London Pub Tour 29 - Wandsworth: Waterfront, Royal Standard & Alma

Last time I was down in Wandsworth I had popped down just to visit the Cat's Back a Harvey's pub, and before I headed home managed to squeeze in a visit to The Ship, a Young's pub by the river. I decided to head back and knock off the three other pubs in the small area near the station. My first stop was The Waterfront (SW18 1TS) a modern Young's pub built under a new build tower facing out onto the Thames. Young's seem to have made it their style now to open most of their new pubs in new developments which face onto the River Thames. The Waterfront has been around since 2006 and has generally been one of the quieter Young's pubs due to the surrounding area still being developed.

To enter the pub you need to turn just off the Thames path and enter from the side, as there is no front entrance leading onto the river. The pub is large inside, helped by the majority glass exterior letting in lots of light. There is an outside area on either side of the pub with lots of seating, covers and heaters. The very large square bar is set right in the middle of the pub with the area in front set for casual drinking and the area towards the rear serving as formal dinning. In between the two areas, on one side, there is a very large booth that could seat 15 people which I assume is used by after work groups. Also towards the front is an open gas fire.

The bar had 9 hand pumps which between them offered up Grandstand, Special or Bitter. On the keg front there was more selection with the standard Young's offering of London IPA, Guinness, Estrella, Hells and Hells Unfiltered, Fosters, Peroni, Yakima Red and Heineken. There were some craft beers from Brixton and brew by numbers (I believe) but I opted for the London IPA and a packet of spuds, which came to £6.90. The pint was smooth and went down well even on a windy day. There were only a handful in the pub and some music was playing lowly in the background. This sort of pub is perfect to visit on this type of day, and sit reading a book, watching the river and the people go by. After sipping and enjoying my pint I made my way away from the banks of the Thames, inwards towards Wandsworth Town station on Old York Road. I avoided the obvious pub directly opposite the station to The Alma (That was my next stop) and instead turned away from the Alma and a few metres down Podmore Road I arrived at The Royal Standard (SW18 1AL).

It's quite surprising how many people are unaware of this pub, even though it can be seen from the Alma. The Standard is a small looking corner pub, has the look of an old back street boozer. Upon walking in the corner door the bar seems quite empty of furniture and seems small. The bar is just against the wall and itself is not too large either. There were two hand pumps with only one in use offering Doombar. On the keg front there was Lagunitas IPA, Fosters, Freedom Authentic Lager, Orchard Pig Reveller, Guinness, Hop House 13, 1664 and Peroni. I selected a pint of Lagunitas for £5.60 which is reasonably priced for a 6.2% beer. The beer itself is very hoppy and this hides the flavour of any alcohol you would be expecting.

There were only 3 other customers in the pub and one of those was sat chatting with the barman. The pub has a wood floor with some small tables placed along the outside, and a set of sofas at the rear. There is a dart board alongside the bar, and sport on TV. On the walls there is lot of ruby memorabilia, which makes sense as this is a rugby area. There is a smoking patio/garden out the back. I've been in this pub previously and at times it can get very busy but today it was relaxed but I feel this is a pub that requirements more of a buzz going on rather than the relaxation like at Waterfront.

I managed to finish my pint quite easily and walked back up the road to the Alma (SW18 1TF). This is a large corner pub that looks very attractive, and is conveniently located directly opposite the railway station. This is a Young's pub and it also has a hotel, with a separate entrance area just slightly further down the road. The main entrance is on the corner through the curved doors. The pub is open plan with a large square bar in the centre. There is seating all around the outside of the bar ranging from sofas to small tables and high tables. There are function rooms upstairs and a dinning room in the rear. The bar is a dark wood which differs from the more pale wood of the floor. The walls are dark green up to waist height and light green from there up, and onto the ceiling.

Unlike some other pubs with square bars, this one does offer service on all sides. The bar has 14 hand pumps with three on the shorter sides and four on the longer. The ales on the pumps were a mix of Gold, Special, Bitter, Grandstand, Wandle and Pale Ale. The tap offering was standard for Young's with the likes of 1664, Camden Pale, Estrella, Guinness, Hells and Heineken. The only slight difference was the offering of Yakima Red and Neck Oil. I though had my eye on the fridge where there was a selection of beers in bottles and cans from breweries I'd yet to try. I ended up going for a can of Backstage IPA by Signature Brewery. There is a nice hand written looking label on the can but aside from that nothing much stands out from the beer. There was a fruit aroma and a slight orange peel taste and the beer was drinkable.

The toilets at the Alma are downstairs, and on the way you pass the wine cellar which is behind bars. The cellar adds to the pubs lure, and it's certainly well worth a visit, though I would recommend avoiding rugby days, as this is the pub everyone gravitates towards. The pub wasn't busy so I managed to get a table and from here I seen a bar tended being trained on how the pour the perfect Guinness, which is less regularly taught nowadays in pubs.

After finishing off my drink I walked across the road to the station to head home. Wandsworth Town Centre is just around the corner and has quite a few pubs but these will have to wait for another day.