The Leigham Well, Streatham, SW16

Dating from the mid-18th century, this was until 2017 the Leigham Arms. Recently repainted a two-tone pale and battleship grey, this is a small pub down a side street, just off the hubbub of the endless Streatham High Road. The first thing you notice is the ugly Sky Sports banner fixed to the peripheral wall. The place is small and very basic, with only around six old boys at the time of my Friday 9.00pm visit. Generally tidy, there’s a contemporary colour scheme and conventional furniture with multi-screen unwatched sport; it looks a bit Craft Union. There’s no cask, just a basic keg lineup. This is a bit of a dispiriting place, the side door opening directly into the road providing a quick dispatch for those so inclined.

Set just a short way back from the busy Streatham High Street, this is a slightly run-down back street boozer, with a notional three bar layout. You enter into the main public bar where most of the evening’s punters were congregated. It’s a functional space with bench and chair seating around the perimeter and the servery in the rear right corner - a dark and dingy bar which seemed to be using a muted flatscreen TV showing Champions League football, as its main source of light. The bar has a reasonable wood panelled counter, and as it passes through the next two rooms, a tidy bar back appears. The middle room is almost in the ‘snug’ category, managing to squeeze in a couple of tables directly in front of the bar counter, making it feel almost like a private booth, were it not for the fact that everyone has to pass through to get from one end of the pub to the other. This room has a nice partitioning screen with leaded stained glasswork, and throughout the pub there is mid-height panelling in a distressed style with some ugly stag’s head wallpaper above. On into the far room - totally empty on this visit - where loads of extra seating can be found, although punters were opting instead for the patio garden which can be reached from here and has a row of covered bench booths to the rear and an eclectic mix of garden furniture elsewhere, most of which was covered by a single, huge Birra Moretti umbrella. I was encouraged to see three handpulls on the bar, but as I got closer, I realised that two were unclipped, whilst the third sported a turned London Pride badge, leaving me at the mercy of the keg range, from which I chose a pint of Beavertown Neck Oil at an unreasonable £5.90. The barman was friendly enough and it was funny to see all the old boys in the main bar, the hip young locals in the garden, and no-one in the two rooms in-between. This is a decent enough pub that was lacking in atmosphere when I visited and suffering from a few dubious interior design decisions, whilst also looking like it could do with a bit of freshening up. The lack of ale was also a drawback, but the service was friendly enough and I liked the three bar layout, which was a bit different to most pubs in the area. Worth a look to see if they’ve managed to get any decent ale on, but probably not somewhere I’d rush back to.

This was my first visit since its rebirth as the Leigham Well. The carpet's all gone now, and some of the paneling has now been painted grey. But the screening separating the corner (public) bar from the central snug is still there, as is the wall separating the snug from the saloon bar. I learned on this visit that the unused entrance into the public bar used to give access to the jug and bottle bar, but is now of course subsumed by the public bar. There were two real ales on - London Pride and Marston's 61 Deep Pale Ale. I didn't see any sign of food during my weekday mid-afternoon visit. I like this pub a lot, as it still has a very authentic feel about it. It's worth including on any Streatham crawl.

Tucked away down a side street off the busy Streatham High Rd, it would be easy to miss this backstreet locals’ pub. It looks as if it hasn’t changed much in the last 50 or more years. You have what was probably a snug, or possibly a jug and bottle bar, in the centre; a public bar to the right; and a saloon bar to the left which is traditionally carpeted, and with a touch of class added by the (fake) flowers on the tables. Most of the windows have been replaced relatively recently I would guess, although the original green banded design typical of Charington’s pubs (and still in place in some of the screening) has been retained. The half level wood panelling looks fairly ancient – possibly an inter-war refit. There was only the one ale during our visit – the ubiquitous London Pride, although a clip reversed on another pump suggested that GK London Gold had been on offer. Pump clips decorating the bar gantry (Doom Bar, Adnam’s Bitter and several Ringwood ales were represented) suggested that a slightly more adventurous ale selection is sometimes available. I didn’t see any sign of any food or menus. One interesting and unusual feature (as far as London is concerned anyway) is the sign by the doors into Wellfield Rd warning punters to take care as there is no pavement on the road. Now this isn’t a busy road, but if you were unlucky an incautious exit could have dire consequences. This struck me as a friendly and comfortable pub. It was pretty quiet when I was in on Thursday evening, with just a dozen or so customers in, but is the sort of place where you could get sucked into a conversation and stay much longer than intended. I would be delighted to pay a return visit.

A rarity these days, a seemingly thriving back street local, with a healthy mix of regulars on our Thursday evening visit. The pub is divided into three consecutive sections with the bar running through. The front and middle rooms are carpeted, the rear area being boarded. There are a series of murals on the walls, the front bar has a fake set of bookshelves plus a bar scene with a drunken punter sat on the floor, back to the bar, perhaps there is a story to go with this, who knows? The rear bar has its murals too, a sporting theme here with rugby, football, athletics and cricket represented. A TV here was showing darts. Beyond the rear room is an outdoor area with some cover and a TV. There are a few outdoor tables to the front too. The pub has those green and amber stripes which hark back to the former Charrington's Brewery, some are clearly of that age, however others have been replaced with new, which I thought unusual; perhaps the pub is in a Conservation Area? Seating is traditional, ie no high tables, sofas etc, being leather cushioned benches and small stools. The beer range is limited, there was the ubiquitous London Pride and another having a Greene King "London Glory" reversed. There are a few clips over the bar, Ringwood featured heavily, suggesting there is some rotation, but nothing to really set the pulse racing. I did like this pub though, mostly for remaining as it is, an old school local, and I'd certainly drop by again. A word of warning! If exiting by the side doors you go straight into the road, there is no pavement, take care!