Banstead, British, Traditional Restaurant Guide

“A favourite in the Wimbledon Village/Common area!” – this Georgian pub is co-owned by TV chef Paul Merrett and his Jolly Pubs group (which includes the Victoria in East Sheen). Aside from the odd nod to cheaper pub-grub dishes, most of the menu is somewhat more ambitious bistro-style fare.

“Worth the rattling ride down on the Northern line!”, says a fan from E18 of this neighbourhood spot, “tucked away in the relatively unlikely environs of Tooting”. The “clever food” centres on brined half-chicken portions (with crispy battered cauliflower as the veggie alternative) plus a supporting cast of starters, small plates and puddings – results are “outstanding”.

2022 Review: “Beautifully refurbished” by the current owners (Young’s Brewery), even if not everyone is a fan of its chain-ification, this “great local” – replete with roaring fires, seasonal grub and pleasant garden – is of note for its daily chalkboard specials, but they also do fancy game nights.

2023 Review: A couple of excellent reports suggest it’s worth considering this old pub reinvented as a hotel and restaurant (a couple of years ago), between the maze of Hampton Court Palace and Bushy Park. The refit is very attractive and the menu of superior gastropub fare is well-rated.

This Surrey branch of The Ivy’s stylish national brasserie offshoot is an “incredibly popular” sort of place, where the most appealing location to eat is the Orangery. From providing one reporter’s “worst dining experience of the year” to another’s “dazzling delight”, it continues to split opinion, but the majority verdict is that “the atmosphere and ambience (which “exude fun and enjoyment”) excel more than the food” (which is “acceptable but nothing special”).

Proximity to Richmond Park – a large terrace for sunny days – and a comfortable, attractive interior help justify the ongoing inclusion of this eighteenth-century Fuller’s pub, near Sheen Gate. In other respects, its ratings remain resolutely ordinary.

“For a jolly night out with the girls”, these “warm and luxurious” west London haunts are just the job. An “extensive list of cocktails” is key to their allure – “the food is not the main attraction although it’s perfectly acceptable”. Lorraine Angliss (who also owns Annie’s and Little Bird) opened the Richmond original in 2009; its Chiswick sibling followed in 2022.

This “gastropub of real standing” (est. 2010) a short walk from Vauxhall is just the place to “get your laughing gear on some excellent modern British fare”. “It looks like a pub” and is a “proper South London boozer at the front, where you can have a quiet pint”, but “you don’t judge the book by the cover” – in the back is a “well thought-through carnivore’s paradise” (“go hungry for big plates of usually rich food”), with a “good selection of wines by the glass”. “Booking is obligatory”, although not quite as difficult as its more famous stablemate the Anchor & Hope, close to Waterloo and the South Bank. Top Menu Tip – “offaly tasty options not easily found elsewhere”.

In terms of delivering “really decent” food on the King’s Road (a rarity) and “an amazing Sunday roast”, the three-year-old revamp of this “beautiful” early Victorian Chelsea pub must be accounted a success, and it becomes “BUSY!”. If the backers were not JKS Restaurants in partnership with Kitchen Table’s James Knappett one would say ‘job done’, but by the standards of such megastar restaurateurs, the result is good – not outstanding.

This elegant 1853 tavern near Chelsea Physic Garden makes “an excellent local, if with prices befitting its location” and a menu of quite ambitious pub grub, following its transformation by Jack Greenall (of the Lancashire brewing dynasty). He now owns a select trio of west London pubs having acquired the Walmer Castle in Notting Hill and The Carpenter’s Arms in Hammersmith last year.

“A very good neighbourhood gastropub” – this Hammersmith backstreet boozer is no longer No. 1 on TripAdvisor (as it was several years ago), to the great relief of the local residents. The relatively new management are “really helpful” and the “no-nonsense pub grub” is much jazzier than under previous regimes. Top Menu Tip – “Sunday lunch is very good with lots of families happily munching into a roast”.

2024 Review: “Great food and drink, especially pizza” makes it worth remembering this stylish (if sometimes noisy) Olympia pub-conversion, a few minutes’ walk from Brook Green (part of the Oak group).

A post-War gem in Westminster, this “bright, Formica-tabled institution serves old-fashioned greasy-spoon fare” and is a place of retro pilgrimage nowadays. Don’t be put off by the “intimidating queue, which moves reasonably quickly – and there’s always a table miraculously free in the end”. “We returned for the first time in six years and it’s still as great as it ever was…” – in fact, it’s barely changed since opening in 1946.