The Goat

Best friggin’ fish and chips I’ve had in these lands. Seldom do I get excited about something so mundane, but I’m convinced we’re talking about a special batter recipe here.
And take your Bloody Mary up a notch — ask the bar keep to make it extra spicy and watch your colon explode.

I went here for Sunday lunch and chose the Pork roast. It was lovely. Pork with just the right amount of crackle, beautiful potatoes and a side of really creamy cauliflower cheese. They also had a good range of ales and lagers. The downsides, it was a little overpriced, and the toilets were pretty disgusting.

I’m wondering if these guys have sorted out their kitchen given the reviews that have gone before me…
Had a beef roast there on Sunday and it was fantastic. Meat cooked perfectly and just the right portion size (I did get two Yorkshire puddings which was a bit odd so left one on the plate).
Had a bite of the pork roast as well and it tasted just as lovely with great crackling.
It wasn’t the best roast I have ever had but it was certainly wasn’t the worst by a long shot either. I would happily go again.

While some of the other reviews aren’t especially fond of The Goat, I can only comment on my nice experience. We stopped by on a sunny Sunday afternoon where we easily found a seat by the window and open door to enjoy a drink. The staff were friendly enough and the space is huuuge. Haven’t tried it for food or even nibbles or attempted a busier nighttime visit, but on a weekend afternoon it was lovely.

Jobsworth bouncer will not let you in if you have any food products including just a banana in your bag, this is not just a one off, he has also refused a pot of hummus and empty bottle of water. It’s an annoyance and he seems to take a lot of pleasure in doing it. The bars good, but the restaurant is basic and equivalent to a pricy low end Weatherspoons. They need to scrap the restaurant and get rid of the useless bouncers.

The Goat is a pretty dependable yet unspectacular pub typical for Clapham: Plenty of seating, okay food, a reasonable choice of beer and an increasingly common (for areas like Clapham) mixed interior of trendy wallpaper, painted walls and pictures.
The food is the usual pub fare, centering around burgers. The beer is comprised of the standard lagers, some good ales (e.g. Doombar) and a welcome small range of craft beer e.g. Goose Island. Service is good enough.
So: pleasant enough, but there are better places for food, beer and more not far away.

i like goats. i liked the interior of this pub, i thought it was pretty nice. i went on a busy saturday night which probably isn’t the best time to judge a bar — i like to be able to sit down and chat with the people i’m with, but it wasn’t very easy to do that in here because it was very noisy… and full of men basically. the bouncer on the door was also SUPER SERIOUS and really quite stressy — could definitely have done without him!
i liked that there were pictures of goats everywhere, and that they serve edamame as a bar snack (we didn’t get any but i like it as a concept, edamame is my favourite — more bars should serve it as a snack!)
i may come back here if i’m in the area to check it out at a less busy time and see what it is really made of

I popped in for a quick drink, like the look of the place, and am giving it four stars as they have Fever Tree tonic, for my gin, perfect. Plus the bar staff were friendly and quick.

The goat has recently been refurbed and it looks like they’re putting serious thought into their food now too. There’s a separate area upstairs for dining which is good as it gets you out of the hurly burly of the pub bit. Sadly the service was slow and not very on the ball, we waited 20 min for them to take our food order and if you didn’t remember to ask for things (steak knife/​ketchup) whilst the waiter was putting the food down then you had no chance of getting them later as the waiters were adept at avoiding eye contact. But the food, once we eventually got it it was good. I had a lovely tender rib eye steak that was done perfectly medium just the way I like it, and chips with a hint of rosemary. My friend had the pigeon which was also very good and quite adventerous for a pub, I thought. So in short I would come back for the food but not a place to come if you’re in a rush and want a quick bite.

I’ve been to The Goat in Clapham Junction twice, once for lunch and once for drinks, both times I found it had a very friendly atmosphere and was big enough to usually guarantee a seat, especially in the upstairs. It’s a typical English pub with a typically matching menu of fish and chips, burgers, lasagne, and all the other artery clogging delicacies which you would expect. With a menu like that it would be hard for the food to stand out, but it is nice. The one thing that does make this place stand out is the staff, they are extremely friendly and always on hand to make helpful suggestions, such as putting some sort of spice in my lemonade and lime, which was very tasty. All in all, its one of those places where you go to have a catch up with friends or to nurse a hangover on a weekend. Not exceptional, but a nice, quiet (in the day), local pub. The fact I’ve used the word ‘nice’ several times, says it all, its not anything special but its … ‘nice’!

The Goat was stage 2 of a crawl around Clapham the day after New Years Day. It was surprisingly busy but the atmosphere was welcome.
Having already eaten (at The Merchant up the road — well worth checking out for food) I was only sampling The Goats selection of wine/​beer/​spirits and fizz. All of which were adequate and the Prosecco was very reasonably priced.
We enjoyed quite a lively evening in The Goat. A couple of the group had some food and I notice the plates sat on our table all night. At one point a drink was knocked over, which we cleaned up ourselves and by the end of the evening there were enough glasses and bottles to start a recycling plant but no sign of any staff ready to clear them away.
One of the group, a male, was at the bar for quite some time waiting to be served and at one point was flanked either side by a blonde female, both arrived at the bar after him but both served before him so the service wasn’t great but he eventually arrived with our drinks!

Absolutely rubbish. Food took ages, came on a dirty plate. Steak was like leather and sparce. Sandwich not as described.

A pub, nothing special. I like good pubs and this really isn’t one of them. Not really for me, it has a vibe of being a bit of a chainperhaps because it is part of one?

We stumbled upon this pub on a Saturday evening. I had heard of it before but had never found it or been there. The downstairs section is the bar with the top section a restaurant. The clientelle are young professionals and there are lots of tables and couches to sit at.
As another reviewer has mentioned getting served was a nightmare. Once all the tables are taken people have no option but to stand at the bar so initially its difficult to get to it, but once there it took ages to be served. more staff are definately needed.
The guy who served us got the glass of wine wrong and was not happy when I pointed it out. My beer was okay. It is also very noisy in there but being a Saturday evening thats expected. Did not eat there but the menu looked okay. Not sure I would return based on the experience I had.

I had heard a lot of good things about this place before I visited. While I still had a great night with my friends there were a few negatives. They got our food order wrong and didn’t automatically offer to change it or refund us when we complained. The place got very busy and getting a drink from the bar was pretty much impossible. The music was also far too loud for what is essentially supposed to be a pub. All in all I won’t be rushing back but it’s not that bad.

I pretty much moved to the area based on a couple of drinks in The Goat — way back in the dark winter of 2008 it had a good feel to the place, the beer selection was interesting and the staff were welcoming.
Since then it just gets worse and worse (and worse still). Each time I’ve eaten there I’ve been hugely disappointed* with the service and the quality. I have eaten cold roasts, stale bread and possibly the worst bacon sandwich to ever leave a professional kitchen.
And the barstaff Well, if you can find one when it’s busy you’re a lucky man, but let’s assume that you’ve patiently waited until the poor soul behind the bar has tended the two dozen media-​planners and trainee solicitors that are vying for his attention and you’ve actually managed to order a drink — what’s the service like then? True story: last time I went in I ordered a couple of ciders, chap goes off and puts some ice in the glasses and comes back. He fills one of the pints, moves on to the second which gets half filled — the tap runs dry. He looks at us for a bit, we look at him and then he grabs a two fistfuls of ice and tops the pint up that way — then he tried to charge us for two pints.
Anyway, it’s a terrible place that could be so much better — it used to be so much better. Put on some more staff behind the bar (and lose the ones who don’t care about the customers) and sort out the kitchens and you’ve got a decent little bar. Right now I can’t think of a single reason to go there.
*Why did I go back? Well it’s near and I really want it to have improved. You have to give a goat a second or third chance.

What a lovely relaxing retreat off of Clapham Junction. You can enter this pub on a Saturday afternoon out of the hustle and bustle of the shops and be greeted by big comfy sofas and an air of calm. When I visited there were plenty of people enjoying a drink but because of the spaciousness inside means that you can relax without feeling surrounded by crowds of people. They serve yummy light bites too if you are feeling a little peckish.