The Windmill, SW4

This is a grade II-listed building which may date back to the early 19th century but has been around in some form since 1665. My experience last Saturday night broadly matched that of Blackthorn; the current interior dates from May 2021 and is a large rambling affair, trying to look like a posh gentlemen’s club which I really don’t like and can’t actually bother to describe, but if you read my review for the King’s Arms (SW15), you’ll get the idea, likewise from the pub’s website gallery; the only item of note is the pink marble fireplace. Far from being an upmarket pub and 42-room hotel, this is more like a sports’ bar-cum-student union hangout, with masses of screens showing silent unwatched football, fairly loud music, uncleared tables and soggy paper littering the floor; there were also two bouncers patrolling the interior like prison guards, a third defending the door. Customers were very studenty types, raucous, some really quite obnoxiously drunk with three people emerging from or entering lavatory cubicles after passing ‘things’ to one another; lavatory paper surely? A feeble ale choice offered just the juicy and therefore nasty Gipsy Hill’s Trail, London Original and Special, served from a zinc bar top, my half of Gamma Ray costing £3.85. In many ways I was quite looking forward to visiting this historic pub, but it’s a bit of a shocker, to which I will never return; I can’t imagine what the poor hotel guests make of it all.

A good-sized Young’s pub located about halfway along Clapham Common equidistant between the Clapham Common and Clapham South tube stations, there’s not much else in the immediate vicinity, but it was nonetheless extremely busy on the recent evenings when we visited, even on the outside seating at the front of the pub. The main room is at the at the front, and this is a good size with a large bar counter to the left. At the rear is a smaller room, but still far too big to be called a snug, and another large room around the corner behind the bar counter. The décor is quite elegant in many ways, with much wood panelling on the walls, especially in the rear rooms, but unfortunately the rugby that was being shown rather detracted from this. In fact, even if you could get out of sight of a screen, the commentary was still pumped around to all corners of the pub at far too high a volume, and this made for a less than relaxing atmosphere. The flooring was mostly dark wood strip, along with some black and white chequered tiling around the bar counter, whilst the walling was mostly a very dark green which contrasted with the burnt orange ceiling. Timberwork both in the form of supporting pillars and beams on the ceiling was all black, but smooth and freshly plastered, not old and traditional. An old tiled fireplace was at the rear, although this did not appear to be in use, and there were a few caricature style pictures dotted around the walls. The room at the rear had blue banquette seating with turquoise paintwork, tasselled lamp shades and a large leaded roof window. There were also some small sections of stained glass around. Beers on tap were all from Young’s with their London Special, London Original and Drop Gold, whilst the solitary cider was Aspall’s. I think perhaps if I’d caught this at a different time I might have felt differently, but as it was it seemed very noisy, crowded and dominated by the TV sports.

Large rambling Young's pub with various rooms and bars. Usual selection of Young's beers on sale. Nothing spectacular about this place.

Located to the eastern side of Clapham Common, roughly equidistant from Clapham Common and Clapham South tube station, this is a large pub and hotel dating back to the 17th century. Sadly the passage of time hasn't been particularly kind to this place (nor I expect has its ownership by Young's) so that we are now presented with a pub heavy with history but very light on charm. Everything is on a pretty large scale here, with the whole pub opened out to form a massive U-shaped room with three distinct areas, all served by a long curved bar counter. Entering into the right hand side of the pub there is a lot of high stool seating in a bare boarded space facing the bar, with a rustic looking shelving unit screening a rear seating area which offers sofas and some comfy looking armchairs. There are a few nice looking stained glass windows here, but the general effect is pretty bland and the presence of the hotel entrance serves to put you in mind of a characterless hotel lobby. Moving round to the rear portion of the room, known as the 'Blue Room', you'll find fairly limited seating options, some painted wall panelling and a fairly attractive frieze. This area was packed with vertical drinkers and a few making the most of the ribbon of seating along the perimeter. The centrepiece here is a nice fireplace with a mirror and candles above and a few interesting bits such as an old typewriter and various prints dotted around. You finally emerge into 'The Dome', named for the pub's best feature - the high domed ceiling with a gallery running around it. This is a pretty vast space with lots of mixed seating, antlers and the like on the walls, a marble fireplace, pictures of Queen Victoria and some nice light fittings. A separate restaurant area can be found in another room to the front, with standard tables and chairs set up for diners. Loud music blasted away on my Saturday evening visit and there was a big crowd in, helping to fill the place quite a bit. Three ales were available on the bar - Young's Ordinary and London Gold (Special was off) plus Brains SA. I tried the latter and found it pretty average, much like the pub itself. The barman in the Dome room told me that I should go and order from the other bar, as despite the fact that it was busier there, they had more staff on that side and I would get served much quicker, which turned out to be very good advice. I have to admit to being pretty disappointed with this place. I had hoped to find an interesting, opulent, well maintained pub with well kept beer, as per its regular inclusion in the Good Beer Guide, but instead discovered a pub that has had much of its soul ripped out and replaced by a rather bland, corporate look coupled with sub-par beer. It's worth a look for the impressive Dome room and may well come into its own in summer months after a day on the Common, but it's not somewhere I'll be making an effort to return to.

Substantial pub and hotel located in a small cluster of buildings within the common. However, the bar within the main building isn't anything like as large as I was expecting, and it appears that more space around the back has been dedicated as an upmarket dining area in addition to the separate dining room housed in an extension beyond. Refurbished by the Youngs makeover team, so the decor and furniture won't be to everybody's taste. Very large front patio, with numerous wooden benches plus some more comfortable all-weather seating on a slightly-raised decking area. Three of four handpumps in operation, with Ordinary, Special and Waggledance (£3.84) available. Also has three of the new Meantime 'brewery fresh' tanks by the front door. I imagine it gets horrible busy in the middle of summer, but it was pleasantly relaxed when I visited on a cool-ish Sunday lunchtime.

This is a Young’s house, so expect the usual range of ales to be on offer. The Bitter was £3.40 a pint, and tasted like it’s supposed to taste. They do food during the day, with main course around the £10 - £11 mark, and sandwiches around £5.50 to £7. Accommodation is also available here. This pub is a very large and imposing building with a rather nice setting right by Clapham Common. This is a massive pub by any standards. It’s been given something of a Young’s makeover, and has of course been largely opened up. The large main bar area as you enter has the usual mix of sofas, a tall table/stools, and some normal tables and chairs. This area stretches round behind the servery to the left, leading to another large room mainly populated with sofas; keep going round to the left brings you to the large dining room with all tables set for diners. However, a number of interesting features remain, including a marble fireplace at the rear of the servery, some stained glass windows, and even a mosaic panel on the floor depicting a windmill. There are a couple of what look like antique aviaries, or perhaps plant containers(?), framing a doorway at the back, introducing an element of Victorian decadence, but I’m not sure that the fake Christmas tree (in October!) on a sideboard really works. Any pub with serious ambition would have to seek a unique way of signing the lavatories (or loos as they are described here) and this one has gone for the combination of photographs of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley above the appropriate doors, and tenpin bowling shoes (liberated from a Megabowl evidently) on the gents door with ballet pumps on the ladies’. Cosy this pub isn’t. But it’s still a rather nice pub to visit, especially on a pleasant day when you can sit outside on one of the numerous picnic benches in the forecourt. I’d be happy to visit again.

Randomness Guide to London - Windmill On The Common entry

Randomness Guide to London - Windmill On The Common entry