The Trafalgar, SW19

A revisit after almost fifteen years, it was a very good pub back then and possibly even better now and can only echo BF's recommendations below.Beers on my visit were Surrey Hills Shere Drop , Abbeydale Dark Mild, Newbarns Calcutta Pale, Unbarred Benchmark IPA and an excellent Howling Hops Export Porter plus another six or seven available in the garden from the mini beer festival running over the Easter weekend. I stayed longer than planned and will be back more often now.

Round the back of a dodgy looking estate,this is a premier league ale house which should not be missed.A red brick exterior and a modest sized interior with some original windows around the front entrace and more modern etched glass in what looks like an extension.There is a brown tiled fireplace to the left of the bar ,some small high tables opposite then a few round tables before a collection of pine dining style tables to the right.The soundtrack comes from a vinyl turntable with gentle reggae at a modest volume perfect on my early doors visit. The star of the show is the real ale,great care is taken with conditioning and all pints were coming out near perfect.There is also a selection of 10 indie beers,all very tempting ,unusual styles and a couple of genuine continental lagers.The fridge behind the bar had some superior bottles and cans. On my visit the ale options were Surry Hills Shere Drop,Good Chemistry Into the Darkness,Otherworld Tinderbox 80/- and an outstanding Elusive Riverwood (NBSS 5).A great mix of styles .Three other handpumps stood unused,two with clips reversed. I was deeply impressed with the offering,a great boozer which will get a lot more custom from me in future.

The pub dates from the 1860s, the right-hand extension – which essentially doubles the usable floor space – arriving in 1906; to the rear is a sign depicting Nelson and Battle of Trafalgar, but sadly the two red Bass triangles have been painted out. However, above the entrance is the name, depicted in fantastic Bass-Charrington lettering, reminding me of the 1970s; to the left-hand side is a beer garden where occasional barbecues are held, one in full swing at the time of my Friday arrival at just gone 10.00pm. As mentioned, the place underwent a period of dormancy, reopening at 4.00pm on Tuesday 12th September 2023 and has been awarded CAMRA’s SW London pub of 2024. The ship’s wheel and dartboard now seemingly gone and devoid of electronic distractions, what we have is a simple – but not utilitarian – relatively wide but very shallow typical alehouse interior, the left-hand side with basic bar and bare boarded, with a few tall tables and chairs, the right-hand side carpeted with low furniture and settle seating, the name in etched glass to the windows, some décor in the form of miscellaneous paintings of the Victory; much of the ceiling space is given over to pump clips. There are two unisex cubicles, then non-gender-specific urinals. Customers out back were young, inside an older bunch, many obviously surfing the pumps. There’s a beer board, then six pulls dispensing eight cask beers, a variety of styles but nothing of great strength, from the likes of Left Handed Giant, Little Miracle, Sheer Drop, Tempest, Vale of Glamorgan, Hogarth, my pint of Utopian Extra Pale Ale excellent and at an extremely reasonable £4.80 a pint, served by a very friendly barmaid; an equally friendly and knowledgeable barman was to hand. This place is a no-brainer when in the area, making for a great one-two with the Sultan; as Quinno says, the two forming the basis of a great day’s drinking.

This pub was closed from 26/5/2021 to 11/9/2023 and reopened after a refit. Just noticed that it has been awarded the South West London CAMRA branch POTY for 2024. A trip to Merton is in order then because this is some accolade for a pub that has only been reopen for7 months and isn’t even in the GBG.