38 |
EXCELLENT!!! Really good atmosphere with very friendly, most of the time, staff. Food is superb. The pub quiz on a Monday night is brilliant. I agree with Womble about the Camp landlord but if it is him who does the quiznight then all i can say is well done, he is camp but very vey funny. Will definatly go there more often. well worth a visit.
steve - 16 Mar 2004 16:39 |
Really good. And Smart Alex ain't too bad either!!
Scotty - 15 Mar 2004 22:14 |
The best "real" pub in Wimbledon. A bit pricey but so what. Watched Wimbledon FC get relegated from the Premiership in here, not a happy memory :-(
Joe - 12 Jan 2004 17:59 |
Dead convenient for the station and a pretty decent boozer in a traditional sort of way. Rammed when the footies on.
Good selection of beer and staff are ok. Decent venue for post work beers and good starting point for crawl in Wimbledon.
Shed loads of food options in the area.
anonymous - 7 Jan 2004 16:43 |
Dodgy Stella here defo something wrong with it. Quite expensive Cramped when footy on. Camp Landlord
womble - 29 Oct 2003 13:30 |
I don't like the Alex Stella, it is always either watered down or stale. But the Pilsner seems to be OK, as well as the extensive choice of wines that they serve. Not cheap either, but if you want really overpriced drinks go next door to the Smart Alex. But that's another story.
Briony - 23 Oct 2003 16:12 |
Good pub with good beer. Big screen TV for the sports, good atmosphere. Nice roof terrace upstairs which is perfect in the summer evenings to simply sit back and watch the World go by - I highly recommend it!
Lawrence - 2 Oct 2003 16:34 |
Old mans pub. Food not bad. Roof Terrace is so much nicer!
Smart Alex used to be ok.. now's just plain naff. Bouncers are crap as well! (smart alex does nice food so that's about it)
JP - 25 Sep 2003 16:51 |
Good proper pub with good proper beer. Food is good but little to offer any veggies out there, my suggestion: Have another triple X, it will soon fill you up.
Dr Ed - 21 Aug 2003 08:18 |
Beautiful pub with a view from the charming roof-terrace of Wimbledon Hill Road and historic Elys. Other than the Elys bit, very pleasant.
pete - 1 Jul 2003 01:41 |
Good Youngs pub - good food reasonably, well kept ales, some fairly eccentric but friendly locals. Great for an after work session, but packed on Football evenings.
Sloth - 20 Jun 2003 13:32 |
A Youngs pub with good ales/lagers. Always rammed for football and tends to get very smoky. Updated the menu recently and food was good. Roof terrace is always popular in the summer.
Richard Dixon - 10 Apr 2003 17:10 |
roof garden is lovely, and there's a bar up there too (it doesn't serve the full range of drinks but it does their most popular ones).
get there early though as it gets busy.
lisa - 8 May 2002 10:53 |
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