The Red Lion, Barnes, SW13

This is a nice, smartly presented Fullers pub, about a fifteen minute walk from Barnes station and handy for the nearby rugby club and Wetlands Centre. The front entrance is appropriately flanked by two bright red lion statues and leads you into the main bar area, with the servery down the left hand wall. It's a pretty smart affair with a pleasant panelled counter front and tidy mirrored bar back, but the whole servery appears to be a relatively new addition. A few comfy seats can be found to the front, where a TV screen was showing live rugby union with the sound on. Further back, some cool high tables opposite the bar have pump clip displays set beneath glass panes on their tops. Beyond the bar, the room becomes more of a restaurant space, with lots of tables and chairs formally arranged, pre-set and mostly reserved. The whole pub is blessed with amazing leaded, stained-glass windows and to the rear is a large stained glass inverted cupola. A door to the rear leads out to a nice beer garden with a patio area which is mostly given over to al fresco dining tables. Another red lion statue can be found here plus some retro gig posters which dont apear to have any link to the pub. Beyond is a grassy space with plenty more picnic benches. Fullers ales unsurprisingly dominate the handpulls, with options on this visit comprising Fullers London Pride, ESB and Red Fox (£5.90) plus Dark Star Hophead. A decent craft keg selection, mainly from established London brewers, enhances the selection nicely and the usual Fullers bottled beer range can be found in the fridges. My pint of Red Fox was in good shape, underlining the pub's regular appearance in the Good Beer Guide. I like this pub, which I think has plenty of interesting features, a cracking beer garden and some well-kept Fullers beer. My main reservation is that with so much of the pub and garden given over to diners, drinkers can feel a little marginalised. It's still well worth a visit though, in order to explore the interior or take advantage of one of London's better beer gardens. Date of visit - 23rd September 2023

The Good Beer Guide entry in Barnes. A fullers house, so you know what you are getting and in keeping with the surroundings, this is a very upmarket instance, catering for dining families coming in off the Barnes Trail. Personally, if there was only space in the bible for one pub, I'd swap it for the Watermans Arms.

Fullers tied house with a focus on food and an upmarket interior.To the left of the front entrance is a snug area with two chesterfield high backed chairs,some other confy seating and this area is best suited to just drinking,it has a lounge feeling.The bar is mid building while further back there is an area which looks set for dining,quite well appointed with wood panelling and considerable opulance.The food menu is quite short and equally upmarket and priced as such. The bar sports 5 handpumps with on my trip Fullers London Pride,ESB,"Dark Star" Hophead and a single guest By The Horns Diamond Geezer (NBSS 3).The nearest pub to the Wetland Centre but more interesting as a place to eat with not much pub atmosphere.

This is a Fuller's pub which had on ESB, London Pride, Spring Sprinter, and Oliver's Island (£2.08 a half). There were single sheet menus (plus wine lists, which went unscrutinised by yours truly obviously) on all the tables - sarnies are £7 - £7.75, with main courses starting at £11 (sausages & mash) going up to £26.50 for the 28 day aged Hampshire ribeye steak, etc, etc. This pub doesn't look much from the outside, with its plain, drab and tatty grey painted frontage, although the two red lions guarding entrance provide a bit of colour. But inside it's a different story. Although it's branded as a pub and eating house, they've not gone down the minimalist gastro grey route, retaining the wood panelling on the walls in its original state, as well as the magnificently ornate wooden arches separating areas at the back of the pub (originally a lounge area possibly) featuring seahorses in the detailing. There are several rugs on the floor to break up the bare-boarded flooring. There is also a large garden at the back backing on to the Wetlands Centre, plus a car park at the side. I would say that the rear of this pub is the most interesting. Here you have an attractive arched ceiling in an area between two of the wooden arches, and a very large and attractive wood-framed fireplace accompanied by the obligatory brace of sofas. There's also a clutch of sofas/armchairs next to the door to the garden, but otherwise the furnishings consist of re-cycled dining room tables and good quality normal chairs. Another remaining heritage feature is the green and yellow stained glass glazing in most of the windows. This pub was empty when I dropped in on Wednesday morning so I couldn't really judge its "pub atmposphere". But from what I could see it's still a real pub despite its emphasis on food. I bet the garden's popular on a warm day. I really liked this pub, and would be very happy to pay a return visit.