London Pub Tour 58 - Battersea: Powder Keg Diplomacy, The Beehive, Churchills and The Plough

The sun was shining, the weather was hot and it was Friday, we all know what that calls for, a few beers. I decided to make my way to Clapham Junction, as it's only one stop away from work on the train, and hit the pubs slightly further away from the station on St John's Hill. My first stop was the Powder Keg Diplomacy (SW11 1TQ) which is a Gastro pub decorated in what Whatpub.com describes as a colonial style. The royal blue frontage stands out from the surrounding shops and there were some tables and chairs outside to make the most of the beautiful weather. The front french windows had been opened up to allow more air to flow through the pub. Inside the pub the bar is situated against the right wall. I was greeted and then offered a seat at the front, but opted to stay out of the direct sun and took one of the large bench booths directly opposite the bar. There are about 5 of these booths alongside the bar area, with some more seating in front of the french windows. There were two hands pumps on the bar with the beer names written on tags which were hanging awkwardly, meaning I couldn't see what was on offer. On the back wall were 6 taps which again were hard to see and all looked the same badge. I ended up opting for a bottle as there were visible and easier than having someone run off all the beers and not knowing what I was purchasing. I selected a bottle of Paradise Pale Ale from Redchurch brewery. The beer came in at 3.7% was lightly carbonated, low fruit levels, smooth and gentle on palate. Not bad for first beer after work.

I decided to have a poke around and look at the rear of the pub which has a conservatory setup for their dinning. it does indeed look like something you might have seen in Colonial India, and in the sunlight looked beautiful. The white with dark wood and the green foliage certainly balance nicely. The front of the bar is decorated differently with worn wooden floor boards and hanging filament lamps but retains the dark wood look along with mirrors on lots of the walls. The wooden walls are painted white and there are some paintings opposite the bar which are woodland / forest themed. There were only 5 customers in the bar at this stage, though it was still early doors. The barman brought over a glass of chilled water for me, which came in handy for a bit of hydration. I tried again to look at the beers but gave up and decided to wander down to my next stop, The Beehive (SW11 1TH).

The Beehive is a small Fullers pub, probably one of the smallest I've seen of theirs. Again there was outside seating on the road, with three small tables, and the frontage was also a wonderful blue. Upon walking in you realise both the size and lack of seating/tables. There were two church pews opposite the bar, one high table with seats at the rear and thankfully stalls at the bar. Again the pub wasn't that busy with about 5 people inside, and by the time I had left 7 people outside.

Being a Fullers pub there was of course ale on, and all of it Fullers. There were five hand pumps offering across them Pride (x), Seafarers (x2) and ESB. On the keg front we had Frontier, Sierra, Honey Dew, Peroni, San Miguel, Fosters, Stowford Press and Guinness. Fridge wise there wasn't many options. I opted for a refreshing pint of Stowford Press at £4.95. The card machine was playing up and I ended up paying in cash, though I had withdrawn this cash for the next pub which I knew charge for card purchases, so this was slightly annoying. The Stowford went down a treat as you would expect in this warm weather.

The pub has a traditional pub decor with dark mahogany wood, some bee related prints on walls and the dark wood flooring. Sky and BT are both shown and food is served, though am not sure on the menu. There was a small fire place opposite the bar and also some lights hanging in birdcages. The pub was surprisingly cool inside considering there appeared to be no fans or air conditioning, which I put down to its darker appearance keeping everything cooled.

The Beehive seems a very traditional local pub but as stated wasn't that busy. My next stop the Churchills (SW11 1TQ) though is in every sense of the word a busy local pub. The pub has a distinctive yellow and black frontage. Again the width of the pub is very similar to the Beehive and Powder Keg, though it is far large in length and also houses a patio garden at the rear which was roaring with people. Upon entering the front of the pub was vacant and all the crowd were gather around the bar which is situated more towards the middle of the building. Frustratingly this was just your regulars crowd hanging around the bar drinking and talking, making it impossible to order. It's a slight pet peeve of mine people blocking up the whole bar where there is space elsewhere. I'm all for stalls at bar, but at least keep one section free for people to place orders. After finally managing to squeeze through and get attention I had to place an order greater than £10 to use the card machine, damn you Beehive for not having a working card machine. Due to reasonable pricing I ending up coming away with a pint of Becks (£3.95), a bottle of Courage Light Ale (£2.10), a pack of scratchings (£0.90) and a drink for the barmaid.

I walked further down the pub past the bar and took a seat on one of the side on tables situated against the wall. The seats are enclosed booths with a table and wood/glass partition, and some books in a rack above, very nice. Horse racing was on TV though not many paying attention to it. There was a good mix of men and women, and didn't appear to be your entirely after work crowd. I would say there were about 30 or more people in the pub. The floor is carpeted which helps keeps down any noises and the wallpaper was a patterned red/brown on bottom half and white on top. Fans on the ceiling were running and I noticed a sky light letting in the much needed light halfway down the pub. Like a lot of pubs, the food served is thai food, though I didn't see anyone eating at this time on a Friday. I note I hadn't mentioned the beer options so it's worthwhile mentioning ale is sold here, with three hand pumps which were offering up Golden Hen and GK IPA. Keg wise was small with Guinness, Becks, Stella, 1664 or Fosters.

After finishing my two drinks at Churchills I walked back towards Clapham Junction where my final pub laid in wait. The Plough (SW11 1SY) is a modern pub on a street corner under a new-ish development. Young's have gone for an industrial look with exposed brick walls, wood floor boards, metal pipes showing on ceiling and funky lighting. The pub is very airy and light, with plenty of space. It wasn't very busy with only about 10 people in the pub, the majority of whom were female. There is a large open space in front of the bar, and the bar is quite large. Air conditioning was on, and as there is neither an area outfront or in garden, I could understand why the pub wasn't so busy


On the bar there were 6 hand pumps, with only 4 on, which gave a repeated offering of Young's Bitter or Gold. Keg wise there was Meantime Brewery Fresh Lager (Supplied from the tanks to the side), Founders All Day IPA, London Pale Ale, Peroni, Estrella, Hells, Birra, Guinness, Neck Oil, Four Pure Pils and Waddlegoose Cider, so quite an offering. I went for a pint of the All Day IPA coming in at 4.7% at £5.20 which was okay, but nothing to rave about.

I must say the bar itself, for a modern pub, does look very slick. There are some sofa seats to the left of the entrance, which act as a divider before the dinning area facing the open kitchen. There are the chandeliers and element bulbs hanging down, but most importantly no high tables. There is a DJ booth which looked like was being prepared for later that evening, though it didn't stopped them pipping out quite loud music. Even a foosball table for the lads later on into the night. Though I did note a sign stating they show TV programs on certain days for joint viewing e.g. Game of Thrones, when new episodes are out.

And with that I had finished my pint and started to make my way back home. Four pubs, with two gastro and two local. Each had their own nice internal design whether going modern or traditional, though on this very hot day for some strange reason the customers appeared to be hibernating.