The Prince Of Wales, Sutton

Located on the busy Malden Road in the heart of Cheam, the Prince of Wales is a well run, old fashioned local's pub. The building is notable on approach for its pleasant floral displays and those wanting to admire them in great detail can take advantage of some patio seating in a small raised roadside area. You enter into an L-shaped front bar, with a bare boarded pseudo-public bar area to the right and carpeting through the rest of the room. The public bar side is fairly compact with a tiled fireplace on the end wall, above which hangs a lovely old 'Billiards Saloon' sign and clock. A darts area next to the servery and TV showing golf add to the Public Bar feel, whilst seating is suitably uncomfortable, focussed mainly around high stools along the bar counter. Meanwhile, over to the left, a sofa fills a sun-trap bay window next to another large TV screen, this time showing Wimbledon coverage, with the commentary quietly chuntering away in the background. A large plain mirror adorns the wall here, with some comfy chairs beneath, and then having passed these, you start to move further back, passing a side entrance and the end of the bar before you find the traditional (for Cheam at least) pub golf society trophy cabinet. Passing through an archway decked with old tankards, the room eventually opens out into a two-part rear dining space. Plenty of standard seating is available here in rows along the side walls and a Specials Board seemed the most eye-catching feature. Out the back, there is a great looking grassy pub garden with picnic bench seating and a kids play area. A very cheery landlord gave me a warm welcome and poured me an average pint of Greene King Back of the Net (£3.50), with Sharps Doom Bar the only other ale option. Tellingly, I didn't spot anyone else drinking ale throughout my stay and the place had a very 'blokey' feel to it, but not in the threatening manner that some of Sutton's pubs seem to have. I felt very comfortable in this pub and enjoyed watching the comings and goings whilst craning my neck to catch some of the Wimbledon action. It's a shame the beer wasn't in better condition, but it was at least acceptable which isn't always a given in pubs with lager dominated sales. Another solid Cheam pub that is worth a quick look if you're in the area.

There were three ales on in here - the (thankfully) rarely seen John Smith's Cask, Doom Bar, and Pilgrim Progress (£1.65 a half). I was in during a weekday lunchtime and spotted a specials menu giving two meals for £9.95, which included pub grub staples like scampi and chips, and cottage pie. This is a clean and comfortable little pub. It's nicely carpeted and furnished with a sofa or two, but mainly normal tables and chairs. The pub's a bit bigger than it looks from the outside - there's a bit of a drinking area to the front and left of the bar counter; a few more tables and chairs are through an arch on the left; and through another arch is a room where all the tables are laid for diners. This in turn leads to a garden at the back. There was a TV on showing the golf (not muted), and some background music featuring some Christmas songs. Personally I don't like TVs and music competing in the sound stakes, but here neither were too loud so it wasn't as discordant as it might have been. There are some prints on the walls of course, and a few homely touches like pewter jugs hanging from a beam, and a trophy cabinet containing trophies won by the Prince of Wales Golf Society, as past captains of the society are listed on the cabinet. I quite like this pub, as well as liking Pilgrim ales. There are several decent pubs in Cheam, and this is one of them.

Traditional local in the original village as described by Mr Bonsor, though crowded with noisy Wifebeater drinkers blocking the bar up early on a Friday evening rather than the more mature clientele he speaks of. Mundane beer range when I could get near the pumps to see what was on, Pride, Doombar, Bombardier (there might have been more on the other bank but I couldn't see to check) but in good condition and cheerfully served by what looked like a family operation. It is indeed in the GBG but I suspect the local branch rotate it with the other couple of worthy entries locally. Worth a stop if you are passing (you can park round the corner by the library) and should be included on any tour of Cheam's other cultural attrations.