County Arms, Earlsfield  

Summing up the couples with young families who move here, the epithet 'Nappy Valley' often gets applied to the area around Wandsworth Common. Given the choice of pubs on offer we feel 'Gastro Gorge' does the job just as well. That's certainly the case here, where a dramatic upgrade has turned what was once a rather sleepy affair into a grand, upmarket venue. It's still nominally a pub though one that goes a bundle on wines, gastro food and pricey pints. Still a Young's house too, though there was no sign of the standard photo of the Queen Mum pulling a pint (just a shame there's not one of her preparing some Thai fishcakes - it'd be ideal here). Much of the splendid normality of the old place has gone, to be replaced by tea lights on tables, spotlights on the ceiling and a seagrass carpet on the floor (or so says our Changing Rooms expert). A fair sized pub, this one's the sort of place that'll feature in as many estate agent brochures as pub guides, fitting the role of 'local amenity' and 'entertainment facility'. It also makes pithy references to its near neighbour, with the Gents toilet featuring a veritable 'rogues gallery' of famous old boys from HMP Wandsworth. Not sure if there are any special offers to the newly released though.

reviewed:
30/6/2004

pub features:(click on an icon to see an explanation)

beer garden

live music (jazz)

Link to your pub's web site