The Coach and Horses

We went here during the Wimbledon final and had a good time watching the game. I felt very British drinking at a pub and watching tennis (which I never do in America). It was my last day in Europe and this place was a proper goodbye. =)

I’ve been in a bit of a funk recently, and meeting a friend here seemed like it might be just the thing I needed. I hadn’t seen my buddy in years and it was hysterical for me to realise that living in India for an extended period of time has given him an Indian twinge to his originally German accent… Anyways I digress!
I ended up ordering the beetroot ravioli upstairs — super cute and fresh — but a tiny portion. The prices are a little steep so I ended up not eating any more, but if I’m ever flush I will deffo return.
The décor is very English tea-​room upstairs which I much prefer to the fusty old-​man pub theme downstairs. (Not to be mean. It’s just not my cup of tea/​beer ;)
But major props for being a veggie pub! And will totes recco!

Nice
little pub on the road to Brixton, with a small external area by the road (even
poetic licence wouldn’t allow me to call it a garden!) Just a shame it
fills up so much in good weather or for major sport.
Serves 3 or 4 standard real ales. Can’t recall exactly what I supped, but it
was alright.

First thing I see is two old men having a smoke outside with their pints of Guinness still inside at a table by the door. Hmmm. Old man pub. This is going to be dodgy. Or so I thought.
Though the place was fairly empty and rugby was on the big screen (it’s OK — me and my Australian flatmate like Rugby), we thought we’d give it a try. And there was a fireplace. I can’t resist a bit of fire. Ooo. And a little bit of indie music playing through the speakers. And, well, the barmen were pretty hot.
We decided on a Pork Belly roast dinner for Trish and fish and chips for me and crossed our fingers. No need to fret. The food that came out was rather good. My fish was very lightly battered. Normally I have to take the batter off as it gets too much, but not on this fish. And the chips were amazing. Thick wedges that were crisp like proper roast potatoes on the outside and hot and fluffy on the inside. And it came with a pureed pea and mint side that resembled pesto instead of the typical mushy peas. I preferred it this way.
As for the pork belly, her verdict was tough but tasty and we both thought we’d come there again especially as there were plenty of seats. We wonder how long the old man pub façade will keep the hordes away. A couple artfully strung fairy lights and the place would be packed on the weekends (or maybe it normally is and we beat the crowd?). Still, please don’t change Coach and Horses. We promise we’ll come back as long as you don’t try to get any «ambience.» It just wouldn’t suit.

Awesome, awesome food and not pricey! Can’t beat a Sunday roast for a tenner. The ingredients are local and fresh, too. And fab service to boot! Really cozy pub, not too packed but also not empty, with a big screen to watch the footy. Definitely will be back to try more food. And they serve Irish coffee!!!
–Pork belly roast — Beyond awesome. Comes with crackling and applesauce and delicious sides and yorkshire pudding.
–Fish & chips — Yum!
–Vegetarian roast — Comes with a half sqaush and mushrooms and awesome cheese sauce.

What’s all this shouting then? We’ll have no trouble here.
I live just down the road, in Brixton. I didn’t have the food and can’t speak of the «coked up media idiots» who I find much more down the road around the north end of Clapham Common.
I cycle past this place and have been meaning to stop in for absolute ages. It was mobbed with yob-​types during the World Cup, but then where isn’t, really?
My experience is this is a true neighbourhoody pub. It feels local. It’s about midway between Brixton and Clapham Common Tube, just far enough that you are probably local or looking for it.
4 ales on tap, including Doom Bar (always a good sign in my book). Clean and nice toilets. Old Sarf London types smoking and muttering at each other outside. A TV playing sports in the four corners, but not a massive one. You can watch a match here, but you’d probably only go if you were local.
The food’s advertised as cheap rather than good. Probably a word to the wise. You’ll fill up for not too much.
This is a local pub for local people.

What can i say about The Coach And Horses? Great food at decent prices, a great selection of drinks at a reasonable prices, great Staff, especially James who is a very nice guy. If you are in the area, check out the Coach and Horses, it is well worth it.

Usually go for Sunday Roast — it’s only a tenner for a huge plate of food and it all tastes really great. Comes within 15 – 20 mins. Yorkies are a particular highlight.
Great place for watching sport — not usually too busy and can get a seat. 2 large screens and sound for most games.
Only complaint would be the outdoor area which is a bit basic and faces the road.

What a winner of a pub! Drinkable, real and local ale on tap and a hearty, tasty menu of great value food. Set me up with a pint of Seabrooks, a chicken club sandwich and the addictive chocolate brownie… and I will be a happy punter.
Quizmaster on Thursday is a tad Brian Blessed on acid, but the atmosphere is good.
Bar staff are cool guys and there is a solid group of regulars, a mixture of not-​too-​posh Claphamites and genuine locals. Beats the pants of the Abbeville!
Minor gripe: sometimes runs out of ale!

The Coach and Horses is a phenomenal pub and i’m seriously excited about the weekends ahead as this is arguably the best place in South London to watch the 6 nations. The staff here do a barbecue outside (cheap burgers mostly) and there is plenty of seats inside (worth getting here early though if you want to get a good view of the screen).
I’ve always found the staff here to be delightful and the landlord seems like a top bloke too.
Quick tip — If you can’t get a seat downstairs, there is a secret upstairs room (which isn’t well sign posted, but perhaps that’s a blessing in disguise!) with 2 42 inch plasmas and about 10 – 15 seats. Check it out!

Don’t go here for the food, it’s a nice enough boozer for supping the odd pint (or 5?) of their lovely real ales, but save your pennies for the pork scratchings and avoid that menu at all costs! Have to say in terms of ”bankers and coked up media idiots” that I think this pub probably has less of them than the other watering holes in the area… or it could just be that I’m in need of the latest edition of I-​Spy Tosser book…

Firstly its in Clapham. Secondly its full of bankers and coked-​up media idiots. Best avoided.

If one could ever hope to find a ‘local’ in London that resembles the friendly atmosphere of a countryside boozer, then the Coach and Horses is a strong contender. I have spent many an afternoon of ale-​induced sport viewing in this cosy establishment and not one of them was a disappointment. In addition to an extensive programme of sports fixtures — updated weekly on the website — this public house offers an astonishing array of ales, lagers and ciders on tap. Sambrooks’ Wandle is a regular, as is Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and there are usually another two guest beers, as if your decision wasn’t hard enough already. I won’t list the lager because I think it tastes like fizzy water (not in this pub but in general) but I can confirm that there are just as many varieties of it to keep lager-​louts busy too. Haven’t tried the food yet but I can’t wait to return to do just that!

I went here recently for a birthday with a group of friends and all I can say is wow! I used to visit here before the new owners (James and Steve) took over approximately one year ago and what a massive improvement. What was once a shambling wreck of a ‘boozer’ has become a modern, friendly establishment that I will be visiting again, for sure. The service, which was on a hectic day of football and rugby was first class, as was the food which arrived on-​time and to a very high standard. The new owners have refurbished a room upstairs and turned it into a bonified ‘function room’ with dedicated bar and TV’s — a great place to relax and watch a game.
Overall, the Coach and Horses is a place I would recommend to anyone thinking of going to Clapham for a night out.
Well done to the boys and girls of the Coach and Horses!

Ok short and sweet here.
Used to be awesome. Nostalgic old book cases with weather beaten Dickens novels and other time touched works of fiction and fact languishing from various shelves; a full array of bitter shields, facing to greet the entering parched traveler, and a rustic décor, the kind that evokes memories of decadent houses in the country. We used to spend whole weekends in there.
Now there are beige walls, cheap chandeliers (this is a pub, not strictly come dancing) candle holders protruding from walls and no more than 2 bitter taps on the go at any one time. Im afraid to say that the atmosphere feels like the walls– a little white washed and sterile.
At least the screens are still there for the sport!

I’ve been going to the coach with a couple of fellow qypers for a number of years now and have always had a good time. I’ve seen the change of ownership/​management in the last 2 years and although wasn’t massively happy with the refit and loss of the charming bookshelves, I accepted it as progress. I cannot deny the new landlord his attempt to try to put his stamp on the place, why else would you buy a business as a going concern unless you feel you could improve it? Good luck to him.
What I would say after a visit there tonight is that I’ve reserved judgement for some time now hoping the following problems were initial problems that would be ironed out. For example, in the old days it would always be guaranteed that there were 2 out of the 3 real ales continually unavailable. I always hoped this would be eradicated by the new owner but on my visits since, this has not been the case. Landlord, I know you’ve read reviews here before and would love to know why this is a continual situation?
Also throughout my tenure as a customer I can only ever remember one night where there have been paper towels in the mens loos. Trivial I know, perfectly acceptable on a busy weekend but not on a week night such as tonight (Tuesday) when the place isn’t near heaving. This has been the case too many times.
In summary, I love the place. More down to the fact that I’ve had some great times here. If they fixed the ale pumps and mens loos it would still be near perfect as the type of pub you can enter at 12pm and leave 12 hours later.
Hope to be changing this review in the near future. tvs10.
UPDATE: As promised, I have been back to the Coach over the months since this review and on all occasions the problems I noted above have been addressed. Looking forward to spending many a long day here during the upcoming 6 nations. Fantastic.

Probably the best pub in London (definitelty top 3). My only feedback would be that they need a wider selection of Ales on tap. Any chance you could get summer lightning or Discovery on for the summer months?
A great, great, great place to watch live sport.

This is a cozy little pub with a comfortable setting and laid back vibe. The music is fairly non intrusive with nothing unexpected or abrasive being churned out. The bar and waiting staff were cheerful.
They definitely draw crowds in for sports events, be it football, rugby, cricket or whatever else is on. I’ll let you decide on whether thats a good or a bad thing!
*It used to be 2 for 1 on burgers every Monday, which I seem to remember being tasty.

This pub is really friendly and even the monthly pub quiz creates a bit of friendly banter between regulars and newcomers.
The food is very good although the kitchen has some fairly odd opening hours on the weekend. There are standard burgers (2 for 1 on Mondays) but also quite nice platters and olivey-​nibbley things.
Staff are usually friendly although when it is busy sometimes they struggle to cope.
All in all it’s a great local — if I had to make any improvements they would be: don’t start new staff on a busy night, keep kitchen open all day Saturdays, have a proper quiz every week and stop aiming the quiz questions at people born in the 50s!

I love this place. Have spent many happy times in The Coach. This often involves going in for lunch, looking up and wondering why it’s dark outside and realising I’ve been in there for hours.
Good for live sports. Will usually get rammed with annoying antipodeans if a southern hemisphere team’s playing but if you can bag yourself a table then settle in for the duration and enjoy yourself.
Happy Days.