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Detail Pages
Rose & Crown, SW4
SW4
SW4 0JG
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Tris C left this review about Rose & Crown
This pub dates from at least the late 19th century but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a lot older; it’s also notable for the Simonds tiling between the first and second floors and making up a local triad with the Sun and Prince of Wales.
Out front, customers cowered beneath sheepskin fleeces though on entering, the interior has been modified to oblivion since Ray’s review and is well described by Blackthorn. CAMRA implies that the new, extensive – and no doubt very expensive – bar front and wood panelling is walnut, but to me it looks like the stuff applied to those ‘antique’-style cabinets in which people used to hide their telly in the 1970s; the bar back is modern, the front adorned with motifs that would pique the interest of Erich von Däniken. As mentioned, there are also some inlaid mirrors, white coffered ceiling and restaurant-style furniture and of course, the modern parquet floor. Customers were young professional types and of all things, there was a baby in a pram late Sunday, which isn’t on.
Cask amounted to an anonymous ‘house’ choice of Rose & Crown Ale and something called Clapham Old Town at £2.95 a half and dull, served by a friendly barmaid; I could hardly drink it.
This is now a mashup between a wine bar, hotel bar or restaurant, appeal not helped by babies. The choice of poor ‘house’ beer is another nail in the coffin and heaven knows, there’s enough wood in here to make it ten times over; the Prince of Wales is opposite.
On 19th March 2024
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1985 recommendations about 1951 pubs]
Blackthorn _ left this review about Rose & Crown
A busy and popular pub located in the old town area of Clapham, it’s a good size internally and also has some covered outside seating at the front. Surprisingly there were a few hardy punters out here braving the elements on our visit, but we quickly passed them by to get in to the warm and dry.
Internally it’s quite elegant in a way with wood panelling on much of the walls, and at the rear these have been inlaid with large mirrors. White painted wooden boards had been used to clad the ceiling, whilst the flooring was parquet wood. There wasn’t really a great deal else to note in terms of décor, although the arched window at the front was an attractive feature, but other than that there was just the odd equestrian picture perhaps and a few (fortunately very minimal) decorations that had been put up for Halloween. A couple of jars of nuts and olives were on the end of the bar, but most of the tables had been given over to diners, with those just wanting a pint being limited to high stools around the bar, and a few high tables and chairs adjacent to the wall.
Beers on tap were Jaipur IPA and something called Clapham Old Town. Whether that’s genuinely made locally or something else rebadged, I’m not sure. The solitary cider was Thatcher’s Gold, which was a remarkable find in these parts, and that went down very well. A sign behind the bar informed me that during happy hour all beers were £6 a pint, which didn’t strike me as a particular bargain if I’m honest. Overall, this was really too busy and noisy to be relaxing or enjoyable. Perhaps if I’d have caught it at a quieter time, I might have warmed to it a bit more.
On 3rd November 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1948 recommendations about 1861 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
custodian 42 left this review about Rose & Crown
One room with bar to left rear. Seven hand pumps with a fair selection of ale. Also outside seating. Quite a decent place all in all.
On 2nd September 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1693 recommendations about 1691 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Rose & Crown
A good traditional pub that's well worth a visit. This is a medium sized pub, consisting of tables and chairs along the front window and original cask iron fireplace over to the left. High back settles ran along the right hand wall, with the bar situated far left as you entered the pub, which was pine and finished in a dark stain. The bar also had a pot shelf above the counter. The woodwork throughout the rest of the pub was painted in a dark grey colour. Seven ales on handpump, so we went for the Oakham Citra and Daleside G + P Gin Infused Pale Ale. The pub also has a couple of cats wondering around, we met one of them called Betty. The pub has a friendly and jolly atmosphere.
On 4th April 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Rose & Crown
The A Board outside the door simply said Boozer,and it was spot on. A pleasant looking exterior and a nice but functional traditional interior with no less than eight handpumps, all pleasingly in action with a decent session strengthed range of beers, all between 3.8% and 4.5%.Darkstar Hophead,Greene King St Edmonds and Frankenstien (a corriander infused wheat beer,whatever next),Wold Top Keepers Light,Everads Tiger,Mordue Workie Ticket,Holt Two Hoots and Ilkley Pale.It is obviously a locals pub and very friendly to boot,a good find this one.
On 27th September 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1872 recommendations about 1845 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Rose & Crown
The picnic tables sitting under some hanging baskets outside the traditional frontage make the Rose and Crown look very inviting. Unfortunately the basic interior does not live up to initial expectations. Seating down the right is separated from the bar area and there is some seating under the front windows. The bar is located in the left rear corner and there are a couple of plasma screens, one of which was powered up for some BBC rolling news. This was muted in favour of some background music.
During my visit on a recent Saturday afternoon a premium keg range was available from the bar that supports eight hand pumps. These were drawing Purity brewing’s UBU, Hogs Back’s T.E.A., Greene King’s Olde Trip, St Edmund’s Golden Beer, Titanic brewery’s iceberg, Morland’s Old Hoppy Hen, Dark Star’s Hophead and Ruddles County.
I found the governor to be polite and there were a couple of characters at the bar that added some atmosphere. I’d have no problem returning here if passing, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to revisit.
On 10th May 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5249 recommendations about 5217 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Rose & Crown
Set in the middle of Clapham Old Town, the Rose and Crown is a pub with a lot of potential, but seems to have suffered at the hands of the Greene King interior design team. The pub has a single room layout, with a partly carpeted, partly bare boarded floor and half panelled walls with the top half painted a rather dull shade of cream. Some nice upholstered benches stand beneath the front windows whilst a row of pews and standard chairs serve a few tables down the right hand side, in a space screened from most of the room by a couple of partitioning sections of wall. Unfortunately, sitting on this side leaves you with the sensation of drinking in a corridor, rather than in the main body of a pub. A fairly regular L-shaped, dark wood servery stands in the rear left corner, with no particularly interesting features worth mentioning. A number of large, informative posters detailing things like beer styles and the distribution of breweries across Europe cover the walls, all in the same black and white style, thereby failing to add a much needed dash of colour to the walls. A nice tiled fireplace stands on the left hand wall and this is arguably the most interesting feature the pub has, which isn’t saying much. There is a small garden to the rear and a large front pavement area which most customers were taking advantage of on my sunny Sunday afternoon visit.
Greene King beers obviously take a degree of precedence on the bar, with St Edmunds, Gold Ridge, Ruddles County and Old Hoppy Hen lined up alongside three guest ales in the shape of Dark Star Hophead, Camerons Gold Bullion and Cotswold Spring OSM. The Hophead set me back a startling £4.00, but was in good condition. The jovial landlord held court at the bar and seemed to be a real asset to the pub, enthusing about his beers and enjoying some good banter with regulars and newcomers alike – an enthusiasm which notably wore off on his other bar staff.
I couldn’t really warm to the bland interior design in this pub, but I did eventually come round somewhat thanks to the hearty welcome and decent range of well kept ales. As Greene King pubs go, this one certainly bucks the trend by not serving Abbot or IPA and this seems like reason enough to give it a try when in the area.
On 6th June 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about Rose & Crown
Nice locals pub but a bit dull inside.Good tiled frontage.Nice clean fresh toilets.Seven beers on inc Butcome -Mathews pale,Milestone -rich ruby and a really nice Brentwood-golden galaxy.
On 12th April 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Nigel Rowe left this review about The Rose & Crown
This is one of London's hidden gems. A true local, efficiently run by an enthusiastic landlord. No fewer than six real ales were on tap last week, only one being from Greene King! A great omission from the local Camra branch not to include it in the 2014 Good Beer Guide.
On 2nd October 2013
- rating: 9
[User has posted 65 recommendations about 57 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Rose & Crown
Situated in an enviable location just off Clapham Common. The building has an impressive (if unattractive) Victorian glazed brown tile frontage on what looks like a Georgian structure. My visit came in the middle of a large internal refurbishment so hard to tell much about inside, beyond it being fairly small and the presence of much dark wood pew seating. Six pumps with ales five on, nearly all Greene King (including a house beer which is presumably a re-badge of Morlands Original – the barstaff confirmed it was a GK brew) bar a welcome sighting of Dark Star Hophead which was in good nick. Enthusiastic barmaid offered to top-up my pint even though I’d taken huge slurp of it between it being plonked down and me paying. A selection of papers available, alongside a telly showing the football. Won’t leave a rating due to the on-going refurb but it certainly seemed to have the trappings of a decent boozer.
On 8th May 2013
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 5089 recommendations about 5072 pubs]