The Earl Spencer in Southfields is a great pub to have in your neighborhood. The renovation it underwent has made for a very light and airy atmosphere but fortunately they have also been able to incorporate many of the traditional details that this pub contained. But the bigger story is the food. This has truly become a gastro pub with a changing menu of tasty items. If they have the smoked haddock in a cheese sauce, just order it. It sure goes great with one of the local beers. And the starter Chorizo salad that I ordered was an awesome way to begin a dinner in this old but also new pub! read more

Probably my favourite pub in Southfields, although the neighbouring Gardeners is much improved. The Earl is a great place for a beer but, as others have said, it's the quality of the food that makes it stand out in the area (the menu has recently changed following the renovations. Food was previously great but prices where a little on the high side. They seem to have come down slightly from before so I look forward to trying the revised menu). The recent renovations have freshened the place up whilst retaining the wooden-floored, slightly bare feel so loved of modern London pubs. There's a good range of beers on draft, including usually at least a couple of well-kept ales (the local Wandle and Otter from Devon tonight, both well worth a try). Staff are friendly and knowledgable and the whole pub has a very welcoming feel. There's a small seating area out front but, like the rest of the pubs on Merton Road, it's not the quietest location. If only there was a garden out back I'd happily give 5 stars. read more

The Earl Spencer is a funny old pub, warm and inviting sometimes, hectic and unattractive other times. It's hard to encapsulate the issue fully but, here we go, get your capsules ready. I've been to The Earl Spencer 4 times now and these have been a weeknight, Sunday afternoons and a Sunday evening. The weeknight and the Sunday evening what I found was a lovely, sedate and cherry pub with a nice publican and good music. Unfortunately, Sunday afternoon is quite something else. To start with, Sunday afternoons are roast time at the Spencer and what a roast it is. Sumptuous beef served pink in the middle with a herbs and sharp horseradish, salty gravy and great roast veg. I've thoroughly enjoyed the roast both occasions I've had it and I would say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, any sane person would. So please have that in mind when I say THE EARL SPENCER IS NOT A NICE PLACE FOR SUNDAY ROAST. (If the caps drew your eye down I implore you to read the paragraph before. You cheat.) Like something out of a Hieronymus Bosch painting, during a roast window, the pub comes alive in the most unappealing ways. - Too many tables and chairs are crammed into every corner of the pub meaning you can almost literally not walk to the bar without bumping people or asking them to move. Just a few seats less and there wouldn't be this issue. - Prams everywhere. Coming and going and if you think humans have difficulty navigating the rabbit warren of seats wait till you see the prams. Held aloft and folded, of barged like a battering ram at the door of Helm's Deep into your chair legs, whenever a pram needs to pass you will find someone in your party getting up to let it past. - Prams everywhere (REDUX). Sorry, but when about 50% of your bookings are people with kids and prams why in god's name do you not ASK people when they call and try to arrange the seating to suit. I've watched as parties, unencumbered by children are sat by the door with plenty of space for a pram to slot in and not cause an inconvenience, while parties the same size with prams are put in the least convenient place possible. - Terse staff. Yep, unfortunately the staff get a bit...rushed, during service. Some keep their temperament, others though, not so much. - In attentive staff. Perhaps it's a sign of poor training or simply not enough experience, but when the bar gets busy the system fails. The staff don't work in sectors meaning they simply have no idea who is actually next, I have watched angrily trying to pay a bill, as someone who just happened to rock up in line of sight to the bar staff 10 minutes after me is allowed to put in a 42 piece order for their table of 10, all with special requirements because "Tasmine is fussy about green foods" and "what do you mean the gravy isn't low sodium". So in conclusion, avoid on Sunday afternoon if you are in a hurry, or don't like kids smacking, and being smacked, into you. All the rest of the time it's great. read more

I love this pub... good beers, excellent food, cozy mood and friendly environment . Perfect place for drinking a beer and eating well cooked duck breast! read more

The earl of spencer is my local pub, its a lovely family gastro pub that has a nice seating area outside, and inside it is cosy with wooden tables and chairs, a big long bar and cosy fired. The food is exceptional absoloutely gorgeous, would reccomend to go for a sunday lunch or any other day lunch! They serve dinner too. It has won awards from Time Out as well. Everyone is very friendly there, and it's also a nice place for a drink. read more

This is surprisingly average. I ate there a few days ago with my wife. I the "liver parfait" was rather plain and tasted like something you would get out of a tin. It wasn't bad, but not good either. I had the roasted duck breast with risotto. The duck was actually rather good, but the risotto was bland and closer to wet white rice than a real risotto. At that point we decided to pass on dessert. The descriptions of food on the menu make it sound fantastic, the reality is much further from that thought. This was my first time at the pub and I would really hesitate to try it again for food. It was sub-par given what it cost read more

This is a good pub to eat in. It comes witha Winter log-fire and three cask conditioned ales. The service is good once you have ordered and paid at the bar. Also it is good to see that the menu changes daily and the choice is extensive. I started of with grilled Sardines and Saffron Potatoes at only 6.50 and my friend had the Spinach & Feta Filo Pastry with a Mint Yoghurt Sauce at 5.50. I opted for a substantial main course which was delicious- it was the La Gurbure-smoked sausages,Ham and White Beans casserole and cost only ten pounds I thought it was excellent value. My friend had the above-average beer batterred Whiting&Cuttlefish with chips and minted peas also around a tenner. Both us then proceeded to finish our simple but delectable meal with a sticky Ginger Pudding at 5.00 and the Apricot and Frangipane Tart with Creme Anglaise also costing the same. There is a good choice of wines and they start at 11.00 for a bottle. read more

The Earl Spencer - apricot - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

Local friends recommended this pub to me so despite mixed reviews online we went over, chancing our luck for a table on a Friday night. The pub was full, a mixture of people sitting and standing around, not in a crushing, can't move way, but still our hopes were dashed. As we teased ourselves by reading the delicious-sounding menu I decided to chance my luck on sharing a large table with two guys drinking beer. Success! It's kind of strange eating such high quality food in a pub with people enjoying after-work or family catch-up drinks (at least I assume by the presence of a baby that's what it was), but nice too that there was such a mix. The food was fantastic. The bread was fresh and warm; my polenta main I thought looked small when it arrived but I was stuffed by the end and then... dessert. I'd been looking forward to the tarte tatin since I first saw it on the menu. Gone! The waitress offered me a lemon tart instead which I accepted because, well, some dessert is better than none, right? It was fantastic. It tasted homemade, crumbly crust, firm lemon custard and prunes. Divine. I'm looking forward to going back, but next time I will definitely reserve a table. read more

This is a terrible pub, absoutely hateful staff who look like they'd rather throw up than serve you. The staff know nothing about their beers which is a surprise for a CAMRA pub and were positively rude when we ordered a couple of pints of Sharps - the barmaid after trying to dismiss us eventually pointed out that it's called Doombar, which is true, but in a pub claiming to serve real ale, if Doombar is your only Sharps on tap then you should know the brewery and the beer and be able to work out that a pint of Sharps is a pint of Doombar, you shouldn't look sniffy at your customers and then grudgingly pour a badly kept, poorly executed pint. Booked a table once for 11 people, turned up, were given menus, sat down with drinks, worked out our order, went to the bar to place the order and were told they were out of food. An evening ruined. Went this weekend, asked for some drinks and a bowl of chips, were told that despite the fact they do bowls of chips all the time, our snooty salesperson (she knew nothing, definitely not a barmaid) would not serve us chips without ordering other food 'in case we run out of chips' For a pub that prides itself on its good food, never seems to actually have any food. And if you don't like working with people or serving drinks, I'd suggest you don't work behind a bar. Management are rude and dismissive. Such a shame as this is really handy for home, but I'll walk the extra three minutes to the Park Tavern and get drinks, a smile and as many bowls of chips as I want. read more

I highly recommend the Earl Spencer as definitely being one of the best pubs in the area. I'd say it was more of a food pub but it's of course a great place to pop into for a pint. I've eaten there several times and have always had a pleasant experience, the Sunday roasts are great too. read more