Bars & Pubs

Since Wandsworth's Young's brewery joined forces with Charles Wells of Bedford in 2006, its pubs have stayed reassuringly the same (as has - it must be said - the beer). Not so the Windmill, which had traded on its rep as the place for an outdoor pint on sunny Clapham Common for too long (well, there has been an inn here since 1655). Over the last two years, it's gradually smartened up to include welcoming leather sofas, open fires, swirly contemporary art 'inspired' by the area, wicker lamps, and a cluster of cylindrical red lampshades. The attached B&B now styles itself as a boutique hotel, which perhaps stretches the point, but this great Sunday lunch venue now exhibits the touch of class its location deserves.

Time Out Bars, Pubs & Clubs Guide 2008/9