please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Large pun by Clapham Junction station. For a pub of it's size it's pretty poor coping at busy times. Gave up and went up the road.
|
Didn't like it. Huge cavernous place, lots of men talking too loud so you couldn't have a conversation. There were a group of men shouting, f-ing and c-ing, staff didn't bother to ask them to tone down the language. Beer was ok even though the barmaid served me the wrong beer. Was thinking of having a meal here but it seemed to be a drinkers pub so didn't bother. Left as soon as possible.
|
The Falcon - longest bar in the world? No, not by a long shot.
|
Longest bar in the world. Not a long wait for a beer. Adnams Ghost Ship was decent. Decent and handsome pub not spoilt by shabby chic or hipsters playing board games.
|
Can be very busy, but worth a visit as always has a huge amount of ales. I had a nice pint of Hop Back's Winter Lightning on my visit last week.
If you go into one of the area's behind the bar there are quieter areas with bookshelves e.t.c
|
Visited Saturday afternoon, pub absolutely rammed for the rugby but very good service from the bar staff and a great range of ales. Worth crossing the Thames for!
|
Fit barmaid, Anna and the two kiwis were a good laugh too. Slug and Lettuce next door and the revolution bar across the road late train home its a good place for a night out. There is a plaque saying it has the longest bar in britain, impressive.
|
Popped in after football at around 10.15pm on a Saturday evening and the pub was heaving.
Several bar staff on so getting served wasn’t a problem.
I’ve always liked the Falcon since it’s been taken over by Nicholson’s as the beer choice is large and varied and on this visit it was no different.
We stayed for a couple of beers, first up was a pint of Drygate’s Gladeye IPA on cask followed by a bottle of Siren’s Undercurrent.
Another good visit to this near excellent pub.
|
Tried it on a Sunday evening. Handsome old pub with lots of pumps which looked promising, but many of them were sadly unavailable. Bar staff were a bit below average too.
Very handy for the station, but that's about it.
|
As has been said a v. long bar with plenty of hand pumps, half to two-thirds in use when I called in. Very nice pint of Loch Lomond brewery Silkie Stout. I thought £4.15 was a bit steep though - but that was before I went in The Junction!
|
Handy for the station and usually busy. I'm not giving it more than 6/10 though because it keeps advertising itself based on an astonishing selection of ales, but it's no use if most of them are on.
18 were advertised last night, but only I think 6 or 7 actually on (most of those standards - Doom Bar, Pride, Tribute etc.). I thought the quality of the beer was indifferent as well as did the people I was with. Not bad, but indifferent. 6/10.
|
An astonishing selection of real ales. A splendid looking pub.
But last couple of times I've been in the quality of the beers have been very below par. Too much flotsam floating in the ales!
Also the staff could do with cheating up somewhat and treating customers as guests rather than somewhat unwanted visitors.
|
Yes bit of a surprise having all the beeries herded into one bar. I did find one superb ale from Great Heck in excellent condition. I only use this pub as a pop in and have one or two beers between changing trains at Clapham Junction and for that it is still a very reliable hostelry.
|
On the plus side it's v close to Clapham Junction station with a vast range of ales, tasty food and friendly service. On the minus side it's a victim of its own success: v busy & noisy and it can take a long time to get served (though the staff are all doing their best). The worst thing, that they really need to sort out, is that about 3 out of 4 items on the food menu are unavailable but they don't tell you which ones till after you've ordered!
|
I was very disappointed with the effects of the refurbishment ale-wise, certainly, and this pub has looked very good in recent years, but pandering to food has messed up the bar towards the rear of the pub, and means less real ales now!
They used to have up to 20 real ales on at any one time, now there are just a maximum of 16 handpumps, and 8 of those weren't being used last night, and 2 of those being used were for cider, so just 6 ales on offer! Bit of a comedown...
I do have to say that the Purity 'Ubu' was in good nick though, so at least quality doesn't appear to have been effected yet...
Very sad, as a youngster I would never come in here, too rough and full of old men, now I'm an older man I'm not as happy with the place as I was over the last few years,bad decision Nicholsons, I shall be letting you know direct.
|
A Nicholson pub. Fantastic place. Wshthe were more places like this. 8 ales on draft 10 keg beers/ lagers. Several draft ciders plus lots of good looking wines and spirits. Plus although I wasn't eating the food looks fab.
|
Always worth calling in to The Falcon and this time they really did have a terrific selection of beers from around the country so I stuck to halves and got through as many as I could. It's a busy place but as with so many large pubs these days they didn't have enough staff on duty. However, I got lucky and was served pretty quickly on each round despite so many customers paying with cards which seems to take forever! Being so handy for the railway station and the buses it would be criminal not to visit The Falcon and missing a few trains for!
|
It's closing for three weeks or so for a refurb, which might explain why they were out of beer. Hope they don't change things too much.......
|
Haven't been in for a while and paid a return visit to the Falcon last week.
Oh my GOD!!!!! What has happened to the beloved Falcon
The last time I was in there were 17 Ales to be had and the row of pumps on the back bar section was a sight to warm the cockles of a beer lovers heart..
Last week all the back pumps were unclipped and the front ones only had four ales on the go when we got there and then two of these went with no compunction from the bar staff to replace them from what we could see..
WHO is responsible for this travesty !!!
|
An excellent selection of bitters and European draft lagers including Pilsner Urquel. Also does good pub grub although a bit on the pricey side. A traditional London Boozer, worth a visit if your in the area. The last time I went the music was naff maybe it's better in the evenings.
|
Probably the best selection of beers for a Nicholsons pub in London, at least 10 beers on & some unusual ones at that
|
I may have been unlucky, but in over 10 visits (the location makes it a good place to meet or end an evening), I have never had a great beer.
Visited 28/01/14 and had a very poor Leeds Pale and a disappointing Lancaster Blueberry beer. To be fair, my accomplices' Stewart Zymic Pale Ale was in decent nick.
Maybe the large number of handpumps and high turnover of customers make it tempting to leave beers on when past their best.
Staff were friendly.
|
Pub 8. Loads of ales on offer I had two which were good.
Massive Nicholsons house. Very busy but service was still OK. Close to the station well worth a visit.
|
Probably the best pub in Clapham Junction if you like your ales....plenty on offer and the ones I tried were good. A large circular bar so in less busy times you may have to walk round the front to get served...
will always go here if in the area for beers
|
Now opens to midnight on fridays, which resolves my main complaint. Often one of the best selections of beer for miles around.
|
Large carefully restored Victorian pub owned by Nicholsons, just down the hill from Clapham Junction station. Claims to have the largest bar in London. Was in there one Monday lunchtime recently and was impressed. A choice of 19 beers I had Red Squirrel London Porter and my companions Adnams Bitter - both very good. Food standard Nicholson's microwaved tucker - filled a hole. Avoid the pork scratchings - £2.60 a bag - fortunately the barman warned me. Friendly staff and good service (might not apply at busier times of the week).
|
I'm sorry to read the recent mixed reviews as I have not been here for a couple of years. It certainly used to be a great pub.
|
BeerIntheevening failure!!BeerIntheevening failure!!BeerIntheevening failure!!
BeerIntheevening failure!!BeerIntheevening failure!!BeerIntheevening failure!!
BeerIntheevening failure!!BeerIntheevening failure!!BeerIntheevening failure!!
|
BeerIntheevening failure!!BeerIntheevening failure!!BeerIntheevening failure!!
|
:)
|
:)
|
What a shame to see how this pub is ending up, been staying in the area for a few days and using it as a local. From what I gather the manager and assistant are from overseas and don't appear to have an idea about service. Before 10pm most of the pumps and bar area have been cleaned and closed off, looks very unattractive and not welcoming. Be nice to see a few smiles but no such luck. Like a previous post said cleaning after 10pm seems to be more important than serving customers. Went in tonight at 10.40 and thought the place was shut, awful way to treat customers. Manager I believe is a short bald guy who has no personality or smile, from Hungary.
|
Well, they've extended the early closing to their beer festival
Maybe M C Escher could make sense of it...
|
The Falcon has developed a rather strange attitude to closing time: the back bar closes at 10:30, while service at the front
bar gets slower and slower, the staff wandering about polishing things, in the exact opposite of a last minute rush.
Like a lot of customers, I use the pub while waiting for trains. Since the last trains to Brighton are well after 11, the early
closing is a bit of a disappointment.
|
Large but welcoming Victorian pub with small dining area and authentic decor. Wide selection of ales - I stayed with Wooden Hand Pirate's Gold. Over a three pint visit after work I found good service by three or the four staff on and no problem with change. A good pub for the area and very close to Clapham Junction BR.
|
Pleasantly surprised as this one gets some mixed reviews. A really good choice of ales on pump, and a pretty unspoilt Victorian interior. I would agree service at the bar was slow (why only two staff on when it was busy and there's a long bar?), and some of the ales listed on the blackboard turn out not to be available. However you could do a lot worse and better than an identikit chain pub as it has some real character.
|
Yep, staff problem ! Waited ages to try and get one of their interesting looking beers. Nobody wanted to serve me so after 10 mins or so I left, beerless and found a nice little boozer up the street.
|
The impressive interior is worth seeing and the beer range is impressive but they really do need to do something about the staff ( definitely a couldnt care less or be bothered attitude from both of the two gentlemen we were eventually served by on a Saturday lunchtime - as has been said they appear to be "agency" workers who really haven't cottoned-on to the Real Ale scene - my second beer (Brains SA Gold) was as flat as a pancake but the barman couldn't understand what I was on about when I mentioned this to him). Great shame as this is a good spot for a beer while changing trains. Part of the Nicholsons chain with all that they offer but they really do need to get some more staff on busy days and ones who actually enjoy working in a British pub!!
|
A Nicholsons pub - a lot of agency staff; some bald and Polish. Nothing special.
|
Bald blokes....saw two in the last week, serving! But doom (a small bald bloke?) never makes a negative comment about this average/typical station boozer where change should immediately be checked, as in all busy pubs. Unfortunately, here, they tend to contest their errors. Vic's idea seems good.
|
Good pub - but staff often learning and, as said before, short changing is quite usual.'Small, bald bloke?' - yes doom, there is one... honest!
|
The Falcon is still a fine boozer and perfectly placed for anybody transiting Clapham Junction. The interior is fine, despite the rear section now being set aside for diners. Ales on yesterday were Hook Norton Flagship, Downton Dark Delight, Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted, Keltec King, Itchen Valley Godfathers, RCH PG Steam, Quartz Extra Blonde, Jennings Cumberland Ale, Nethergate Border & Reserve IPA, Mike Hall Furry Black IPA, Ilkley Lotus IPA, Lancaster Blonde, Brains Reverend James, Acorn Sorachi Ace IPA, Roosters Wild Mule & Cropton Blackout. However, there is still no real cider or perry. Only Aspalls is available.
|
great pub with a great selection of top quality ales all the time. Food is much better than you would get in any other pub in the area ( I have tried them all)
Proud to call this my local.
To the last 3 reviewers -- there is no fat baldy bloke working there , I should know, this is my local.
Keep up the good work Falcon !
|
Change here? Recently, I didn't get any! �10 for a pint?! Had a row with the small baldy fellow. I work in Debenhams acrosss the road and, now, when I hand in a note, I memorise its last three digits to verify my note in the register. Even then, I have frquent arguements - they seem to think its a trick! Well known rip-off spot.
|
I was in the same pub with almost exacty the same problem as the last poster - except for the small bloke (mine was tall!). But, do check your change at The Falcon; the fact that its beside the busiest railway station in the UK does provide opportunities and, boy, do they argue when rumbelled!!
|
Been going in here for years. A couple of days ago, I ordered a spirit and mixer - asking what the price was first (as I had been short-changed here before).
The change was �1 short - and when I brought this to the attention of the duty manager (small, bald, fat, youngish), I was told that - although I was trying to attract attention of a staff member from the outset - I should have brought the error up sooner.
After some 'conversation' and an offer of 60p refund first, I got a begrudging 'sorry' +�1 from the small somewhat inarticulate small bloke (after intense examination of the cash register) - with the explanation that the server was on his second day. CHECK your change....
This all took place at about 3.30pm on Friday, 23rd of September.
|
Apparently it escaped unscathed.
|
Nicholson's have forced the manager to introduce a dining area as there weren't enough dry sales. A pretty stupid decision in my opinion.
Can anyone report if the pub has been damaged in last night's riots?
|
Great pub with a great choice of beer, but the decision to make half of it the 'dining area' is crazy. It doesn't strike me as the sort of place people would go to for the sole purpose of dining? On my visit on a Friday evening the dining area was empty and the rest of the pub was packed.
Also disappointed that this change has coincided with a new more expensive menu - the great range of sausages has gone, and more's the pity
|
A good place to start a days pubbing,up to 14 ales available also a reasonable breakfast can be had. A pint of St Austell Tribute went down well followed by half a Jaipur IPA, Half? Well it was before midday. Recomended.
|
This place is a beer drinker's paradise - the best in Clapham. Down sides are the sometime sluggish service and for some daft reason they've tried to turn the back of the place into purely a restaurant, thus effectively losing half the place as pub. When I was there, the front, pub half, was full and the back, new resraurant bit, was empty. Exactly what sort of progress is that? Despite this ridiculous change this is still the place to go if you're in the CJ area.
|
I popped in here a few weeks ago en route to a Brewery tour of Sambrooks, this pub has many victorian features including narrow divides between bar area,many of the fat b*st*rds on the trip could not fit between the divides so they could only use the front bar,laugh I nearly died ! The beer/service/quality were all great, this is one of London's better pubs, the evening was even more enjoyable as I got to be the first served at the Brewery thus avoiding a long queue,so thanks Alph River for initiating the evening.
|
In common with other reviewers of this pub, my visit was to kill time waiting for a train. I had been here years ago and it was crap, but whatever your views on Nicholson's pubs this place is alright. 14 ales! (the only one I wouldn't touch was Marstons Pedigree) and basic pub grub. I tried a good Scottish lager-beer and Thornbridge Jaipur, which was outstanding. The lady who was serving was helpful and friendly. As previously said this is an unusually good station boozer.
|
It's a station pub but a damn fine example of one. The food is fairly good example of pub grub and nice selection of ales. Not generally somewhere you'd spend an evening but somewhere you wouldn't mind if you missed your train and had to have another pint.
|
The Falcon advertises that its showing all the six nations rugby games, however when u go there with 5 mates to watch the rugby, they wait till the game is 10 mins in and then switch over for the football cos 3 lads in shorts drinking orange juice and lemonade want it on.
Great pub but stick to what you advertise
|
Going from strength to strength..I counted 17 ales! All sampled were in good condition too.
|
I really like The Falcon. Sure, its a station pub and a bit rough around the edges, occasionally smells slightly of wee, but the beer is actually rather excellent. Always a bewildering selection available too.
|
Worth it for a fine interior, and beer range. Convenient for both arriving and departing from Clapham.
|
First rate selection of real ales usually 10 or more on, not cheapest but well kept. Understaffed but the ale is worth the wait.
|
Excellent beer festival here last week - far more civilised than the CAMRA Battersea Town Hall Festival as well as the ales here at The Falcon being far better kept and choicewise far more to my taste - Thornbridge Brock (4.1%) being outstanding.
|
10/02/2011 beer festival
Very good!
|
Visited on the 28 December a busy pub with a excellent selection of ale on offer,
had a pint of the White Horse Dark Porter and the barmaid only charged me for a half even though I got nearly a full pint as it was near the end of the barrel.
Busy with local drinkers and tourists, a warm and welcoming pub right by Clapham Junction train station.
|
Excellent selection of festive real ales on handpump including Sharps Cornish Stout (4.3%), York Centurian Ghost and Adnams Old Ale (4.1%) in addition to more than a dozen other micro-brew real ales including Barnsley Bitter and Thornbridge Jaipur.
|
Can't get here as often as I would like but this pub, right next to Clapham Junction is very good indeed. Always a great range of beer, always plenty of staff and always somewhere to find space (not necessarily sitting though).
One whinge - please put locks on the loo doors as there are some things that should remain a) private and b) uninterrupted
|
Continuing to offer a good selection of beers......my only complaint is that they don't seem to have enough bar staff on duty at busy times like Saturday night.
|
I agree with the previous couple of reviewers;
Big old place with a good selection of beers.Good pub & miles better than the Slug next door. Also, as previously stated, an excellent place to meet for the first pint or so.
|
Massive bar with a great selection of ale and some good lagers. The only let down ls lack of seats. Handy for the station, and obviously preferable to the Slug and Lettuce next door. Good pub. 8/10
|
Would agree entirely with the previous reviewer - quick,friendly service and a vast choice of beer. Is a bit pricey, but where isn't round here?
|
Big, busy pub, handy for Clapham Junction and a good place to meet up with people. Very good selection of ales and the ones I tried were in excellent condition. Nice interior, not too noisy, plenty of room. My only gripe is that the beer is a bit expensive, but all in all a very good pub.
|
I think the Falcon is bigger and airier than the Horse Shoe, with a higher ceiling. Either way it's a cracking pub.
|
"Henners", I have been to the Horseshoe in Glasgow on a few occasions, and having run the Falcon, I can confirm that the bar area / floor space is bigger at the Falcon!.
Furthermore, they cannot "chop up the long bar" area as the building is listed, and the back fittings of the bar & the Snug bar are original circa 1900.
|
Very convenient for Station, lots of different real ales nice looking pub,but something missing somehow. Its is good for watching the busy world outside go by if you can get one of the limited seats,maybe they should chop up the long bar and put more in, I mean the long bar isn't as good as The Horseshoe in Glasgow.
|
Yes, I think it does have a long bar, but it did not seem that amazing. Good pub.
|
A pleasing choice of real ales - and ciders - from the many hand pumps at this pub. Although busy, the service was efficient and friendly and the Castle Rock Harvest Pale was excellent. A pleasant relaxed and friendly atmosphere prevails here. Very handy for what is reputed to be Europe's busiest railway station - Clapham Junction.
|
Been here a few times over the years because of it's convenient location and have never been disappointed. Met a few friends there last week and had a real struggle deciding which of the many real ales to go for and finally settled for Pitchfork and Pure Ubu both of which were good. Atmosphere was pleasant and lively enough with what looked to be a fairly even mix of locals and workers. A nice pub.
|
Definitely - malo66 - The Falcon has the "Longest Continuous Bar in Great Britain" (125 feet) as per the Guinness Book of Records. There is a certificate on display behind the bar. I worked at - and ran - the Falcon. A lovely boozer!
|
Excellent pub that is well maintained by Nicholson's Inns. Possibly the longest bar in England (?) good beer, sausages and mash - what more could you want?
Just beware of the PCS union reps!
|
Completely disappointed by this pub. I have lived in Battersea for my whole 24 years and have never once been in here. My husband and I decided to go after reading reviews. We were trying to find a new 'local' and thought The Falcon could be a good prospect. When we arrived there wasn't as much seating as you would expect from the size of the pub but this didn't put us off, we found a good seat and ordered some soft drinks while we looked through the food menu. I had the sausages and mash as this was highly advertised as a 'speciality' my husband had the steak and chips which he asked to be done medium-rare. Our meals arrived, my sausages were burnt, the mash was real mash but clearly just microwaved re-heated and the parsnip 'crisps' were more dried and chewy. My husbands steak was more than well done and he had about 12 cold chips. We thought this could just be an 'off' day for the pub so decided to give it a fair go and have a beer each, both of which came up short, you pay for a pint, you expect a pint, nothing less. After a while we decided that after our first pint of beer we'd try a bottle of wine. However this soon changed when the manager, who was having a meeting with some people on the next table to us, came over and took one of our chairs without any kind of acknowledgement. Admittedly we weren't waiting for anyone else to join us but when in a bar even if another customer wants a chair from your table it is common courtesy to ask if it is free, however this did not happen. We decided to leave the remainder of our drinks and leave to the next nearest pub. I will never be trying this pub again. Must add that this was in the afternoon around 2pm of a weekday when they weren't very busy.
|
This is a really handy pub if you find yourself in Clapham. There's always a buzz no matter what time of day.
It attracts a good clientele of young professionals and has a really relaxed atmosphere within a beautiful interior.
The food is good too and fairly priced.
|
Great new selection of real ales including Moorhouse Black Cat which I understand will be a regular for the next three months at least.
|
Nice to read the review from flashharry1965 - the clientele was of very similar style when I was working at the Falcon in and around 1997-1999 prior to John & Pauline retiring.
|
This is a large street corner pub right outside Clapham Junction station that I visited on Friday afternoon. This was the first time I had been in the Falcon for about 17 years and it is a vastly improved pub today.
Description wise I agree with the estimable Jon Bonsor's post below, I was particularly taken the the corner snug and the sheer size of the asymmetric island bar. There is a variety of different drinking areas and types of seating including a couple of small two person tables actually attatched to the bar by the snug.
I was in the pub between 14:00 and 21:00 and was able to see it in both quiet-ish Friday afternoon mode and also on a Friday evening session. In the afternoon the Falcon was reasonably busy with locals, off duty postmen and people shopping or using the station. As the afternoon wore on the pub got livelier with commuters, office workers, people heading out for the evening and the thirsty PCS union reps from next door I was there to meet! Service was good in the afternoon and as the evening arrived more staff were put on and I was plesantly suprised at not having to wait to get served even at it's busiest. There was pleasant background at reasonable volume.
Food was not tried but loked good, sausages seem to be a speciality and a nice touch was thr range of 'beer nibbles that were avaliable.
There were a large selection of ales on - I tried Buntingford Brittania, Slater's Top Totty, Purity Pure Ubu, Thornbridge Kipling and Ryedale Winter's Tale. All were in good nick and the Britannia and Winter's Tale were particularly delicious. One slight quibble: the ales were a reasonable (forLondon) �2.95 per pint but the good selection of continental lagers were pricier, my friend started off on Leffe at �3.90 (!) but after a couple I managed to steer her towards the Staropramen. Others I noticed were Peroni and Stella, there was bottled Duvel in the fridge.
All in all if you you are anywhere near the area the Falcon is definitely recommended.
|
Beer range in here going from strength to strength. Had a terrific pint of Thwaites Nutty Black on my last visit plus a fine pint of St Austell Tribute.
|
It's been a while since I was last in here. The classic interior and the atmosphere are still good but under Nicholsons the beer range has improved markedly. 14 real ales were on - Hydes Berry Good Ale, Brakspear Bitter, Jennings Cumberland Ale, Thwaites Nutty Black, Lancaster Blonde, Sharps Doom Bar, Titanic Iceberg, Brains SA, Deuchars IPA, Ringwood 49er, Slaters Top Totty, Brew Dog Trashy Blonde, Thornbridge Kipling and Purity Pure Ubu. There are 2 or 3 separate drinking areas and a huge circular bar that spreads right around the pub. Handy for Clapham Junction. My only criticism was the lack of a real cider. Wychwood Green Goblin and Aspalls are available in bottles and pumpclips appear to indicate that Westons has been stocked in the past. The gap between visits will be shorter next time!
|
Called in here on the way back from the Battersea Beer Fest and discovered they had a fest as well on the go. Great choice of beers in addition to their regular beers. Did not have long to wait for service and staff were very friendly. Will call here again - hopefully soon. My eve try the grub.
|
I was in there (again!) last night and had a great night. The pub was very busy , partly due to a beer festival in the back bar, but I still didn't have to wait too long to get served. With excellent beers and fast, friendly service this is a really great, traditional pub.
|
Was in there yesterday, pre-Beer Festival, and it had its own "festival" thing going on! There are, 40-odd beers available over the course of a few days. However, the ales which are traditionally served at the apex of the curved bar are included, as are "normal" ones - such as Shepherd Neame and London Pride - but it was still a nice touch. All beers are �3pp and the glass is �2 (refundable).
|
High standards maintained in this Nicholsons pub where the ale quality thankfully matches the ale quantity.We sampled the Golden Arrow (Cottage Brewing),Blonde(Lancaster),Cornish Mutiny(Wooden Hand),Bankers Draft(Wickwar) and Haggis Hunter(Harviestoun) which was the pick of this well kept selection.Encouraging to see a lot of younger drinkers (blokes and birds) hitting the real ale ,good quality bar snacks now served until 10pm to soak up the alcohol and despite being busy all night,the bar service remained crisp and efficient.Top quaffing pub.
|
I still like this pub. The funny thing is though I prefered it when it wasn't a Nicholsons, though being this doesn't put me off in the slightest. It does have a fine range of beers on the pumps (10 when last in on Saturday) and has great character to it. I just prefered the "old" Falcon as the atmosphere was slightly better. Still not one to miss though.
|
Large, imposing pub occupying a prominent corner position on a busy road junction just outside Clapham Junction station.
Its impressively ornate Victorian interior, including much wood pannelling and coloured stained falcon - logo windows earn it a place in CAMRA's National Inventory of Unspoilt Interiors. Note also the mini-snug with wood and glass screens as you come in from the main entrance and the stained glass in the rear room with the skylights.
It's a long continuous bar counter that serves round a huge central bar servery with a notable high bar back with etched mirrors. The bar counter serves a number of interconnecting drinking areas.
The pub was acquired several years ago by Nicholsons whose restoration, including bringing in chandeliers, has brought out the best of the traditional interior. One dreads to think what the Wells and Youngs "sensitive refurbishment" brigade would have done to this splendid place!
Prior to Nicholsons arrival, ordering a pint of real ale required a certain leap of faith - on occasions only the London Pride was on and quality left room for improvement. Real ale trade seemed to be negligible and the pub seemed to have more than its fair share of scallies.
We now have a thriving pub with a broad customer mix.
There's 3 separate banks of handpumps strategically situated around the bar with usually about 12 different real ales on offer. I've often thought that that's too many, but, in fairness, I've never had a pint that's below par. One of the difficulties is that staff serving at one bank of pumps never seem to know what the other pumps round the other side of the bar are offering and if - as I encountered the other day - you come in with a couple of friends and each wants a pint from a different bank of pumps, it becomes a bit of a nightmarish experience.
The pub is listed in the CAMRA 2010 Good Beer Guide. On recent visits, I've had decent pints of Purity Amber Ale, Doom Bar, Harveys, amongst others.
Being very close to a busy station like Clapham Junction means that the pub is invariably crowded, but it's streets ahead of your typical station pub and you should definitely pop in if you get the chance.
|
Impressive heritage pub just a minutes walk from Clapham Junction station. A vast traditional bar features a large range of hand pulls, I think there were eleven beers on when I visited early on a Tuesday lunchtime, & that was with several turned round. Tried the local Sambrooks Wandle, wasnt impressed tho, that could be the beers not my type rather than the pub doing wrong... definitely worth a revisit.
|
Not being much of a fan of Nicholson's pubs and (particularly) the way they keep their beer, I was astounded when I entered this place which I had previously ignored when walking past many times before. A fascinating heritage interior, with a decent selection of different beer on handpump on each segment of the sub-divided oval-shaped bar. Better still, they had a real ale festival on with a total of 49 different brews on offer (main bar plus temporary stillages in the back room. Much, much better than I expected.
|
Much like the other comments, I like this pub more and more. A really good selection of beers, and friendly service. Worth missing your train for.
|
Large pub with ..what?..12 or 15 handpumps. Always intersting beers on, but quality is variable. The try-before-you-buy option is welcome. Not much community spirit, most pople who use it seem to be travellers stoppign off, but then so am I
|
I really like what Nicholson's have done here. They've smartened the place up inside and out, and as its only a short walk from my flat I reckon I could become a regular here. TT Landlord, Pride and guests are available, and I tucked into a pint of Harveys Sussex Best and Sambrook's Wandle, which is brewed locally. Pub interior nerds such as myself should enjoy the wood panelling and the gold, low hanging chandeliers.
|
This pub seems to get better every time I visit.They had 13 ales to choose from and they seem to change every day according to the friendly staff and regulars I had a chat with.
They also had a seasonal ale booklet with their selection of summer ales from all over the UK.
This pub is well worth a visit , if not for the beer, visit it to see a victorian pub interior that has remained unchanged over all the years
|
This should have been a pub I came out with the feeling that I cannot wait for my next visit. Even though there was a fantastic selection of ales, none of them tasted as though they had been stored properly. The London Pride was so bad I had to send the first pint back and was tempted to send the second back as well. The pub itself is a real throw back to days of yore: all dark wood, large bar, lots of staff (who were all friendly and helpful, nice atmosphere etc. The toilets were also a real throwback as they stank of stale urine. I have not been in a pub where the toilets stank so badly in a long time. I will no doubt pay this pub a visit in future, but I will not be making that visit too soon. Shame.
|
What a gem this pub is. I didn't count properly, but I would guess there were about 10 ales on offer, plus another 10 or so lagers and a couple of ciders as well, scattered around all points of the compass on this enormous island bar. It's so big in fact, that you could have a very satisfying pub crawl without leaving the building.
I tried the Sharps Doom Bar and Hop Back Crop Circle (both very nice, especially the Hop Back), before realising that there was a further selection awaiting me round the back of the bar. Each pump has brief tasting notes stuck to the clip to help aid your selection process, and as if that wasn't enough, there is a 'Falcon newsletter', with further details of what's on offer.
There are a few bad points, such as the surly service, prohibitive prices and bizzarely, lack of proper bar snacks (no peanuts or crisps for crying out loud), but none of this should stop this place from being an essential stop off point whenever you're next travelling through Clapham.
|
Excellent selection of well kept real ales with at least 4 micro brewery ales together with good TT Landlord and other widely available ales.The pick was Raspberry Fool (Caledonian) and Pirates Gold which were spot on.Tradition pub interior ,fast service and even on a Friday night the pub doesnt get too crowded ,so no scrum at the bar.Friendly place to drink and a good place to laugh at the fate of the mugs next door crammed into the Slug and Lettuce,drinking their overpriced tastless fake lager.
The Falcon is the best pub in the area by a country mile.We will be back.
|
Have visited quite a few times in the last few months and it's always been good. The bar staff are exceptionally friendly and efficient. I've never had to wait too long to get served, even when it gets very busy. They do need to get the gents toilets sorted out though.
|
the toilets are quite literally, shitholes. i wanna lock the door when i dump!
|
Good ale here last Friday,10 pumps,a few usual supects but a few which got the tick books out,if that was to blow your hair back. Cute barmaid,though she did struggle as there was a good throughflow due to the beerfest down the road. Worth visiting,London prices though.
|
Attended the pub for the 1st time last Sat after Twickenham and will do so many more times in the future. A proper place with a varied selection of Real Ale and a cracking atmosphere.We didn't eat, but apparently the food is quality as well.I look forward to my next visit.
|
I called in on the way to Battersea beer festival earlier in the week. The beer was in sparkling condition and the pub itself is a beauty. There were 10 real ales on tap - I don't know if that is the norm or if it was especially for the beer festival overspill. Wonderful anyway, I wish I'd had more time to linger.
ofrex - 14 Feb 2009 14:41 |
I hadn't been inside the falcon for a very long time, yesterday on my way to the battersea beer Festival i spotted a Sambrook's wandle ale pumpclip. the beer was nothing special but the Italian couple ( licensees ? ) were doing their utmost under a welter of real ale 'erm fanatics. eight beers to choose from such as Cropton Brewery american. A very aged interior which I would assume is listed ? the toilets though had the same charm as the Dog'n Bull in Croydon ( please don't ask!). very 'appy.
|
I had a nice couple of pints of Landlord in here after the rugby on Saturday afternoon. The barman was friendly and the other customers were on good form. I spotted another five or so ales and there is plenty of standard and premium lager to choose from.
There is also a quieter bar at the back of the pub that is good for chilling out and getting away from the TV in the front.
This is decent pub for a high street location and I would gladly go back.
|
Sunday lunchtime. Warm relaxed atmosphere with small group of locals. Two very good pints of Harveys...rather short however...which is why it gets 6 rather than 7. Lots to see both inside and out. Nice to have a bit of music in the background.
|
Yep, been in here many times and will always come back. Good beer, good selection of beer, quality interior.
|
Fabulous looking pub - loads to look at; beer a bit ordinary.
|
Nice old man pub in a busy location. Sit back and watch ppl rushing about their busy lives whilst you sample the great range of ales.
|
Heaps of ale, never had too much of a problem getting served even when busy and can usually find a seat if you keep your eyes open for those finishing their drinks. Been dirnking her on and off for 12 years. This is a good pub.
|
Now here is a first in my long distinguished drinking history. I was refused service. Why? Because my son did not have proof of age, they wouldn't even serve a soft drink and asked us to leave. It was the middle of the day and we only wanted a quick drink between trains. This pub makes the platforms of Clapham Junction station appear welcoming.
|
Others have mentioned the interior but it really is architecturally superb and pretty well unspoiled. The huge curved bar purports to be the longest in the country, who am I to argue, I haven't seen one longer.I particularly like the snug by the entrance nearest to CJ station with its etched glass and half panelled snob screens, marginally messed with as now signed as a through route to the toilets to the rear. The rear room/area has dark ornate panelling and a feature stained glass window whereas the front area is brighter, has elaborate cast iron fluted columns, high ceilings and chandeliers, but with dubious aspects to traffic outside, although the former Arding and Hobbs (Debenhams now) building is of quality.
As for the beer, a good changing range of real ales, the current selection being Pride, Taylors Landlord, Harveys Sussex, Adnams Broadside, Jennings Cumberland Ale, Beartown Bear Ass, Batemans Falling Leaves, Okells Autumn Dawn and Everards Equinox, delightful by the way.
Food seems realistically priced with standard fare, sausages seeming to be a speciality.
A decent place, I note a few mixed reviews below but no complaints from me.
|
I really like this pub. Went there for my birthday on Saturday before moving on. Got served quickly and had a laid back atmosphere and crowd. A good place to kick off a drunken evening
|
What an incredibly impressive pub interior. It has retained all its original Victorian features � etched and cut glass everywhere; original and quite stupendous bar back; original panels and screens between separate drinking area; and what some claim to be longest counter in Britain. A very large pub, but because it hasn�t been turned into a drinking barn it has retained its essential character.
Relaxed music plus a range of real ales (I had the superb Jennings Cumberland Ale) make this a �must visit� pub. I shall certainly be back.
|
Despite knowing of its whereabouts, a first time visit. Impressive architecture and interior and impressive beer range too. They just need to concentrate on keeping the beers a little bit better perhaps and this is an absolute winner and a good stop off to avoid overcrowded trains at the Junction!
|
What a find! 10 or so real ales to choose from, especially pleased to find Harveys. Leffe and Erdinger on tap as well, and also a fine range of lagers.
Great pubby atmosphere, was in on a friday night and the atmosphere was great, not a chav in sight. Will return soon
|
A quick one in here on Thursday night while waiting for a train. Nicholson's pub, worth looking in for the impressive decor. Had a walk round the central bar and I could only see 7 beers on: Harvey's Sussex, Black Sheep Bitter, Pride, Ordinary, Bombardier, Spitfire and Everards Tiger. I had the Tiger which was nothing to get excited about. Would come in again if I had a few minutes to kill.
|
What a great pub.A wide selection of ales availible , 9 counted when visited. Good frienly staff and fast service. A good traditional english pub with great decor .Well worth a visit.
|
I've been to the Falcon a couple of times and really like it. Service is always friendly and fast, and the pub has a really comfortable, interesting interior. I hope it doesn't get refurbished, and stays as it is; a good, traditional pub. Well worth a visit.
|
Hmmm. Further to my positive review below, I was very disappointed last week to witness the mgr(?) using beer from the drip glasses to start, or top up, pints; not entirely convinced it was always the same beer either! None of the other staff seemed to adopt this scurrilous practice.
|
This place is growing on me with each visit. Enormous island bar houses 16 handpumps in total, offering 10 different ales last week � Pedigree, Otter Bright, Harveys Best, Youngs Special, Jennings Cumberland, TT Landlord,Deuchars, Titanic Capt Smiths, Spitfire, and York Decade (cleverly named � I found myself asking for a �pint of the decade�, and v nice it was too). Unusually, each pumpclip offers brief tasting notes & the offer to �sip before you sup�, also there is a separate offer of a 6-ale sampler (third pints) for �6 � slightly dearer than indiv pints but seems an ok way to taste a few; well, you can�t �sip� them all, � can you? The front area has a very high ceiling with polished chandeliers & huge windows to the main road and is very bright & airy but I prefer taking a left to lots of dark wood, comfy seating, wing-back leather chairs - a little snug with the feel of a gentleman�s club, thru a narrow �door� in wood&glass partition to the rear bar area with impressive coloured glass-covered skylights and leather-backed settles & tables surrounding the room. Two high tongue-like tables (think breakfast-bar) jut out directly from the bar � handy if the walk from a regular table is proving tricky later in evening. Opposite these a blackboard announces award-winning sausages with mash & onion gravy (�6-7) supplied, according to the menu, by the butchers for Fortnums & Harrods, breakfast is served from 10am (�4.95). Good value wine range at �8-12 btl. The sport tv out the front seems to have been discontinued and that has removed some rough edges. They just need to fix the far left entrance door (leading to rear bar) as it SLAMS loudly every time anyone enters/exits.
|
I was pleasently surprised by this place. It's too close to the station not to feel like it is full of people meeting briefly before heading elsewhere. However, the beer I had (Spitfire) was good, the staff were friendly and we got served quickly. The decor inside is interesting too - late Victorian. If this pub was a few streets from the station it would probably be a bit of a destination. The cheap food is poor, sub-wetherspoons standard, stuff though.
Mobey - 16 May 2008 10:09 |
There are 2 pubs next door to Falcon (The Slug & Lettuce and Revolution) and I wondered why they were so crowded whereas Falcon was empty. I went in with my friend and to my astonishment I was asked to leave after 15 min!
BE AWARE - A VERY UNFRIENDLY STUFF!
(If you can, go next door. You won't regret it!)
|
Calling this pub grim is a crime. I think you've got your pubs mixed up!
|
There's only one word for this place - grim
|
who was it then?
|
This pub has much improved I think the smoking ban has actually helped this pub and it is an honest enough London boozer. Does not seem to show football anymore for those concerned about this, well it certainly was not showing Liverpool v Arsenal last night.
|
If you drink in this pub over 10 years, then you should know,that man he wasnt the landlord.
|
I have been going to this pub for over 10 years but can no longer recommend it due to our experience of being threatened by the landlord last night. We were not allowed to consume the drinks bought just before last orders, at 11.55pm - being thrown out at 12:07. When we pointed out we'ed like to just finish the 2 drinks we had (as the law allows!), the owner said, and I quote, "i am going to take you both outside and rip your f**ing heads off". We were just 2 people having a quiet drink - the landlord was drunk and aggressive. How this pub stays in business is beyond me with such an attitude. This probably explains when everyone leaves the pub an hour before closing time!
|
I must have come here on a bad day. I thought the pub looked fantastic, but was pretty average when I had a drink in there. The Guinness was pretty good though so someone knows what they are doing.
|
Much better than its previous incarnation, but still very much a brisk station pub. Excellent Timmy Taylor's Landlord.
|
God this pub has changed! I went in last night and was blown away by the difference. Good ales on tap and even though it was busy it didn't take too long to get served. (One more person behind the bar would have been perfect).
I'm overjoyed. Instead of having to meet friends getting off the train in the Slug and Lettuce (which always manages to smell of spew) I can come and relax here.
|
lovely pub - and the staff i spoke to were very friendly - I often wonder if the people who say staff are unfriendly ever actually go to the trouble of initiating a conversation - great beer selection and decent quality.
the building is awesome - however the last time i was in there after work there was a wierd pickpocket/prostitute woman hassling people and a crazy/drugged guy walking around shouting to himself. not exactly waht you want.
shame its been taken over by nicholsons - although they do good beer selection - they really market themselves to tourists with their 'famous for...' food 'specialities' the food is generally shoddy not had it in the Falcon tho.
|
Another enjoyable visit late yesterday afternoon - since coming under the Nicholsons umbrella, this has become a sports free pub and is much improved.
Neither the Timothy Taylors Landlord nor the Deuchars IPA - both very distinctive and recognisable beers - were on top form yesterday, and I think this pub may be suffering from having more real ales than they have the trade for. I counted 8 different beers yesterday.
This is however a fine traditional pub - note the etched windows and skylights in the back bar and the screens that create a mini - snug.
Pub is on CAMRA's Pub Inventory of Unspoilt Interiors
Well worth visiting
|
Wondered in here to unwind after a shopping session and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
The staff were happy and 'served with a smile'
The food was excellent and the beers were also good.
Really great building and a good mix of punters.
|
I've been into the Falcon a few times on week nights and it has been lively but not too busy. There was no problem getting a table and I always sit in the back bar and have never been asked to move (see below).
The pub itself is done up in a way which may or may not appeal, depending on your tastes, but the range of beers is pretty good. There are four ales, these are London Pride, Deuchars IPA, TT Landlord and Nicholson's. However, the Deuchars was far too cold on my last visit (as cold as lager) probably because it had been run through the chiller. I considered taking it back but I stuck with it (they do have the Cask Marque apparently, so I expected better). By the end of the pint the beer was approaching its normal temperature, but it should not have been so cold in the first place. The London Pride I had there a few weeks earlier was fine.
The best thing about this pub is that they have Leffe and Erdinger Weissbier on draught. Although it is quite expensive, the Erdinger was excellent! I wish more pubs carried great beers like these instead of the usual keg rubbish which is so popular in the UK (Carling, Stella, Fosters, the list of horror goes on...).
I'll be heading back to the Falcon if nothing else just for the Erdinger!
|
This pub is fine the problem is the staff that totally ignore you, it makes you feel very unwelcome, its not very professional, especially when its seems to be the supervisory staff that are the worst offenders, please start smiling!!
anonymous - 4 Oct 2007 11:11 |
Used to love going into this pub on a Saturday after Palace, but snce they have "done it up" so to speak the staff have gone all up the own arses!!!!!
Whats happening to the old fashioned British pub!?
|
seems to have lost its atmosphere of late, really empty at times, its got a bit boring i'm not sure the food is a great success, it doesnt look too appitising, still it may attract more customers when the nights start drawing in!
anonymous - 29 Aug 2007 21:52 |
Thank gawd that noisy postie with the stupid laugh is gone!!!!!
anonymous - 14 Aug 2007 17:16 |
Was in the falcon on sat, prehaps it's the ban on smoking? sorry 1 out of 10 and that's only because it sold alcoholic drinks, Even though it was hard getting one.
How can a lick off paint change a place so much?
|
I popped into the Falcon last night to visit for the first time since the refurb. I was pleasantly suprised after reading various comments on here.
I used to run the pub with John & Pauline and then took over the licence when they retired. They would be impressed! M&B (or Bass as they were 10 years ago) tried to rip out half of the bar and all sorts of things. We opposed this then and proved that the pub was Grade 2* listed.
I like the decor, and the fact that they've not mucked around with the old woodwork and fittings. A really good choice of real ales and Tim Taylor's Landlord @ �2.85 (and a cracking pint too!) I was happy.
Live on the Falcon.
ps - they now only refer to the Longest Bar In Britain on the write-up outside!
|
Falcon was closed last night, so ended up in revolution a very good bar with good people, from last nights visit got to give it 10 out of 10. The pear drop vodka is very very strange.
|
As Someone stated , im no longer the manager here. When the company said they are taking sky sports out, I also decided to leave , haven't seen it in its new form, and if it isnt showing football, theres not much chance that I will.
Up in the west end now, running the green man in berwick st, a good pub with sky sports still in.
call in , have a beer and watch all the sports we can get .
cheers
Kiwi Phil
|
Got a 'flea in my ear' from precious waiter/barman for daring to ask for a drink in the wrong bar, i didnt see the managers lovely wife perhaps she could train the barman to be a little more polite when barking at customers.
anonymous - 18 Jul 2007 18:43 |
if you cant order a drink in the back bar without ordering food,or you can but if someone comes in and wants to eat you will be moved makes it a resturant...as someone said below i have no idea who the landlord or his "lovely wife" is...i have drunk in the falcon for 18 years as have many of my friends and its sad to say but if we want to go to a "pub" we no longer even consider the falcon,and if we want to go to a bar its the slug or revolution....its such a shame but times change....i think crunch time will come when the winter starts and for example on a monday night man u are playing chelsea,we will have to wait and see...but as i see it now...no locals...moody staff that dont chat to you or make you feel welcome...no sport(landlady of the duck loving it!)....overpriced weak lagers(fosters nearly �3 a pint)....nicholsons trying to put a city bar outside of the city!
anonymous - 16 Jul 2007 18:57 |
The falcon has allways had a good mix of people with very little trouble. before the refurb a pint of carling was 2.27p they don't do carling anymore but simlar is 3.07p, 80p a pint extra. If it quacks and waddles it's a duck so lets call the back bar a restaurant? but on the up it is cleaner and the toilets both lots girls and boys have been done up and are a 1000 times better. Have not seen meny of the old lot bar a couple of faces, Prehaps it's the smoking ban?
anonymous - 13 Jul 2007 14:00 |
I don't know if this clarifies or muddies...
Went in 02/07 and as ever the front bar was full so decided to sit in the back bar and it does indeed appear that this section caters for eaters rather than drinkers...there were a few bods sitting that were intent on eating and a few (such as me and my good lady) who only wished to drink.
I was told (in a friendly way) that we might have to give up our seats if anyone wishing to eat needed them but by the looks of it did not seem likely that we would have to.
Maybe the management will revise this policy when they realise that The Falcon is not a "gastro pub".
Hope so...
Anyway, I still feel the refurb/fit is OK as they go and the place seems to have benefited from a "lick of paint". Cannot say if the die hard locals have been driven away, as it has never really been that place for me anyway although I am local (in the best League of Gentlemen sense).
|
The two last post have to work for the falcon, I have been going in the pub on and off for 30 years and untill the refurb or holidays, no where else for the last 8 years and I have been in it 3 times since the refurb and I have not got a clue who the manager is. was in the place last night went into the back bar was told I could not buy a drink unless I was eating, So for me that makes it a restaurant well from 8am to 7.15pm anyway.
|
Decided to go into the Falcon with my friends last week, have never been in there before because it just looked to rough, but its lovely in there now, we had a lovely dinner, food was great, we met the new manager and his lovely wife, spoke to one of the regulers who used to go in there before the redec, and he said it was so much better than before and that the new Manager was really nice and wanted the best for the place, which really shows. Will definately be going back there again.
anonymous - 13 Jul 2007 09:50 |
The John Bonser roadshow visited here last Friday. I agree that it has not been spoilt - in fact the refurbishment to my mind enhances the original Victorian features. In response to the comments about price increases, my pint of Pride was � 2.50p which is the same price as pre-closure.
The pub is now aiming to attract a wider range of customers than hitherto and I don't have a problem with that
The back bar is NOT a restaurant as has been claimed
It's a good traditional pub in my view, well worth visiting if in the area
|
Well as refurbs go it could have been a LOT worse. Been in since the smoking ban (I smoke myself) and I must say it was nice not to be surrounded by the "fug".
Not a regular drinker here by any means but at least it has not been ruined or spoiled. Not bad...
|
Know what you mean, 9 at night on friday the back bar was full and made it a struggle getting to the toilets, how can 12 normal sized people fill such a big bar, Where have all the old faces gone? Jim and dawn, sean,that gormless one, the hadleys lot and I have not seen lynn and her friends in there, have only been in there twice since the destruction, No Carling, one freindly face behind the bar and that's only because she was there before destuction. On both occasions ended up in the Revolution, place was hiving with better value drinks and staff who new what they had to do. Saying all this, will still go in to check for the return of a fast moving local with a good mixture of people. The only thing famous about the fish and chips is the birds eye sticker at the moement the rating has to be 2 only for the one friendly face left.
|
wheres everyone gone? wheres the carling gone? why does the back bar look like a timber yard? why does the manager look mystified?
why does reburb mean "pull the guts fabric and character out"
what happens when an important sporting event is taking place? even suits like non suit activity some times.
what happens to the locals?
anonymous - 9 Jul 2007 08:16 |
remember the good old days when it was a pub and you could go in and have a laugh with gabby,darsh,helen ausie kate? if your looking for a local this is not the place
anonymous - 8 Jul 2007 12:58 |
remember the good old days when it was a pub and you could go in and have a laugh with gabby,darsh,helen ausie kate? if your looking for a local this is not the place
|
erm afc the back bar is now a resturant (opens at 8.0am for food) and its more bar than pub as far as i know its the only nicholsons(cater for suits) outside of the city....the increase in prices is shoking fosters gone from �2-�2.65 im one week...
anonymous - 8 Jul 2007 12:45 |
At least its still a pub! The rumours of wine bar/restaurant were thankfully only that.Beer range has improved, though I've to get a pint I'd describe as v.good
|
no more sport...jazz music....beer up roughly 65p a pint....cant sit in peace without a candle being lit in your face....and britains 50 most famous sausages on the wall...what a joke this pub(wannabe bar)is ruined...happy atmosphere gone the new management/staff dont seem to have the ability to be able to smile....was nearly empty between 5-7 on a friday night, never thought i would see that! had one in the slug after as busy as ever then went over revolution couldn`t move....the falcon is dead R.I.P
anonymous - 30 Jun 2007 14:46 |
Was in there last night!! I wonder who's idea it was to fill the back bar up with wood? oh and where in the world is there fish and chips famous. Just a expensive weatherspoons now, what a dredfull place
anonymous - 30 Jun 2007 06:42 |
Re-opened tonite!! another pub gone to the dark side.
2 men that have been drinking in there 5 nights a week for the last 5 years asked to leave because they had their firms shirts on, whats it coming to? they dont even do a dirty job, total discrimination, I assume that none of us will be made welcome.
Hey M&B some of us have to wear shirts bearing our companies name to be able to earn money to drink in your establishments, why even your own under paid staff have to wear what ever outfit you provide, double standards or what. Wake up you management snobs,
|
Yours truly managed to squeeze an early evening visit in before closure last Friday night. Most of the drinks had already run out - drinks on draught were limited to Guinness and London Pride. Ironically, because more customers were drinking the London Pride than usual, it was the best pint I've ever tasted in here.
The barman told me that the planned refurbishment was "not too drastic" - well I suppose he would say that wouldn't he ?
I shall keep an eye on the place and report again when it's re-open. In the meantime, let's just keep our fingers crossed
|
rumour has it they are going to rip the back part of the bar out and turn it into another gastro pub.
|
It would indeed be a shame if this pub got vandalised and the splendid stained glass windows and skylights in the back bar diasappeared - and also the mini snug bar with its wood pannelled screens. I'm not a regular - but I certainly won't come in again either if it becomes another Identikit Chain McPub type of place
|
The Timmy Taylors seems to have dissapeared now. Although the pumps still there it's not been on for a while now. Its either London Pride( which for some reason is nasty here)or IPA. If the rumoured refurb goes ahead then I'm off! 25years drinking here, had great times and now the owners want to destroy it.
|
Falcon is closeing for a refurb 8 june someone told us last night they intend to get rid of the bar and turn it into the slug. I so hope not.
|
In case it isn't obvious from his comments, be aware tht "kiwiphil" is the manager of the Falcon (since Jo left)
|
just an easy pub to use - bar staff always prompt and efficient and prices (although recently increased), still amongst the cheapest to be found on the manor.
As mentioned earlier, the large (rear) bar, has recently been made non-smoking and this has encouraged some new punters and frequently left many of us puffers unseated and forced to move up the road to the Windsor Castle.
|
Much improved pub nowadays and now attracting a wider range of clientele than previously. The bar at the back is preferable to the bog standard pine floored bar at the front. First sighting of Timmy Taylors Landlord last Sunday in this pub.
|
An old favourite of a pub. very convenient to slip into after a journey into Clapham Junction train station, also a good starting point for a swift one before your journey. A great all-rounder of a Pub for the weary train traveller. Boasts the longest bar, good beer and pleasant staff and If Gabby and Darsh were still there I'd never leave.
|
TT Landlord and Deuchars IPA are both good beers, Phil, but at this time of year you want to ditch the Deuchars and put on one darker option. It'll sell. Just a thought.
anonymous - 16 Jan 2007 14:02 |
Heres an update on whats happening here.
2 new Ales now stocked timothy taylor landlord
and Deuchars ipa
new menu installed with new chef also.
back bar area / dining room is now fully non smoking.
still got all the screens and playing all the big games.
new extended opening hours starting in feb.
six nations rugby , super 14 breakfasts, tri nations, cricket world cup , rugby world cup , plus plenty of football as well. ( someone described me as sports obsessed in a review, well they might be right, I won company sports pub of the year for 2006).
please feel free to pop in , say hello, g'day, Labdein or any other greeting, our multi cultural staff will do their best to make you feel welcome and comfortable.
have a good 2007
cheers
phil
|
Under new management, sports still to play a major part in the pub, new food menus and the dining room/ back bar is smokefree. new manager does support a football team , but is an old school rugby league supporter of Otahuhu Railway. ( The Whanau know!)
some changes in staff to happen but most of the old crew is staying. get used to seing more oval ball games on the screens and more Kiwis and aussies in the pub, will have early doors for super 14 and tri nations rugby.
dont be shy, come on in and say g'day!!
cheers
phil
|
Nice enough to pop in for a quick one if your train is delayed yet again by whatever reason they dream up.
anonymous - 31 Aug 2006 15:47 |
A decent town centre pub nevertheless.
|
Despite previous comments, it HAS got the 'Longest Continuous Bar in Britain' - as awarded by the Guinness Book of Records. I know, I used to run the Falcon!
Trust me - cleaning 42 beer pipes every week (when it had more than it has now!) and working in such a lovely pub back at the end of the 90's was brilliant.
AND we fought off Bass and their plans to rip out half of the bar!
|
Never had a problem with this pub the fosters is �2.00 a pint what more can i say
|
OK, having seen the last few posts, I thought i would take a trip back. My heart fluttered when I was served within 2 minutes, and then positively hummed when i saw a seat available. Alas, it was all too good to be true. Yes, the ale on tap is fine, but the barstaff are still terrible, and i refuse to believe that this is more than a stop-off pub. Mediocre, but should be better.
|
larger than you intially might think this pub can offer a good place to meet for one before heading on to more interesting places. Largely smoky and mainly full of football fans mean this pub isn't going to increase sales anytime soon.
|
A pub that does what it says on the tin! good quality ales,the Bombardier was very good,very clean and crisp.
The venue is a large one, a bar that goes on forever and in the end joins up with its tail,lots of quirky places to sit, small snug,"yes a snug" large front bar with plasma screens with all the top football sky can offer,large back bar mainly food driven, steaks, all day breakfasts and the like, very clean throughout with the mandatory pictures of old Clapham.
At this point i have to disagree with some previous comments re the Eastern European bar staff, i have always found them very friendly and professional in their customer service, but i am more than a little bias because the girl in charge has a Strong resemblance to Davina McColl!and i have seen her put the footie boys in place when they get a little to boisterous.
On the whole a great pub, plenty of room for all, a nice mix of people,good beer,cheap prices,clean interior,and Davina watching over us all, that will do it for me every time!.
|
Very good when I went in last night, excellent pint of Bombadier and quick food service despite it being 6:00pm
Decent range of real ale and nice interior, though it's quite often hard to find a seat and it can get pretty smokey.
|
Hang about murgatroyd, us posties always get the mail delivered first. Then we come in and get pissed.We only come here cos the Windsor castle has gone crap. Nice bits of crumpet behind bar though! ( not the geezers, obviously.)
anonymous - 28 Mar 2006 12:14 |
Usually busy with a mixed crowd of all ages ranging from chavs to suits.
Beer is good and atmosphere lively without being menacing or riotous
Often seems to be have a fair number of red faced boozy types from the sorting office up Lavender Hill which may go some way to explain the state of the mail service in this country
|
Claims to have the longest bar in Britain. But then again so does a pub in Winchester, who can be telling the truth? Good sized places very local to the station so worth a visit
|
Further to my last review of The Falcon, it has now changed hands, and is, frankly, a truly awful pub. The staff have all changed and the new guys are slow and unfriendly. The beer isn't kept well, and the 'no smoking at the bar' policy is incredibly restrictive as the bar takes up most of the pub!
Sadly, there is no other pub worth going to near the station, as Edwards and The Slug are unspeakably nasty, so The Falcon is still the best place to meet in the Junction.
|
was dong some buissness in the train area...
i think the place is awesome...huge food was not to bad either
on a monday i had pint ,chips,burger �3.99
doubble johnny walker 1.99
cant beat that,staff seemed polish?like the Itbox is fun for a few laughs,,daytime is great choice.
close to train,,many different beers,lots of room.
|
It is the longest continuous bar you can stand in any bar and touch the one counter, as for service i get served ok but then when the bar staff go past me i ask them to serve me i dont stand there like lorddunabunk and expect the overworked staff to mind read. this pub has got worst the wage bill has been cut to ribons and the bar for its size and busyness is down at least 4 bar staff and 2 suppervisers that is top management. if it did not make as much money as it does i would think they want to close it and turn it into flats i find the staff very good but then im a roston type person have been in every pub in battersea and this is the best you get every sort of being in it and strange as it is we all seem to get on there is hardly any trouble.
anonymous - 30 Jan 2006 17:45 |
It *must* be the longest bar in Britain - how else can you explain the wait to get served?! Perhaps the barstaff are too far away to see you? No, no, no, it's because they're incompetent and couldn't care less. AND the management can't even take care of the beer!!
There aren't many decent places in CJ, but at least there are some, and they're worth seeking out, if only to avoid going here. Apparently the O'Neills is getting refurbed into an acceptable boozer soon, so keep an eye out for that.
|
Longest bar in Britain? You what? Rubbish!!! Anyway, the pub itself is average at best and should only be attended if you have to meet someone in the locality.
|
have been using this place as a meeting venue for a group of friends every couple of months for the last 6 or 7 years. it's definitely got worse over this period. certainly, it's now harder to get served as the number of barstaff has dwindled. london pride is usually ok but occasionally duff. still, it's location can't be beaten if meeting friends off the train and i've never had or seen any trouble with the clientelle or the barstaff. 6/10.
|
Seems pretty rough. Apparently longest bar in Britain or something. If you are in this area you could do worse, but that's more of a negative about Clapham Junction rather than a positive about this standard procedure lowbrow boozer.
anonymous - 5 Jan 2006 10:15 |
It's all right in here. Decent meeting place OK beer and Ale not quick service though. The back of the pub is best.
anonymous - 19 Dec 2005 16:19 |
Cosy it ain't. A big, old-style city pub. OK for one around the corner from the country's busiest railway-station. Passing road traffic much in evidence. Sport on screens dominates; fine if you like that. Narrow range of crisp-flavours.
|
The kelpie has failed love you lots good luck
|
Good beer, vague east european bar staff, BIG screen.
Pint here, meet your friends and go somewhere else nicer. So it always gets on the plan for an evening out in CJ, but you try not to stay long.
|
Serve a good selection of beers, but more of a chav element than most of Clapham's bars. Definitely much better pubs nearby.
|
a good pub with a good mix of people, the top management of the company let it down you cannot even get served at one part of the pub because they have cut the wages bill.Dodgy Darsh is a kelpie tiger, allways good to see her throw someone out.The big wedding coming up congrats to Ewa and her man.
|
Good boozer, been nipping in here for years and the re-fit a few years ago took nothing away from it. Good beer, top cheese sangers and ok service. It's a huge pub and has about 4 plasma screens for sport.
You can also sit and sup safe in the knowledge that you're not in the Slug and Fetish next door!
|
Very decent station boozer this,...nice and big,..fair bit of atmos.
If you are unlucky enough to find yourself getting off a train in Clapham Junction with the intention of a night out in this neck of the woods, slip in here as you exit the station........down a coupla pints and formulate your excuses,...text em out,..turn the phone off,..One or two more pints for the frog,..and get back on the train.
"Dear Cam and Rup, cant make "tofu do" i'm fraid, points failure at Mitch Junc,..take care,..recep very bad here,..ciao"
|
The staff work very hard, and you sometimes do have to wait, but 'standing' looking interesting isnt enough you have to try and communicate what you want.
Polish staff are great Ewa is excellent as is me 'little' mate Darsh!
|
does what it says on the tin - station boozer with live sport.
since recent 're-decoration', some younger middle class locals have been using it, probably because the prices are staggeringly cheap for this area (�2.10 for Fosters, �2.30 for Amstel).
Service has declined since the Poles have been involved behind the bar.
evers - 29 Aug 2005 15:31 |
The Falcon is brilliant.
My friends and I often drink there. We love the friendly (mainly Polish) bar staff and the very affordable prices.
Ignore those complaining about waiting for service. the bar sraff may struggle, but after all it does have the longest bar in britain.
|
Went there on Weds to watch the Champions League final. It was pretty busy, but not as packed as it gets for England games (or, I suspect, anything involving Chelsea).
It started off ok, we had room to stand at the bar round at the back. Got some drinks in after a wait of 5 or 10 minutes - not great, but bearable. Finished those, and attempted to buy another round. We waited, and waited, and waited. And waited some more. No-one seemed to be serving round our bit of the bar, which was confusing, since we'd been served in exactly the same place earlier. Considered wandering round the pub to somewhere else to get to where there were some staff, as it looked like some of the people next to us had done, but didn't want to fight through people when we had a perfectly good spot at the bar and had been waiting there for ages already. After more than half an hour, with no sign at all that we would ever get a drink, we gave up and went to another pub.
Service has often been slow here, but it was never non-existent before. (And it wasn't even a lucky pub this time - we saw the first half here, and were in the Windsor Castle for the second half, extra time and penalties.) I don't think we'll bother any more. It's sad, because this used to be our favourite footy-watching venue, but there seems little point in going to a pub where there's a huge section of the bar with no-one serving for half an hour or more. Unless, of course, you want to watch the game but you're a bit skint and would rather not buy any drinks, in which case I'd highly recommend it.
|
Graet for a meeting plave to meet friends as it is near the station but it does get very smokey. Service is slow aswell.
|
Claims to have the longest continuous bar in Britain, and still retains a faintly Victorian atmosphere. Also seems to be a favourite of locals smoking foul-smelling roll-ups, but I don't want to appear harsh - it's fine enough for a pint or two...
|
Ok, bit of an old mans pub though.
JaneC - 13 Apr 2005 07:49 |
dodgy Darsh the falcon kelpie has gone over to the dark side and cheered against us at west spam on friday. but still the best bar in sw11, thank god for gabby and sarah and all the rest of the girls and the lad who is dazzled by diamonds.
anonymous - 20 Mar 2005 09:03 |
we know someone who waited 20 mins at the bar don 't we steviecee horse racing watching paint dry .............................ann the diference is ???? Gabby and Darsh and sarah .....famous ? well year, reasons to be cheerful 1,2,3.
|
not enough horse racing shown really i mean its open for 12.5 hours a day and they only show the horse racing for 9 hours (sometimes little computer animated horses as well) i like the repeats of the old american racing thats always good to pass 4 or 5 hours....gabby and darsh are only semi famous heh heh
|
gabby and dodgy darsh have always been famous. the pub lost another good bar person last night she will be missed its hard not being alowed to smoke at the bar but still the best pub fore me
|
A woman tried to slit her wrist when I was in here last.
She wasn't very good at it and herself and her beau staggered off into the night.
anonymous - 13 Feb 2005 22:16 |
I've been here on quite a few ocaatons as I live locally and have never found visting this place to be a particularly enjoyable experience. It's alway exceptionally crowded, presumably due to it's location, and is one of the smokiest pubs I've ever had to endure. On certain occasions I've had to wait up to 8 minutes (yes, 8!) to be served at the bar. Also every time I have ordered ale from here I've found it to be of very poor quality.
anonymous - 24 Jan 2005 17:01 |
don't look at this place through rose tinted specs.
fact. Its not like it was. Bar staff its a big pub with a big bar work all of it not just one side. The racin crowd big spenders though you may be should leave its our pub (thats everyones) not just yours stop whinging. All that said, its still a good place to drink and meet people
Gabby and Darsh you're famous now !!!!!!!
|
By far the best choice of pubs near the station, and the best pub in Battersea/Clapham Junction to watch football (usually an Arsenal/Chelsea mix, but very tolerant of others). It gets very busy on match days and some Friday/Saturday nights, but the staff are friendly and the wait is never long. The food is ok, but the beer is excellent (and good value). Because it's near a Yates' and a Slug & Lettuce, the Falcon seems to escape the presence of most of the local chavs too, so there is never any agro.
|
Went there to watch the footy this afternoon. It's still a great place to watch games, but they could really do with a having some more people working at times when they know it's going to be busy. It would've been a nightmare getting served today if it wasn't for the fact that the few staff there were working incredibly efficiently. 10/10 to them for managing to remain friendly despite having to deal with the hordes of impatient customers.
|
This pub at first sight seems to want to fulfil the First Rule of the Law of Pubs; 'If thou art by a Railway Station, thou must be shite'. It attracts the slightly chavvy sit-in-th-pub-all-day-every-day-though-of-employable-age element, it's overly smokey, the food is the usual short-order pap.. but the staff are friendly, there's always room at least to stand, and the beers are cheap and actually pretty good. If you're waiting for a train/a mate in the area then you could do a hell of a lot worse - you're probably better off here than trekking down Northcote Rd for the dubious pleasure of visiting All Bar Scum/the Fine Whine etc.
|
Cheap, complete lack of pretention and top notch Slovakian bar maids.
Can get a bit rammed when there is a big football match on but the bar service in general has got a lot better since they started employing more than 2 people to serve 'The longest (continuous) bar in Europe
Benj - 15 Nov 2004 14:34 |
It is a bit of a dump but at least the ale is well kept. As a previous poster said, it's supposed to be the longest bar in Europe but think that may be an optical illusion.
John - 8 Nov 2004 13:25 |
was in there last night was packed staff over worked and under paid good bar.tip when at bar waiting to be served ask dont stand there waving a note or creddit card
P Haines - 7 Nov 2004 15:29 |
its a dump but i go there for the cheep beer. trendy westenders with little flats around the cornor mixed with chavvy locals.
mark - 5 Nov 2004 15:58 |
the best thing about the pub is the bacon and cheese melt girl you know who you are!
anonymous - 19 Aug 2004 11:21 |
The only half-decent proper pub in the area. Normally some sort of beer on special offer and sport on the TV. Classy it ain't, but I like it.
burnsy - 22 Jul 2004 12:40 |
Been in here a few times - good quality beer/pub.
I believe this pub has the longest bar in Europe.
PB - 2 Jul 2004 09:42 |
Quality old pub. Knows what it wants to be. Refreshing with so many tossy places nearby. Always good for sport on tv.
dan - 2 Jul 2004 09:17 |
lovely sofa's, good beer,interesting ceiling in back room, lively traditional pub in aplace where there are not many pubs
steve - 5 May 2004 15:52 |
Worst service I've experienced in ages. Not just slow but stupid. Not just stupid but proud of it.
Shane - 18 Apr 2004 23:13 |
Two or three good staff leave tonight one moving to scotland one to have a baby and i think one to get wed all good falcon staff good luck
P Haines - 6 Mar 2004 12:46 |
The falconey is the only pub in sw11 to have not realy changed in 20 years. Does not matter who or where your from there is a space you can meet your own type. Tip to getting served ask for one dont wave a note and say nothing or become a local
P Haines - 6 Mar 2004 11:15 |
Eh? bloke second one down, you sure your'e talking about the Falcon, A chain pub? you havin' a laugh or what? sure you wasn't in the slug and lettuice next door?
casualdrinker - 28 Jan 2004 14:39 |
best pub in cj..coz the bigfellaz say so....does take a while 2 get served
|
It *could* be really good. But it ain't. There is still one nice little corner of the pub with carved wooden screens and etched glass, but the rest of the pub is a huge great over-lit barn, dominated by pumping techno ALL THE TIME. The Falcon is in a great location, right in the middle of Clapham Junction, but whichever Japanese Investment Bank or global property chain owns the pub has taken one look at Yates' across the road and thought.."well, if you can't beat them..." If someone could take over and do something interesting with the place, like they have with the similarly sized "Sir Richard Steele" on Haverstock Hill, this place could be fantastic. Unfortunately instead it's the kind of soulless chain pub that makes you wonder why you shouldn't just save �2 on the fizzy p*** that you're drinking by going to the off licence over the road and sitting on the pavement.
seb - 26 Jan 2004 13:27 |
best pub in clapham if not south london great staff altho it can take a while to get served
steffibizness - 24 Jan 2004 07:34 |
Physically its got good character. The bar presides upon the clientelle like some huge alcoholic rotary. Decor is nice and traditional. Possibly a little too big for it's own good. Never been there when football's been on and I sure as hell don't intend to. Not bad overall. Toilets did flood once mind but that was a year or so ago now, so we won't hold it against them. Was pretty rank though.
Good for: meeting up with a group before moving on to Clapham Common.
|
Great football pub with good mix of people
David - 9 Jan 2004 08:08 |
Stopped in for a pint on my way elsewhere. Very crowded (but football was on so no surprise there). Got served quickly, despite the crowds. A good pint. No complaints.
Alistair - 23 Dec 2003 09:37 |
they've recently stopped having Staropramen on tap.
lost all reason to go anymore.
benji - 8 Dec 2003 16:17 |
The new seating is a bit disappointing but the new TV's are very good. A huge bar and a fine selection of beers. Tends to be full of Scousers when Liverpool are being humiliated in European Tournaments which makes for a great night...Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner I suppose. One of South London's finest public houses
Terry G - 20 Oct 2003 16:00 |
I love this pub!
10 out of 10 everytime.
Not sure about the new low seats but hey. The staroprahmn was off on friday but i forgive them. Had to get pissed on Apples instead.
gavin - 20 Oct 2003 14:14 |
beer is great
pub is full of nutters, just the way i like it!
mr.munko - 17 Oct 2003 16:54 |
A lovely pub full of South London geezers (some of whom may have dodgy pasts) and great beer. �1.50 for a pint on some nights. Get In!
Firm Handed Geezer - 17 Oct 2003 15:20 |
I love this pub. I went in there to avoid the madness of the powercut and found it very friendly and less than �2.50 a pint in London!
|
Loads of gothic panels and a bit of stained glass but its not fake, its looked like this since time began. Nice mix of old and young drinkers, have`nt tried the food but they do all day breakfasts. nice place to watch the world go by on south Londons busiest junction.
casualdrinker - 15 Jul 2003 09:51 |
Good pub for watching sky sports, 4 TV`S in the bar and more in the back plus big screen, old fashioned boozer not a cafe bar.
peterbailey - 14 Jul 2003 14:49 |
A proper pub. Long live the Falcon....not this best class of birds but a great meeting/starting point for a night out in Clapham...
|
What I imagine all pubs must have been like in the old days before All Bar One, Slug & Lettuce and all those other assults on the senses. Strangest memory was the pub being filled with scousers in suits, must have been a big trial somewhere.
|
unpretentious, not a bad pint, but gets very crowded and they never have enough bar staff.
james - 28 May 2003 15:59 |
I used to have the occasional Bass there in the early fifties.Bit of a rough place at times.
Peter B. - 20 Feb 2003 20:36 |
used to be a lot better when it had a jukebox.
Jason Crisp - 19 Feb 2003 13:06 |
Not a bad place, the occasional tosser, but pretty much okay and unpretentious - rare for Clapham!
Steve - 22 Nov 2002 17:29 |
I'd like to extend my thanks to the clietele of the Falcon on the evening after the England v Australia for not either mugging me or beating me up. I fear I may have been obnoxiously drunk.
Olly - 20 Nov 2002 15:46 |
I like the long bar.
Briony - 8 Aug 2002 14:37 |
i am glad to say that i have never suffered from Falcon Ring. staropramen is best avoided on school nights.
Darren - 31 Jul 2002 10:42 |
Yes. The barmaid is a goddess. Finest pint of Guinness in S.London!
Anthony Tops - 30 May 2002 10:54 |
im happy to say that the best barmaid in south london has just started at the falcon-get in........
blokey - 24 May 2002 12:17 |
Save the Chuckle Brothers. Lets campaign to get him back. The greatest barman of all-time should be back in the greatest pub. The Junction Boys are back.
John Rusilton - 22 May 2002 15:59 |
yes i remember that chuckle brother bloke.possibly the best barman in the country.i was thinking about getting a "save the chuckle brothers" petition together!is anbody up for getting involved??
yappy - 22 May 2002 15:37 |
The longest bar in Britain and they used to have a barman who looked like the Chuckle Brothers. Service can be slightly slow at times and seats hard to come by unless you are one of the geezers. There can be a few too many Scousers down there as well for European games. I've also seen a couple of Charlton mugs.
Greg Emerson - 22 May 2002 15:11 |
10/10 for a lovely booze up
Freddie Fox - 21 May 2002 17:01 |
This place is the business! A load of South London Geezers drink in here. Nice pint of Guinness and a right load of sorts!
John Diddy - 21 May 2002 16:57 |
Quite often very rowdy in this establishment. I believe its the headquarters for the Barber Village firm. Best to avoid it(unless England are playing Germany..)
Mr M Uff - 17 May 2002 11:21 |
I lived by Clapham Common & this pub has been here forever. I used it alot about 1954 as a meeting place before getting on the train at Clapham Junc to where?
Loz's Mum |
