please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
An oasis of calm in the middle of the dreaded Wandsworth one-way system. A real pub with a real manager and properly behaved staff, not zombies locked to their Smartphones, afraid to look up in case a customer should want service. A few visits reveal the clientele to be loyal locals, by and large, returning time and again to what, for want of a better word, is a "proper" pub.
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Pub Crawl Pub 2.
Old fashioned Youngs house. Special & Bitter on.
4 pints of mixed £14.80 which is exceptable.
Great pub for the smokers among you as it had a nice little beer garden out back.
Beer was good.
This is a proper pub which looks unchanged for years
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This pub is the perfect antidote to the family friendly gastro pubs that dominate the area. It's a proper boozer with really friendly management. Amongst many other great features (already detailed in other reviews) it doesn't do meals so you can enjoy your beer without having to put up with the smell of someone else's fried food. I can't think of a better pub for miles around.
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This is a brilliant pub, very friendly staff and nice clientele. Very well kept Young's Special which I have enjoyed on a number of occasions over the past couple of years. Best pub in Wandsworth and surrounding area - I think so.
There is a garden and also covered space next to the garden which is nice when warm if you do not mind sitting among smokers. Although on a main road this can be difficult to get to due to location but worth venturing to if in Wandsworth Town and is much better than the pub nearest the station or those on the high street.
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Nice traditional boozer with rather a timeless quality. The interior is old style but appears to have been spruced up in the not too distant past giving the place a pleasant and comfortable atmosphere. 5 pumps although only three in use on my midweek visit - 2 with Youngs ordinary and one with Special. The Ordinary was in very good nick. There are also covered benches in the courtyard to the rear.
The Grapes is a no-nonsense traditional pub of which there are a diminishing number in London and a real haven for those who enjoy a quiet pint while reading the paper. The only real drawback is that it is on part of the Wandsworth one-way system meaning that traffic noise can be a bit of a pain.
Well worth a visit if in the area though.
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By far my favourite pub in Wandsworth. Although at most I may visit no more than 3 times a year on my infrequent trips to London, the management, staff and many of the customers always seem to remember and welcome me. Its that sort of pub. The Youngs ordinary is excellent. TV wise rugby and cricket take precedence over other sports but most of the time its not even on. No loud music - need I go on. Its a must visit pub for those who like it as things were before marketing departments got started.
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Comfortable and friendly small single-room locals pub. The two cask ales both came from Youngs - Ordinary and Winter Warmer. The pleasant Irish owners were chatting amiably with the regulars, whilst Irish rugby was showing on the TV. Music was playing at a sensible volume, making conversation king. The interior is quite cosy with carpets and plenty of woodwork. An outdoor patio was being keenly frequented by the smokers. Whilst not as impressive as the Spread Eagle down the road, I felt more at home in this pub.
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A Young�s pub, so the usual ales. I had the Young�s Bitter, which was good, but not cheap at �3.00 a pint. There was the usual pop music playing, but not too loudly. It was very quiet on a weekday lunchtime, with only yours truly plus three apparent locals in the pub � nobody talking, all lost in their world of the racing pages � and a couple in the beer garden. There was a large TV in the corner, but switched off. It is nicely carpeted throughout, with normal tables and chairs � but with some of the chair coverings having seen better days. I doubt whether much has changed in here in the last 50 years. Much the better for it, in my opinion. So, it�s a real pub then. Even if there�s nothing special about this pub � although you could say its ordinariness is quite special � it does have a welcoming feel about it, and I would be delighted to drop in for another pint if I was in the area.
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What can I say? It's a decent boozer, nice drop of Youngs but a little bit tatty if you know what I mean. Needs a little spruce, a little bit of money spent on the interior and it'll be right up there.
Bar staff and manager were great, real personalities and just what we need in this age of the mindless, thumb in the pint Australian barman.
I'm giving it a good mark and i'm not even going to knock any points off for a dog trying to bite me outside.
Thumbs Up, London Calling.
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Not a bad pub, although charging gastropub prices for pints when it is basically an orthodox London boozer was a little bit off. Apart from being on the pricey side, it's okay.
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Spent a happy Sunday afternoon in their garden: beer was excellent, landlord was very friendly and weather was gorgeous. Couldn't ask for more in a pub!
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We went in here after the Youngs AGM - still the best pint of Youngs anywhere (and about the only pub now where I will drink the Youngs particularly since Charles Wells' involvement in Youngs' brewing process). My preference is also for a tenanted pub rather than a managed pub (especially as most of the good managers that I knew at Youngs pubs have left the company).
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An excellent little pub. By far the best in the area. A fine pint and a great garden to enjoy it in. The staff were friendly which was a refreshing change! Plus, as an added bonus, the blokes toilets were immaculate! A real surprise! Would highly recommend.
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The highlight of our Wandsworth crawl last Friday. Despite my mates jaded experience of service and his aversion to real ale, even he was touched by the warm welcome and kind cheerio from the landlord that top and tailed our visit that evening. In between there was an excellent pint of Ordinary to enjoy each and plenty of local characters to watch over. A proper London boozer.
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It's very clean and shiny. Lots of red seating with mirrors above them. A couple of TVs that you wouldn't generally notice and a piano in the corner. Nice staff, obviously know the ropes. It seems well cared for. There is a patio and garden outside, which isn't great for this time of year but good in summer. The beer is obviously treated 'like a lady' and tastes good! Best pint in Wandsworth probably.
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Closest to a proper local out of the one way system pubs. As the other comments say, friendly and traditional with fine beer.
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A traditional little pub, just right for a few pints and a chat. Friendly staff and a very good pint of ordinary.
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Des & Sharon, a nice Irish couple know the meaning of a real put, Beer is excellant the most friendly staff in Wandsworth
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A lovely old fashioned traditional boozer that serves a superb pint of ale. A Young's house at it's best.
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Splendidly traditional pub - a classic example of why a pub should be run by a tenant, not a manager. A very warm welcome from Des and Sharon on Thursday evening on our annual Wandsworth crawl - we shall be back, see you soon
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I've also got to say that although this is situated in the middle of the one way system, you'd never really think it when you're in the garden. I've had some bad pints in Wandsworth, notably in the Wheatsheaf and the Hop Pole but it sounds like this place and the spread eagle always do a good drop.
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I had just about the best pint of ordinary I've ever had in here. Nice place. Good outside space with a garden and a roof covering. Nice inside decor. Has character and may I mention again the splash, it was gorgeous!!
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Just shows what a tenant can do to Youngs Bitter compared to most managers - Des & Sharon consistently serve the best pint of Youngs Bitter that I have ever quaffed. Please keep up the good work and don't let any Youngs area manager near! And also don't let Youngs do another refurbishment - the culture of traditional pubs like this one must not be allowed to disappear.
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I have to agree with Doug 252's comments. It is the best pint in Wandsworth. Even with this hot weather it is still served cool,which is rare with real ale. Much to my shame I am almost American in my dislike of warm beer. So a "cool" real ale,beautifully kept is a treasure.
Why can't the overpriced echo chamber-The Alma- serve beer this good
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Since Des and Sharon took over this small local pub the beer has improved beyond measure and is now in my opinion as a lover of youngs ordinary for the past 25 years the best pint I have ever tasted.The flavour has just the faintest hint of fruit ,the temperature is cool,never chilled and it has just the right amount of head which stays right to the bottom.Apart from the truly magnificent ordinary I have been told that the special is kept just as well and the guiness is as it should be and for those poor fools that like a spot of lager it too is very drinkable.Add to this the friendly welcome, the total lack of anything remotely like karaoke,the lovingly kept garden and spotless "gents" and you have "heaven on earth" well done des and sharon.
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A nice little traditional pub near the Young's brewery. The Special was in good form. The landlord and staff were friendly.
They also have a nice sewcluded garden area at the back, although the traffic noise of the Wandsworth one-way system is always present.
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Good, well-run Young's pub. Waggledance and Ramrod were in good form when I last went in
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Splendidly traditional, but small, Youngs pub, on Fairfield Street in the one way system. Used to be 2 bars back in the 70's, but now knocked through into one bar, but with no real loss of atmosphere.
Note the framed postcard sent in February to Des and Sharon - the tenants - by John Young himself, congratulating them on their recent award ( from the local CAMRA group, I think )
Note also the mirrors along the side of one wall.
This pub is a must on any Wandsworth pub crawl for its old fashioned style and warm welcome. Long may it continue to be thus !
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This is a pretty well unspoilt, traditional local's local. A good Young's pub, friendly staff and, above all, top quality Young's beer. My mate and I had "Ordinary" in jugs and the condition was amongst the best.
Occasional karaoke/live music. A good pub to visit as part of a "crawl" or in its own right.
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