Kings Head, SW17

An attractive well preserved interior with wood and glass screens, original tiling to two entrances and a side room and wood panelling to the former billiard room at the rear. Jug and Bottle, Private Bar, Saloon glazed doors and screens all remain. All has been well documented already however. At the front, to the right of the outdoor seated area is a gated off passage with a building beyond which looks like it may have been the original stables. Inside, the bar is central and serves different areas, but the main room is the larger space and was where the handful of drinkers were located during my afternoon visit. Part wood floored, carpeted in another area, seating is mixed with a few sofas and high tables, but mostly for traditional. There are a few TVs dotted around and the main fireplace has a selection of games on top of the mantle. A fairly modern piano sits against the rear partition. The menus and faux chalkboards detract from the surroundings a little, but this is a Taylor Walker branded pubco place so that goes with the territory. Beers were not too adventurous being Pride, Bombardier, Old Speckled Hen and Youngs London Gold. I went for the London Gold which was perfectly drinkable. Worth a visit for the interior if nothing else, however I found this cavernous place to be a little spiritless probably due to the lack of customers at the time.

The Kings Head is a large imposing late Victorian gin palace style pub with a Grade 2 listing. Externally, note in particular the canopied balcony and the gargoyles depicting a king’s head. A large central oval shaped bar counter with a fine bar back in the middle serves a number of different areas. Etched glass, windows and screens tell us that this was formerly a multi roomed pub and, although it’s been somewhat opened out, you still get a good sense of what it must have been like in its Victorian heyday. As well as the preserved glasswork, there are fine tiled mini-corridors at either end of the pub. A former billiards room at the back has dark wood panelling and now seems to serve mainly as a room for watching live sports. The pub features in CAMRA’s book of London Heritage Pubs. Outside we learn that the pub was rebuilt in 1896. Inside a framed information print tells us that the architect was one W M Brutton, who also designed The Fitzroy Tavern in Fitzrovia and The Princess Victoria in Hammersmith. The original Kings Head apparently dates back to the 1700’s and was a coaching inn for travellers from London. In one corner is a table football machine. A shelf over a fireplace has a collection of board games such as Scrabble. There’s a large outside patio at the side and some seats at the front should you feel inclined to breath in the traffic fumes from the busy main road on which the pub is situated Despite the splendid interior, large pub menus on each table betray the fact that this is a chain pub These menus reveal that The Kings Head is now part of the Taylor Walker - “Built on Tradition “ - branded portfolio, a somewhat cynical attempt by Punch Taverns to gain mileage from a long lost well known former brewery. Other typical chain pub features are also in evidence – staff in black shirts, some high tables and stools etc – but the overall feel and atmosphere is not displeasing, by any means. Beers on were Bombardier, Doom Bar and Youngs London Gold. This is a pub that serves real ale, rather than a real ale pub, if you get my drift. Perhaps surprisingly, the Bombardier was really rather good. If you’re a fan of pub architecture, you’ll want to go here if you haven’t already.

It was desperately quiet on a Tuesday afternoon, with only half a dozen or so punters rattling around this very large pub. It was pretty cold in there as well, but I suppose that at another time it would be vibrant and warm. They had a few real ales on – London Pride, Adnam’s Broadside and Explorer. I had the Pride – it was OK – at £2.90 a pint. Designed by the architect W M Bruton, the King’s Head is possibly the masterpiece among the many pubs he was responsible for in the 1890s. If appearances are anything to go by this should be a superb pub. It retains pretty much all of its original Victorian features – bar dividers, tiled entrance, cut and etched glass and mirrors in abundance. And yes, it is in the CAMRA inventory of London’s heritage pubs. I think it is a good pub – it’s clean, and although I didn’t try the food it looked reasonably priced. I think that it is especially worth a visit for the décor, if you’re interested in that sort of thing.

This is a very big pub with the bar area being split in two by the bar and there is a large function type room at the rear which has a large plasma screen. There is also a plasma screen for showing Sky Sports in the left hand side of the pub, but these were both off during my visit and there was no music giving this almost empty pub a very sedate feel. The Victorian décor and furnishings are very well kept, but there was a strong smell of food and I got a hotel like vibe which I wasn’t that keen on. Pride, Broadside, Greene King IPA and Old Speckled Hen were the ale choices during my visit before Christmas. There was also a selection of standard and premium products and I found the barman to be very friendly. There is some additional café type seating on the widened path outside, but Tooting Bec High Street isn’t the most relaxing place for a beer in the sun. I would pop back in here if passing, but I wouldn’t go out of my way or stay for long.