The Antelope - Tooting

Turns out this pub is owned by the same brand who owns the Tramshed which is also in Tooting, what a difference. The Antelope is a really superb pub, nicely situated up the road from the tube station and well designed to fill out on a busy night without becoming too crowded or awkward to move around. With four pumps for real ale always on it, makes a nice change from the usual Wells-Youngs selection normally found in the High Street here. On Saturday we had a choice of Sambooke’s Wandle, Sharp’s Doom Bar, Adnam’s Suffolk Bitter and George Gale’s HSB, all of which were nicely kept. The Wandle needed changing part way though the afternoon but this was done efficiently and fast so that it wasn't off for very long, one of the signs of a perfectly run bar.

The building has had a bit of a refurb since it's days as Jack Beards, as said above it is well designed. The toilets are designed well for both sexes and I have to say full marks for them for cleaniness! Bright, airy building with music kept at a low level so people don't have to yell at their partner across the table. I don't go to pubs to listen to music and it is great to see a pub which gets this. The Antelope's decor is pleasant if bland but they have made the most of the space with a large back area which doubles as the dining area with it's own bar.

As we are on the subject of the bar, let’s look at the staff here; polite and fast would be a good description and each time we have come here they are the same. They may chat to each other but they do keep an eye for people who want serving whilst also keeping the bar clean and well stocked. This is at odds with the Selkirk which is another pub in Tooting I like going to, but the staff members there tend to flock to one end of the bar and chat away not noticing people who are waiting to be served.

The Antelope’s food is excellent, not had a bad meal here yet. If you order something which turns out to be finished they do come up to you promptly to help you chose something else which is great. One downside however is the lack of hot veggie food, whilst neither I or my partner is vegetarian it does mark this as a pub that I can’t recommend to mates who are. The bar food on Saturday only had one good hot option for veggies and their menu is very meat based. Having said that, the bar menu is nice value for money with a nice selection (for meat eaters), the pie and mash I had was very tasty and the mash was freshly made whilst my partner’s hot dog turned out to be a bratwurst and very filling. We haven't eaten here in the evening yet but the Sunday lunches are really well done. The beef was cooked just the way I like, rare in the middle with a nice lot of roast potatoes and the red cabbage give a really nice bite to the meat.

This is a pub which we will keep on returning to and one that I hope will give the other pubs a nice friendly competition. Something I like to see as it keeps them ALL on their toes and that is good for us customers.

The Antelope
76 Mitcham Rd
Tooting
London
SW17 9NG