The Avalon, SW12

This pub used to be called The George, and was once a Courage pub. I didn’t know this place as The George, but I suspect that it’s been given an upmarket makeover that befits its ascendance to the Arthurian name of Avalon. It’s bare-boarded of course; there are the inevitable high tables/stools in a row by the front window; a couple of reclining sofa-like seats on the right of the door; a fair number of normal tables and chairs; and some banquette seating on a raised area in the right hand corner that looks as if it would have been used as a stage at some time. There’s also a large room at the back on the right of the bar that is obviously intended as a restaurant with all tables laid for diners – the full works, including cutlery, wine and water glasses, napkins, and not the sort of room that you could use for just a drink. Apparently the restaurant was used as a concert hall at some time in the past, and had also included pool tables. Nothing like that going on in there now. Notable features in the main bar area were the stag’s head mounted on the wall on the left, and a Greco-Roman style mural along the right hand wall. Its upmarket aspiration was confirmed for me when a young lady came and asked if I wanted her to bring me a menu. This is a pretty good example of a madeover gastro-pub, but they do have a separate bar area for those who just want to have a drink and the rarely seen (in London anyway) Ottley Bitter, which tasted excellent but at the not untypical price of £3.40 a pint, is a big plus. The other ales on were Doom Bar and Landlord. This is not the sort of place to which I would go out of my way to visit, but fair enough for another pint of a decent ale if I happened to be in the area.