A few doors along from Eltham ‘spoons, yet a million miles way in practically every sense except that they both sell beer. Granted, it has a few nailed on (in some cases literally) craft pub clichés: pump clip badges, white tiles, some kind of artisan pork pie offering under a glass cake display and a … More The Rusty Bucket, Eltham, SE9
It’s hard not to like The Gowlett. Hard, that is, unless you’re the clown of a neighbour who moved into the vicinity and promptly started moaning about the noise, a move that threatened the pub’s future. Such entitled cretins need to be summarily issued with a compulsory purchase order and shipped out to Frinton-on-Sea or … More The Gowlett, Peckham, SE15
OK, this is not a pub. Definitely not. No. But a shop that sells beer, chilli sauces and vinyl records (hence the name) would have to be doing something extraordinarily bad to not make the cut in this book. That you can buy bottles and cans to drink on the premises seals it. It’s not … More Hop, Burns and Black, Peckham, SE15
What was once – and on this evidence I suspect still is – dubbed the Sloaney Pony has unashamedly moved with the times and embraced the so-called craft beer revolution. That this development boosts the appeal of a previously unvisitable place is undeniable. Because despite the presence of types who think it’s acceptable to wear … More The White Horse, Parsons Green, SW6
An excellent example of how mild gentrification of a once-terrifying boozer can work. When it’s done with a modicum of effort and respect for what a pub should be. Described erroneously by search engines as a gastropub, on the surface this place shouldn’t really work. Wood is everywhere, from the walls and the tables to … More The Old Nun’s Head, Nunhead, SE15
Well, if there was ever a place that has been buggered royally and uncompromisingly with the thick end of the cruddy fashionista pole wielded by Peckham’s nouveau arrivistes, this is it. In fairness, there wasn’t much about the place before Foxton’s cold, dead shark eyes glanced upon this verdant triangle of south east London and … More The Rye, Peckham Rye, SE15
On the face of it, this unassuming corner shop on what’s trying desperately to be a village green looks for all the world like a chancer’s paradise. You can take your craft beer bingo card in here and shout ‘house’ before you’ve even got to the bar which, given this is a micropub, is not … More The Beer Shop, Nunhead Green, SE15
Glowing like a welcome campfire in the cold, harsh forest of Southwark, The Lord Clyde is a pub of such undeniable charm and good nature that I’ve never seen fit to question its rather unimaginative selection of beers. That there are always four or five on offer and all excellently kept seems more important and … More The Lord Clyde, Borough, SE1
Judging by the hue of the wallpaper, a place untouched at least since the smoking ban came into force and one that trades hard on its riverside situ and rich seafaring heritage. There are more artefacts of a nautical bent than you could shake a boom at, rubbing maritime shoulders with quasi-highbrow stencilled quotes about … More The Mayflower, Rotherhithe, SE16
