Fox & Grapes, Wimbledon Common, SW19

Situated on the edge of Wimbledon Common, this is now a boutique hotel-cum-gastropub, stripped of its CAMRA heritage listing in 2014 owing to an unsympathetic makeover. I arrived last Saturday at 9.00pm, to hear cacophonous loud music; I could hear the pub before I saw it. On arrival, a handful of young children were playing outside and beautiful people were having a fag break. With trepidation, I espied a packed interior and then a sign on the door saying that this was booked for a party. A brief glimpse through a window revealed a modern floor, exposed white rafters to a pitched roof and rather vulgar wallpaper, much of which can be seen on their website. As I had no option, I set off for the Rose & Crown, but given the choice, I, like Ian, wouldn’t return.

Official site of Fox & Grapes - foxandgrapeswimbledon.co.uk

Official site of Fox & Grapes - foxandgrapeswimbledon.co.uk

An attractive and traditional looking pub with a few leaded windows just off Wimbledon Common, it looks as though it’s a couple of buildings that have been knocked together at some point. Inside though, once you’ve struggled through the heavy curtain inside the doorway, it’s surprisingly contemporary and not at all what I had expected from the outside. It’s divided in to two halves, presumably as a result of the buildings’ differing history, with a central bar counter serving both halves. The right hand half has a high ceiling with skylights giving a light and airy feel and somehow seemed a little reminiscent of a village hall, whilst the left half is down a couple of steps and has a much lower ceiling clad with painted white boards. Décor throughout is much the same, with cream paintwork, a parquet wood floor, a small amount of dark wood panelling on the walls and some elegant light fittings. Wallpapered feature walls at either end provided something of a contrast, and there was a semi-open kitchen at the rear. In fact the food did tend to dominate somewhat, with virtually all tables being laid up for food, and pretty much all other punters dining except for a handful sat on stools at the bar. That, together with the fact that most of the diners had noisy toddlers in tow, gave the overall impression of a cross between a canteen and a kindergarten rather than your traditional pub. Beers on tap were Wimbledon Copper Leaf and London Pride, with a third pump for Wimbledon Common having apparently run out. The solitary cider was Symonds Founders Reserve. Overall, whilst there was nothing really wrong with this pub, and I can see that if you’ve a bunch of kids and want to get something to eat then it’s probably a great choice, but it didn’t really do it for me unfortunately.

One of Oliver Reeds Wimbledon 8 and now a Gastro-pub. Would not come again. Its not for drinkers. More info at my blog - http://bit.ly/1Tf0AGO