High summer on Clapham Common, and everyone and everything is out – the sun, the bare legs, the six-packs (both kinds). But when the bevvies are finished it’s time to head to the pub.
Every year Clapham’s bars face onslaughts as sunburned and inebriated groups descend on them like Visigoths on Rome. This was a new experience for No 32, which opened days before the hottest weekend of the year so far. Yet the staff coped well, smiling and keeping pace with the orders in a packed bar.
Visit No 32 on a less busy day and you’ll better appreciate the french windows opening on to the street, the first-floor terrace overlooking the common, the chicly modern interior. It’s a very attractive refurbishment of a modern pub, and even by Clapham Old Town’s high standards it’s pitched above the norm. Most draught beers will set you back nearly a fiver, the house wines are £20 a bottle; an Aperol spritz cocktail costs £9.50.
The pub grub menu plays safe with all-day brunch, burgers, salads, steak, but our dishes exceeded expectations, and justified the prices. No 32 opens at 9am with a breakfast menu, making mornings the best time to bag a prime spot on that roof terrace. Just be sure to leave before the Common drinkers start rolling in.