I agree! We went a few weeks ago and the pub itself was nice. I guess cos it’s new, but the service was horrendous. Have you been to the other one in Clapham junction? Not the high street more like Battersea really. The asparagus. That’s a dive but not as bad as tooting!
It is a shame about the London and Southwestern. With good management it could be very good, however I left feeling a bit disappointed with it.
Yes, I've been to The Asparagus (painted blue outside) before. it is less than a ten minute walk from the London and Southwestern.
To be fair it isn't that bad. Certainly not one of the worst I've been in.
Another of my gripes with Spoons is that they have now closed down so many branches, some areas are now bare of Spoons.
I refer to areas such as Mitcham, Highgate, Archway, Hampstead (The Horseshoe there was the former Spoons), Balham, Morden and central London, around the West End. Years ago there used to be The Tyburn at Marble Arch and The Moon and Sixpence in Soho. The Green Man near St Paul's has now also gone, as has the Print Works in Clerkenwell and The Glass Works (where the small shopping centre is) in Angel. I also recall going into The Man in the Moon in Camden, outside The Stables market which has also gone. One of the most disappointing closures was The Crown and Sceptre in Streatham Hill.
Even the medium sized town of Wokingham had its Spoons branch closed a couple of years ago, leaving the town without a branch. Reading used to have four, now reduced to two.
There are countless other areas that used to have two, or more branches, now reduced to just one.
I've not fully agreed with Tim Martin's closure programme over the years. In many cases it has been disputes with the landlords of the property they lease, that has resulted in the pubs closing. No efforts, in some cases, have been made to find a suitable premises elsewhere in those locations.
There is a website somewhere that lists the branches that have been closed. The list is quite long! Someone once said to me there are now more closed/former Spoons branches in London, than open ones.
Other recent ones I've been into.
Slough
Cricklewood (another I wasn't impressed with)
Acton
Abingdon (The Narrows is a great modern style pub).
Uxbridge
Camberwell
Mile End (another branch that has been done out well).
I also recently revisited two of my haunts from University days. The Coronet on Holloway Road and The White Swan on Highbury Corner.