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Disappointment of the week with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by paulof horsham
Submitted on Wednesday, 14th August 2019
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Detail Pages
St John's Tavern, SW11
SW11
SW11 1TQ
Served areas
Reviews of St John's Tavern (Average Rating: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about Powder Keg Diplomacy
Without doubt one of the more curious places I have ventured into in search of beer, a narrow single room with a side bar and with a conservatory type area to the rear complete with whirring ceiling fans. As you enter, the front section has a load of old panelled doors fixed to the ceiling and upper walls, next to the bar is a suspended birdcage, a shelf of teapots, pickle jars and a selection of stuffed game birds. Opposite the bar there are a series of high benched tables and a row of framed pictures of rainforest creatures.
Beyond the bar area there is a ceiling mural of a colonial map of the world. The "Mens" and "Ladies" toilets have some of the letters reversed.
There are three handpumps, they are not clipped, they have silly little labels affixed by string which blow around in the breeze from the fans and front folding windows making them virtually impossible to read. (Note to self....add to the pub annoyances thread). I think there was something from By the Horns, someone's Red Ale and something from Saltaire. I had the something from Saltaire which was dark, served in a jug and needed about 50p worth of a top up. Various keg taps on the back wall of the bar were unclipped, there are beer menus on the tables.
The "pub" has a floor walker who gets very involved in everything that happens. He appeared next to me at the bar as I entered and started giving me his valuable advice, which obviously I blanked completely, I then watched him wander around getting in peoples faces for the rest of my stay. At one point he appeared next to me and without prompting or request plonked a small glass of iced water down. I have no idea why this happened. I didn't drink it. The tin hat was then added by the barman ostentatiously shaking some kind of cocktail. This was all on a regular Saturday afternoon.
This is some long way away from my idea of a pub, some modern bar type places I can tolerate but this place will not see me again.
On 30th May 2016
- rating: 3
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Powder Keg Diplomacy
This is a smart bar and restaurant on St John's Hill, just a short walk away from Clapham Junction station. They appear to be part of the 'Lost Group' who also run Lost & Co in Putney and Ales & Tales in Twickenham, as well as a couple of other ventures nearby. This place has a compact layout and has been styled loosely as a Victorian/ colonial themed bar which sounds a bit naff but just about works. Entering via a porch with an old 'His Master's Voice' gramophone, you find yourself in a front room with dark wooden flooring, large windows folded out so as to open onto the street and a mix of bench, banquette and standard seating underneath a wall made from old doors. The servery is midway down on the right hand side, with a coffee station next to it which stands under shelves lined with trophies, some stuffed herons and a huge bird cage which hangs from the ceiling. Opposite the bar are some comfy, high, back-to-back banquettes, serving a couple of tables under a wall decorated with a strange wallpaper which depicts various birds and animals eating, drinking and playing musical instruments. Moving further into the room, there is a woodblock floored mid-section with some larger tables, a cabinet full of glassware, a smart fireplace and a remarkable old map of the world on the ceiling. Other items of interest include various salvers, mirrors and a silver rhino head sculpture. Some heavy drapes screen a lovely rear conservatory area, which appears to have retained its original Victorian structure, and offers plenty more standard seating in between various potted plants and hanging baskets, as well as having its own fireplace. A trip to the gents uncovered a display of old wooden tennis racquets which seemed a bit of a strange thing to include, although there are more of these in Ales & Tales, so maybe they bought a job lot and didn't know what to do with the leftovers. The place seems very hipster friendly, with a predominantly young crowd in on our lunchtime visit and a jazzy soundtrack ticking along in the background.
There are three handpulls on the bar, one of which was unclipped on this visit, leaving a choice between Wild Beer Put It In Your Pipe and Arbor Twigs In Space. I gave the latter a try and thought it was in pretty good condition. There is also a nice row of shiny keg taps on the bar back which offers a changing range of microbrewery products alongside an interesting bottled beer range, none of which hit the sort of crazy prices you normally see in such bars. I also had a half of the keg Titanic Stout which I enjoyed very much. We stopped here for some food and the dishes we sampled were a little pricey, but clearly very good quality.
I didn't really expect to think much of this place, but it actually won me over pretty quickly and we enjoyed a few good beers and some excellent food in a quirky but comfortable environment. It might not be to everyone's taste, but I would happily return and can imagine a few more trains will be missed at Clapham Junction as a result.
On 27th May 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Powder Keg Diplomacy
Powder Keg Diplomacy was very busy early on Friday afternoon with a queue two deep at the bar. The barmen were all mixing cocktails and after waiting a couple of minutes I calculated that it would be about another ten before I would be served so I cut my losses and decided to leave. There are three hand pumps on the bar with tags around them that were impossible to read.
There is some patio furniture on the path out the front and a large conservatory is found at the rear. Standard furniture is found at the front of the bar and high tables line the left hand wall opposite the bar.
There were lots of people eating during my visit and I noticed that brunch is available daily from 10:00.
This isn’t my sort of place so I’ll not be returning.
On 2nd July 2013
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 5233 recommendations about 5201 pubs]
View more reviews of St John's Tavern (5)
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- Official site of St John's Tavern - www.stjohnstavern.co.uk
- CAMRA WhatPub :: St John's Tavern - whatpub.com
Clapham Junction, 0.51 miles, 9 min walk (show)
Clapham Junction, 0.51 miles, 9 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 27 May 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 27 May 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Beer Garden : No last updated 27 May 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Car Park : No last updated 27 May 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 27 May 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Darts : No last updated 27 May 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 27 May 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 02 July 2013 by hondo .
- Jukebox : No last updated 27 May 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Pinball : No last updated 27 May 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Pool Table : No last updated 27 May 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Real Ale : No last updated 02 August 2019 by Tris C
