Down the River
Pubs in Wandsworth & Battersea
PUBS IN SW18(S) SOUTH WANDSWORTH, EARLSFIELD & SOUTHFIELDS
Please see our SW18(N) on-line guide for pubs in the rest of SW18, including Wandsworth Town Centre and areas near the river Thames.
This section of the printout of the online version of Down the River lists pubs in those areas of SW18 which are to the south of Wandsworth Town Centre, including Earlsfield, Southfields and part of Wandsworth Common. Entries have been updated by information reported up to January 2010. To buy the printed version of any of our local guides go to the CAMRA on-line shop at http://shop.camra.org.uk/.
Eventually we will have all the pubs in our area available on-line via the very useful www.whatpub.org website. We intend this to be the most up-to-date pubs listing available for South West London pubs.
For now we now have UPDATED on-line versions of the three earliest publications available on this website. Either use the Pubs drop down menu at the top of any page for direct links to the on-line pubs lists or click the links below for a list of the pubs in the relevant postcode area:
If you spot any errors or omissions in our listings please contact our Pubs Officer, Geoff Strawbridge geoff@coherent-tech.co.uk, with the details.
TRANSPORT
Stations
LU - Southfields (District)
NR - Earlsfield
Access is easy by Underground, Bus or National Rail.
Use the TfL Journey Planner to find your way.
HISTORY
A settlement has existed here for centuries at the confluence of the Wandle and the Thames. The Surrey Iron Railway terminated here two centuries ago and there is still a street called ‘Iron Mill Road’. In recent years the riverside area has been largely transformed from an industrial wasteland to an upmarket residential zone. The brewery site that dominates the town centre is now likely to be redeveloped similarly although certain historic buildings and artefacts must be preserved. The site is still surrounded by many of Young’s tied houses, some of which are still revered as unspoilt traditional pubs.
PUBS
Pubs are listed in alphabetical order.
Photos are by our webmaster, Mike Flynn.
Facilities are coded under each real ale pub entry:
NR/LU/TL - Rail, tube or tram station within 1/2 mile:
AC - Accommodation
CP - Own car park:
DF - Disabled access + WC
FA - Children welcome:
GD - Garden or outdoor drinking area
SN - Snacks (sandwiches, pies etc):
ML - Lunchtime meals
ME - Evening meals:
RS - Restaurant
FR - Function room:
PB - Separate public bar
PG - Traditional pub games:
QP - Quiet pub
RI - Regional Inventory:
LocAle - CAMRA LocAle Accredited
BAR 366
366 Garratt Lane, Earlsfield
SW18 4ES
Free
No real ale
NR (Earlsfield)
BARAZA BAR
561 Garratt Lane, Earlsfield
SW18 4SR
Free
No real ale
NR (Earlsfield)
COUNTY ARMS
345 Trinity Road
SW18 3SH
Tel: 020-8874 8532 Website: www.countyarms.co.uk
11.00 - 00.00 Mon - Sat, 11.00 - 23.00 Sun
Young
Wells Bombardier; Young’s Bitter, Special, Seasonal Beer - RAiB: Special London Ale
Large, comfortable and sensitively refurbished pub with many original Victorian features. The old lounge to the rear is now more of a restaurant but the front still has a public bar feel. Biographic pictures of notorious inmates of the nearby prison adorn some walls, especially in the Gents; the pub’s back garden is on the site of the original county jail. Mon jazz, Tue quiz.
DF FA GD ML ME FR
EARL SPENCER
260-262 Merton Road
SW18 5JL
Tel: 020-8870 9244 Website: www.theearlspencer.co.uk
11.00 - 23.00 Mon - Thu; 11.00 - 00.00 Fri & Sat; 12.00 - 22.30 Sun
Enterprise (Spatchcock Inns)
Fuller’s London Pride; Hook Norton Bitter; guest beers
An award-winning gastropub with a no reservations policy, this is a sport-free oasis with no TVs, a quiet pub with no music. Hook Norton Bitter is the owner’s home tipple and goes down well with the smart, mixed clientele here. Renamed Spencers, Merton Inn, then Bofs and (erroneously) Earl of Spencer before reverting to its original name in 2004.
LU (Southfields)
GD SN ML ME FR(book on 07913 274302) QP
FOG (Jack Beards in the)
2-4 Groton Road, Earlsfield
SW18 4EP
Tel: 020-8874 2715
11.00 - 23.00 Mon - Thu; 11.00 - 00.00 Fri - Sat; 12.00 - 22.30 Sun
Enterprise (CC Taverns trading as Jack Beards)
Courage Best Bitter; Young’s Bitter; Occasional guest beer
Unspoilt basic backstreet boozer with very friendly mixed clientele, listed on CAMRA London Regional Inventory. Separate public bar, games room and lounge. Quiet except when juke box is played. Well worth seeking out, away from the horde of trendy cocktail/foody bars now swamping Earlsfield. Formerly Country House but always known as the Fog.
NR (Earlsfield)
SN PB PG
GARDENERS ARMS
268 Merton Road
SW18 5JL
Tel: 020-8874 7624
11.00 - 23.30 Mon - Thu, 11.00 - 00.00 Fri & Sat, 12.00 - 23.30 Sun
Young
Young’s Bitter, Special, Seasonal Beer - RAiB: Special London Ale
Community local with distinctive 1930s tiled corner frontage. U-shaped bar separates ‘public’ end with dartboard from extended lounge area. TV sports. Tue quiz with buffet. Children welcome in front and rear patios only.
LU (Southfields)
GD SN ML(not Sat) ME(Mon-Fri) PG
GRID INN
22 Replingham Road, Southfields
SW18 5LS
Tel: 020-8874 8460
10.00 - 23.00 Mon - Sat, 10.00 - 22.30 Sun
Wetherspoon
Greene King IPA, Abbot; Marston Pedigree; Shepherd Neame Spitfire; guest beers. Weston Old Rosie or Organic Vintage Cider
A comfortable, wood panelled pub with separate drinking areas providing a cosy atmosphere. Terrestrial TV only, usually without the sound, but available for big games if customers wish. Fruit machines less popular since the smoking ban. Local history panels; the surrounding streets form a grid, hence the name. Two guest beers at all times.
LU (Southfields)
DF FA SN ML ME QP
GROSVENOR ARMS
204 Garratt Lane
SW18 4ED
Enterprise
No real ale
Traditional pub, for sale at time of survey.
HALFWAY HOUSE
521 Garratt Lane, Earlsfield
SW18 5SR
Tel: 020-8946 2788 Website: www.thehalfway.co.uk
12.00 - 23.00 Mon - Wed, 12.00 - 00.00 Thu & Fri, 10.00 - 00.00 Sat & Sun
Young
Wells Bombardier, Young’s Bitter, Other Wells & Young’s Beer
Lively modern corner pub, now popular with a young crowd after recent refurbishment but strictly over 21s after 18.00. Good food and extensive wine list. Occasional big matches on TV. Sun live music, Mon quiz, Thu ladies night and Sat theme nights. Comfortable, covered garden area perfect for smokers.
NR (Earlsfield)
DF FA(until 18.00) GD SN ML ME
JOLLY GARDENERS
214 Garratt Lane
SW18 4EA
No real ale
KAZANS
607-609 Garratt Lane, Earlsfield
SW18 4SU
Website: www.kazans.com
No real ale
Meze and grill bar/restaurant with a Turkish bottled beer.
NR (Earlsfield)
LE GOTHIQUE
Royal Victoria Patriotic Building, John Archer Way
SW18 3SX
Tel: 020-8870 6567 Website: www.legothique.co.uk
12.00 - 00.00 Mon - Fri, 18.00 - 00.00 Sat, 12.00 - 18.00 Sun (May - Sep Only)
Free
Beer range varies
Friendly little bar and French restaurant, tucked away in the huge, haunting neo-Gothic, now Grade II listed landmark originally constructed as an orphanage for the daughters of servicemen killed in the Crimea and later used as a military hospital and, in WWII, an internment screening centre for foreign asylum seekers. Rudolph Hess was one such guest. Beers typically from Ballards, Shepherd Neame, Downton and Sambrook’s. Sats tend to be booked well ahead for weddings and other parties using the impressive Grand Hall.
CP DF FA GD SN ML ME RS QP
MEL’S CAFÉ BAR
573 Garratt Lane, Earlsfield
SW18 4ST
Website: www.melscafebar.co.uk
No real ale
Café bar with South African bottled beers, formerly Open Page.
NR (Earlsfield)
OLD GARAGE
20 Replingham Road, Southfields
SW18 5LS
Tel: 020-8874 9370
11.00 - 23.00 Mon - Thu, 11.00 - 00.00 Fri & Sat, 11.00 - 22.30 Sun
Greene King
Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen
Noisy, café-style pub opened in 1997 with plain walls, mainly polished wooden flooring and a raised carpeted area at the back, dominated by TV sports and loud piped music. Occasional live entertainment. A youngsters’ venue.
LU (Southfields)
DF SN ML ME
PARK TAVERN
212 Merton Road
SW18 5SW
Tel: 020-8488 8855
12.00 - 23.00 Mon - Fri, 12.00 - 00.00 Sat, 12.00 - 22.30 Sun
S&N Pub Enterprises (Salamander Inns)
Wadworth 6X; Young’s Bitter
Packed with history: a former coaching inn that was a favourite watering hole and place of refuge for notorious highwayman John Tibbet and later served as a Masonic meeting place. A spacious, comfortable pub with wood-panelled rooms and log fires. Evenings offer Tue poker, Wed quiz, Sun jazz and Mon half price burgers.
CP(and for coaches) DF GD SN ML ME QP
PIG & WHISTLE
479-481 Merton Road
SW18 5LD
Tel: 020-8874 1061
12.00 - 00.00 Mon - Sat, 11.00 - 23.00 Sun
Young
Wells Bombardier, Young’s Bitter, Special - RAiB: Kew Gold
Converted from off licence and hardware store in 1974 and now refurbished very much in ‘modern’ Young’s style though retaining old, split level layout. Despite more emphasis on food and lager, the young managers take a pride in their well kept, traditional real ales and what had been a rather neglected pub is gaining local popularity. TV sports, especially rugby. Sun quiz. Live entertainment first Mon of month. Meals served all day at weekends.
FA GD ML ME
PUZZLE
332 Garratt Lane, Earlsfield
SW18 4EJ
Tel: 020-8874 4209 Website: www.capitalpubcompany.com
12.00 - 23.00 Sun - Thu, 12.00 - 01.00 Fri & Sat
Capital Pub Co
Sharp’s Doom Bar
Large, roomy, open-plan corner pub, refurbished in 2008. Formerly Sailor Prince.
NR (Earlsfield)
GD SN ML ME
ROUNDHOUSE
2 North Side, Wandsworth Common
SW18 2SS
Tel: 020-7326 8580
12.00 - 23.00 Mon - Fri, 12.00 - 00.00 Sat, 12.00 - 22.30 Sun
Free
Everard Original; Sambrook’s Wandle; Weston cider
Popular gastropub in a Victorian corner building that retains ornate entrance lobby among some original features, recently taken over by new owners who also run the Lighthouse, SW11. Cask ale is served from unusual glass canister-style handpumps. Excellent food as well as real ale attract a mainly young, affluent crowd. Booking essential for Mon 20.00 quiz. Rugby internationals shown on terrestrial TV. Formerly Roundhouse then briefly Café Med and Livebait, a fish restaurant; latterly reverting to Freemasons, its original name.
NR (Clapham Jct)
FA GD ML ME FR LocAle
WILLIE GUNN
422 Garratt Lane, Earlsfield
SW18 4HW
Website: www.williegunn.co.uk
No real ale
Restaurant and wine bar with draught lagers.
NR (Earlsfield)
This guide is published by the South West London Branch of CAMRA and copyright and all other rights are reserved to the Campaign for Real Ale Ltd (2008-2009). No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, by any means - electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise - without the prior permission of the Campaign for Real Ale Ltd.
