Harwood Arms, SW6

A handsome building, this dates from 1866, the hanging sign depicting the coat of arms of the Earl of Harwood. The interior can be gleaned from the pub’s website and it’s essentially a posh pub done up in a traditional meets contemporary way, with touches such as chandeliers draped with ostrich feathers. On entering, the customer is greeted by Front of House, who told me that I could have a drink at the bar, as this is essentially a restaurant with at least one Michelin star, which is consistently listed in the Estrella Top 50 UK gastropub awards; apparently if you want to eat, you have to book weeks in advance, leaving a credit card deposit. Unsurprisingly, all were eating, though there were a couple of drinkers at the bar. The problem here is that the distance from the bar to the nearest tables is so narrow, that every time a member of staff walked by, you receive a friendly ‘Could I just get past please?’. This doesn’t make for a restful drinking experience, nor does the all-pervasive smell of mint sauce, which reminded me of school dinners. The ale choice isn’t up to much either, with a Good Old Boy clip reversed, then just Wandle at a surprisingly low £2.50 the half, so dull and duller. This place remains on the site as technically you can have a drink without eating, but it’s not a great experience; the place would be better if it didn’t allow in drinkers, but more fool them for coming here.

Official site of Harwood Arms - www.harwoodarms.com

Official site of Harwood Arms - www.harwoodarms.com