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Best beer and travel writing award 2015, 2011 -- British Guild of Beer Writers Awards
Accredited Beer Sommelier
Writer of "Probably the best book about beer in London" - Londonist
"A necessity if you're a beer geek travelling to London town" - Beer Advocate
"A joy to read" - Roger Protz
"Very authoritative" - Tim Webb.
"One of the top beer writers in the UK" - Mark Dredge.
"A beer guru" - Popbitch.
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London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London: Canonbury and Barnsbury
 Dukes Brew and Que, London N1 Brewpub, bar (Independent, small group)
33 Downham Road N1 5AA
T 020 3006 0795 w www.dukesjoint.com f Dukes-Brew-Que tw dukesjoint
Open 1600 (1000 Sat-Sun)-2300 (2330 Thu-Sat). Children welcome until 2000.
Cask beer 6 (Beavertown, Redemption, Oakham, unusual often local guests), Other beer 5 keg, 30+ bottles, Also 1 real cider, tequilas and tequila cocktails, some specialist spirits
Food US-style barbecues and burgers, Outdoor Tables on street, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Beer matching dinners.
London gained yet another new brewery in February 2012 when the owners of the American-themed Off Broadway cocktail bar in Broadway Market, also noted for its beer range, launched this equally transatlantic brewpub and barbecue joint in the shell of the Duke of York in De Beauvoir Town, an area of distinctive 1820s development east of Kingsland Road and north of the Regent’s Canal. As the exposed brick and girders visible in the bar area attest, the place had been completely stripped and was due to be redeveloped as flats, and the side bar and the open kitchen with its adjacent brewery have all been built from scratch. A good two thirds of the floor area, presided over rather curiously by an installation involving an old pram and a doll, is dedicated to dining – yet so rapid has been the venture’s success that you’ll likely need to book ahead if you want to eat.
Drinkers, however, are always welcome at the cheerful bar. Up to six cask beers include at least one house brew (under the name Beavertown); the remainder usually come from local breweries, with various Redemption beers on regularly and others from Dark Star and East London, though Oakham JHB is a near-regular thanks to public demand. Mainstream and big brewery beers are avoided across the board – expect to see the likes of Paulaner helles, Meantime London Lager and Camden Ink on the keg taps in preference to Guinness or Stella, alongside Thornbridge Chiron, Schneider Weisse or something from BrewDog. Bottles cover several bases, with London’s Kernel and Redchurch alongside some less familiar imports – Bear Republic from the USA or the Troubadour beers brewed at Proef in Belgium.
Top quality is assured by bar and cellar manager and beer expert Hannah, formerly of Fuller’s pub the Ship in Soho (p109). “I’m OCD about cellar hygiene,” she tells me. “I can’t sleep if I know the pipes haven’t been cleaned.” Let’s wish her pleasant dreams.
Overground Haggerston Cycling LCN+ 8 10, Regents Canal towpath Walking Jubilee Greenway
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Southwest London: Other locations – Cheam
 The Railway, Cheam SM3 (London) Traditional pub (Admiral)
32 Station Way, Cheam SM3 8SQ
T 020 8642 7416
Open 1200-2300 (2400 Thu-Sat).
Cask beer 6 (Timothy Taylor Wells & Young’s, 3 often local guests).
Monthly quiz, monthly live music, poker, occasional big screen sport, beer festival, seasonal events, golf society.
Brother and sister Neil and Zoe took over this snug, traditional one-bar pub almost opposite Cheam station in 2007, and have steadily improved the beer offer. Courage Best and Directors still occupy two of the pumps – the pub once held the record for selling the most Courage best in London. A third is dedicated to Landlord while the three guest pumps “normally lean towards the small and local” – Ascot, Dorking, Pilgrim, Tring, Twickenham or Weltons, for example. An annual beer festival has recently been introduced, upping the beer choice to 20. There’s currently no food, but it’s planned to return, most likely along the lines of shepherd’s pie or lasagne. It’s a friendly place, well stocked with cushions and knowledgeable regulars, and a keen supporter of the Royal Marsden hospital. It also retains the tradition of hosting a golf society, once followed by every pub in Cheam.
Visitor note. You’ll be well rewarded for wandering on into Cheam village, which is listed in the Domesday survey and was once known for its brewing. The village centre is a conservation area which boasts several centuries-old timber framed houses alongside classic examples of 1930s Tudor revival shops. Only a step away, though over the London boundary in Surrey, is lovely Nonsuch Park where you can view what little remains of one of Henry VIII’s most notorious unfinished vanity projects, Nonsuch Palace, demolished in 1683 by Charles II’s mistress Barbara Villiers to pay off her gambling debts.
National Rail Cheam Cycling LCN+ 75, Epsom, Ewell, Carshalton Walking London Loop
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Southwest London: Brixton and Stockwell
 Canton Arms, London SW8 Gastropub (Enterprise)
177 South Lambeth Road SW8 1XP
T 020 7582 8710 w http://cantonarms.com
Open 1100 (1700 Mon)-2300 (2230 Sun). Children welcome until 2100.
Cask beer 4 (Skinners, Timothy Taylor, 2 guests), Other beer 3 bottles, Also 30+ wines, a few eaux de vie and whiskies.
Food Gastro, Outdoor Front terrace, Wifi.
Occasional big screen sport.
This biggish former Truman pub is on a main road site on the edge of Stockwell and Kennington. Since reopening in 2010 it has rapidly gained a strong reputation for the fine and inventive but decidedly unfussy food served up by Trish Hilferty, the original chef at the Eagle in Farringdon and therefore one of the key architects of the gastropub phenomenon (from which you might conclude that she has a lot to make up for). The pub doesn’t take bookings so you’ll have to choose your moment if you want to enjoy dishes like grilled polenta with Swiss chard, roast wood pigeon or tempting desserts from a menu that changes daily. Failing that you can enjoy a foie gras toastie at the bar, or one containing Quick’s cheddar…with baked beans if you must.
Pleasingly, though, it remains a proper informal pubby space with big windows and some original floor tiling, attracting a lively local crowd. It’s a rare pub that picks the light mild Golden Best as its regular from the Timothy Taylor range, but here it is on the octagonal island bar, alongside Betty Stoggs and guests ordered through the SIBA direct delivery scheme from the likes of Ascot, Black Sheep, Loddon, Moorhouses, Red Squirrel, Theakston or Twickenham. Budvar perks up the fridge.
National Rail Vauxhall Underground Stockwell, Vauxhall Bus Thorne Road (2 88 Vauxhall, Stockwell) Cycling LCN+ 3, link to CS7
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Southeast London: Other locations – Lewisham
 Ravensbourne Arms, London SE13 Contemporary pub (Antic)
323 Lewisham High Street SE13 6NR
T 020 8613 7070 w www.ravensbournearms.com f ravensbourne.arms tw RavensbourneArm
Open 1600 (1200 Sat-Sun)-2330 (0030 Wed-Thu, 0130 Fri-Sat, 2230 Sun). Children welcome until 2100.
Cask beer 5 (Adnams, 4 sometimes unusual guests) Cask Marque, Other beer 5 keg, 12+ bottles, Also 18 wines, a few malts.
Food Gastro/enhanced pub grub menu, Outdoor Front terrace, beer garden, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Table football, bar billiards, darts, board games W quiz, monthly live music.
This big roadside pub near Lewisham University Hospital is another successful makeover by the enterprising Antic group. Until Spring 2011 it was known as the Coach and Horses and had, as one contributor to a pub rating website put it, “a slight air of menace”. Antic have revealed the original wood fittings and parquet floor, and added their usual junk like deer heads, cutlery displays and old radios to create a big bright space with a sort of off-kilter hunting lodge feel. Several Adnams beers are usually on, and guests might come from Dark Star, Purity, Redemption, Sambrook’s, White Horse and the like.
BrewDog Punk IPA and two Meantime beers cheer up the keg choice, with a range of Timmermans (sweetened) fruit lambics beside Budvar, Goose Island and Little Creatures in the fridge. Food ranges from trendy retro bar snacks like pork and pickle pie and warm Scotch eggs to pan fried vegetarian gnocchi, chicken parcels with herbed pork stuffing or whole red snapper. Other friendly touches include a community noticeboard and free dog biscuits for four legged companions. Something of a shining star in an area short on good pubs.
Visitor note. The pub is named after Thames tributary the Ravensbourne, which runs through Ladywell Fields nearby.
National Rail Ladywell, Lewisham DLR Lewisham Bus Ladywell Leisure Centre (numerous Lewisham) Cycling NCN 21, link to LCN+ 22 Walking Waterlink Way, Lewisham Promenade
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Southeast London: Other – Chelsfield
 Five Bells, Chelsfield BR6 (London) Traditional pub (Enterprise)
Church Road, Chelsfield BR6 7RE
T 01689 821044 w thefivebells-chelsfieldvillage.co.uk
Open 1100 (1200 Sun)-2300 (2230 Sun). Children very welcome if dining or outside.
Cask beer 4 (Sharp’s, Wells & Young’s, 2 guests) Cask Marque, Also 12 wines from local supplier
Food Enhanced pub grub, Outdoor Very large garden, Wifi. No disabled toilet but will assist with access.
Tue quiz, Wed fortnightly open mic, Thu monthly jazz, occasional Sat live music, beer festivals, seasonal events, darts, bat & trap, functions.
This pretty village pub in the rural reaches of Bromley was built around 1664, at the time the nearby church of St Martin of Tours – celebrated today for its original Norman features – had a fifth bell installed, thus the name. The building has been altered since but retains its charm as a rustic weatherboarded Kentish pub with a big garden and an even bigger adjoining meadow used for marquee receptions and the local game of bat and trap. Landlords Ade and Kay took over in 2005 and have worked hard to build its appeal, with regular events, a warm welcome and great beer, ensuring it a Good Beer Guide listing.
Courage Best (it’s a former Courage house) and Doom Bar are the regular casks, and guests come from Kent breweries like Royal Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Westerham as well as Adnams, Cottage or Rudgate. There’s a deliberate policy of avoiding too many golden ales. Food is of unpretentiously good quality, freshly cooked from local ingredients – for example steak and kidney puds, fish and chips or goat cheese and asparagus tart. The pub retains its two bar layout with a proper public bar complete with ancient beams, dartboard and fireplace, and a saloon bar that has been extended significantly into a restaurant section at the back. Well worth a relatively straightforward journey via Orpington and a bus that stops right outside, or a break on a walk through London’s countryside.
National Rail Orpington, Chelsfield Bus Chelsfield Five Bells (R3 Orpington) Cycling Link to LCN+ 22 Walking Chelsfield Circular Walk
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Southeast London: Camberwell, Dulwich and Peckham
 Blackboard at Stormbird, London SE5 Contemporary pub (Independent, small group)
25 Camberwell Church Street SE5 8TR
T 020 7277 1806 w www.thestormbirdpub.co.uk
Open 1200-2400 (0100 Fri-Sat). Children welcome until 1800.
Cask beer 3 (local guests), Other beer 13 keg, 40 bottles, Also 1 real cider, a few malts and specialist spirits.
Food None but customers welcome to bring in takeaways, Outdoor A few tables on street, Wifi.
Yet another new style beer outlet, Stormbird opened late in 2011 when its corner site, previously home to a youth-oriented bar known as the Funky Munky, was taken over and refurbished by the owners of the Hermits Cave nearby (p173). Camberwell’s arty young things still patronise the place, but now the fine beer range is one of the things that draws them in. Inside is a simple, smallish single room, tastefully if not especially distinctively decorated and with a mix of tall stools and wooden tables, with a big L-shaped bar. Vintage enamel beer signs on the walls signal the main attraction. The three cask pumps usually feature a changing beer each from Brodie’s, Dark Star and Redemption, though other brewers from London and further afield occasionally appear. An impressive array of keg taps normally includes classics like Schneider Weisse and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and a changing range of US guests from the likes of Brooklyn, Flying Dog, Great Divide or Stone. There’s a superior bottled list balancing European classics and US favourites including Brooklyn Local 1, Cantillon Rosé de Gambrinus, Harviestoun Ola Dubh and Maui CoCoNut PorTeR. Exploration is encouraged by selling beer in thirds, though a list of the bottled beers would also help.
National Rail Denmark Hill Underground Oval, Elephant & Castle Bus Camberwell Green (various, Oval or Elephant & Castle) Cycling LCN+ 23
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London: Canonbury and Barnsbury
 Graffiti art at the Railway Tavern, London N16 Contemporary pub (Pineapple)
2-4 St Jude Street N16 8JT
T 020 0011 1195 f RailwayTavernAleHouse
Open 1200-2300 (2400 Fri-Sat, 2230 Sun). Children welcome until 1900.
Cask beer 6 (unusual often local guests), Other beer 3 keg, 15-20 bottles (mainly British, many local), Also 3+ real ciders/perries, a few wines
Food Thai menu, Wifi. Disabled toilet .
Mon chess club, Tue quiz, film nights, beer festivals, functions.
With a Stoke Newington postcode but closer to Dalston’s various arts venues and the well known Duke of Wellington (p145) on Balls Pond Road, this was another failing backstreet pub reopened in 2011 in splendid style by Kirk McGrath of Pineapple fame. It’s an L-shaped space preserving some original Victorian features like multiple street doors, a carved fireplace with floral tiling and pillars with elaborate gilt capitals. But otherwise this is sofa and floorboards territory. Two handpumps are dedicated to Adnams beers, while the others often feature local brewers like East London and Redemption. Black Isle Porter, Licher Weizen and Meantime London Lager stand out from the keg offering, while an excellent range of bottled beers includes an extensive selection from Kernel plus Adnams (the fine barley wine Tally-Ho), Camden Town, Dark Star and Otley. Decent Thai food is served at very reasonable prices. A full activities programme completes the offer at this friendly place that easily matches the quality of sister venues the Pineapple (p156) and Tapping the Admiral.
Visitor note. Take care – this is a different Railway Tavern to the one next to Dalston Kingsland station. A former owner tried to mitigate possible confusion by renaming this one the Old Henry, but have a look high up on the blank wall at the back of the pub and you’ll see why the decision to revive the original name was a wise one.
Overground Dalston Junction, Dalston Kingsland Cycling LCN+ 10, link to 2012 Games Hackney Parks route Walking Link to 2012 Games Hackney Parks route
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Southeast London: Other – Forest Hill
 Capitol, London SE23.. Pic: J D Wetherspoon Contemporary pub (Wetherspoon)
11 London Road SE23 3TW
T 020 8291 8920 w www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/the-capitol-forest-hill
Open 0900-2400 (0100 Fri-Sat). Children very welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 5-8 (Fuller’s, Greene King, Wetherspoon guests) Cask Marque, Other beer Usual Wetherspoon kegs and bottles, Also 1 real cider, a few wines.
Food Wetherspoon menu, Outdoor Side terrace, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Usual Wetherspoon promotions.
The Capitol is arguably the most accomplished and impressive of London’s several Wetherspoon cinema conversions, thanks in part to the superior architectural interest of the building itself. Designed in a fanciful blend of art deco, mock-Egyptian and mock-Classical styles by leading cinema architect John Stanley Beard, it opened in 1929, and screened its last film in 1973. Aside from a few ignominious years as a bingo hall, this splendid building lay cruelly derelict until its rebirth as a pub in 2001.
Walking through the glass doors and up thickly carpeted steps, you almost expect to be greeted by uniformed usherettes, but the stalls are now a large drinking area that’s been cleverly refitted to retain the spacious feel while creating at least some intimacy for drinkers. Above the bar you can admire the flamboyant proscenium arch, with elaborate purple and gold pillars and a pediment depicting Terpsichore, goddess of song and dance.
The gold heads studding the circle are believed to represent Ceres. Since he was the god who lent his name to term ‘cereal’, he should be pleased to overlook a bar dispensing some excellent grain-based refreshments that range more widely than is usual for the chain. Up to seven beers might include guests from Brentwood, Cairngorm, Exmoor or Oakham, at the usual keen prices. Extra seating in the foyer and a children’s play area at the top of the stairs add variety, and the attractive environment, enlivened by the quiet hum of conversation, attracts a more mixed and perhaps sophisticated audience than is usually seen in JDWs.
Visitor note. Ask at the bar about guided tours that take you up to the circle and other areas usually closed to the public. The wider surroundings are also worth exploring – up the road, beside lovely Horniman Gardens, is the Horniman Museum, an offbeat collection created by philanthropic tea millionaire Frederick Horniman (see also Horniman at Hays), housed in an Arts and Crafts building that is itself an architectural gem. Though the area was named Forest Hill by a Victorian developer, it did indeed form part of the once extensive Great North Wood until the railway arrived, following the route of the now vanished Croydon Canal.
National Rail Overground Forest Hill Cycling LCN+ Deptford, Penge, Crystal Palace Walking Green Chain Walk
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Southeast London: Greenwich and Deptford
 Royal Albert, London SE14. Pic: Antic Contemporary pub (Antic)
460 New Cross Road SE14 6TJ
T 020 8692 3737 w www.royalalbertpub.com f The Royal Albert tw theroyalalbert
Open 1600 (Sat-Sun 1200)-2400 (Fri-Sat 0100). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 4-7 (Adnams, Dark Star, 5 sometimes unusual guests) Cask Marque, Other beer 4 keg, 12+ bottles, Also A few wines, some specialist malts and spirits.
Food Gastro/enhanced pub grub menu, Outdoor Front terrace, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Mon quiz, Fri Sun DJ, major big screen sports, bar billiards, board games.
This medium sized roadside pub spent years hiding much of its Victorian splendour under the guise of a music venue, hosting local bands since the heady days of punk and pub rock and later being renamed the Paradise Bar, complete with a Saturday Night Fever-style lightbox stage. In 2007 it was taken on by then-fledging pubco Antic, who jettisoned the live music but restored much else, including its original name. Since then its followed the trajectory of the rest of the chain in constantly improving its beer offer.
As many as seven cask beers are on offer, including changing Adnams and Dark Star beers and others from the likes of Kent, Purity, Sharp’s or Slaters. Two Camden Town beers join BrewDog’s Punk IPA on the keg taps, and there’s a tempting range of interesting bottles including Orval and Brooklyn. A short menu riffs on British fare like Welsh rarebit, crispy pig cheeks and black pudding, rabbit stew and beer battered saveloy, with inventive veggie options like butternut squash, sage and Brie hash. The narrow, deep space has two drinking areas folded round a central bar, the rearmost of which is illuminated during the day by a lovely skylight, and there’s some sumptuous Victorian carved wood alongside the usual eccentric Antic décor of stuffed birds and the like. The front terrace is a plus, even if it does overlook busy New Cross Road. After the Dog and Bell (p179) this is easily the second best pub in Deptford.
National Rail Overground New Cross DLR Deptford Bridge Cycling LCN+ 2 , Forest Hill, links to NCN 1 4 21 Walking Lewisham Promenade, link to Waterlink Way
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Southeast London: Greenwich and Deptford
 Literal labelling at the New Cross House, London SE14 Contemporary pub (Capital/Greene King)
316 New Cross Road SE14 6AF
T 020 8691 8875 w www.thenewcrosshouse.com f newcrosshouse tw newcrosshouse
Open 1200-2400 (0100 Fri-Sat). Children welcome until 2000.
Cask beer 4 (Florence, Adnams, 2 guests), Other beer 4 keg, 8+ bottles, Also 20+ wines, a few specialist spirits.
Food Imaginative menu with numerous vegetarian options, Outdoor Large beer garden and sheltered barn, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Darts, table football, table tennis, board games.
The original crossing that gave New Cross its name is where the Roman road from London to Dover meets the ancient route from Rotherhithe to Hastings, part of which once marked the boundary between Surrey and Kent. It’s now a busy gyratory where the A20 leaves the A2, and the choking traffic has long since blighted what was once a prosperous shopping and entertainment area, boasting much of architectural merit including the 1905 extravaganza of Deptford Town Hall which commemorates the area’s nautical connections. The hall is now attached to Goldsmiths College, part of the University of London and an influential institution in all kinds of ways, helping underpin the local arts and music scene.
There have been hostelries at this important junction for millennia and several pubs still overlook it, but until recently none were recommendable. Then in 2011 the Capital pubco (now part of Greene King) thoroughly refurbished the former Goldsmiths Tavern, a pub with some history as a music venue and a local meeting place that had long since lost its lustre. The impressive restoration has revived the old name alongside a handful of heritage fragments, notably a patch of original and rather beautiful tiles near the main entrance, the pattern of which has been duplicated on trompe l’oeil wallpaper throughout. The large floor area has been equipped with booths and conventional tables. At the back there’s a lovely yard with an extraordinary second building, a former stable on two storeys that’s been left partially open air and smoker friendly, heated by a wood burning stove. The pub now attracts a lively crowd with a good mix of ages, students rubbing shoulders with their lecturers and a mix of discerning locals.
The pub is a regular outlet for beers from the brewery at sister Capital pub the Florence in Herne Hill (p185), besides a changing Adnams choice and guests that might come from these breweries, Sharp’s or Hogs Back. Local keg beers from Meantime are supplemented by better known but quality bottles like Cooper’s Sparkling Ale and Duvel. The interesting menu is an appropriate mix of quality and slightly eccentric fun: wood fired pizzas with unusual toppings, well cooked comfort food like hot dogs and macaroni cheese, salads, chops, burgers and plentiful vegetarian offerings. This and the nearby Royal Albert are great additions to the area.
National Rail Overground New Cross, New Cross Gate Cycling LCN+ 2, Forest Hill, links to NCN 1 4 21 Walking Lewisham Promenade
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Cask  This pioneering new book explains what makes cask beer so special, and explores its past, present and future. Order now from CAMRA Books. Read more here.
London’s Best Beer  The fully updated 3rd edition of my essential award-winning guide to London’s vibrant beer scene is available now from CAMRA Books. Read more here.
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