Cats Back SW18

London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Southwest London: Wandsworth

Contemporary pub (Harveys)
86-88 Point Pleasant SW18 1NN
T 020 8877 0818
Open 1200-2300 (2400 Fri-Sat, may close 1430-1700 Mon-Thu). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 4 (Harveys), Other beer 12 bottles (Harveys), Also 17 wines.
Food Imaginative enhanced pub grub, Outdoor Rear terrace, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Seasonal events, live music, functions.

For many years the Royal Oak in Borough (p61) enjoyed the distinction of being the only pub in London tied to Harveys of Lewes. That changed in May 2012 when the Cats Back, only a stone’s throw from the river at Wandsworth, reopened under the banner of the well regarded Sussex brewer. Tucked away in what was formerly an industrial area around the confluence of the Thames and the Wandle, this former free house had previously enjoyed a reputation for live music and eccentricity, with a junk collection led by a full sized vintage petrol pump installed outside. Meanwhile the surroundings mutated into the Wandsworth Riverside development, with luxury flats overlooking the riverside terraces of rather bland-looking bars.

The petrol pump and the deliberate eccentricity have now gone, but in compensation a thorough restoration indoors has brought taste and gravitas to a lovely old building. Heavy wooden benches and tables cluster round a central servery downstairs, with a wall full of vintage photos of other Harvey’s pubs, while a pleasant first floor room adds to the space. A surprisingly extensive beer terrace and garden is down a few steps at the back. Friendly new tenants Stuart and Natalie serve up a short, frequently changing menu that might include smoked salmon and scrambled egg, sausage and mash or rösti with spinach and rocket. The beer offer demonstrates there is more to Harvey’s than the ubiquitous Sussex Best, with seasonals and specials on cask, and the complete range of the brewery’s noteworthy bottled beers, including strong stuff like Elizabethan Ale and the benchmark Imperial Russian Stout.

National Rail Wandsworth Town Underground East Putney River Wandsworth RQ Cycling NCN 4 20, CS8, NCN+ 37 Walking Thames Path, Wandle Trail