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Good Pub Guide Recommended
A good summer pub, with plenty of outdoor seats and very un-London feel; nicely reworked inside too, with an excellent choice of beers, reliable food, and good live blues on Fridays
They like to call this 'a country pub in London', and walking past the cricket played on the heath nearby, or sitting at one of the many tables on the grass in front, it seems no idle boast: though just a few minutes up the road, the city seems a world away. It's the outdoor space that for most visitors is the main draw, and on fine weekends it can get very busy indeed out here, with families and dogs a big part of the mix. Some tables are nicely sheltered under big trees (the pergola is slightly less effective), and there are a couple of quirky cow-print sofas under a little verandah by the entrance. The two rooms inside have been attractively modernised in recent years; both have plenty of comfortable leather armchairs and sofas, and lots of framed period prints and advertisements. The long main bar on the left also has quite a variety of wooden furnishings, including some unusually high tables and stools, and a rather grand dining table at one end; there's a TV for sport, rugs on the polished wooden floor, and an appealing little alcove rather like a private lounge, with a fireplace, and a table of newspapers; piped music and board games. You'll generally find some notable guests among the six regularly changing real ales; on our visit the choice included two from the Twickenham Brewery, as well as Adnams Broadside, St Austell Tribute, and Timothy Taylor Landlord. There's a good wine list too. On Friday nights they have a blues bar of some renown, featuring international artists specialising in vintage acoustic blues. The pub is named after the Admiralty telegraph station that used to stand nearby, one of a chain of ten between Chelsea and Portsmouth (on a clear day a message could be sent between the two in fifteen minutes).Good Pub Guide Food
As well as a sandwich menu, sharing platter and grill menu, good quality and generously served, bar food might include chicken caesar salad, cumberland sausage with cheddar mash and gravy, fish and chips, steaks, Sunday roasts, daily specials such as provencale style rabbit stew or oven baked mackerel with pesto, risotto and olive oil, and puddings like bakewell tart.
Reader Comments
J-Dizzle
Friday 13 August 2010 10:41:54 am
lmeier
Tuesday 23 March 2010 7:39:23 pm
S Browning
Wednesday 13 January 2010 5:36:56 pm
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