please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Spacious and nice looking pub just across the street from Wimbledon station. Pleasant now that it is non-smoking, pretty bad before that. 4 or 5 cask handpumps, also some kegs and bottles. The cask ales I had were in perfect nick.
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Paid a return visit to the Prince of Wales on Monday. Prices haven't improved. £4.55 for a pint of Old Rosie cider, with the 10% CAMRA discount. Ales were Old Speckled Hen, Wandle & Lion. Mad Goose had run out shortly before we arrived. The presence of Old Rosie was a decent surprise though. This is a spacious pub that shows live football. In an era when even Sky are pricing out pubs and I tried several near to me who can no longer afford their subscription, it can be relied on if you want to watch the football. There always seems to be plenty of available seats when I've been. Convenient for the station.
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Nice pub with good beer but horribly expensive
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Second Taylor Walker pub I tried in South West London yesterday. This one is right opposite Wimbledon station. It is therefore likely to be busy and you'll pay through the nose for your beer. Plenty of seating and plenty of TVs to watch the match. Plenty were doing just that, including me, for a change. 4 ales were on - Bombardier, Tea, Wainwright & Doom Bar. £20 was not enough for a round of drinks for 5 people, even though the pub offers a 10% discount for CAMRA members. £5 for a bottle anyone? Nice enough, but not at those prices.
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It's a while since I visited this pub. It used to be so much better before the pointless so-called music started causing general distress. The last time I called in, there was a drunk sitting at the bar and when I asked the barman for a pint of Old Peculier, the drunk looked at the beer's logo and said: 'Some people are old and peculier.'
I didn't take it personally but it was the peculier noise emanating from loudspeakers that ensured that I would not be visiting again.
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I cannot agree with the reviews above. This is an excellent pub very handy for the station and the tram. It has a row of hand pumps serving probably my 5 favourite beers, all in excellent condition. The service is fine, and I haven't noticed any out of order prices. There is a loo on the level, a great advantage for people like me and rather uncommon nowadays. Also, although I shouldn't say this, you can nip down to the downstairs loo when called a bit short in Wimbledon without going in to the bar. The Station did not have a loo at all until recently would you believe, and the new one (hurray) will take 5 mins to find.
There is also the "wine bar" downstairs with live music of a very high standard and access to a bit where people can smoke. It is open till midnight on weekdays. The food looks good though I haven't tried it. What's not to like. An unfaultable pub and real ale heaven. I wish there was one in Croydon
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Uninspiring town 'bar' with silly prices for cask ale. £4 .25 for a pint in average condition is not acceptable. 2 / 10.
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The current Management is still appalling by all accounts and a previous Manager; Bob Foad visited recently who KNEW how to run this pub but mistakes are not QUITE as obvious as before. Pleasant staff who do their best in the circumstances BUT not one of Taylor Walker`s best outlets - seems they don`t really care - this place could be SO, SO, SO much better
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Decent enough pub opposite the station. Plenty of ales on tap and was mostly office staff avoiding going home on a Friday night. Would happily enjoy a pint in her again when waiting to meet friends or to hop on a train.
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A Taylor-Walker pub serving London Pride, Doom Bar, Old Golden Hen and Youngs Gold - Pride and Doom Bar were in decent nick on my visit. An old Victorian pub with bars knocked through into a cavern. Big telly all round for sport with sound blotted out by background music and slot machines. A good example of a "railway arms" type pub - mostly passing trade I'd guess. Ok for a swift one while waiting for a train but more drive through than destination.
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I want to like this pub, but the bar management keeps ltting it down, beer quality very changable and regularly only 1 beer on tap.
Downstairs for Berties is OK, but again beer range limited.
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same old story - unfortunately !!
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Could do with friendlier staff. Has the setting, location and furniture of a potentiall good pub but obviously very miss-managed.
Was told I had to pay for a round by card, so had to leave to find the nearest cash point (there aren't many in Wimbledon). 5 minutes later I returned from the cashpoint to tell them that the cash point wasn't working and they let me pay on card anyway after initially telling me it was impossible.
Treat your customers with more respect and you might have more regularls, thus making the atmosphere better. I imagine it's the sort of pub that does a decent trade for it's location, not for any other reason.
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i think its still part of the spirit group....that would explain a lot
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I wouldn�t describe this pub as an �Absolutely dreadful place� - just absolutely dreadfully managed - indeed the new landlord has actively encouraged his long-standing regulars to drink elsewhere so alienating those customers who were still well disposed towards the pub despite its obviously failings and who had used the pub when the aforesaid landlord was still sweating over his exam paper at the charm-school he attended of which presumably he was not the brightest cookie in the tin. To have over-flowing toilets which were REALLY disgusting, no toilet paper and no running water for nearly a week in a pub in a prime location in Wimbledon is a disgrace for which there should and can be no excuse particularly in an establishment serving food to the public including children. BUT a huge plus point is indeed the friendly and helpful bar-staff who cannot be blamed in any way for management failures. This pub has huge potential to do better and the bar-staff deserve better - it�s the kind of pub which would be missed if it closed so go for a pint and make your own mind up.
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Aye, it's a dump alright. Good if you like pubs where the bar staff don't mind people throwing glasses at other patrons.
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Absolutely dreadful place.
The staff were really helpful and friendly BUT:
-the toilets are foul (water all over the floor/filthy toilet bowls/awful smell)
-the food is disgusting and undercooked
-diet cola was watered down!
Would never go again and would not recommend
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Good refurb, nothing too drastic and nicely done. Beer still good.
(bogs still stink a bit)
Still owned by Punch but now under the Taylor Walker branding (at least on the Menus) rather than the old TJ Bernard or the more recent Sprit Group branding.
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I visited as one of a party of 8 hoping for lunch, a day before they closed for a refurbishment. The management couldn�t have been more friendly, marking the menu with the itmes which were still available (see above), and even pushing two tables together for us � and asking those at the next table to move up !
I�m not sure why it needed refurbishment � those I suppose it looked a bit dowdy. I just hope they don�t remove all the interior fittings which sported large amounts of dark wood, panelling and alcoves.
Beer was pretty good. There were 5 or 6 real ales on tap, of which I can remember Youngs Gold, Brains SA, TT Landlord and Theakstons Old Peculier. Naturally I had the latter � never seen it in London before. Tasted pretty good, though not as good as it does back in Yorkshire !!
Food from the limited range available was quite reasonable too. I had the minted lamb-burger.
6/10 � will have to go back and see how it�s changed
PS due to reopen October 21st - I'll be in California then ...
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A return to form for the POW in recent years. I'd say back to No1 spot for the POW (out of the pubs 'down the hill' in Wimbledon anyway). Friendly staff and the management are obviously making an effort. Good selection of beers and well kept ale (a few years back the ales could be hit and miss).
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This is one of the few pubs in wimbledon i actually recommend and enjoy going to. no dodgy people, nice enough bar staff, drinks are decent too and the price is reasonable. what more could you really want except for a free bar tab? ;)
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I really like this pub - I work locally and me and my work colleagues had been in search of a comfy pub with decent service and good food for a long time - until we found this place and now we go every Friday lunch time.
The service is really good. So much so that even though you're supposed to order at the bar, the waiter/bar man bought my friend another pint to the table, so he wouldn't have to get up during his food - nice eh?!
The food is good pub grub with plenty of variety and even choices for those of us that are watching our weight.
The decor is a little tired in places, but in a funny way this just adds to its charm.
Would definitely recommend it!
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I love this pub, a real pub with Victorian finery, good staff and comfortable.
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I quite liked this place - nice leather armchairs and a well preserved Victorian interior. Rather middling pint of Pride was served (Adnams Regatta, GK IPA and Landlord also available) but I still think I'd give this place another go. Its certainly infinitely preferable to some of the horror shows down the road.
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Good try
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zzz- stangely enough I did not post the previous entry and unfortunately do not know who did. Have only just registered today as a result of your comments. I very much welcome the comments from guests about the quality of our ale... Why don't your introduce yourself next time and I will gladly listen to what you have to say. .
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PS - If one was so inclined to click on your profile, they would see that the two spots you have recommended are...shock horror... Berties and the Prince of Wales, strangely both owned by Spirit and under your management. You could have made it slightly less obvious...
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Nat 31 - Is that Perhaps Natasha the manager of the pub? If it is, of course you disagree with all the comments about your average beer. What am I saying?! Of course its you! No-one went to the Mexican party.
Maybe you should spend less time writing fake blogs on BITE and more time sorting out your sub-par pub...
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Agree with GuideDogSaint, the beer quality here is not good. Swapped a lifeless stale Taylor Landlord for a similar London Pride. Two sips & left it
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After reading previous reviews, I have to strongly disagree. I highly recommend this pub... Fantastic service, friendly and efficient staff and cold beer! Recently attended the Prince of Wales 'Mexican' theme night which was a lot of fun. Definitely recommend the Prince of Wales for a few drinks with friends and a fun night out!
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Not impressed with this place. Very crowded on Fridays/weekends so very hard to get a seat. The blaring loud music makes it impossible to have a decent conversation. If your idea of a pleasant evening is drinking standing up whilst shouting into your drinking companions' ears then this is the place for you.
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We must have been lucky yesterday as our Old Peculiars we just fine. Too expensive though. Rather welcoming interior is let down by very smelly and unpleasant toilets. I keep popping back to this pub...hoping it would have found the magic ingredient..always seems they could do better
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when you walk in your heart rises looking at the quantity of staff and then realise they need twice as many .all very pleasent Eastern european staff but all quite useless .shame
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Popped in here for a quick half as had 20 minutes waiting for a train. Bad mistake, Old Pec was only just above being taken back. In fact I should have taken it back, left half of it. Other beers were GK IPA, Hen, Spit and Broadside.
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Have been in here twice in as many weeks and each time have been served very poor quality ale. First one had scum not froth on the top and was sent back and replaced reluctantly with a different brew however, yesterday a pint of 'Old Peculiar' tasted vial and the bar staff were at a loss to explain how it should be. No idea about what they are serving but looking along the bar there were two unfinished pints of OP so should not somebody have rumbled something was wrong!
Barra - 29 Aug 2008 09:08 |
Very busy as you would imagine being near the railway station and shopping centre. Fast service and reasonable beer. Nice Victorian building.
chick - 16 Aug 2008 15:40 |
good pub sales leffe on draught staff are a bit slow but polite very busy at weekends will be going back in the near futher
cbc88 - 15 Jul 2008 21:38 |
Very nice centre of Wimbledon pub. Can get very busy in the evenings though and difficult to get a seat. Staff variable but new barman Mark is really cute. Recommended.
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The main advantage of this is that you can time your trip to the station with a large degree of accuracy. At least they've stopped listing guest ales 90% of which aren't on. There's usually a couple on. Variable staff quality. Impossible to get a table at any time. Can be quite fun place to visit with a crowd when it gets busy of an evening.
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a great bar to visit while waiting for a train across the road, service is always fast and prices are reasonable, good choice of ales and hard to fault this bar.
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I find this place a decent enough town/near station pub, certainly been in worse in similar locations. Early evening tonight was convivial and lively, again mainstream cask beers, I had a decent pint of TT Landlord. Certainly worth a good 6, 6.5 if it was possible.
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Pretty smoky and wasn�t too comfortable as the clientele were a bit rough around the edges. The bar staff seemed to be the perquisite Eastern European mould and the music was way over the top, although not ear-bleeding it was still distracting.
Still, the plus side was that four ales were on, including Adnams Explorer, which was excellent.
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This could be a good, convenient boozer, however it is spoiled by the over-loud, crappy music blaring out all over the pub. You can't hear yourself think, let alone have a conversation. The beer is OK, the staff reasonably friendly. I asked for the music to be turned down, but was told "it's the computer" - Really?, well unplug the bloody thing then! Only stayed for one pint because of the racket.
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I find it hard to get excited by this place but equally hard to find negatives. The bar area is attractive with intricate tiled floor, the pumps shine and dispense 4/5 mainstream ales in good condition on handpull, the staffing levels are good so you never wait to be served, but somehow everything is a little clinical or impersonal. Maybe I'll have to leave time for more than one next time I'm waiting for the train.
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A traditional boozer with decent staff, but stroppy customers. OK but nothing exciting
anonymous - 18 Dec 2006 00:15 |
Seems to be a certain yob element hanging around outside these days....but maybe that's reflective of Wimbledon in general.
Not a bad bar, although they have a habit of trying to deafen you with loud music. Whatever happened to the local you could happily catch up with friends in and have a good old banter....without having to constantly shout to be heard. Ah, the joys of old age
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Nice pub, nice atmosphere and homely decor feel, modern yet a tinge of tradional...
Small range of Ale on tap
Good Eve, would def return, tho a small fight broke out just outside, but this was something of an unfortunate situation with yobs outside wanting to start on someone inside.
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check out the bar staff! great pub, great beer, great service 100% reccomended!
anonymous - 27 Sep 2006 22:33 |
When I've been in here it's never been too busy. It's been done up a couple of times I think in my lifetime but nothing too drastic. The inside is still pleasant and pubby. There are usually about 5 ales on (1 is usually different the rest standard), Leffe, Budvar and the usual. It's nice but I haven't risked the food here, nor will I any time soon. I've not had a bad pint there and I saw a sign that they were having live music here at some point.
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This pub is everything a town centre pub should be. It has a varied range of cask ales, comfortable seating and efficient service.
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Large pub which must attract numerous commuters changing from train to bus. A range of fairly common real ales including Theakstons XB as a guest; comfortable old fashioned or late-Victorian-town-centre decor. OK for a pint or two watching people go by.
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Ok place with ok service, just seems in the wrong place somehow... Went after work (whilst there was no footie on) and seemed fine, enjoyed a quick Youngs.
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Had a refurb....but I wasn't quite sure if that meant someone just hoovered the place?
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They probably come there for the female workers. Has a vibe of being relaxing and lively at the same time. Even if you're teetotal you'd enjoy it here, but they have some good real ales on offer, Adnams Broadside, London Pride and IPA. Also plenty for the lager drinkers of course.
Saw a Jessica Biel lookalike in here the other day. If you know her, I want to know her too!
Will2 - 22 Apr 2006 13:54 |
Getting a seat is difficult. Gets rather packed even earlyish in the evening. A lot of people must know its a good pub. Seems 2 be mostly female workers at the bar
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Visited here last night - a great improvement. Good beer and great staff, particularly the young Aussie couple. Can recommend it for a visit.
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This pub is due to reopen on Thursday 16th Feb 2006 I believe
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went past the other day - this pub is due to open again very soon by the looks of things it has been refurbished.
anonymous - 13 Feb 2006 13:05 |
Seems to be closed for refurbishment.
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The only use I can think of for this pub is for a quick pint while you're waiting for someone at Wimbledon station. As has been said, even smokers find this place too smoke-ridden for comfort. The beer isn't up to much either I'd say.
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Nice exterior and I like the interior too! Nice and dark with a polished feel. Beer has always been OK but the bar staff have trouble understanding you sometimes. The people vary and that's how it should be - it's opposite the station.
anonymous - 10 Dec 2005 12:03 |
A regular haunt but not a lot to recommend it. Very mixed clientele. Good nights and bad nights and yes, there is too much smoke about. And I'm another smoker. The amount of times I've seen people come in, say "bit smokey isn't it" and leave!
Much better than the chain pubs that are around the area but could do a lot better still.
anonymous - 27 Jul 2005 16:43 |
One change of ownership (S+N to Spirit Group) and two changes of management in 5 months, topped of by the cook leaving, have down nothing to raise standards.
Agree with another correspondent that the site has potential, and usually the beer is well kept. The problems are that the building is badly maintained (the roof leaks into the staff quarters in sevral places)and there is no natural light since the "fridge on the bridge" was built in the 1980s. To reach the non-smoking area one has to pass through the smoking area and in any case the smoke isn't vented so it permeates the whole bar. Experienced and able staff were ditched by the previous management for eye candy.
anonymous - 16 Jun 2005 16:35 |
This pub could be so much better than it actually is. The fabric of the building is good and the interior atmospheric, but you kind of lose your spirt after being in there for about 10 minutes. It can't find its identity, it has no soul. A bleak looking clientele. The grub was expensive too - though i didn't sample it. Lasagne, chips and peas (that well know Italian dish) was about �7.50 ..... �7.50?!!
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RUBBISH PUB WITH CRAP BEER
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A really old bar with a lot of history.
Not the type of place you're likely to see a younger crowd in.
Bar service is good.
The only really bad thing about it is how smokey it is. Even a smoker mate of mine complained how bad it was.
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Central location near Wimbledon station. Not family friendly, even if you'd like a meal. 4 decent real ales were on when I was there.
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If you like having a crap pint after a hard day's shopping in the crap shops of Centre Court, then this God awful smokey pub is the place for you. Full of builders and transients, best avoid it and hop in a cab up to the village.
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Fairly standard station pub i.e. tatty and unimpressive. Beer is OK (they have a good range from Young's to Theakston's) but for some godunknown reason it's usually busy and fills up with loutish/inbred builder types. OK if you're desperate, and there's really nowhere else in the area.
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quite a pleasant pub for quiet pint, good selection of ales though one word of warning - you might have to ask for a top-up
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One of the better pubs in the cenre of Wimbledon. Good for a quick drink after a film or a vist the the theatre. A pretty good slection of ales. Although often very smokey,
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used to be good. but has now stopped doing becks. why? rubbish. shan't be going again.
john - 4 Nov 2004 13:03 |
Big pub full of blokes and drunks. One guy in particular (think his name is Bandy) is very abusive and most people from what i can see arfe sick of the sight of him. Other than that worth a pint in there even if just passing
PortmadogLads - 8 Oct 2004 11:46 |
Great bogs,nice turnout every friday
john - 12 May 2004 11:36 |
Very old style and full of old blokes. Not really worth a visit apart from a quick pint on a crawl.
anonymous - 7 Jan 2004 16:57 |
bit of an old mans pub tho
anonymous - 23 Dec 2003 22:42 |
yes my mate got his photo taken with the formely known sclub7. Well more like 6 because Bradley was somewhere else.
joo - 13 Nov 2003 16:15 |
yes s club 7 did have a drink in there, and yes my mate did get the blonde one to sign a porno mag
clive - 6 Oct 2003 15:53 |
A bit dirty,Staff a bit slow, Takes about 15 mins to get a pint on a good day. John
johnny11 - 10 Sep 2003 09:25 |
Nice pub - clean not bullsh*t approach to everything.
Gaz - 18 Jun 2003 20:53 |
Used to be owned by someone other than T&J, can't remember who. Food isn't great but they sometimes have some top quality guest ales on offer.
Briony - 6 May 2003 15:07 |
Average pub, the beer is ok, the music isn't too loud. It's ok for a quiet pint.
Andy - 4 May 2003 01:36 |
