please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I have to say, I thought this place was pretty good. Went there for the SA v Aus Tri nations game on Saturday, and really enjoyed it. Vocal, but well mannered crowd.
Service was quick and with a smile. Grub was decent enough.
I'd deffo go there again. Ale drinkers would be disappointed, but then you shouldn't really expect weird and wonderful brew in a place like this.
It's not going to win pub of the year, but then again it's not trying to.
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This place is all right to be honest. It does get packed when showing sport, got my hand stamped by the world's shortest doorman when I went in to watch a 6 nations game which I thought was a bit odd. Does favour football over rugby if both are shown at the same time despite putting up rugby flags. Thoguh it will show one at one end of the bar and the other at the other end I have always found the commentary on teh footbal much louder.
When the sport isn't on there is plenty of space without feeling like the place is empty. The bar staff are friendly and the beer has always been good. It just doesn't offer anything particularly special or unique that would set it apart from the crowd though.
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A Wetherspoons lookalikey with flags tacked up to the ceiling, making it a SPORTSBAR!
Varies between lots of fair-weather footy 'fans' with bored girlfriends, and young men cuddling each other as they watch the rugby games
But where at least your local Wetherspoons only has the cheek to charge a few quid for their deep frozen to deep fried slop, here they're asking restaurant prices.
And lager is £3.40. A Pint. £3.40! In scruffy old (zone 3) Balham!!
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Is this the the boozer used in Time Gentleman Please?
ALL HAIL THE ALE
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Decent pub with good selection of real ale which is well kept - staff are ok the northern irish manager is a good laugh.
Brilliant for sport - although it does get packed on certain days. Burgers are great other food ok. Although i have been there when half the menu hasn't been available on a Sunday night.
The Sunday night quiz is popular and well run.
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This is a barn of a pub with no redeeming features and so-so food if you have an hour or so to wait.
Sport's always on the plasmas, way louder than necessary - I mean who really needs snooker at full volume? Heaves with screaming football or rugby fans when that's on. Pretty inhospitable when curtains closed and the mob come in to howl at the screens. There are no quiet corners so this place resembles a staff canteen with a bar.
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Completely agree with insekt...could not be more average. A very large sparcely furnished room with a few TV's and a big screen for sport. I went there on Sunday evening for the 'reknowned' quiz which was terrible. It lasted from 8 to 10:30 with the dulllest quizmaster alive and took 40minutes to give the final marks - if you want a great quiz look no further than The Freemasons Arms in Clapham Junction. Food was very average again with a distinct lack of choice with most things had run out - who runs out of sunday roast on a sunday!!
On the plus side they hadn't run out of Guinness!
I won't be returning in a hurry.
anonymous - 4 Apr 2007 16:45 |
I think this pub rather depends on when you go. First thing though is too make sure you visit a cash point on Balham High Rd cos it's pricey
When the rugby's on it gets packed with the worst kind of Balhamites and even though I'm a rugby fan I always stay well away. It is much better on a hot summer afternoon when the cavernous interior makes it an oasis of cool.
When Champs League games are on they sometimes show both games involving English clubs - one on each big screen which is good and doesn't happen anywhere else in Balham that I know of.
It's ok in the right circumstances but there are better pubs nearby
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Good for big screens, food is standard, slightly expensive (as is Balham generally) - however most of the barstaff strike me as slightly rude. Which is a shame really, as the staff are the only thing that ever set apart chain-type pubs, no matter how up (or down) market they try to portray themselves as.
5/10.
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Incredibly average pub. There's really nothing to say about it except how ridiculously pricey it is.
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The prices p*ss me off and the ra ra boys are even worse! Lots of screens for sport but it still doesn't have the atmosphere for it.
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Nice big pub in good location, but seems full of the inbred spawn of landed gentry/City set who socialise with eachother on ULTRA high volume whether there be 2 of them or 20! In such a cavenous building the effect can result in eardamage! We left last week after 26 (I counted them) arrived en masse and dug in for the evening in the centre of room for the evening! Thinking back The Balham Hotel had its good points!
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worth a look in for big sporting events as big screens and a decent atmosphere. Any other time I would avoid like the plague - crap beer, expensive and appears to be the watering hole of choice for the Balham chinless wonder society.
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Is it me or are all Tups over-priced and over-rated? After all, there are essentially a slightly upmarket chain pub.
The plus side is the aforementioned big screen sports, although the toilets are nowhere near large enough for the venue when it is jammed for the big events.
Shame the beer, and food, is so expensive.
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This pub is expensive, but then you would only go there for the live sport and the pub quiz on a Sunday...all other times dead and no atmosphere
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Was here on a Saturday evening about a month ago. There was live music, 2 blokes with guitars that were entertaining enough. The beer wasok but nearly choked when I heard the price of the round, think it was about £3.30 per pint.
Bar staff are friendly enough, nice big pub, was quite busy and therefore nowhere to sit.
There were a few 'look at me' Clapham clones that had got off the tube at the wrong stop. There was no need for the sunglasses in the pub at half nine at night!
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Big pub, pretty good for sport - two big screens, large bar area, standard pub beer and food. Palace supporters were disappointed the pub didnt open at 11am, and that when it did open at a normal time, their dream of a pub full of eagles chants never eventuated - the quiet sobbing in the corner was rather annoying though.
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Not a bad place, good for the football, can get busy with Clapham rugby types though, and the beer tends to be on the North side of £3 a pint. As its about 8 seconds from my house, it still gets my custom. Food looks good but again expensive, but everywhere in Balham is like this now, except that Pikey Wetherspoons round the corner.
7/10.
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Been out in balham a handful of times, but this place has it all for a major sport viewing experience!
they have some very polite and well mannered staff
small kitchen that produces some top grub!
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Dead on a Friday night. Beer was terrible, and expensive. No atmosphere, just people with more money than sense. Never go here.
anonymous - 19 Sep 2005 13:53 |
Fine for reading the paper on one of the (imposible to get out of) sofas of a dreary afternoon but pretty dull all the same. I have to agree with the All Bar One meets Wetherspoons comment. It just lacks personality.
No real atmosphere, alright to watch sport, average bar staff.......... sorry, noded off for a second.
anonymous - 16 Sep 2005 19:28 |
Generally full of rugby-shirt wearing, sunglasses-in-hair Clapham, smug, I-do-like-living-here crowd.
Truly shockingly bad music at the weekend which reeks of rubbish-ness.
If you want to spend some surrounded by ubiquitous plebian Claphamites, this is your place.
However, the leather sofas are comfortable, so it gets two points out of ten.
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I went to the pub quiz a couple of weeks ago with a few friends and have to say that we were disappointed. It's fairly well attended, so the atmosphere is good, but the questions just aren't that exciting and some of them were wrong. It was very slow-paced, which was tedious. I might come again if I've got nothing else on, but it's not a big draw.
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Went to this pub on Saturday and found, for the second time, that the beer was off. Disappointing. And the live music was pretty shoddy too.
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looks pretty shabby outside but is a good pub inside. wooden floors, pretty clean and loads of space. great for watching the footy as it gets busy but can still see the large screens. like it.
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yeah this one's bad...a sort cross between a weatherspoons and all bar one. utterly soulless. and for the record, i reckon this one is more ``massive'' than the city pub. i'd rather drink in an aircraft hangar.
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Was here last Monday. Too 'All Bar One'-ish for me. Sport was on all of their screens, no one seemed to be watching, but we had to endure football at high volume...Now also runs some dire karaoke night, I believe. I walked past one night and heard something akin to a bag of kittens drowning in a canal.
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This is a perfect Sports pub, big good atmosphere, great food and great screens. For the same reasons its a bit boring outside of big sporting events and tends to feel like a chain.
Kieran - 29 Sep 2004 17:24 |
Just a good pub, for a few drinks and a laugh the staff are all friendly enough. The only complaint is the prices are rather a little to high. The food is fantastic but a little over priced aswell. However the best thing about the tup is watching football and rugby thats when the pub comes to life
Amy - 26 May 2004 15:23 |
Well, the Tup may have many things, but I wouldn't say 'charm' was one of them! It's okay and dead near my flat, so I'm not really complaining.
Gram - 7 May 2004 12:10 |
balhams unique charm? I think not only has this pub got serious charm but loads of character. However 'large' manager who wears glasses could do with smiling a bit more!
justin - 13 Apr 2004 13:24 |
Wow. You are exactly the kind of person who is destroying Balham's unique charm. Feel free to sing terrible songs and brag about how much you earn very loudly with your mates. I won't be joining you. Preferred this place when it was the Balham hotel and full of scary crooks.
Robert - 8 Apr 2004 17:02 |
This is THE pub to go to in Balham. Streatham and Croydon Rugby Club are sponsored by them and you will often find large men in rugby shirts on top of the bar dancing. Always a good craic!
James - 25 Mar 2004 14:46 |
Fantastic pub! - staff are always up for a laugh, large screen wicked and pub quiz on a sunday usually very good. I have never had a problem getting served - maybe andy always goes on match days when no staff is enough!? I advise also order a leg of lamb on a sunday and ur im for a treat!
jamie - 23 Mar 2004 09:37 |
Good place to watch the football.....and full marks to them for actually showing it unlike the Bedford.
anonymous - 5 Mar 2004 14:42 |
Massive screen for sports is great, but that also means it's busy when there's a big event on and this place is NEVER adequately staffed - 10 mins + wait at the bar is not uncommon....
andy - 23 Feb 2004 01:22 |
Does Fiona work at The Tup I wonder? It's okay with fast service and - as mentioned before - enormous screen sport. The wooden floors mean that the acoustics are appalling though, so if you want to chat, head elsewhere...
Jez - 16 Feb 2004 15:51 |
wicked pub! Had the most fantastic new years eve, there always up for a party!! rugby and all the sports are shown on possibly the biggest screen ever! All the staff are up for a laugh and very friendly. Children aren't accepted in there, nothing worse than a screaming kid while your eating your sunday roast! Well done Balham!!
ruthin boy - 11 Feb 2004 17:52 |
Best Pub in London, great manager, great staff, great atmosphere...
Fiona - 12 Dec 2003 09:43 |
The TV at this oub is massive at least 6'x6' you should go there!
Steve - 26 Nov 2003 19:59 |
If you want a good pub don't go here. If you want a large uninteresting open space in which to watch sport with antipodeans then this is your place. Is in danger of becoming the next Walkabout type bar.
Rob - 11 Nov 2003 11:53 |
dismal stuff. Won't accept children at anytime. maybe that's why the staff are average and the atmosphere negligible. Avoid.
hbarnett@dfc.co.uk - 22 Oct 2003 16:07 |
Rugby shirts compulsory.
Col - 16 May 2003 15:06 |
This is the place in Balham to be if your into nice people, a nice atmosphere and friendly staff. Seen some of the staff dancing on the bar and everyones having a good time with the vodka shots for a pound! Good mix of post grad aged and middle aged people with good convo. Good variety of btl'd beers too. thumbs up.
Tom G - 15 Apr 2003 22:16 |
Excellent for live football as well!
Mike - 4 Jul 2002 11:34 |
standard new chain type - wooden floors, tables, food served, now hosting TUP IDOL once a month which is a scream!
Bronwen Edwards - 21 May 2002 14:01 |
