A pint of ale and pub grub at The Vale – Streatham

BY BILL LACY

It is great to see pubs open again and even thriving, as far as they can with some restrictions still in place.

This summer is probably the most eagerly-awaited in living memory and pubs will surely enjoy a much-needed boon.

But pubs still need much support, so I followed a recommendation and checked out The Vale at Streatham.

I had never heard of it, but then I realised it used to be The Mitcham Mint for many years.

A couple of years ago it had a £75k makeover.

A refurbishment can have a strange effect. I once remember going to a dreadful pub in east London. A few years later I visited again, only this time it had been utterly transformed, with people flocking in who would never have touched it before.

Yet other pubs, following a makeover, remain fundamentally the same.

The Vale certainly looks smarter but it still has that local’s local atmosphere it had previously.

This is not necessarily a criticism – the local is the backbone of the country – but it feels like The Mitcham Mint with a lick of paint and a new name.

One interesting fact is that was apparently the first pub in the country to put a blackboard in the gents’ toilets, a claim so modest as to be believable, unlike those pubs you see who claim that a king stayed there while travelling to some battle.

It is actually quite a beautiful corner pub, and some nice work has been done to the inside.

It is no longer a sorry state. But it has retained its identity; it’s not as if they are suddenly serving seabass rather than pork scratchings (the food is traditional pub grub – burgers, sausage and mash, steak pie and the like).

A group of blokes who I imagine were in the same seats in the old pub were holding court, their conversation dominating the whole pub.

One was telling his mate about the time he used to hang around with the snooker player Jimmy White.

The atmosphere had a edge to it that might not suit everyone, although it was fine by me.

I can imagine the atmosphere will be superb for the Euros with enough people inside the pub.

There’s also a garden, into which I never ventured, although it has apparently won an award (my irrational prejudice towards pub gardens only intensifying after months of being forced to sit in them).

I ordered a pint of London Pride, the only real ale on offer.

It would be good to see a wider selection on offer, and perhaps they are working on that, but prices were fair and reasonable.

There was a common sense approach to Covid safety measures, a welcome change from the zealotry you see in some pubs, reflecting the pub’s general unpretentious approach.

It was like being back in some of the pubs I grew up with. This is a land of pool tables, dogs and no-nonsense service in the way that some pubs are lands of craft beer, restaurant prices and apps.

The Vale, 1A Lilian Road, Streatham, SW16 5HN