Dog & Fox, Wimbledon Village, SW19

The Dog and Fox is a large old pub at the top of the hill and in the very posh Wimbledon village area. Once inside there was one very large room that i noticed and i did'nt really like this room that much,this is a Youngs tied house and there were three of their beers on the bar i had a drink of Youngs bitter and this was'nt on top form the other beers were Youngs Special and Winter warmer. This was by far the worst pub i visited in Wimbledon on my crawl. Pub visited 14/12/2002

This pub is big, I mean massive; On a friday night you could arrange to meet a mate in here and spend the whole night looking for him. The emphasis on the place is very much on the food side which I don't really have a problem with - it is Wimbledon after all. Its probably the area's most popular boozer and that is reflected in the pricing which is fairly steep although my pint of Youngs Special was in reasonable order. Perhaps for a quieter, more traditional setting I'd suggest the Rose & Crown up the road.

The Dog & Fox is set in the very heart of the very upmarket Wimbledon Village, and it shows. This pub has been part of the Young’s estate since 1834, although the current building results from considerable rebuilding in 1900, after which it was renamed the “Wimbledon Hill Hotel”. Thankfully it’s now reverted to its previous name. The usual range of Young’s ales was on during my visit, as well as the excellent Butcombe Bitter (£3.40 a pint). They do food of course, but cheap it ain’t. It hasn’t changed since my last visit a year or two ago, and Maldenman’s description this summer remains valid. It is a good example of a Young’s pub made over to such an extent that any original pub character has long gone. High tables, high stools, high benches, and sofas abound. The only decent feature remaining is the mosaic flooring in what would have been the entrance hall in days gone by. But maybe this is the sort of pub that the patrons in this very upmarket part of London want. However, on the plus side, it was open when I was in Wimbledon Village at 11.30 AM, and the Butcombe Bitter was excellent. But there are better pubs down the road, or across the Common if you’ve got the time to walk to them.

This is a large Victorian pub in a prominent position in Wimbledon Village, although records show that there has been a pub or inn on this site since the days of Henry VIII. Such a large building would clearly once have been divided into a number of seperate areas, however these days the main pub part is one large space. There is a seperate restaurant area to one side with in my opinion the pretty naff names based on Womble characters, eg Orinoco Lounge, Mme Cholet Room. Again beyond here part of the large building has been converted into a seperate Chinese restaurant. There are a few hints of the pub's previous life, a mosaic tiled floor and hall remain in what would have been a main entrance once. The lobby of the "Tap Room"...marked in etched glass...is now thoughtlessly blocked over by high bench seating. The main pub area feels too big and lacks pub atmosphere, the majority of the seating has been given over to those high tables and similar seats. There is an outdoor seating area to the street, partially screened by planting. A long standing Young's pub, I could only see three handpumps on my recent visit, of these just two on, Ordinary Bitter and Waggledance. I suspect the pub has a target market of diners during the day, perhaps younger drinkers later on. It just seems to completely lack character and ambience to me.

Randomness Guide to London - Dog And Fox entry

Randomness Guide to London - Dog And Fox entry

Official site of the Dog & Fox, contains menus as well as beer and wine lists - www.thedogandfox.co.uk