The Horse & Groom, SW19

This is a 19th century pub at the very least, originally the Bricklayers Arms up to 1882, when it was given the current name, presumably to avoid confusion with the other Horse & Groom – now Garden Shed – at the end of the street (?); as Graham mentions, it was the Dark House – from 1984 to ’94 – Horse & Groom again until 1997, then the Kilkenny Tavern, back to the Horse & Groom again from 2021 and run by Craft Union since May 2023, they presumably responsible for covering over the lovely green and brown glazed tiles with smoky blue paint. The main room is carpeted, the right-hand side bare boarded, the colour scheme a restrained combo of brown paint to the dado, then white or blue. The bar back is modern with white shiny tiles, furniture is traditional and several TVs were showing the golf in silence; there are some mixed prints. Furniture is traditional to the main, then tall and modern to the right-hand side, where there’s also a games machine and selection of bored games. Like Graham, I too spotted the unfulfilled promise of offerings from the Wimbledon Brewery painted onto a wall, though two pumps tantalised with the promise of Landlord or Ghost Ship, but the clips were reversed at the time of my Saturday 10.00pm visit, so perhaps it was too late for cask to reemerge. I made do with a good Guinness, £5.05 a pint, served by flustered barmaid who’d had to put up with all the ‘What shots do you have?’ shenanigans conjured up by a suspiciously young gaggle of women; in fairness, their website does peddle WKD Vibe things, two for £5 if you’re tempted. This place is surprisingly sedate and restrained by CU standards, especially for a Saturday night and certainly better than the Nelsons Arms next door; with cask on, this place would have nudged average, but if I were in the area again, I’d swing by the Sultan.