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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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Pig & Whistle, Southfields, SW18
SW18
SW18 5LD
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Pig & Whistle
A relatively modernised Youngs local that at least retains a bit of comfy character unlike some of their ghastly strip-outs elsewhere. Notable frontage with a striped awning makes it look like a butchers shop – presume this is a deliberate nod to the name? Or maybe it was left-over from the conversion to a pub in the early 70’s? Two possibly three whacked through rooms inside. Décor is done to a fairly high standard, with a sepia-era frieze of the High St, some nice aqua tiling, an area of porcine-related ephemera (inevitably called ‘the piggery’). The vibe, as described well by PSM, is that of suburban local. Ale-wise it was Youngs Ordinary, Special, Sambrook Wandle and Twickenham Naked Ladies. Pints of the latter went down rather well and were pretty cheap given the area and pub operator at £3.85. Lively atmosphere on a Saturday evening and felt like a good locals pub. In the unlikely event of me being back round this way I’d be quite happy to pop in again. I’d certainly frequent it if I lived locally.
On 26th October 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Pig & Whistle
This place only became a pub back in the mid-70's, having previously been a hardware store, and spent many years operating as a community boozer before the Young's makeover unit got stuck in. Normally that would sound alarm bells, but it seems to have worked out well here, with a good cross section of the community represented on my recent visit. The place has bare floorboards and lots of extremely chunky high tables and stools in the main bar area including one particularly long example which stands in front of the bar and makes it a little awkward to navigate your way through the pub at busy times. Further back, standard tables and chairs jostle for space with sofas in front of a large fireplace which had book shelves to the side and a TV screen above showing the Paralympic Games. The angular servery is to the rear and has a distressed wood counter and modern, plain bar back. In keeping with the pub's name, there is a shelving unit near the bar labelled 'The Piggery', which is full of pig themed ornaments and trinkets. The room extends to the right, beyond the bar and into a raised dining area with well spaced tables and chairs under a huge blackboard and a TV showing a music channel. From here you can access a garden which had plenty of seating and some good sheltered spots. Stairs lead down to the toilets and the staircase is wallpapered with images of male strongmen to the left and female sunbathers to the right - each corresponding to the direction you need to turn at the bottom of the stairs for the respective toilet facilities. Music, perhaps from the aforementioned TV channel, played quietly throughout my stay and there were menus knocking around which offered main courses for around a tenner.
This doesn't seem like the most obvious place to find good beer, but there were four handpulls in operation dispensing Youngs Ordinary and Special, Sambrooks Wandle and Twickenham Grandstand. I had a pint of the latter which was in very good shape and I also noted some interesting keg options including Beavertown Neck Oil. The customer base was so varied, I couldn't really figure out how popular the ale might be here, but the good condition made me suspect they get pretty decent turnover.
Having never visited this pub before the Young's refurbishment team got stuck in, I'm in no position to judge whether they have improved or ruined the place, but I felt that it was one of their better efforts, combining elements of a traditional pub with modern, suburban crowd-pleasing stylings and a touch of quirkiness to create a pub that still seems to be serving the local community very well. This was worth the five minute walk from Earsfield station and I'd happily pop in again.
On 5th October 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Pig & Whistle
Busy with lots of 30somethings eating on Saturday afternoon, nevertheless I managed to find a pew to sit and watch a bit of cricket while drinking my pint. The front area contains the L-shaped squint ended bar, boarded flooring with a couple of rugs, mixed seating including high tables in the front windows and a sofa facing the exposed brick chimney breast above which is the TV. To the rear the area goes up a couple of steps and is carpeted, there is a dartboard down here. A pig theme is all around including a case of piggy banks on a side wall and a pig shaped coal scuttle next to the fireplace. A milk churn is utilised for an umbrella stand, a shelf contains a few paperbacks and there are a number of hand painted mugs on display. The pub serves a wide selection of teas, the mugs are decorated by local school kids and there is a 10p per mug donation to a charity. Undeterred however I resolutely stuck to the beer, there are six handpumps with the usual Youngs offerings of Bitter, Special, Directors plus Sambrooks Wandle and two from Twickenham, Grandstand and new to me, Redhead. The Redhead was a decent drop. Foodwise there is a standard pub menu plus a few specials on a board, braised rabbit legs with fondant potatoes and honey carrots being one example.
A small garden to the rear with astroturf plus some seating to the frontage fenced in by railway sleepers.
I didn't mind it in here, the place felt civilised after my visit to the nearby Woodman and the service and attention to detail caught my eye with the staff quick to wipe down tables once vacated as well as my pint being topped up without the need to ask. Decent beer range too.
On 2nd March 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Pig & Whistle
This is a stripped out Young’s pub, with all the features of a pub whose owners are trying to move it upmarket. They have a couple of those hideous, chunky tall tables complete with tall stools and tall upholstered benches, a leather or leather-effect sofa accompanied by a low upholstered bench and low table. There also little candles alight on all the tables; a coffee machine displayed prominently at the end of the bar counter; and even a covered dish on the bar counter containing what looked like mince pies. But furnishings do include normal tables and chairs, including some in a room at the back and on the right of the bar, where the tables display some attractive bunches of poinsettias. The main bar area is bare boarded, but with a large carpet in the middle of the room that serves to break up the sea of floorboards.
Being a Young’s pub there are no surprises regarding the ale range. Handpumps were clipped with Special, Bitter, Winter Warmer and Bombareindeer. Unfortunately the Winter Warmer went off just as I ordered a pint (although the clip stayed unreversed during my visit); as did the Bitter as soon as I ordered it. Just bad luck of course. A new barrel of Bitter was put on, but inadequately pulled through as my pint was very cloudy and didn’t taste at all right. But there was no problem changing it for another pint once it had been pulled through properly. The only sandwich on the menu was a steak sandwich, at £7.50. The main meals didn’t seem too expensive, with bangers and mash at £6.95 and steak and ale pie at £8.95.
There’s a large TV screen on the wall by the sofa – showing some Rugby, but muted, - and of course some pop music was being played. On this occasion they were fighting a losing battle to keep the place warm, with a door that couldn’t be closed manually as it has one of those automatic arms fitted that tend to close the door slowly. Even the barmaid kept her scarf on (I don’t think that it was a snood!). This pub is OK if you like these sort of madeover places, but it’s not really to my taste.
On 27th December 2010
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]