The Windmill on the Common

Delightful pub on the ground level of hotel. If you are looking to experience English food in a quintessential English setting (old pub/hotel next to park), the Windmill on the Common is a noteworthy destination. Look out for the friendly pub dog -- Max!

Enjoyed classic English breakfast with black pudding and baked beans, as well as beer battered Haddock with crisp chips, crushed minted peas, and tartar sauce. Everything was beautifully plated and the surrounding of sage painted wood paneled walls added to the experience.

My daughter and I live in America and we love Bernese Mountain dogs because we have had two of them. We just lost our dog and went to England the next day for a few weeks. We came specifically to see Max, because she follows him on Twitter.

This place seems like it's always busy, but it was easy to make a reservation online. The service is standard for England, not as fast as attentive as American service but that is normal. I had the ham hock and it was outstanding. The meat is tender and just right. I don't eat ham very much if ever, so it was a pleasant surprise.

They have a good variety of beer insiders on tap. It's kind of pricey, but the food choices are quirky and delicious. Great place to go just off the common for an outside meal!

This was taken during the summer of 2019, but I have such fond memories of my last meal in London. I got the Hamhock/chicken/leek pie, onion rings, and a scotched egg and could barely finish half the pie, but everything was perfection. It was right at the edge of the park, and the best way I could've said goodbye to my favorite city.

If you get a chance, definitely go. The staff were wonderful, the food was delicious, and the atmosphere was magical.

Went for a beef Sunday roast, the whole table had undercooked/overcooked beef which was pretty much inedible. Clearly not worth the price (which is expensive).
The service was also terrible, asked to pay before even ordering drinks (we had to stop the waitress otherwise we wouldn't had any).
Clearly an expensive restaurant with terrible food in a not-that-great place, you can pass on that one.

My favorite place in London! Great food and wine selection. Also say hello to the bar dog, Max!

This place is worth a long review, because its record of shabby amenities and surly customer service deserves to be documented at length. We wanted to like this place. On the surface, the decor is charming and it feels like a country pub. However, staff are incompetent, rude, unhelpful, inhospitable, and intrusive.

My husband and I had lunch at the Windmill's pub (which is part of the building) when we were staying with a friend in Clapham. The prices are a bit expensive by the standards of Clapham, so one might infer that the pub is a nice place with good food. We ordered two orders of ham, egg and chips and a pulled pork sandwich for our friend. One order of ham arrived ten minutes before the other, after which the third order arrived, which, instead of pulled pork, was another ham, egg and chips. We sent it back and requested that the correct order be brought out. 45 minutes later, nothing had come. I went up to the bar to check on it and was told, in essence, that the bar staff had miswritten the order as three orders of ham, and were confused as to why the third ham had been sent back...so they had done nothing and sent no one to check. After they finally brought the sandwich (we had waited to eat out of politeness, so our food had gotten cold), we asked if they could compensate us for the delay and the ruined lunch. The stone-faced barman said there was nothing they could do. He was, however, overheard by his manager, who finally came out to talk to us and blamed technological errors for his staff's incompetence and inattention to us. In the end he agreed to take the lunch off our bill.

We decided to give the place another chance when we came back through London at the end of July and booked a room at the hotel. We will never do so again.

The room was clean with pretty decor but had continuous a noise problem, as the room was near the front desk and the staff began talking loudly from 7 am onward. (There were almost certainly other rooms available, as well - the hotel was far from full.) The room was also actually quite run down. To a certain extent this is to be expected in a pub with rooms, but not in an inn that bills itself as an award-winning boutique hotel. The bathroom tiles were in need of replacement and the sealant in the shower had mold. The paint was chipped and scuffed in many places. The toilet did not flush properly. Again, this is to be expected in a pub where this is part of the allure, but in the bedrooms it just looks dingy.

The mattresses are rock-hard - they are so firm that if one sleeps on one's side one's shoulders ache in the morning.We were jetlagged and the noise factor and rock-hard mattresses didn't help - so we did not sleep well.

Housekeeping only runs from about 9 to 1. This would be alright (although not entirely helpful if one is napping due to the aforementioned jetlag or trying to get some work done), but the staff's response to a "Do Not Disturb" sign hung on the door is to call from the front desk into the room (which defeats the purpose - and the telephones ring with an ear-piercing screech). They did this twice.

But the biggest issue is a combination of annoyance and rudeness. The hotel has a serious access problem. The main door is on the back of the building, adjoining the Common but on the far side from the main road. The door is locked at night, so if one is out late, the only way to get in is to walk all the way around the building and then ring a bell that calls the night manager, who answers after about the 5th ring. This is far from convenient.

As noted, though, the pub (which adjoins the ground floor and is accessible from it) is the easiest way in from the main road. On several occasions, we had a last round in the garden or were returning from a last round elsewhere, and the staff were finishing up inside, with the doors open and people moving in and out. It would have taken no effort for them to let us in (they knew who we were, and we had our keycards - and it's not as though the night manager at the far end was checking ID's at all). Instead they rudely shut the doors in our faces, citing "the rules" and forced us to walk around the building. Remember, these were the same staff who had initially expected us to pay for a ruined lunch. And they were quite nasty about it, giving us that dead-eyed stare that says "you are subhuman and I'm not helping you."

We pointed out to the night manager that this was rude and an inconvenience for us, and that it would have taken no effort on their part to make our lives easier or more pleasant, or to show kindness and hospitality instead of rudeness. He merely cited "the rules." I don't know about others, but I expect a bit more in the hospitality department. Their rules are more important than their guests' happiness.

All in all, the pretty decor and nice location do not make up for the fact that this place treats their guests like crap.

Stayed two nights at the Windmill and can report a clean, modern and spacious room where the only noise problem was the birdsong on the common in the early morning. Creates a country pub feel while still a short distance to Central London.

Pub is upbeat and welcoming and has a neighborhood vibe midday. Its proudly dog-friendly, which typically attracts the best people and drives the worst away.

Good range of beers and good coffee in the mornings. Didn't eat here, but have heard great things.

Only complaint was that the pub dog was on-leave and neglecting his welcoming duties while we were there.

I have been to this pub a few times - for casual drinks and for Sunday lunch - and each time it's been great. Most recently went there for Sunday Lunch with my family to celebrate my birthday. The 'conservatory' style area of the restaurant was great, as we had my little niece with us as well. The staff were friendly and very helpful. The food was spot on and the Roast portions were more than ample! Great location right on the Common.
Totally recommend this pub & restaurant. I hear there's a hotel upstairs too.

Great little place. Relaxed and cool atmosphere, friendly staff and a pub dog.

Lunch menu was great, highly recommend the fish finger sandwich (it's big, so consider not ordering the fries).

Breakfast was perfectly cooked, prompt and just the right amount.

This is a Bed and Breakfast and Pub that can boast what not a lot of such business's can - an impressive beer garden in the form of Clapham Common! Situated in the middle of sprawling green, this pub is quite expensive but its worth the extra few quid; especially in the summer months when you can take your plastic jugs of Pimms out onto the common and enjoy whilst basking in the sunshine. There is a huge wide-screen TV that shows sporting highlights - i particularly enjoyed watching the Wimbledon final here last summer. There is a food menu that serves decent standard pub-grub for around £8 a meal. Highly recommended in the summer.