The Sun

Refitted the place, the bar is now at the back wall, so more seats in the bar area. Nice chandelier.

Much better than I remember. Still one of the busier pubs in Clapham, but less of a dive than it used to look like! Not too keen on the restauranty bit at the back mind you.

Four ales here and some really good ones at that! Managed to get a seat too, not something that used to happen!

Visited The Sun last night for a 60th birthday celebration. Thought we were going to have the room upstairs but told that this was not possible as they had a booking for a larger party (our party numbered 15 and was pre-booked!) We were squashed in a space between the loos and the kitchen and the staff had to add a small table to the long rectangular one to accommodate us. The table was not laid up. There were also two menus and two choices were unavailable. The staff were courteous and provided us with cutlery which we arranged ourselves. When the food arrived, the portions were of a good size and the plates and food were warm. The food was of a good quality, as was the wine. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience but would have been better if the staff had been better prepared and made suitable arrangements for our party. I would recommend to others but advise them to check in advance that the catering would be adequate for their needs.

A lovely place that’s one of Clapham’s redeeming features. Quirky enough with fairy lights and niceness, silly furry animal hide seats. A nice independent change from the rest of the highstreet and keeps a nice attitude.. Can get a bit busy.

Decent food, good roasts, fair price. My pub of choice in the area.

Potentially a pleasant enough place – middling inside downstairs, large outside area, and an upstairs “bit” I haven’t explored, but gather is used mainly for functions, pub quizzes, and the ilk. Clientele, at weekends at least, seems to be pretty evenly divided between rowdy beerboys, quieter groups of friends supping wine, and people who are being lunched by their visiting parents, “who thought this looked OK”. Pretty good selection of beers and ales, reasonably kept; food looks standard quasi-gastropubby ( a selection of sharing/bar snack type things [ whitebait, stuff with chorizo], burgers (“poshed up” with beetroot tinged coleslaw), pies, roasts on a Sunday sorta-thing.

So far, so good-ish. What let the place down, on my last visit, was the abysmally slow service – loads of staff wandering around outside, but it taking the thick end of twenty minutes to get a drink at the not-very-busy bar. As you’ll know, I tend to focus on the basic stuff; if you can’t get serving drinks sorted in a pub, it doesn’t look good. Hence, more of a “meh” than a “must visit”.

I was here last Sunday night and overall thought it was pretty decent. The atmosphere was lively, it's a spacious area over two floors and the food - I tried the burger- was of an acceptable standard to a fusspot like me.

A couple of observations. An ATM in a pub is the last thing you need. Well, that I need. Or would have needed years ago when I was bang at it. Walk a few steps beyond the main bar and you'll find a brightly-lit cash machine enticing you to withdraw more money than you originally planned and thus transforming a tranquil evening over a couple of drinks into a catastrophic, family-wrecking booze-a-thon.

Also, I was there for a birthday party made up predominantly with Italians and they booked it in the upstairs bar where a pub quiz was being held; there was only going to be one winner there. Not that they would've know it was going to be that noisy, but a strange decision nonetheless as there was plenty of room downstairs. And as the quiz master called for people to switch off or silence their phones, I was smugly thinking "you'll be lucky if you even hear 'em ring, son".

Other than that oversight, I thought the service was rather friendly and helpful.

Nice little pub, didnt eat but the menu looked nice. Really busy especially in the large patio/garden area!

Is no doubt lovely but crowded in the summer!

I have had some good nights out here, and it has become my place to meet people in Clapham. First time I went was the second England game of the worldcup, and The Man and I sat up stairs and watched the game on the big screen sitting on a massive comfy sofa with only about 4 other people in the room. It was lovely! The night continued into a birthday party and the beer garden was great for this with its big tables and cosy atmosphere. My experience of the food and drink has been good. They have a cider festival on at the moment, and it was interesting to try some types that I have never had before. These washed down some amazing nachos, these weren't your ususal bag of doritos covered in cheese nachos, these were amazing home fried with wonderful cheese nachos! much reccommended.

UPDATE 27/05/10

Bleh. The Sun is going downhill. The food is still good and the choice of beers is still spot on but unfortunately the staff are really letting the side down here. Clumsy, vacant, nonchalant, badly trained..... it's almost like they've just brought people in off of the street who have never worked in a pub before to tend the taps and serve the food.

A message to the Landlord of the Sun - Don't let the pub go to the dogs. Hire great people and you will be back to 5 stars.

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The Sun in Clapham is my new local and what a great little pub to have just a hop, skip and a jump from my front door. Excellent food menu. I can highly recommend the cheddar and bacon burger, the pork belly and the fish n' chips. All are top notch. They also do a great Sunday roast here but be warned, they tend to start running out the popular roast dishes around 5pm, so get here early unless you want to settle for nut roast.

Good selection of beers (Wandle, Landlord, Spitfire, Franziskaner and many more) + generally quite friendly bar staff (if not a bit disorganized sometimes). Check out the pub quiz on sunday nights, it's a good crack.

The Sun in Clapham is probably one of the best pubs in the area. Cracking menu - I can highly recommend the pork belly (soft meat, mounds of mashed potatoes and drowning in gravy. Lovely!). Plenty of interesting Ales to try here and an extensive wine list. They also run a rather good pub quiz on Sunday nights.

Can they improve?

Yes. The Sun isn't perfect, and i think if they could ensure real ales are restocked promptly (you often see pumps that have run out of the good stuff) + work on customer service a bit (the Sunday lunch service felt quite disorganized) they would graduate to 5 stars.

Good atmosphere, popular trendy pub attracting a nice looking crowd of happy funsters - never gives the feeling of being a grotty beer hole that many pubs descend to over time.

Not to say that the Sun is as popular as past times (might just be the state of things but do remember paying £25 for NY ticket a few years ago - although did get full poached salmon banquet and weird ice structure dispensing Anisette down everyone's chin) - nowadays free entry for the celebrations but no freebies such as silly hats and streamers (go to the Prince of Wales across the road for that kind of chaotic fun).

The Sun still boasts the weird upstairs painted room with couches and tables randomly strewn around - hedonistic debauchery waiting to happen - trouble is not quite enough hedonists for the critical mass needed to tip it into a truly indulgent crowd hell bent on the pursuit of sensual pleasures - just have to stick to a few Tiger beers and chill out on the deep cushions.

Plenty of outside veranda space and covered benches below, with heaters, for the naughty smokers.

Top floor function room useful for private parties and the general spaciousness of the building is nice with its various doors and staircases - can move around if get itchy feet and want to mingle.

Good choice of beers - even Adnams from Suffolk to bring back fond memories of a distant time.

Recommended.

I went to that place on a Saturday night. I arrived at about 10:30 and the place was completely packed, both at its lovely terrace and inside. There is no music outside (I suppose it’s not allowed to) and the volume of the music inside was low. I liked the music and the place in general. The only problem is that they have a serious staffing problem, as we waited for about half an hour in-front of the bar to get served - with the three bartenders trying madly to cope with the orders. Of course don’t even think of someone cleaning the tables…
On the other hand there are reasons why this place is so popular. Lovely terrace, nice music - in a volume level that you can actually chat with your company.

P.S. The selection of beers it’s also not very good - they had about 4-5 drafts and no Guinness (grr…:)

I’ve been a fairly regular drinking in The Sun over the past few months, I’m not sure why we always end up drinking here. It has a large crescent shaped bar in the centre of the bar - you get served pretty quickly, usual beers available here, nothing out of the ordinary. The pub has a good, friendly atmosphere, I’ve never witnessed any trouble.

The Sun gets pretty busy at weekends, especially in the summer as the crowds are drawn to the beer garden. I’ve heard good things about the BBQs, but not yet had the chance to try them myself.

With a great (and ever changing) range of ciders and ales on tap and knowledgeable staff, The Sun is a great pub to sit and sample British booze. The pub is a decent size with a central bar, a smaller room out back and a beer garden that is full to over flowing the minute the sun comes out. It’s one of the only beer gardens in Clapham that gets all day sun (hence the name), and even in winter the outdoor area is cosy with the assistance of industrial outdoor heaters. Keep an eye out for their beer and cider 'festivals’ where guest brews are added to the already generous selection on tap.

Situated near the common and the old town area of Clapham is this sweet little pub. The gaudy blue and yellow colours of it’s walls aside it’s quite a nice venue, especially in the summer when you can pop in after a day of sunning yourself. Prices are fine, what you expect for the area and the clientele is mixed but mainly young.

The best pub in Clapham, in my humble opinion. It has always been great for a sunny day, with a decent beer garden. However I think it has just changed management too, which has meant an influx of new interesting beers, ciders and wines. Can’t be bad!

Love this place! Enough said. It has some awesome beers on tap Sierra Nevada for one! The atmosphere is great, and the food they serve is nice. The Aussie guy and the BBQ is an amazing combo, serving delicious burgers and halloumi wraps at good prices. Just what you need after a few pints. The Beer garden is a good size with some good seating arrangements, but if your looking to get a seat get there early as it gets busy quickly in the evenings. Inside its spacious with good seating and chucky tables. Mind you when I’m inside it’s a bit of a blur ordering more drinks, so cant really comment :) But all in all its well worth it.

Part of me has enormous fondness for this pub, and the other part of me loathes how busy it gets in the summer. As we are now coming to the hottest months of the year (supposedly, although there’s not much evidence at the moment), the sun is about to become very very busy.

It gets so rammed sometimes, that people sit on the road outside, which strikes me as a little desperate. However, if you can get in, there’s a lovely covered outside area, and the service is quick and friendly, with the usual selection of ales and spirits, and it’s got about the best atmosphere around.

I was drawn to their cheerful welcoming sign as I walked past, but was sadly let down. It's nice and all - clean, tidy, spacious, nicely decorated (well, maybe a bit too 'nice' if you know what I mean) - and it's got a beer garden, but otherwise has less charm, atmosphere or soul than the office of a stockbroker. And, erm, what's up with paying over 7 pounds for two beers and a bag of crisps? No way.