Graveney and Meadow, Tooting, SW17

Just down the road from Tooting Broadway station, this unusual pub seems to be much more food-led than others from the usually reliable Antic chain. The front entrance takes you into a vast room with stone tile flooring and the usual Antic mis-matched tables and chairs. There is a mix of exposed old brickwork and modern floral wallpaper on show and the space is reasonably well lit thanks to windows at the front and down the left hand side. On my early evening visit, I was rather surprised to see a food display in the front window, but I suspect this is to advertise their ‘Bakery’, which serves up breads and pastries each morning, although whether any baking is actually done on site or not remains to be seen. There is a small fireplace on one wall and the room has been decorated with the usual eclectic mix of Antic oddities. The servery appears on the left hand side, midway into the room, with a U shaped counter made from old wooden cabinets. Beyond the servery, a similar seating area to that at the front can be found, with a bookcase and more quirky bits on show in an area boasting more patterned wallpaper. The room opens out to the right where it then extends further to the rear in a space seeming best suited for diners. Some sofas can also be found here, but the space is dominated by long tables ideal for larger groups to gather round. The pub was pretty much empty when I arrived, but having nosed around a bit, I found a good sized crowd enjoying the sun in the rear beer garden. Here there is a large decked area with a space set aside for BBQ’s and a lower paved space further back with lots of picnic bench seating. The drinks range was well below the standard normally associated with this chain. Two hand pumps offered Hog’s Back TEA and Sambrooks Wandle, although the latter had just gone off. There seemed to be only three keg beers as well and even then the Staropramen went off whilst I was being served. The bar staff were pretty clueless and failed to offer an alternative option to the Staropramen, resulting the group who had ordered a round of them deciding to try their luck elsewhere. There’s probably a decent market for the kind of bakery type business they run here, but as a pub, I’m not sure it works. I found it all too open and bare and the drinks range and service didn’t really inspire me to return. There are better options in the immediate vicinity.

The Graveney and Meadow has opened on the site of the previous "Bar 2 Far", and is a great improvement. I believe that it's an Antic establishment (according to London Drinker), but can't find it on their website. Anyway, this place is very unusual in that in the mornings it is somewhere to come for a coffee and a sticky bun, but during standard pub opening times it becomes - a pub! But you can still buy a sticky bun to go with your pint if that takes your fancy. As you enter the bar counter is on the left, with the separate "bakery and buttery" counter on the right. There's a room at the back that had all tables laid for diners, but I didn't see any menus around when I was in on Friday afternoon. It's a bit unusual inside (as if having a bakery and buttery inside your pub isn't unusual enough), which is typical of Antic. Furnishings are mainly what look like cheap re-cycled works canteen tables and chairs, and the bar counter seems to made of old wooden storage lockers. There were a couple of ales on - Gales HSB and Sambrook Wandle (£3.50 a pint). This is a fairly restricted choice by Antic standards, but not bad and a darn sight better than its previous incarnation. There is little or no pub atmosphere as far as I'm concerned. It's OK for a swift one if you're passing, but is not really somewhere I would choose to spend any length of time.