The Sultan, Colliers Wood

Published on 20 June 2004 in , , , ,

When you move into a new area, it’s natural to try out the local pubs, and pretty much as soon as you stand outside you form views about the various pubs and as to whether you’d like to go in again.. So if you walked into The Sultan and just looked at it, you’d be forgiven for standing there in wonder, and instantly forgetting it.

For inside, it isn’t exactly much to look at at all. The building is 1930s brick and the inside layout consists of two simply decorated rooms. There’s a few pictures and posters, a dart board and not much else. The saloon bar is Apparently named after Ted Higgens who used to play Walter Gabriel in The Archers.

And with that initial, cursory glance, you might wonder why this pub has won CAMRA Greater London Pub of the Year at least once, and is a regular winner of the CAMRA South West London pub of the year award.

But none the less, you get yourself a pint of the Hop Back beer. And you settle down. And you realise its a true locals pub. Friendly, relaxing. No music. No TV. No loud music. Even the food doesn’t stretch beyond Pepperami and Pork Scratchings in the evenings. It’s just great beer and a good time.

So you think, this is nice. This is good. This could be a good place to sit in a cold winter evening or a hot summers afternoon. And then you get it all. And you nod and smile happily to yourself.

Rating:
4 out of 5
Address:
78 Norman Road, Colliers Wood SW19 1BT
Beers on handpull during visit:
Regular beers from the Hop Back range – Summer Lightning, GFB and Entire Stout – plus guest ale, Titanic Iceberg.