please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Very good place - new managers are excellent. Ideal for a couple of beers after getting off the bus opposite. Massive garden and useful upper deck area at the back. When they refurbed it they didn't spoil the soul/spirit of the place as Youngs did with the Dukes Head that was formerly an excellent pub catering from everyone from local tradesmen to QCs who could happily mix together.
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Very good, usual Youngs products that are fine-small buliding with a great atmosphere, proper pub.
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Have popped back in a few times and still pleased to see that in the main things are still going well with my little local.
Had the roast last Sunday and wow - best one I think have ever eaten! Didn't see any evidence of 'jenga' chips, just well set out and well tasty food!
On the down side, it seems that they may have a few staffing issues. A number of times when have been in there's only one person manning the bar leading to lots of customers waiting at the bar (and occasionally walking away). Classic example - came in last Friday to take advantage of the nice weather and they were busy with what appeared to only be two (guy and tall bubbly lass) working. They were trying their best but you could tell they were suffering.
Nevertheless this is still the best pub in Putney in my book.
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Although I'm not normally a lover of Youngs' pub refurbishments, this place works. Lots of interesting nooks & crannies, good seating (front & back), decent food & good beer. Only criticism is the food is a bit poncey, particularly the chips set out as some form of jenga game.
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Went there yesterday to check out the garden - wow!!
What a place for a sunny Sunday afternoon, and no wonder they were packed out. The only downside is that they can't have music in the garden (which the guy I asked said was something to do with the estate to the rear of the pub not allowing them to put on - boo on them!).
Wasn't able to resist a burger from the bbq, and guess what? It was amazing. Also like the fact that they now open the garden bar so you don't have to walk far for your Pimms.
I agree with the comments by PDWR about the team. Never been served by anyone who wasn't down to earth and friendly. They have a lot more staff than they used to and it shows. I think they are doing an amazing job. All credit to Aggie.
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I'm going to this pub more and more often and introducing a lot of people to it too. I've eaten a couple of times and it's been really good. I asked about Kew Brew (no longer available) and the next time I visited the replacement (not quite as hoppy)Kew Bond was there. This is a pub that listens to its customers and responds to their requests, plus they've got a good team on board. Even the music last night was brilliant, so much better than before. Go along and give it a try - you won't be disappointed. I know that Aggie the manager reads these reviews so please Aggie, keep up the good work and well done so far.
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Very friendly and convivial traditional Youngs pub, 2 minutes walk from the excellent Telegraph. With these two pubs in such excellent form a visit to Putney Heath is a must!
Seant - 26 May 2008 14:01 |
Great place - even post re-furb. Well done.
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Have known this pub for many years. Can't understand the negative comments about the place post refurb - it's still got that cosy pub feel whilst having been updated for 21st century (and I suspect some of the customers are still living in the 19th C)
The staff are still amazingly friendly and attentive (which is a rarity in most of the places within walking distance where robots or lazy layabouts seem to be the norm). Have to say that the new management team have their heads screwed on right - keep it up guys!
With fab food (better than ever), good beers and an amazing new decking out the back (roll on summer!) what more could you ask for?
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Much better.............well done!
Refurbished in Youngs style but avoiding the 'restaurant' area that seems to be dominating so mmany of these refurbs. A very pleasant place for a pint - would be great to see some guest beers please.
Seant - 16 Apr 2008 23:16 |
Further to my last post, forgot to say that there are a couple of chubbers blocking the bar. Recommend harpoons. Otherwise it has the feel of a real country pub in London. Free wifi please!
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Post-refurb: stripey wallpaper. Avoid.
Unless you like good beer and great staff of course. Lovely place and I travel over a mile to come here regularly. Expect the beer garden to be amazing come Summer. The new décor is subtle as far as a lot of recent Young's refurbs have gone, much to my relief, but may well take some getting used to.
New management excellent and can't wait to see them develop the place to realize its full potential; they seem to be on course.
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Since the last review the pub has closed for refurbishment and re-opened last Friday evening. It has been done in the style of a lot of Youngs pubs. However, it ain't too bad. The music on Friday gave it the air of a wine bar but when this was changed it was much better. The decor is mainly crushed velvet chairs and comfy sofas with the walls painted in cream and aubergine that wrestles with a turquoise paisley wallpaper. Beers on offer were the usual Youngs pumps and Wells Bombardier plus Deuchars IPA. I drank the Double Chocolate Stout (which I had been told by another pub had been discontinued) because a number of the regulars had requested it. It's so refreshing when pubs listen to their customers. Food was free canapes on the night and they will start serving meals again soon. A new management team (I think this may be their first pub)who are very keen to impress and do well. I hope they are successful and the new landlady, Aggie, is lovely. My mate Pete who was with me on Friday night said 'she would get it' but didn't stipulate what.
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Don't really understand the phalanx of negative comments on this page...the beer's good, the place is warm and comfortable, and small enough to be cosy without feeling crampled. I've yet to go there in the summer but their huge beer garden looks like a winner to me. Staff were absolutely fine, no problems at all. Hardly going to set the world alight, but who wants a pub that's alight anyway.
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I used to use this pub when in the area. A great local to visit after work. Beer always good, and the food was ok too.
It is also the pub noted in 'War of the Worlds', and Patrick Kieller's film, "London". So there you go.
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Good the staff and some of the regulars did something for an old regular that passed away with little close family - see last week's local free Gaurdian paper. I did not know him personally although have seen him in there. Would not happen elsewhere in Putney, other than perhaps the Half Moon which I understand retains a strong locals following.
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Regarding the comment posted by spotcheck in june can i just say that we do our best and try to accomodate anyone in a wheelchair as we have a disabled toilet and the slight ramp going into the pub helps. We do apologise if you dont feel that you have been helped on any occasion you have visited the Green Man. We have alot of visitors from the hospital who dont seem to have any problems when @ the Green Man. Please if there is anything we can do to help just give us a shout.. Regards Liam & Karen Sandford - Managers
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Very nice pub and much improved since my last visit many years ago. This was highly recommened by a friend and a good evening had by all.
Bombardier in fine condition
Service from staff exceptional
Will be returning to try the Sunday menu
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Lovely bar and great atmosphere but think you should try cater for those in wheelchairs seeing that Putney hospital is only over the road. I visited many times with my friend who was in rehab there for a number of years and it was very difficult for us to bring him for a beer.
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What a lovely little pub.. Had a nice meal on sunday with my family, its was quite busy but the service was good.. Will visit again i came in there as the pub down the road was not doing food in the middle of the day so Im glad as this was much nicer..
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Good choice of beer, excellent food. A bit smokey - but this will improve from June onwards. Beer garden OK-ish, but can't compare to the Telegraph Inn just up the road (which, in turn, scores lower on food & beers).
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What the curious little country pub poised on the edge of Putney Heath. Young's Special not altogether brilliant. But for a Saturday afternoon when the whole of South West London seemed on the move, it was good to kick back and then walk from here along the Heath road, between light and dark. The Green Man did not have the character of the Angel, but then perhaps it doesn't have the characters, either, or I was sitting in the wrong place.
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Haven't been here since Summer 06, but then it was the same charming place with young's ordinary (my favourite) that I had been going to (and drinking in) since I was at Sixth form at the local school (great for a pint in your lunch break! Classy pub, with friendly staff and great times, not to mention the fabulous beyond fabulous beer garden!
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Popped in for a swift one on Saturday night and it is sad to see how things have changed. The open plan design has destroyed the atmosphere of the public/saloon rivalry where to go from one to the other was regarded as a holiday! The beer seemed a bit thin and far too cold. I am sorry to give a pub that I spent my youth in such a low rating.
anonymous - 28 Nov 2006 16:33 |
I am disappointed to read the previous comments as I have really enjoyed going to the pub over the last year. There is a real family spirit there and the bar staff, chef and owners have been nothing but helpful, polite, charming and accommodating. It is rare to find a pub in London that still makes time to engage with its customers and have laugh with them. Perhaps the anonymous customers submitting such unfounded and spiteful comments would do best to stop critiquing other people and question whether perhaps they are a customer the pub would wish to have
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I have used this pub several times over the years and have to say that the knocking comment earlier is very close to the truth. The last time I was there my wife and I ordered a couple sandwiches for lunch. When they arrived we were offered a couple of Ok-ish sausages but in commercially sliced bread with a dry salad, no butter on the bread and the catch-all "throw-some-crisps-on-it", the same delightful additions were also added to the cheese sandwich my had. For this they wanted £5.00 a sandwich! When we complained the girl serving uttered the immortal words "Well, no else has complained" - well, I bloody-well am! The landlady then came and seemed very put out that we had had the temerity to complain... At other times I've seen the sullen bar staff grouped around one end of the bar enjoying a chat while customers are left to wait until the staff can be bothered to attend to them. Can't say that I've met the landlord but if the snotty nosed fat lady and the other bar girl with the supercilious attitude are his idea of appropriate staff then there is little hope for this place.
anonymous - 2 Aug 2006 08:34 |
In response to the last comment posted i also was a customer when the last landlady was in residence and no-one sung her praises then just different complaints her dogs, her husband etc. As for the new management the music has stopped for the summer, if you dont like the food dont eat it or if it is a constructive criticism im sure the management will do the utmost to correct it if informed. The quiz is a bit of fun and speaks for itself otherwise people wouldnt come back week after week.
anonymous - 31 May 2006 19:30 |
First time in the pub tnite great food,great garden clean tidy.Call back for food and a drink again.....
anonymous - 3 May 2006 19:42 |
This used to be great, went there last week, oh dear, what a shame, staff chewing gum and scruffy, the manager needs to 'buck up' his ideas and quickly. Such a shame to see another pub sliding down hill
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We recently came to the Green Man for the first time and the experience was great the landlord and landlady were very pleasant and also the staff were great.. Will definatley be back well done!!
Sarah
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Good pub, good beer, great beer garden but the staff.... unplesant is an understatement.
BenEd - 25 Jul 2005 14:23 |
Our second visit to the Green Man, and we were pleasantly surprised. The new management, and new chef, it seems to have made all the difference, if compared to our last visit. The beer garden is always good when there is sunshine, and on this saturday it was full.
We ordered off the specials menu, sharing the baby back pork ribs with smoky barbeque sauce. They were outstanding! Flavoursome and falling off the bone tender. For mains my partner ordered the spiced chicken salad with rocket, beetroot, apple and caramelised orange dressing. All fresh and delicious. I had the wild boar sausages with beetroot mash, grilled pear and red wine jus, which was very satisfactory, although quite heavy for such a hot day.
Maybe i should have gone for the crayfish salad? Unpretentious and seemingly quite consistent, we have certainly had worse in much higher priced "Gastropubs". Definitely worth a revisit.
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Nice pub if you've been out for a stroll. Good garden if the weather's sunny.
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This is a case of "can do better". The pub itself is gorgeous and the outdoor BBQ out the back in Summer was fantastic.
On the down-side this is one of the squashiest pubs I've ever been in. Almost impossible to move around inside. There are tables right outside the ladies loo and tables that block the disabled loo!
Gorgeous house doggies walk around the place but the way the (female) landlady talks to them is just not on!
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The beer is well kept at the Green Man, although if it came to a push, I think this is probably its only redeeming factor. The management are on another planet; Rude, obnoxious and down right unpleasant. The serving staff on the other hand are extremely courteous. The garden is OK, although fills up with yobbos in the summer - all sweating in their nylon tracksuits. They do have an outdoor bar and barbecue - am yet to try this but I think it could be good.... Seating wise, I'm afraid it's another case of cram as many tables as close to the loos as possible. I would go back, but there are plenty better in SW15.
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well well. where to start. the bar manager is one of the rudest people i have come across in a pub. also the landlord's wife? is pretty rude as well. food is ghastly although some of their sharing platters are okay. a good pint of ordinary though - once you get it....
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This pub is a perfect case of "Could have been good" but haven't worked it out. Good points: 1) Beer's quite good 2) Some of the staff (older, more experienced hands) are very good 3) not a bad re-fit as re-fits go BUT...
4) Good across the board selection of locals - not too snobby, not too oikish...
Bad points are:
1) Pub tends to be run for the Landlady (apparently there is no Landlord) and not the customers
2) The food while not bad, is far, far too expensive for what it is...
3) The biggest crime is that it that the re-fit has put food before beer to the extent that the bar is too small (and, curiously, too high to sit at) and when it is busy the staff (particularly the newer ones) simply don't have space to manoeuvre.
Go there! But not for the food - there are better "gastro pubs" who sell proper food at sensible prices and who also have room for the traditional customer at the bar...
when will these "wanna-bee" pubs learn that it's the customer that pays their wages - not the Publican who allows some or others the benefit of their largesse.......
BRF - 2 Nov 2004 19:11 |
Further to earlier comments, the (female) bar manager has now reached new heights of rudeness the like of which I have never experienced. Shoving customers out of the way, complaining that glasses were not returned to the bar (though they were), adopting a sneering and patronising tone in speech...I would veto this pub if I didn't live so close to it! have written to the brewery to complain - it is a shame, the licencees and other staff are extremely friendly and helpful.
Mr Lash - 28 Oct 2004 14:29 |
Much better since the refit at the end of last year. Youngs Ales v well kept but the lagers are a bit variable. Pub quiz on Tuesdays is OK but can be unnecessarily loud which is irritating for those not taking part. Great sharing platters (try the beef & Stilton) but the chips are pretty ropey as they strive a bit too far towards being 'real' the potatoes are unpeeled! Bar staff and landlady generally very friendly, with one notable exception of (I think) the bar manager, who makes the smallest of requests (such as for shock! horror! to ask for cashback) appear akin to asking her to paint the forth Bridge. Still, all in all a friendly and comfortable place to drink good beer. What more do you want?!
Mr Lash - 24 Sep 2004 14:11 |
I had the misfortune to eat there this Sunday. The food was appalling. The starter was meant to be prawns and mushrooms in garlic butter - a soup bowl full of warm butter with still frozen tiny prawns and thinly sliced mushrooms - it was revolting! Even the waitress was surprised it left the kitchen, and that was before I tried it! After asking me why I hadn’t eaten it, the waitress said "oh".
The service was shambolic - I eventually had to go and look for my main, which had been sitting in the dumb waiter for 10 minutes as the bar staff couldn't remember where it was supposed to be going.
Once the main had arrived, it was equally disappointing. The cost being at over £16 per person was frankly disgraceful. It is not surprising you have to pay before receiving your food, as you would refuse if you had to pay afterwards.
Avoid!
Adrian B - 5 Jul 2004 19:21 |
I haven't been since it was remodelled, but it used to be quite charming in a rough-around-the-edges way. Bar is split in two, with a saloon and a lounge on either side, and two outside areas. Reasonably priced, tasty beers. A good place to spend the evening if you want to down some ales and stagger home across the heath.
Sam - 23 Jun 2004 17:44 |
come along thursday and sundays to see great live music there!
Janie - 6 Apr 2004 13:23 |
Renovated recently. Good for a meal and a quick pint or two. Not for a session though!
Guy - 25 Mar 2004 16:15 |
Good pub. A nice change from the usual Putney bars. Nicely done up, decent food, good beer.
Buddy - 3 Mar 2004 15:42 |
its just had a refit and is a totally different place. I had dinner up there the other night and expected the usual pub grub. the food was great. The atmoshphere really works and i think you'd be hard pushed to find a better pub in the area right now
great work!
james turnbull - 13 Jan 2004 16:40 |
Actually not a bad pub at all. Young's Ordinary and Winter Warmer was on good form when I drank there with mates just before Xmas.
The locals and most of the staffs are friendly, but the older woman behind the bar could do with cheerin up a bit!
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A traditional pub! You'll either like it or loath it!
Daniel - 30 Dec 2003 20:36 |
Let me ask you:
Do you wear a flat cap?
Do you often leave the house in your tartan M&S slippers?
Do you smoke a pipe?
Do you use a bone-handled walking stick?
…if you answered yes to one or more of the above questions, then this is the pub for you. Otherwise leave it another 50 years until you feel the need to drink in these surroundings.
indie - 24 Dec 2003 15:56 |
Steve the barman is a true believer - he did the nearest pub to every tube station on the map. Took him 2 1/2 years. Very Tony Hawksesque.
Techno - 6 May 2003 14:55 |
great pub - cruisy and convenient local
nick - 11 Oct 2002 11:27 |
Big time old mans pub in the middle of no where. It is also minute and opposite the bus turn around. Classless.
Chris - 6 Sep 2002 16:38 |
it's very nice outside but you have to go all the way round the front to get from the big beer garden to the bar, or to get from one side of the bar to the other side of the bar. confusing.
anne - 2 Sep 2002 17:19 |
