A (not very) subtle dig, Simon. Obviously, people go to pubs for different reasons. I live in East Putney; I don't normally make it past PHS if I'm going for a drink locally, although during covid restrictions the Green Man's garden at the top of the hill was a godsend - and could be combined with a walk! I went to the Arab Boy this week as I hadn't been there for a few years and my ex-colleague frequented it a long time ago when he was at school in Putney (ah, the days before strict ID checks) and suggested it; we wanted somewhere for a nice, delicious meal and a quiet chat over a glass of wine in an informal atmosphere, not a heavy drinking session. (And it has changed to be more of a 'gastro' pub since we were both last there.)If I'm going for a regular meeting with local friends we normally go to a 'spoons pub in Fulham Broadway: cheap and good beer, lively (particularly now the student population is returning to London) and sometimes a bit of entertainment when someone in another group is being accused of "borrowing" a contactless card to buy their round :-) ... and, with their app, one can get table service and use PayPal keeping one's cards hidden - pubs are changing.I think all the comments noted that it was the food people had liked at the Arab Boy but that it quiet because there were not many other customers. Let's hope there's room for lots of different pubs to survive - whether that's the Arab Boy, Bricklayers, the Rocket, the Green Man with its garden and cabins, or the many other pubs in Putney and elsewhere :-) [I'd accept that I'm normally going to pubs to meet people I already know and if, as I would infer from Simon's comment, one's looking to meet new people that does put a different perspective on one's selection of drinking venues. Anyway, I'm off for a RANT in a City pub this evening :-)]
Michael Ixer ● 1559d