The Red Setter, Battersea Rise, SW11

Official site of The Red Setter - www.urbanpubsandbars.com

Official site of The Red Setter - www.urbanpubsandbars.com

My previous experiences with the All Bar One chain have tended to be hideous post-work drinking sessions which invariably find the places packed with braying suited types pretending they’re Gordon Gekko whilst drinking overpriced lager, all of which has combined to make it my least favourite pub chain. So it was with great trepidation that I was dragged in here for a bite to eat on a recent bright Sunday evening. Thankfully, the weekend crowd seem a lot more palatable, with a good number of people filling the place up thanks to a combination of the fine weather and the conclusion of a local street market. The single room bar is decorated in keeping with the chain’s lounge/wine bar look, which although not too appealing to my taste, did at least look smart and clean. The servery runs down the left hand wall with ample seating in a large, bare boarded area opposite. There are plenty of tub chairs for those wanting comfort, but we opted to sit at one of the high tables which are lined up along the front windows. These had been folded open, so we were able to enjoy the warm weather a bit longer and there were plenty of people sat out on the pavement tables in front of us. Given how busy the place was, they were woefully under-staffed – perhaps caught off-guard by the high customer numbers on what is presumably normally a quiet night for them. This meant I had a soul-destroyingly long wait to be served at the bar, as the plucky lone barman manfully worked his way through countless cocktail orders. There was just the one ale available (an uninspiring Fuller’s London Pride), so I opted for a pint of the Meantime Pilsner – one of a large range of keg lager options. We had food as well, which was again subjected to delay, but when it finally arrived it was pretty tasty, although we felt it would have been a bit too pricy had we not been able to take advantage of a meal deal. Whilst this place hasn’t converted me into an All Bar One fan, it has at least shown that, if caught at the right time, they are at least tolerable. There are much better pubs in either direction from this place so I can’t really recommend it unless you’re already a fan of the chain.

All Bar One is open plan with a bar that runs along the left hand wall where premium draught products can be purchased alongside Guinness. I’ve not visited an ABO for a long time so I was surprised to see two hand pumps on the bar that were drawing Fuller’s London Pride and Sharp’s Doom bar. I wasn’t surprised to witness some painfully slow service even though the staff outnumbered the customers. Food is served and I saw an advertisement for lunch from £6 which is available until 17:00.