Half Moon

If the steak hadn’t been so good the score might have been a bit lower, as we had just missed the BBQ (so no burgers, pulled pork or brisket) just before 9pm, so only 2 other options were left (chicken or salmon) or the special (steak).
The steak was served with garlic butter & hand cut chips & the my dining partner had the salmon. He enjoyed the salmon & I enjoyed my lively garlicy steak.
For drinking I had the rum punch, it certainly packed a punch. I could taste the rum along with citrus and flavours I couldn’t identify, but still tasty.
I loved the quirky surroundings and there was even a big on in the adjacent room. There was even board games for those in a group looking for some other type of entertainment.

We came for a bite to eat before a gig. We checked the menu and it sounded very nice.
The good points.
Presentation was good.
The décor & ambience is relaxing and welcoming.
Veg is fresh and well prepped.
The bad points.
The Yorkshire puddings had dried to worse than a crunch. I swear if I’d hit the plate hard enough with it the plate would had smashed. The roast potatoes were heading in the same direction. Getting onto a quarter of the beef was gristle or fat. We asked the waitress to mention these points to the chef, everyone can have a bad day & deserve the chance to put things right. We doubt the message was relayed and there was no hint of an apology.
We ordered a cheese plate, two of the three cheeses had sweated to the point of drying out and were bland at best. It came without the celery or even cutlery.
The service — the person I was with finished before I did and their plate was cleared before I had finished.
The place is trading on its musical heritage — and to be fair as a live music pub it does a good job, but please don’t be fooled by the well written menu, it’s by far and a way the best thing about the food. Reality will leave you very disappointed and much lighter in the pocket.

The buffalo chicken wings… Phwaaaooor, best I’ve ever had!
Only gets 2 stars because chef decided to close the kitchen early (at 9:15) and left a number of our party stranded without food

Anyone who says they prefer they old Half Moon is having a right laugh. It was a Youngs pub that Youngs didnt have a clue what to do with because it had too much character, and wasn’t regularly filled with OAPs with leaking piss bags. The new Half Moon is a proper modern pub with some decent beers on tap and the music venue has a new sound system. Big Dave would like to see a proper band like Kasabian down there but thats not going to happen so he’ll settle for some decent ale and a gander at some posh Richards instead.

Great food and great music.

Dont go there for a beer in the bar very rough. You go there for its No1 music venue in the function room at the rear. Decades of musical tradition here with something different on most nights. All previous reviews have said it all
Rock on

If you review this venue as only a bar you would get a low score, it’s not the nicest looking place ever.
However it’s superb as a live venue, it affordable in terms of entry fee, drink and food price and whilst the drink selection is limited, the food is great quality and you get a lot for your money.
This is a wonderful place to go to see live music and has a great atmosphere in the evening.

Only giving 1 star as there is no option to give no stars.
Avoid this place like the plague. It is a horrible, dirty, scummy pub.
The clientele is rough and that’s me trying to be nice. All of the chavs from Roehampton tend to crawl up here. Avoid, Avoid, Avoid!!!

Really good pub for live music and a humming atmosphere. A tad short on seating but lots of space to stand when it’s really busy. Staff are lovely and friendly. Food is also apparently much better since it was done up. The décor was much more old manish when I used to go there, but now it is more young and in tone with it’s live music status.

Great pub and well known for the musicians who have played here over the years, the walls are full of photos. We saw a band here last night who are just starting out. There was four bands all up and its so cool that in the future these guys can have their own photos up on the walls next to The Rolling Stones and U2. Apparently everyone who is anyone has played here in the past. Now its the cover bands playing like The Rolling Stoned (seeing them for the third time). The staff are friendly, Theres a jukebox which always seems to be out of order. Big beer garden. The band cant be heard if your in the main bar but when you go through to the other side its loud and all happening (music wise). Its not too big either which makes for a good venue. So much goes on here, I recommend looking it up for whats on.

A live music pub with decades of musical history that Young’s wanted to urinate all over by turning it into a gastro pub. This would have been a real shame (and not just because gastro pubs in general suck!) and I salute their recent success in motivating their public to help keep them open as they are.
I did like the look of this pub when I visited a few weeks ago and I enjoyed my pint of ‘Special’, however I expect a pint of ‘Bloody Special’ when I pay £3.44 for it. Surely when they are charging that much for a pint they can afford to stick a couple of coins in the leccie meter? The pub was only a shade warmer than outside. The fact that all the other customers were wearing their coats reassured me that I wasn’t having a funny turn or something.

I agree, this place is massively under rated. If you like quality live music in a venue with a chilled out vibe and lots of seating, including squishy sofas, this place is for you. Think the front end of the pub also does regular quiz nights but my general knowledge is pretty rubbish so this doesn’t appeal. It’s just a bit out of the way for me so I dock a star. If I was a local i would be there all the time.

Can’t believe I’m the first one to review this place!
«But Paul, why would i want to go to Putney?» I hear you cry. «Isn’t that. south of the river?»
Well, only just.
The Half Moon is one of the most historic Rock n’ Roll venues in London, the fact it’s a lovely pub run by friendly people who love what they do and the London music scene is arbitrary, EVERYONE has played here! I will go through a list of some of the greats in a moment, all their pictures can be seen adorning the walls of the front bar anyway and I could easily lose an hour perusing them.
We were invited to play on the Monday acoustic session in the back room (that’s where the magic happens), these affairs usually consist of a series of dirgey maudlin singer/​songwriters (and a minimal crowd) playing their slow open chords and whining about how expensive self harming has become (or something, I tend to zone out).
The night at the Half Moon however, has some really choice musicians and a back log of 200 or so vying to get their 10 minutes on «that» stage. The crowd are attentive and not in the least bit sparse, coupled with the best sound system I’ve ever played on this place easily gets and deserves its 5 stars.
Now, on to the needless name dropping, these are some of the people who’ve played there:
Billy Bragg
Bo Diddly
The Crickets
Dr Hook
Dire Straits
Dr Feelgood
Elvis Costello
Fairport Convention
John Martyn
John Otway
Kate Bush
KD Lang
Leo Sayer
Nick Cave
Peter Frampton
Ralph McTell
Roger Waters
The Rolling Stones (hell yeah!!)
Rayguns Look Real Enough (*cough* who?)
U2
Van Morrison
The Who
yep… been on the same stage as Jagger, don’t get that in Hoxton!

Considering how much I love music and the many years I have lived in London, it is surprising it has taken me this long to make my way to the Half Moon! It is as famous as the bands who played here. On this occasion we went to see Nick Harper who is a bit of a regular. The venue is perfect for this type of more intimate gig.
I don’t think I would come back just for a drink, even though the choice of drinks is decent and the staff very friendly and efficient. But I’ll definitely be looking out for future performances — there’s just not enough places like this left in London.

I have visited this pub on several occasions to see the Strawbs perform. This is a rightly famous live music venue, recently refurbed (or refreshed, really).
It has a dedicated live music area behind closed doors complete with its own bar and stage. This is fortunate, as they do charge for their gigs (for the Strawbs around £12 usually). The room is dark and a tadge stuffy, but fits around 100 people, I’d guess, standing.
The bar is big and serves a selection of real ales, lagers, wines and spirits, and the real ale selection is reasonable. The bar is large, and has three sides of serving area, therefore, so long as they have enough staff on, service is quick.
There is a paved ‘garden’ /​smoking area in the back. The pub boasts wooden floors and enormously high ceilings.
This is a good music venue, though I can’t really see myself going out of my way (as I would have to) to visit otherwise.

This pub enjoys wide fame, and it’s easy to see why. The whole establishment is divided into two sections the bar section and the live music section. The atmosphere in the bar room is humble and wooden it feels like you’ve stepped into a very large country pub. The live music area, while smaller than typical venues, has an air of intimacy about it. Stadium rock bands would bypass this venue, while local acts flock to play on the same stage bands like The Rolling Stones, Kate Bush and Imogen Heap and have played on.

I have only been here once but can’t wait to get back it is a funky set up with great music. It is a live music venue and they seem to have created the perfect environment for it. the website is worth a look for checking out future bands
most of them seem to be cover bands but they are great for a dance. There is a back room section and the front bar so you can have a break from the music in the bar area