Fentiman Arms, SW8

This is a pretty mid-19th century pub, nestled amongst newly gentrified houses on the borders of North Lambeth and Battersea. There’s a standard boarded floor, then turquoise walls and ceiling with matching coloured ceramic tiles where the bar back would once have been, a leatherette banquette, conventional furniture, very bright modern lighting, some patterned wallpaper to the rear with a fake Modigliani, further décor comprising lots of shelved books and a few knickknacks; it’s all a bit contrived, but pleasant enough. Cask offerings amounted to Wimbledon SW19, By the Horns Hopadelic, London Original and Proper Job at a pricey £3.00 a half and very nice, served by a friendly member of staff. This is a decent place but has perhaps been a little too tarted up and is outgunned by the Canton Arms up the road.

Just around the corner from Oval tube station, and within touching distance of the cricket ground of the same name, this is a simple backstreet pub with a basic U-shaped interior. The left side of the room offers a basic seating area with lots of tables and chairs plus some well upholstered banquettes around the perimeter. The walls have low wood panelling and neutral shaded uppers with a bookcase breaking the left-hand wall midway along and a nice fireplace in the front left corner. Lots of contemporary pictures line the walls, making this quite a homely spot to settle down in. Banquette and chair seating can be found to the front, either side of the entrance, under huge arched windows that also run down the front part of the right-hand wall. The bar has a nice dark wood panelled counter but as with so many pubs in South London, the opening up of the room has chopped out the old bar back, leaving a metal topped table and large pillar in its wake. Small tables with chairs are the main form of seating to right of bar, giving way to some drinking ledges under large mirrors, although this space mostly given over to food served from a dumb waiter to the right of bar. Moving further back, you reach a small carpeted space with padded benches down either side and chairs in support. It’s a fairly dark space with Penguin book cover wallpaper and a few promotional blackboards on display. To the rear there is access to a large beer garden that might be the pub's greatest asset, with stacks of seating, TV screens showing live sport, patio heaters, cushions and plenty of cover across a well lit split-level space. Indie tunes played quietly in the background, often lost under the general chatter from the customers. Beer-wise, the cask selection was pretty humdrum, with Young’s Ordinary and Special available alongside St Austell Proper Job. The latter set me back a hefty £5.45, but was in reasonable condition and preferable to the even more expensive craft keg options from the likes of Camden, Beavertown and Gipsy Hill. This was my final pub on a long crawl and I think my tolerance was starting to wane a bit, as I recall leaving with an unfavourable feel towards the place thanks to their expensive cask ale and gastro-leaning interior, but on reflection, there were plenty of plus points here too, most notably the excellent, well-appointed garden and comfortable, varied seating options. All in all, not a bad option to have if you're in the area.

Corner pub in a residential street. There is a central bar, with seating all around and a garden area at the rear. As a Young's pub, their Ordinary was on, alongside Winter Warmer & St Austell Proper Job. The barmaid seemed a bit dappy and as I was handing over my card to pay, I soon realised that she'd charged me for a pint, when I'd only ordered a half. Instead of offering a refund, her preferred option was to give me a pint instead, which I politely declined. After a bit of a faff, she supposedly refunded a half to my card. Fairly ordinary backstreet pub that is somewhat off the beaten track. So, no real need to pay a return visit.

Not a bad place. Didn't see the beer garden to the rear. Fair selection of real ales. Was quite full on Sunday afternoon so had to sit at the front outside. Possibly worth a revisit.

Large corner pub now modernised and reborn as a gastro pub. The beer choice was reasonable , By The Horns Hopadelic, St Austell Proper Job, Youngs Bitter, Wimbledon XXK Bitter and Twickenham Grandstand.The pub was ok but I wouldn't go out of my way to revisit.

Official site of Fentiman Arms - www.thefentimanarms.co.uk

Official site of Fentiman Arms - www.thefentimanarms.co.uk

This pub got onto CAMRA SW London’s long list for inclusion in the GBG, so I was not surprised to see five ales on here. They were Doom Bar, Sambrook Junction, Fentiman Christmas Ale (Young’s branded), Adnam’s Broadside, and Twickenham Naked Ladies. I had a pint of the latter (£4.10) which came up very hazy, but drinkable. This is now something of a gatropub, although drinkers seem to be just as welcome. On Friday afternoon there was a single-sheet menu with, as I recall, main courses around £10 a pop. Obviously there’s a sofa or two, but the majority of the furnishings are more suitable for diners. The chunky picnic type benches are more usually seen outdoors but in this sort of establishment they don’t really look out of place; and neither do the distressed brown leather upholstered benches, or the recycled school chairs. The colour scheme here is a mix of cream and battleship grey, which is often seen in gastropubs. The eating/drinking areas are wrapped around a central peninsular bar, and as well as the usual Christmassy stuff, there are more decorative twigs than I’ve ever seen in a pub. The service here was friendly enough, and I would say that despite its gastro tendency it’s still a comfortable enough place to stop for a pint or two as long as you can get in there when it’s not too crowded. The ale selection is good (even though my Naked Ladies was not on top form) and I would be very happy to drop in here for another pint sometime.