The Selkirk, Tooting, SW17

This is a late 19th century pub, once under the stewardship of Courage, as evidenced by the brace of polychromatic cockerel lamps flanking the corner entrance. A flying visit here, as I was on a mission so didn’t stay long, even by the standards of the Flying Half. The interior has been substantially gastrofied, with the interior abundantly visible on their website’s gallery; of note are the leaded and stained-glass clerestories. Customers were young professional types and there was a good buzz, me having arrived towards the end of the weekly quiz. There were two ales served by a friendly barman: Sambrook’s Session and Otter Ale at £2.40 a half and slightly on the turn, though as the barman had warned me that it was approaching the bottom of the barrel and I could have opted for the Session, I’ll not penalise the pub for quality. This was definitely one of the better of my seven-pub mini crawl, probably benefitting from being a backstreet hostelry, out of sight of those perambulating Tooting’s unprepossessing main streets; I would use frequently if living locally, the one obvious minus point being the overpowering smell of garlic.

Official site of The Selkirk - www.theselkirksw17.com

Official site of The Selkirk - www.theselkirksw17.com

A large imposing Victorian corner pub. The two internal rooms have been opened out and modernised with a few sofas dotted around amongst other various seating. There is a sizable conservatory tagged on to the pub serving as a dining area. It was very busy early evening with a predominantly 20's and 30's age group crowd. Just the two cask beers were on Sharps Atlantic and Sambrooks Jaffa. Its the kind of pub I could take or leave.

This is a solid looking yellow stock brick Victorian street corner pub in the side streets off the main road. Originally there would have been a number of rooms but at least today a two room format is maintained, with the bar running through both rooms along a back wall. The front room returns, L-style around the bar end, and there is an intimate little area through an opening with room for not more than a few people. Mostly traditional seating with scrubbed tables, benches, settles and farmhouse style chairs, but a couple of sofas have sneaked in too. There is a conservatory at the back leading onto a garden which has a petanque area. Light coloured walls and large windows make for a bright and airy space, the windows have stained glass top lights with a squares and circles pattern. An external inspection of the building reveals a fair bit of the pub's history, the door at the street corner has a stone carved top which tells that the pub was erected in 1882, either side of this are two Courage lanterns indicating a previous life, predated by its original tie to Kingston Brewery marked high up on the gables. The food menu is a touch upmarket, certainly in description, but reasonably affordable (mains £8-10, steak £12.95). Sharing platters and sandwiches are also available. There are a few board games behind the bar and there is a drop down projector screen in the front room, so perhaps sporting events are shown. As for the beers, the light wood coloured bar has four handpumps, two in each room, but they are not repeats so you need to walk through and check what's on. Hook Norton Old Hooky (£3.20), Sambrooks Wandle, Fullers Pride and ESB on the other afternoon. A decent spot for a pint or two I thought in a building that is brightened up in the style of the day yet retains some character.