The Ship

It's not often that Gastroboy can be persuaded to travel as far as Wandsworth. Free tickets to Twickenham to see England play South Africa will help. So too will the prospect of a visit to The Ship, on Jews Row, although only slightly because The Ship, much like yesterday's rugby match, was fairly average and salvaged as an experience mainly by it's location.

The Ship is situated off an enormous roundabout, behind a McDonald's in the middle of a transport and industrial complex, which doesn't sound very promising. However, all that crap is largely abandoned on a Saturday, insulating the pub from the 'hustle and bustle' of London. Plus it is also on the banks of the Thames and has a large conservatory patio area over looking the river - excellent in the summer. All good so far.

Inside is a fairly standard gastro by numbers effort. Wood floors and paisley patterns on the seat covers. The menu is equally predictable - Should I have the swordfish steak or the 9.95 gastroburger? However, there's a lack of pretension (by gastro standards) here that's quite refreshing. Bread and olives came with butter in little foil packs. The burger is just an 'Angus beef burger' not a '21 day aged...', and when gastroboy ordered it, no-one enquired as to how he would 'like it done'.

And actually, it was a pretty good burger. No ridiculous trimmings or fillers. Just a tasty, herby butcher's burger served with excellently light and fluffy fries. Apparently the sausage and mash was ok too.

The pub also has a posher, restaurant bit, which serves the same food but with pre-set tables and an encouragement towards the promisingly extensive (and expensive) wine list.

Not much more to say about this one. Definitely not worth crossing the river for, let alone taking the Wimbledon branch of the District Line. But if you find yourself near Wandsworth Bridge and in need of a pint of Star you could do a lot worse.