Claret Wine Bar, Sutton

Don't be put off by the 'wine bar' tag, this is by far the best pub in Cheam. Good ambience, friendly (& beer-friendly) guv'nor, three good beers on tap - Masterbrew & Hepworth Iron Horse (4.8% strong pale ale) were in excellent form on Saturday. Sport TV not intrusive with low/no volume.

This is a high street shop conversion pub, which I think is somewhat mis-named as a wine bar. I normally avoid wine bars as they don’t tend to do real ale, and although I guess this one probably does serve wine, the provision of real ale is clearly a major factor. They had on Shepherd Neame Masterbrew, plus three less regularly seen ales in Purbeck IPA, Upham Stakes Ale, and Palmers Copper Ale. The Stakes Ale and Copper Ale were sampled and both found to be in good nick. I’ve no idea about food availability as we were in late on a Tuesday evening, when any pub kitchen would have closed. There’s a pine clad bar counter, plus gantry, on the left, opening out to a larger seating area at the back. It’s a bit 70s retro here at the back, with some booths separated by chunky glazed and panelled screens. There were no sofas, coffee tables, tall tables and tall stools which is a definite plus. Just inside the front door there is a metal spiral staircase, presumably leading up to some additional seating, but for some reason I declined the opportunity to ascend to a higher level. A fair bit of decor adorned the walls, such as old prints, playing cards, brewery mirrors and the like. It seemed to me that they had gone to some effort to make a shop conversion look like a more traditional pub, which is something of a challenge, but here they have succeeded to a large extent. Don’t be put off by the name – this really is a pub, and one to which I’m bound to pay a return visit at some stage.

This is a larger slightly more plush version of its sister pub in Addiscombe. However there are not as many ales available but with four on durinfg our visit this is still a pretty good choice. We had the Shaps Abbey Christmas whcih was well kept

Randomness Guide to London - Claret Wine Bar entry

Randomness Guide to London - Claret Wine Bar entry

A long narrow shop conversion which widens out a little at the rear beyond the bar with a small raised area. A rooflight gives much needed natural light back here. Accurately described by Pub Signman below. Don't be misled by the name or the outside appearance, there is good well kept beer on offer inside. Shepherd Neame Masterbrew, Hepworth Pullman, Palmers Copper ale and Dorset Gold. I had the Dorset Gold which was a good pint all the more so for being £2.50. A fair few beermats on the pillars plus in a couple of frames indicate a changing range of beers. Certainly not a traditional pub but I liked it here and would visit again.

The sister pub to Addiscombe's Claret Freehouse, this is perhaps misleadingly called Claret Wine Bar, despite the fact that it bears few, if any, characteristics of a typical wine bar venue. The pub appears to be a shop conversion and comprises of one long single room which is divided into notional sections, most notably as it widens to the rear in order to incorporate a split level area. The dark beams help it to fit in with the other buildings along Cheam Broadway, although the exterior suggests a cafe type vibe, with large open windows and tables on the pavement. Inside, it’s a fairly bland typical pub interior with a few old pumps clips on one of the beams, but little else of interest on show. There were a couple of TV's, one of which was switched off whilst the other showed muted darts coverage. There were posters advertising the pub's own darts team, although I couldn't spot a dart board anywhere. Live music was also being promoted. The bar had four hand pumps and offered Sheps Spitfire and Master Brew, Dorking Black Mild and Palmers Copper Ale (£2.50). The Palmers was very tasty and all the more so at a very respectable price. No doubt there is a good wine selection as well and a large group sat in the front window were happily getting through a fair few bottles. Not quite the ale destination pub that its Addiscombe equivalent has become, but certainly worth a look nonetheless.