The Prince of Wales, Merton

I'm in the process of moving out of the South Wimbledon area, and the thing I'll miss most is having the Prince of Wales as my local.

I'm a cask-beer drinker. I'm the sort of cask-beer drinker who will ask for a top-up if there's more than about a centimetre of froth on my pint. The sort who probably won't return to the place if the beer's not on form.

The Prince is a Young's tie, so it's not always possible for them to compete with other local establishments in terms of beer selection alone. But Paul, the landlord, keeps his ales - two from Young's and occasional guests - in pristine condition. In my opinion, you'll be hard-pushed to find a better-kept pint locally.

When I first visited this pub, it was a bit tatty. A nice enough place, but in need of a bit of work. Since then, it's undergone a refurbishment which, in my view, has done just the job. They resisted the obvious temptation to go all gastro on us, and just given it the freshening-up it needed. Simple, yet effective.

The reason I kept going back to the Prince in favour of other local pubs? Quite simple: the welcome. Whether I wanted a chat at the bar or to mind my own business reading a book or magazine, I felt at home here.

I'm one of those who tells Paul how much I like what he's trying to do, yet I've never stopped to write a review. This note is my attempt to redress that.

9 Feb 2011 16:08