Built for Watney in 1931 and now Grade II-listed, this remarkable community pub and performance venue no longer has a separate public bar but includes a round theatre with a gallery as well as spacious function rooms/performance space on two upper floors. well known for comedy (photographs of many acts from their early days at the Bedford are in the lobby on the way to upstairs venue) For six years it has hosted the London Folkfest in June, followed in 2016 by the Balham Literary Festival and then the Balham Comedy Festival.

The pub was acquired in May 2017 by Three Cheers Pub Co (formerly Renaissance Pubs) as their eighth South London venue, and part of a new Six Cheers 'managed expert' partnership with Enterprise, retaining its emphasis on live music and comedy. It reopened after major refurbishment late in 2018 and a more light tough refurbishment in the mid 2020s.

Generally 2 or 3 beers on rotation often Doom Bar or Taylor Landlord, and often Sambrook's.