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Pub Review: Gipsy Moth

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Gipsy Moth
60 Greenwich Church St SE10 9BL

I’ve walked past this Greenwich institution many times but have always overlooked it, probably because from the ‘town’ side, the exterior is rather unpromising. It’s small, dark and has nothing to distinguish it from any other local pub (except perhaps having a name that sounds like more like a progressive folk band than the ship or insect it’s presumably named after). But I urge you to take a look inside because when I did, I liked it.

I imagine this was your average Moby Dick style tavern in its early days and the front bar is, again, small and dark in keeping with that. However, the Gipsy Moth has been extended out to a large seating area, with a much more open feel, that backs onto the twinkly beer garden. The art deco design, including teal stone chandeliers, is perhaps a little pretentious but it works, as the low lighting gives it a dingy edge that rescues it from being too clean cut.

The house specialty is cider and there’s a long list to choose from, including organic cider on tap. They also have Wheat Beer and Peroni on tap, with a few football lagers to cater for all tastes. The menu plays it fairly safe so most things come with chips, but there are a few more daring options such as duck quesadillas and lentil & spinach burgers. I went for the latter and was pleasantly surprised to find that it tasted of lentils and spinach – being vegetarian makes me a somewhat unwilling connoisseur of spinach and you would be surprised how rare this is. The burger was a bit of a beast so having soldiered through it I was too full for the puddings, but I did have a peek at the next table’s and it looked damn good.

Best of all, the bloke serving was very friendly and even indulged us with a bit of table service. It was really busy for a Monday (mostly couples, one arguing, which was very amusing) but the couple of guys on duty took it all in their stride and no one was neglected. The Gipsy Moth strikes the right balance between quality and casual and I would definitely go there again.

Gipsy Moth in Greenwich

Pub Review: Oliver’s Music Bar

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Oliver’s Music Bar
9 Nevada Street

You get the feeling that anything could happen in Oliver’s - and quite frequently does. This blink-and-you’ll-miss-it underground watering hole opposite Greenwich Theatre is best known amongst locals as a live music venue but it’s also an inviting, familiar bar with a lot of charisma and in my book, definitely worth a visit.

Descending the stairs into the cellar you arrive straight into the bar - you’ve already passed the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it ‘beer garden’ cunningly masquerading as a smoker’s lone picnic bench on the pavement outside. Snazzy this place is not, it’s pretty worn (but clean) and the walls painted a dull red that makes it seem smaller than it is. It’s also decidedly anti open-plan, preferring to remain as separate rooms that all have a distinct cubby feel. In fact it’s much like being in someone’s home - not in the fake quaint way that many pubs do by having frilly armchairs and painted plates, like some overgrown recreation of ‘The Borrowers’ – but more like someone just had a spare cellar that they had no use for, so they stuck a piano in it, got a few bottles of Newcastle Brown in, and called it a music bar.

Olivier the friendly proprietor mans the makeshift bar in keeping with the at-home feel. There’s nothing on tap but a fairly wide selection of bottles nonetheless, all under a somewhat questionable pricing arrangement: our two identical rounds cost different amounts, but then both amounts were reasonable so it was easy enough to laugh off.

There was a comedy night in progress in the main sitting area so we tentatively crept into the back row to check it out, trying to be inconspicuous - we failed, of course and were promptly named and shamed by the comedian who made us move to the front row. But we weren’t alone - over the course of the evening the spectators all became part of the weird comedy family, a no doubt unexpected turn for all concerned, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves anyway. In a further twist some mildly annoying heckling looked set to cause a mass riot at one point, but it all got settled very quickly by Olivier and a prudently placed piece of duct tape.

It’s hard to compare Oliver’s to anywhere else in Greenwich because it is completely unique, but therein lies its charm. We went expecting a quiet Monday night drink and we ended up gaining a few comedian friends and a few heckling mortal enemies, which you sense is all par for the course here. My advice is to go along and see where the evening takes you – from what I’ve seen it’s likely to be somewhere good.

Pub Review: The Vanbrugh

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The Vanbrugh
91, Colomb Street
SE10 9EZ

If ever there was an evening to go to the Vanbrugh, it’s a July evening in the middle of a Greenwich heat wave. As the weather makes a setting and the setting is what really makes The Vanbrugh, so regardless of some pretty significant shortfalls I enjoyed my time there.

Don’t be fooled by the poncey Flash website (show me a good Flash website and I’ll show you a flying beer barrel), the Vanbrugh has a decidedly laid-back atmosphere. It’s been sectioned off into a few distinct areas: there’s the rather forgettable small and dark bar area, outdone in size and style by both the large traditional garden and the permanent marquee that leads to it. Yep, marquee, and it’s bizarrely furnished with huge red Chesterfield sofas and matching lighting. It works though, as you feel more part of the garden than the pub, yet it’s cosy at the same time.

I am not without my gripes about The Vanbrugh, though. When I say it’s laid-back, I mean laid-back. The barmen look and act as though someone’s just shaken them out of a coma – not unfriendly, but somehow not all there. No real effort’s gone into the drinks or food selections either, which are indistinguishable from every other pub in the area. I rarely eat in pubs but I chanced it here and it didn’t stack up. It wasn’t dreadful, but the nachos were so stingily dressed that I may as well have turned up with my own bag of cheese Doritos, and the broccoli & cheese bake was strangely watery, with stodgy chips not tasting of much. Kudos for managing to go beyond soggy lettuce and onion in the side salad, but really if you have to rely on your side salad for a good review, it’s not a great sign.

Back to the plus side, The Vanbrugh is one of the busiest places I’d been to. Not wonderfully located next to the train tracks near Maze Hill station, one can only assume folks seek it out and it’s been recommended to me on many occasions, both of which speak volumes. Food and zombie barmen aside, it is certainly worth a visit for a nice place to just have a drink and be still for a while. Just make sure you don’t sink too far into those sofas, you might slip into a coma and be forced to join the staff there on a permanent basis…

Pub Review: Greenwich Park Bar & Kitchen

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The Greenwich Park Bar & Kitchen
1 King William Walk SE10 9JY

I wasn’t expecting a lot from this place. I was expecting a bland, chain-style tourist trap. Humble pie time I’m afraid: someone’s clearly put a lot of thought into the (new) new look Bar & Kitchen and has carved out a well-defined and satisfying niche.

The Bar & Kitchen wouldn’t be too out of place with an ‘EC’ postcode and a few Friday night suits, which is actually a refreshing change amongst the town’s raft of ‘local’ pubs with a posh edge (read Gastropubs). The décor is quite dark but stylish: some well-spaced wicker sofas and fairy lights at one end, and a formal dining area at the other.

Where the Union does Ales, the Bar & Kitchen does cocktails, with a list more extensive than the food menu. There’s also happy hour from Monday to Friday between 5pm and 7pm, where the cocktails are £3.95 rather than the usual £6 or £7 (cue happy suits and stilettos). The menu focuses on a few select dishes that presumably change regularly and I was intrigued to see Macaroni cheese on there; very random in June but it beats veggie lasagne any day.

The barman was friendly and took an interest in my unusual choice of vodka and apple juice with lime juice. Actually, what happened was he misheard me when I asked for cranberry juice but he made such an effort with the banter about me inventing a new cocktail, that I didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d made a mistake (plus I was secretly hoping “the Rosie” would make it onto the cocktail menu!). Other than that there was a wide selection of lagers and a few wines to choose from.

I don’t imagine anyone’s socks will be knocked off by a visit to the Bar & Kitchen, but it is a pretty little place with a clear agenda and that makes it a success as far as I’m concerned. Amidst a sea of local, country-ish pubs with real ale and pies, you need a few fairy lights and cocktails every so often, so if mojitos are your thing I’d say give this place a(nother) go.

Pub Review: Cutty Sark Tavern

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Cutty Sark Tavern

The Cutty Sark Tavern
4-7 Ballast Quay, SE10 9PD

I was hoping the Cutty Sark Tavern would be the 'green shoots' of my pub review feature, because having been somewhat scathing over the last couple of weeks I felt in need of a positive review to show the publicans and patrons of Greenwich that I've not become irrevocably mean. Well, thank goodness the Cutty Sark Tavern is a great pub, then.

The Cutty Sark Tavern dates from the 18th century and is a commanding, if slightly wonky, building on a lovely cobbled Georgian street in East Greenwich, with an awesome view of Canary Wharf and the river. Tucked away on the riverbank, the Cutty Sark Tavern is well off the tourist track so is a firm favourite with local professionals and I can see why.

The interior is a little Disney Moby Dick, but then the clue's in the name I suppose and though the nautical theme isn't exactly groundbreaking, the ships' wheels on the walls and customised barrels to sit on work well here. The low ceilings make it feel cosy but there's plenty of space and an imposing winding staircase taking you to the upstairs bar, where you can find some normal chairs if you want to eat. On a Wednesday evening The Cutty Sark Tavern wasn't packed, but I can imagine that it gets busy on warm days as the patio is on right the river, with a wall perfect for perching your pint on and watching the Thames Clippers go by.

The drinks selection is ale-focused and they have cloudy cider on tap, as well as a few football lagers. They're not exactly punching above their weight with the menu but it's fairly reasonably priced and they've given some consideration to the vegetarians, which always warrants a plus in my book. Best of all, the staff are great: a very friendly set of young gentlemen who know their drinks and I had a good bit of banter with our server over a game of dominos he'd set up at the bar. A bit random but entertaining nonetheless.

All in all I'd say this is a tavern well worth a visit and next time the sun is out of an evening I'll definitely be heading there again. Happy Rosie is back - anchors away!

Pub Review: Lord Hood

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Lord Hood
300 Creek Road SE10 9SW

Back in 2005-06 there was a local campaign to ‘Save the Hood’ when its existence was threatened by council plans for redevelopment. According to its website, the pub’s patrons won out with some stellar arguments about its being 200 years old, “friendly to women” and “not a wine bar”. With that kind of progressive thinking how could the council bring in the JCBs, right? Unfortunately for the Lord Hood, I can’t find much to savour in its salvation.

To start with the positive, the exterior is actually rather promising. Nothing flashy but with an old town house pub look and a bit of greenery it looks like a welcoming, unpretentious sort of place. However, there’s a line between ‘unpretentious’ and ‘not trying at all’, and once you get inside you realise that this place has long since crossed that line. It has the shabby red velvet and dark wooden bar stool thing going on, with a dartboard and pool table, but it all looks like no-one’s touched (read: cleaned) anything for 20 years +.

We got a few good hard stares from the locals when entering; they were about 6 in number and made up the entire clientele. The Internet buzz about this place is that it’s all about the Live Music - especially jazz and folk - but thank goodness for beardy musicians because there was little sign of the 60 people who apparently attended the ‘Save the Hood’ meetings and I wonder how this pub would survive otherwise.

The service was a little unfriendly and the barmaid seemed pretty put out when we asked what selection of ciders they had – Magners and Strongbow, which is pretty indicative of the average drinks selection. The beer garden doesn’t add much either: perhaps I was too harsh on the Pilot Inn, as the Lord Hood’s concrete patio slab adjacent to the main road certainly made me wish I were back at GMV.

I acknowledge that the Live Music here can be a huge draw for many and that a good gig can really make a place. Therefore I reserve ultimate judgement on this place until I check out the Jazz, but frankly I can’t think of any other reason I would want to go to the Lord Hood again.


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Pub Review: The Pilot Inn

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The Pilot Inn
8 River Way, SE10 0BE

Greenwich Millennium Village is a strange place. Despite being the nearest you can get to the tube in this part of town, having the mammoth o2 on its doorstep and being a hefty residential stronghold, it somehow always feels like you’re in the middle of a computer-generated environment, miles from anywhere. The Pilot, GMV’s ‘local’, is much in keeping with its sim-city surroundings and despite being generally ok, it lacks a lot of the character that makes the town pubs successful.

Owned by uber-chain Fullers, the Pilot ticks most of the corporate pub boxes with a wide lager selection, Rosé in bulk and every flavour of j2o you could want. However, there’s a decided mediocrity about the place, with its uninspiring ale selection, forgettable décor and split-level interiors that make it disjointed and a little unwelcoming. The food is rather expensive (£10 for Scampi & Chips), and again, pretty middle of the road. The staff, apart from a standard issue try-hard manager, are a little on the gruff, robotic side - when I asked the barman if I could order food his reply was ‘Yeah why not?’, before taking a good 5 minutes to process my order for one meal. They also had a seafood specials promotion going on, but at 6pm on a Saturday they had crossed 5 out of 7 meals off the list, as they were unavailable.

Despite all this, the Pilot does have one saving grace in its spectacular beer garden. The water features, hanging baskets and ivy fences all look like they’ve been given the creative effort and thought that the rest of the place so conspicuously lacks and it’s a lovely place to sit with your Magners. There’s even a BBQ stand where they apparently cook sausages and burgers in the summer (assuming they have any left). Its only slight drawback is that it being north facing and fully enclosed, it does get rather chilly, but then this is Britain so perhaps I’m expecting too much!

All in all I think the Pilot is trying to be a country pub in a city spot and it’s this air of artifice and sterility that lets it down. It’s certainly not the most terrible pub you’ll ever go to and the garden is definitely worth a look, it’s just that it all left me feeling a bit cold. And not just because I forgot my jacket.

Pub Review: The Ship and Billet

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The Ship & Billet
1, Woolwich Road, SE10 0RA

I actually meant to go to the Ship and Billet on last week’s pub review outing, but when circumstances compelled me to go solo I was far too scared to go into this pub on my own. Its run-down exterior with heavily tinted windows and general demeanour of a ‘local pub for local people who aren’t me’ were just too, well, scary. This week, feeling braver (and having a male companion) I ventured in and, as is the case with most scary things, was left wondering what all my fuss was about.

Let’s be clear, the Ship and Billet is about as far from the usual Greenwich Gastropub as you can get. It looks a bit like the Queen Vic would look if left unattended for a few years, with a faded red and gold pub issue carpet and sparsely furnished. The ‘no smoking’ sign was written on a post it note and whilst waiting for our drinks someone actually came up to us and asked us if we wanted to buy a ‘second hand’ TV from a carrier bag. All the other clientele, about 7 of them, seemed to know each other and spoke in a language that, though English, was completely incomprehensible.

Despite all this, I didn’t feel at all uncomfortable there. The locals were smiling enough and the barmaid was the most friendly I’ve yet to encounter in a Greenwich pub. She was chatty, made a few jokes and when the first pint of Guinness was not a success, she gave it to us for free. That level of service would be classed as exceptional anywhere.

The extras are also fuss-free: Sky TV for the sport, a cockney pianah in the corner and karaoke on the weekends with ‘Dave the Rave’. The staple of the bar is lager and cider so there’s no ale, few wines and spirits, and food is scant unless you count 17 bags of scampi fries as sustenance.

All in all the Ship and Billet is not the place to go if you are after a posh pub experience - it’s grubby, shabby, still a bit scary and definitely a local’s pub - but there’s a warm welcome here and absolutely zero pretension, which in this neck of the woods is a rare find. As Delboy said to Rodney, probably in this pub in fact, “he who dares, wins”.

What do you think of the Ship & Billet? Post your comments below...


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Pub Review: The Royal Standard, SE3

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The Royal Standard
44, Vanbrugh Park, London, SE3 7JQ

The Orchid Group’s Royal Standard is a bit like the politician of local pubs - it surfs firmly down the middle ground, trying extremely hard to cater for all tastes. And though it’s a smart outfit that creates a general air of comfort and doesn’t charge you extra for its Wisteria free chimneys, all in all it’s just a bit bland.

The Royal Standard is a large, open pub in three distinct areas; the ‘bloke’s’ area at one end has high stools and a big plasma screen, the focal point bar and plenty of standing room sits nicely in the middle, with the more upmarket leather sofas and spider plants rounding things off at the other end. Its size doesn’t let it be cozy, but it does at least allow one to sit down.

The Royal Standard takes no risks with the bar fare or the menu, pushing a very slight ‘Best of British’ angle whilst still offering mediocre Pinot Grigio and bowls of Nachos. The staff are nice and smart, though like many other local pubs a few more smiles and a bit more chat wouldn’t go amiss.

The cries of ‘Yeah’ and ‘Come On’ from the blokes’ corner (Man United were losing at that point) didn’t seem to intrude on all the generally mixed clientele, and there were also a notable number of solo customers making themselves at home with their laptops, newspapers, or simply just a pint. Obviously a good place to go to catch up on your reading.

Since they’ve put in so much effort it would be unfair not to mention the pub’s other extensive offerings: quiz nights, Sunday roasts, advance booking, wifi internet access and fairtrade espresso coffees. Phew. The Royal Standard certainly ticks all the boxes, it’s just that in trying so hard to please everyone it doesn’t seem to really stand for anything. Just like a good politician, really.


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Pub Review: The Auctioneer

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The Auctioneer
217-219 Greenwich High Road
SE10 8NB

Cheap (ish) and Cheerful

Within 5 minutes of entering this pub my friend and I were deep into reminiscing about our student days, which pretty much tells you all you need to know about The Auctioneer.

Part of the Mitchell and Butler’s ‘Scream’ branded chain, the pub makes no bones about it’s cheap and cheerful pretensions. The generic mish-mash interior and scruffy, sticky, leather furniture, mark this as a place not too fussed about its appearance and unlike most Greenwich pubs, the only mark of historical significance is graffiti on the tables informing you that, at some indeterminate time, ‘Mark woz ‘ere’.

Numerous whiteboards scream (geddit?) offers on any drink that you could put in a pitcher, and the bar is full of the usual suspects including a job lot of Carlsberg and Blossom Hill Rosé. The drinks disappointingly aren’t that cheap, but then most clued up students will know that your ‘Scream’ loyalty card will get you a discount on the more sensible drinks like Sambuca, or Screambuca as it’s called here. Classy. There is also plenty of food on offer, but given the grubby state of the menus you’re a braver person than me if you choose to give the £5 burgers a go.

But let’s not be too snobby - the Auctioneer doesn’t over promise and it’s good that the university contingent is catered for amongst a sea of very well to do pubs in Greenwich. 7 or 8 years ago I used to feel right at home in places like this, and The Auctioneer was well stocked with people for a weekday evening. Therefore, although this place may not be to everyone’s tastes, it’s a fairly perfect version of what it is: a place to get drunk before you go and steal some traffic cones.

What they say: “Aimed at students and like-minded individuals, and famous for its range of burgers as well as its excellent lager and cider selection, these pubs are often the best place in town to watch all major sporting events” - Scream Website

What you say: “It’s the sort of place where I would take the boys there for a weekend knees-up without worrying about spilling beer on the floor!” - Fellow Customer

What do you think of the Auctioneer? Post your comments below...


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