The Rocket

A big ol’ ‘Spoons on the river right by Putney bridge. A great spot to stop for a nice drink during a riverside walk on a sunny day. Inside it’s needing a bit of love, but you can’t beat the large amount of outdoor space!

I am a fan of a pint outside on sunny days, especially as «pit stops» on one of our favourite walks: the Thames path; West from Battersea bridge. There are numerous pubs en route, and this one in Putney has two slight advantages over its neighbour (The Boathouse). First, it has a larger outdoor seating area. Secondly, it is a Wetherspoons, so is decidedly cheaper!
Indoors is interesting; it seems like it will be large but there are a lot of walled areas — probably great if you want a conversation, but not so much when it’s crowded at the weekend. Still, the staff are excellent — as quick as they can be, good at remembering who is next, and chatty.
Otherwise it is fairly standard Wetherspoons fare; huge beer selection at varying prices, basic pub grub, etc. But for the sheer fact that you stand a good chance of enjoying a river view outside on a summer’s day, this is one of my favourites.

Everytime I think about this place I end up thinking of Anchorman. OK, bear with me for a TENUOUS connection. Anchorman sing Afternoon Delight, which has the line ‘Sky rocket’s in flight.’ And since I live both Anchorman and this place, it seems only natural to associate them… right?! Maybe that’s more of an insight into my strange thought pattern that I would like, but hey ho.
This place however, was for 12 wonderful months my hangover delight. Saturday/​Sunday morning, hungover from a night out we would stumble into this place — wholesome filling food (all day breakfast, burgers, sandwiches) would satisfy us whilst we either basked in a warm gastro pub environment which was decorated REALLY well — nothing says goodbye hangover than a burger, a coke and a chesterfield sofa. YES PLEASE.
Or, if it was summer, we would sit outside and complain that it was too bright with the sun reflecting of the river just beneath us. That and get sunburnt because around there was always a little sun trap.
Either way, hats off to this place. Decent pub grub at Wetherspoons prices, but a place that made you feel that little bit sophisticated than a greasy spoon. Shame I live so far away now, definitely can’t find a place this good for hangovers since!

The Rocket is tucked away behind St. Mary’s Church in Putney and almost hidden away from the road. That being said, it doesn’t stop the locals from crowding in and it was well packed on the Saturday night when Yee Gan and I visited. As far as pubs go, it’s spacious, well lit, and has plenty of seating, and even has some character which is rare for a ‘Spoons. Yes, sadly it is a Weatherspoon’s pub but think of the good elements — cheaper drinks, standard menu, and plenty of staff. It’s a good place for a drink if you want to relax, catch up with friends, or kill some time with a book.
We were down in this neck of the woods as Hannah W was playing in the Wandsworth Symphony which rehearses and performs in St. Mary’s. The concert was excellent and we were invited to join some of the musicians and their families for a drink or two at the Rocket. I’ve got to say, it was a first to walk in to a pub and see a pile of orchestra level instruments in the corner and a host of black tie dressed people milling around. You’d be forgiven for thinking you’d walked into the wrong place, but no that’s just typical for the Rocket once a month.
I won’t bother going through available drinks and prices, you all know what to expect. I will say the staff are very friendly and quick to serve up a drink which makes for very short waits. Jaegerbombs are made with Monster rather than RedBull — but let’s be honest, no one really cares what is in it as long as the effect is the same. Hannah’s dad seemed quite intrigued by the drink and I was happy to explain the intricacies of setting up a jaeger train (which we didn’t do, in case you were wondering).
Overall, a great place for a post-​concert drink and a very welcoming pub in Putney.

Andrew M and I had the privilege to attend a concert by the Wandsworth Symphony orchestra at the weekend, in which Hannah W played the viola.
We then had the even greater privilege of joining a load of the orchestra and their friends and family for a drink at The Rocket afterwards. I suspect its proximity to St Mary’s church which is where the concert was held and where the orchestra rehearse makes it a regular haunt for thirsty classical musicians!
A typical well designed and managed Wetherspoon pub, it had a decent range of libations from wine to Jagerbombs! They coped well with being inundated by a troupe of musicians and their instruments as well as their entourage
A nice venue for a post concert drink and discussion as to how variation F played by the violas from The Young Perons’s Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten was the best performance of the night!

This is my regular post-​orchestra drinking spot where those of us not rushing home on a school night sojourn for some post practice refreshment (although admittedly the choice of venue is in large part due to it being less than a 30 second walk from the rehearsal location).
There also seems to be an offer on bottles of wine on a mid-​week evening — I’m not 100% sure what it is but have a vague notion it’s something like any bottle for the same price as the house wine. It’s not obviously advertised, so if you find yourself in there it’s worth enquiring.
All in all it seems a perfectly decent pub with efficient bar service and a fair amount of space (a necessity if you happen to be accompanied by a significant number and variety of string/​brass instruments).
It’s reasonably busy with drinkers and diners and from what I’ve seen, the food looks okay, and there’s a good hum of atmosphere.

A really nice, clean Wetherspoon. The location is great as it’s right on the waterfront and the drinks were not expensive.
Some friends were happy with the Sunday roast they ordered, which looked and smelled delicious.

Gone downhill from last year. What was once a more superior branch of wetherspoons with great gastronomic qualities and nice décor and great service. I don’t know what’s happened to it now but the food was shit, they didn’t have chips on a Sunday (!!) which altered our order entirely considering not many people want a side jacket potato with a burger! The staff was slow, rude and after waiting 20 mins for our plates to be cleared we gave up and moved them to a neighbouring table (which were still there when we left). Cannot begin to describe how downhill this place has gone.
What was once a favourite cheap, pleasant family eating place is now somewhere we won’t be revisiting again. zzaDw

Unlike most Wetherspoons pubs, this pub feels quite classy rather than seedy and franchised.
It’s in a good location near to the river and if seated inside you can usually have table service.
The food is good value for money and quite good quality and the décor is much more up market than pubs in this chain.
However it is slightly more expensive than most Wetherspoons pubs I have been to although this might just be my impression rather than reality.
As always with this chain, drinks are cheap and there is a large selection.
This is actually a rather nice pub to visit whilst it doesn’t have as much history as other pubs in the area, it’s definitely much better than a lot of them!

I just wanted pie and chips and a pint.
The food was ok but nothing special. Service was good enough as was teh beer.
It cost half of what Carluccio’s (next door) would cost and adequate.

Popped in here for a quick ale and bag of nuts last Sunday evening.
It’s one of the modern brand of Wetherspoon’s — not quite a Lloyds but better appointed than those in the original mold. Well priced as you’d expect from the chain and with the usual good amount of hand pull ales on offer as well as well stocked fridges. Friendly and prompt service too.

What a curious little pub this. Or rather not little at all. But large, sprawling and curiously laid out. And a Wetherspoons at that, although not really like any Wetherspoons I’ve ever been in before. This is a good thing. I think.
Wetherspoons don’t do gastropubs, but if they did, this would probably be a fair-​ish representation of what one would look like. The Rocket is nothing like the rough and ready Railway opposite the station. In fact, you doubt many of the drinkers from there would be comfortable in the Rocket. It’s sleek, posh and aimed squarely at the type of people who’d own a flat on the wharf. It even does table service.
It’s also strangely quiet and a little devoid of atmosphere, although the location on the edge of the Thames is very pretty indeed. I can imagine this would be a lovely place to drink in the summer if you can snaffle one of the outside tables.
And deep down at heart, the quintessential Wetherspoons aspects remain. The menu is very Wetherspoons, albeit a pound or two pricer than a standard JD pub (balanced by being a good few pounds cheaper than nearby pubs). There is a good selection of ales. Drinks are relatively cheap.
It’s difficult to know what to make of The Rocket, all told. It’s not a bad pub, although don’t go for a wild night out, or even a slightly more than mild night out. It just feels like it doesn’t quite know what it wants to be, hence the three star rating. It’s not bad, but not good and simply exists in a world of its own. A good place to take your parents, if you’re in need of food.