please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
staff used to be ok , customers were always the chavs of the area, esp when the puzzle closed. now the staff are rubbish, the chavs have changed their shirts but still are as feral as ever. a quick pint and then carried on , wont return
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Really just adding support to the other reviews.
The refurbishment accelerated a long decline from the days when the back-room was accessed by a side door. The staff are charmless, the prices inflated (to pay for the refit) and the decor ludicrous.
If the weather is fine enough to use the garden and you can accept the prices then it is worth considering. Otherwise avoid.
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Okay. not as good as it was but huge beer garden. Um. Yeah, the rest of it is pretty pretentious and over priced. Saw a prat with the collar turned up on his polo shirt. Wanted to kill him. Nice seats in the beer garden though!
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Pretentious, snobby, void of any soul or character. Avoid
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Wat to say, same as the rest of you just not good
Was in there on Friday afternoon and had a shocking time poor service
so we thought we would have a look around and see if we could find a better place to enjoy the weekend, not wanting to mix with the jack door crowd we headed towards Clapham and found the grove, now this is a delightful back street boozer, staff are really friendly and so helpful nothing was a problem and best bit was we got to sit outside on their patio area and get full table service. This is my recommendation for the week so if you want to have proper service and still enjoy the weather the grove would the place to go
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Absolutely crap!
My friends and I loved this pub.. I held my Engagement party here and had 25 friends attend. Since the re-furb most of us have tried it once and never returned. The staff treat you like sh*t (After 11pm on a Saturday night the place was packed and we asked to sit at a table in the 'restaurant' area and were told it was reserved for diners.. the area was empty at this time and not likely to have a rush at midnight, ridiculous).
Expensive, loud, and just like all the rest of the Balham pubs now.. so character whatsoever. Sad.
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I really despise what they have turned this pub in to. £4.15 for a pint is disgusting
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The pits - the only good point is the naff furnishing and the pretentions of being the american bar at the savoy will soon ware thin as the economic down turn bites into its prices and average food. It is a pub in Balham and will, I guess, soon return to being one. At the momment, its like an old bird that has just had a face lift and bob job. At a distance it may attract a little attention, but at the end of the day it is still mutton dressed as lamb, the tits will soon become saggy and when the face looks like an old boot, despite new boot, will continue to look a old boot.
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bloody abysmal......was my local before the refit
seems they dont want their old client base at all.
the barstaff used to be friendly and chatty now there only interested in getting u served and if u dont want food they make u feel like a leper.
there is no soul nor charm about the place anymore....
just full of young proffessionals that shout rather than talk and have more m oney than sense..i'll not be back...
would also like to know how they justify not far off 4 quid for a pint of fosters (possibly one of the cheapest lagers on draught) for that price id have hoped it was brewed by angels.nope.never ever again,i refuse to pay extra on my beer to cover the price of the tarty wallpaper.
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Oh dear very disappointing.
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Absolutely awful, a tragic waste of what was once a fantastic boozer. I won't repeat the rant that I made on the Duke of Devonshire (as was and as was loved) entry.
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RIP DOD I miss you.
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I'm sorry, but I have to say - the Duke may be no more, but the Devvie has certainly picked itself up, dusted itself down and moved into the 21st century, at long last.
Nice to see that although Youngs have sold out in Wandsworth, they are not afraid to spend the shareholders cash on doing their old boozers up. The Duke was in dire need of a refit to keep it up to date and current in Balham - there's a fair bit of competition about the area. I'll be honest and say that I actually like it - I was a customer before and I will remain one. I'm not a huge fan of some of the interior design, but that's a personal thing for me (probably shared by a few others too!).
Six of us ate last week on a Friday night. Food was good, not brilliant - but the service and the atmosphere made up for anything it might have lacked. Our waitress was friendly and made us very welcome - ended up staying until closing time (woke up nursing a bit of a head!). I feel that there could be more choice on the menu - maybe something for the veggies in the group?! We would definitely return for food if there were some healthier options and perhaps some specials too.
Reading through some of the reviews left on here has made me wonder if those with a totally negative outlook have been in since the facelift? If you haven't, pop in and have a look - it's not as bad as you might think! There is room for improvement, as with all new things, but I think they have the foundations in place. It's clean, comfortable and busy, so they must be doing something right there. Just need to concentrate on the menu more - then I think it will be hard to fault it. Cracking garden too!!
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Ok I'm neither a CAMRA-anorak or an over 50s moaner, though I must admot a few of the comments on the pubs in Balham do seem to be full of comments by people who could fall into this catergory..the comments on The Bedford would be a prime example. I'm actually in a late 20s professional so probably just the kind of person the refurb was done to attract.
I also don't know what the DOD was like before the refurb as I've only just moved to the area. So I don't have happy memories of years gone by dancing around there. However I decided to check the place out with a few friends this weekend to see what the refurb was like. Basically we walked in, had a look around and walked out. My understanding was that it was supposed to be a pub not a gaudily designed restaurant with a limited menu. Staff were way to overattentive we hadn't gone anywhere near the bar or mentioned wanting to eat before 2 (not just one) staff tried to usher us into the back room to eat, no mention of just getting a drink. Their attitude also made it feel a bit like being frog marched in and forced to eat.
From the sound sof it before this place offered an alternative local venue to have a late night drink and a dance in. I must admit I'd prefer to have seen a return to that than this overpriced eatery. If I wanted a gastro pub I'd rather head to the Clarence, at least it's decor didn't make me think I was in a bad copy of a 19th French brothel. If I want a quiet drink the BBC is a much better bet. In short whatever you would want from the place can be found better else where. OK maybe the food is ok I didn't try it but it does seem like they tried to cover all the bases and hit none of them. Overall I would avoid it. What a waste of money
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