An early exponent of the gastropub ethos, Fire Stables took the area by storm more than a decade ago and still has plenty of supporters. There’s a big bar with Young’s Bitter and Bombardier on
tap, and an equally impressive wine list full of vintages that suit the moneyed inhabitants of Wimbledon Village. Ladies who lunch and gents who no longer need to work populate the premises
during the day; at night, a slightly younger crowd joins them. Food from the open kitchen is less ground-breaking than it once seemed to be, but the likes of beef carpaccio with olive tapenade
and tomato crisp, or seared salmon with crayfish and watercress salad, are still crowd pleasers: properly cooked, nicely presented and, for the target market, just the ticket.