Hand In Hand, Wimbledon Common, SW19

We visited this decent sized Young's pub in search of a Sunday roast after spending some time walking round nearby Wimbledon Common. The pub's main room is dominated by the large servery, leaving a horseshoe shaped area which is filled with a mixture of seating, including in a couple of alcoves towards the back of the room. There is a smaller room to the front which was pretty much full up with diners when we visited and even busier was the fine outdoor patio area to the front of the pub, which was unsurprising given the good weather. The place seemed to be mostly full of people who, like us, had been out walking and as such, there were a fair number of dogs in attendance as well. A TV screen to the rear of the main room was showing muted Grand Prix racing, but otherwise the place retained a charming traditional and almost rural feel to it. The menu was pretty good with a decent range of dishes, albeit at expensive prices, but I have to say that my roast was a bit of a letdown given how much was charged. Despite being a Young's pub, there was a varied ale selection of Young's Ordinary and Special, Sambrooks Wandle and Junction (although the latter went off), Courage Directors, Wells Bombardier and Hogs Back TEA. My pint of Wandle was in great shape (possibly the best pint of this I've had) and the landlord clearly enjoys good beer as there was a real ale tuition evening advertised for the first Wednesday of each month. I think this is a very nice and welcoming pub and it seems to complement the nearby Crooked Billet quite well, despite the fact that they are both Young's pubs in virtually the same location. I'd mark this one down for a return visit.

The Hand in Hand is close to Wimbledon commom and almost next door to the Crooked Billet. This pub looks quite nice from the outside with a small outside seating area at the front of the pub,it was also quite nice inside and it had an olde worlde feel to it. This pub is a Youngs tied house and there were three real ales on the bar i had a drink of Youngs biter and this was a decent drink the other beers were Youngs Special and Winter Warmer. This was a very nice pub but not as good as the one next door in my opinion. Pub visited 14/12/2002

Randomness Guide to London - Hand In Hand entry

Randomness Guide to London - Hand In Hand entry

A perennially pleasing and welcoming pub with good beer and good food. I didn't eat on this visit but I have previously and I can vouch for the food from Caroline's Kitchen. I found a surprisingly broad selection here for a Young's pub, Youngs Ordinary, Special, London Gold, Bombardier plus Courage Directors, Sambrook's Wandle and Hook Norton Hooky Bitter. There is also handpulled cider from Addlestone's. The main room wraps around the central bar, and there are a couple of good sized alcoves at the back. The side room I understand has a children's licence, but they are not permitted in the main bar. The small courtyard to the front is a pleasant spot if you can grab a seat, and is shaded by a large horse chestnut tree. The grassy area across the lane is easily large enough to take any overspill on a sunny afternoon.

This pub has always felt very comfortable when I have visited. The (wooden) seats in the front area with the low ceiling are nice and light being next to the windows. There are also some more comfortable seats further to the rear, and today there was a real coal fire on the go. It’s also obviously dog friendly, as there were a couple of well-behaved mutts in the front of the bar, one obviously lying in the most inconvenient place of just inside the front door. This is a Young’s pub, so the beer choice is inevitably limited but the full range was on during my visit – Young’s Special; Bitter; Winter Warmer; London Gold; Well's Bombardier; Courage Directors; and Deuchar’s IPA. I must have missed one because the manager said that he had eight on. The Bitter was excellent and at the reasonable price (for Wimbledon anyway) of £3.05 a pint. The food menu seems to be a cut above the normal pub grub, but it’s not cheap – e.g. the steak, ale and mushroom pie was £10.95. I had the ciabatta brie and bacon with a handful of chips, which came in at £7.50 – but the quality was excellent. The pub itself has an enviable location right on the edge of Wimbledon Common, and a grassed area in the front that can be useful in the summer. There’s also a small courtyard in the front of the pub with a handful of tables that clearly accommodates smokers’ needs. The front part of the bar has flagstones on the floor, and the area at the back is carpeted, all with normal tables and chairs. There is also a separate room on the left (as you look from outside) which I have only seen used by groups of ramblers about to set off over the common, but the Manager, Andrew, has also used it for beer tastings. The current pub started life as a bakery in the 19th Century, although the baker was apparently also selling beer. It did not have a full licence until 1974 when it was acquired by Young’s, who subsequently opened it up thus creating the larger pub we see today. Apparently before acquiring the full licence it also sold alcoholic fruit wine, to satisfy the needs of those who wanted something with a higher alcoholic content than beer! It also has a ghost – supposedly a young girl with long dark hair. It’s also been nominated for the CAMRA South West London pub of the year title. I wish them well, but they are up against some stiff opposition. But what I really like about this pub is the fact that there is no piped music; no cash machine; no games machines and no one-armed bandits. That is a very rare combination these days. There is a TV tucked away on one of the walls, but it is only deployed when it is needed, which it seems is usually when the rugby is on. A good, clean, friendly, pub with good beer and good food, in my view it’s easily the best pub in Wimbledon.