The Leigham Well is Streatham’s revived neighbourhood pub – with a Caribbean Sunday roast – Southwark News

A South London couple have taken over a new neighbourhood pub and built the second-biggest beer garden in Streatham with pints under £6 – and got engaged on their opening night, writes Romilly Schulte…

William Baker and Ellahe Azad, now to-be-married, moved into The Leigham Well on the residential Wellfield Road back in February to get to know regulars, before reopening after a complete refurbishment.

After building a kitchen and a new garden with screens for the football, the pair are working with chef Carniel Levy to serve up classic pub fare with a Caribbean flair.

The site has been a boozer for decades, and the pair hope to keep its regular clientele as well as getting in families and young people.

They said: “We wanted to make a place for everybody: we still have the same regulars that we had before, all the old boys still come here.

“But we have everybody coming in; it’s a nice mix and a good reflection of Streatham.

“We did not want to alienate the regulars. The place had looked the same for decades, so when I said I wanted to paint the place green, they were a bit: ‘what?’

“And they are all really happy with it.”

The pub’s new owners have a strong hospitality background: they managed a Holloway pub, taking sales from £5k to £20k in a week, before looking for a spot to run themselves.

“I’m from Streatham, my mum lives three roads down. I came to this pub 15 years ago with my friends. I always thought it was a great pub, but it needed a bit of love and life. We lived together here for seven years,” said Ella.

The pair have been pouring pints of Timothy Taylor, Gamma Ray and Brixton IPA in the new refurb since March. Now they are launching a new cocktail list for the summer months.

Alongside the classics, they are promising jugs of sangria and “Streatham” spritzes – made with the Caribbean hibiscus and ginger drink called sorrel.

Their new chef Carniel, also from Streatham, has been in the cooking business for 22 years and specialises in modern Caribbean cuisine.

He said: “We want to offer easy bites with a Caribbean influence. It’s super hot right now, so nothing too heavy.

“In the winter, we’re introducing Caribbean pub classics. For instance fish and chips, but using red snapper, and the tartare is mango and scotch bonnet.”

Currently, Carniel is serving up plates like ackee and salt cod arancini, double smash burgers and jerk chicken roti, as well as West Indian-style roasts on a Sunday – think pimento and thyme beef with stout sticky toffee pudding for dessert.

The team also collaborate with Bravi Ragazzi down the road, so punters can order their Neapolitan pizzas to the pub, which has been heralded as one of London’s best pizza spots.

“We’re clearly a pub, and we’re not trying to not be a pub. But there’s an element of trying to target younger people, young families, and those who are young at heart – not particularly one age range,” said Will.

“There’s a lot of young professionals moving in and people having their first kids. Nobody would come in here because they didn’t know if it was family friendly, or dog friendly,” he added: both dogs and children are welcome at the Leigham!

With a 1am license at weekends, they are keen to get a lineup of events going this summer with Monday movie nights and live music in the works. They are also continuing the ever-popular Thursday night pub quiz, which has been ongoing for years.

With bottles of house wine currently at £22, pints from £5.90 and non-alcoholic lager on tap, this neighbourhood pub is one to watch this summer.