194 Balham High Road,
Balham,
London,
SW12 9BP
(020) 8673 0535
The ViewLondon Review
Wetherspoons pubs are so recession friendly they’ve almost gone full circle and become fashionable…almost. Moon Under Water keeps to the cheap and cheerful(ish) formula.
The Venue
Moon Under Water is blue. Very blue. It’s exterior is so blue, in fact, that you will possibly need sunglasses to look directly at it. Still, it certainly gets noticed. Inside, it’s the same old Wetherspoons that you get on almost every high street in the UK. A large wooden bar with lots of draught pumps, a God-awful carpet with stains that can barely be told apart from the haphazard pattern and lots of sticky wooden tables and chairs. Still, it does have that Wetherspoons charm where you instantly know that you’re going to enjoy a very cheap night out. And that’s priceless at the moment.
The Atmosphere
In the day and early evening the Moon Under Water is a little sad. Old men prop up the bar as they drink pint after pint of ale and it’s a bit flat - the atmosphere not the ale - with subtitled news on the TVs making things even more sombre. However, come 5.30pm and beyond things liven up as a younger crowd take over and the banter is audible and far more cheerful.
The Food
OK, so a bacon cheeseburger with fries is likely to set your arteries to stone within 5 minutes of consumption but hey, for just over a fiver for dinner it’s kind of worth it. The burger may be a little overcooked, the bap a little soggy and the bacon borderline chewy but it fills a hole. Same goes for the rest of the Moon Under Water menu where quality is overlooked and the price is key. Thankfully, the beer is much better...
The Drink
As well as a strong lager choice that includes Carlsberg, Amstel, Kronenbourg, Stella and Guinness among others, the real jewel in the crown of Moon Under Water is the ale selection, with the Wetherspoons chain priding itself on its CAMRA accredited status. Greene King ales make a big appearance on the taps with Pedigree and Deuchars IPA both regulars. However, every quarter the ale taps rotate to cover over 50 UK-produced real ales varying in strength and character. This has made Wetherspoons more than just another value chain.
The Last Word
Moon Under Water may not be the prettiest pub. It may not be the most exciting pub. And it definitely isn't the most sophisticated pub. However, it is certainly one of the cheapest and it’s easy to see why it continues to pull in a crowd.
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