please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I was slightly disappointed by the Herne Tavern. It seems to be a food-oriented pub and only 2 ales were on - St Austell Tribute & Shepherd Neame Spitfire Gold. There was no real cider either. So I had to be content with Aspalls. The interior was nice, with seating along a large, central island bar. But the focus does appear to be on the food and the place felt fairly soulless on a Saturday lunchtime/early afternoon. Although a few families were in.
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Only my 2nd visit to the Herne and again its a Saturday lunchtime.
A bit busier today than on my last visit and for that reason it was more enjoyable.
Music playing at a decent level, television on in the main bar that was already showing the rugby, it was the final day of the 6 nations...so apparently it was important!
The 4 ales across the 5 pumps were St Austell Tribute, Young's Bitter, Ringwood Best Bitter and Sambrook's Wandle. With none of these drawing me in I went for a bottle of Pistonhead's Kustom Lager @ 4.6%
A nicely decorated pub with original stain glass windows at the front, plenty of wood panelling and a conservatory and garden.
Food was popular.
On this visit I've slightly changed my opinion and now think its a decent pub.
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As all 'Pub- Locals' know it take a lot to shift 'allegiance' I had started to occasionally use another local having been witness to unacceptable staff behavior but in this case the final straw after quietly suffering the 'creche' conditions, the irregular standard of the Beer( often flat and over priced), the surliness of a foreign soul behind the Bar who had 'hormonal' problems, was the dishonesty and lies in the giving of change. Subsequently found a number of fellow sufferers who have experienced the same situation with the same person, anybody that is in management and allows this to go unaccounted deserves to lose custom.
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Had a lovely Sunday lunch here today. Not cheap but excellent food, good selection of ales and really nice and attentive staff.
Definitely recommend the food here.
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Old style pub at the start of Peckham Rye Park on the Dulwich border with Honor Oak.
2 sided bar with the main bar bearing most of the drinking and seating area while the small bar to the left is more of a snug with the kitchen at the back.
4 ales on tap, I had a pint of Tribute from the St Austall brewery, also on was Hobgoblin, Brakspear and Marston's EPA.
There was a childrens party about to start when I visited and I was the only person without a child or an invite in the pub.
Nice traditional pub that when the kids and party have gone is probably a good place for a few beers.
While I enjoyed my visit my review is mixed.
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I have to agree with jud9e.
I keep giving the ale in this pub another chance. I really don't know why, as it is always rotten.
Aspalls cider now �4.25 a pint.
It's a shame because it's a beautiful pub inside, but it's not being run properly. Like most pubs in this area, they're only interested in shifting as much food as possible.
And as mentioned before, why do posh parents make the worst parents and just let their kids run riot in a PUB!!!
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20 years ago the Herne used to be my local, it was a nice pub with a decent clientele and kept good beer even if Eric was the grumpiest landlord ever, his Missus was golden and the rest of the bar staff were a worthy addition.
Fast forward to last weekend and a reunion with 12 friends and my goodness me what a transformation, I was aware The Herne now bills itself as child friendly but without any exaggeration I reckon there were between 40-50 kids under 10 in there, everywhere. Free-range organic kids largely unsupervised whilst presumably the parents sat with other parents leaving them to it.
Our first ordered drinks, a pint of Timmy Taylor's Landlord and an Aspall's cider and the till rung out at �8.60!!! I pay less in the west End of London and the Landlord was awful!
I moved on to Guinness next and again, an awful pint I could not finish moving on to bottled Peroni. We left after 2.5 hours mercifully we had a table booked for a meal, had we been planning on being in for the night we'd have gone elsewhere.
Seriously bad, as polite and keen to serve as the staff were you cannot serve bad beer and have more kids than a school playground at break time and call yourself a pub!
jud9e - 12 Apr 2012 10:27 |
I thought that this was a site to talk about the quality of ale and the pub, rather than debate service charge!
Anyway, sad to note that it has got even worse. I promised myself that I would not moan unless they had two hand pumps off and were only serving Greene King or Doom Bar. Imagine my surprise my dear reader when there was in fact two hand pumps off, and they had both GK and DB. The collective beers of the devil. So I went for Westons Perry, albeit at twice the price of Wetherspoons. It was a deathly Monday night but no need to hassle us into leaving at 10.30 because they wanted to shut early. We went on to the Royal Oak, sorry Forest Hill Tavern, sorry the Rose. And despite my issues with the place, they were welcoming, had a reasonable number of punters, and some good ale.
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In fairness why not just refuse to pay the service charge, they have no right to enforce it on punters.
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really useless staff, service is shocking how can you charge 10% service charge if your service is really shite, food actually tasted ok, presentation was a more like a 4 year old in the kitchen, for �12 a roast i expect better, ! would rather go somewhere else !
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Avoid at all costs on Sunday lunchtimes. 1hr wait for food after ordering, no updates/reason given and we had to ask, all vegetables pretty much cold once the food arrived, forgotten table water and bread, and they still whack on the 10% service charge. No warning that the wait would be that long either.
Too many kids as well, it becomes very loud; I suppose that could be a good/bad thing depending on if your group has kids or not, but like others have said it's pretty much a nursery. Be warned that they squeeze in as many tables as possible on the right as you enter.
Nice rioja, but that's about it.
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Stunned just how bad this pub was. Stunned that on a Sunday night how loud the music was. Stunned how bad the beer was kept. Stunned how they charged me �4.10 for a pint of Addlestones (which is at the arse end of cider in any case). Stunned why there was actually anyone in the pub. I've never been so stunned (or angry) reviewing a pub before.
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I have every sympathy for a pub struggling to cope with huge demand particularly on sunny weekends but my last visit was the last straw.
Arrived at midday so it wasn't lunchtime service in full swing, told by disinterested barstaff that there was a 15 minute wait to order food. Why you would have a system that made you wait to order is beyond me. But not being in a rush, accepted and took the bottle with a number on it. Saw a couple a good 10 minutes later sit down and also leave the bar also with a bottle with a number on it.
25 minutes later I was astonished to see this couple get their order taken before us. Waited another 5 minutes with waitresses passing our table with not the slightest interest before calming explaining what I had seen to the manager behind the bar. He proceeded to tell me that this couple had according to his list had been at the bar at the same time as me which was just not true. Clearly their system doesn't work and just massively annoys people. Why not take the order and explain there will be a really long wait? I wouldn't have minded that but its a bit much when people who blatantly came in after you get served first. So I just left and I won't be going back. Terrible.
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Four quid for a pint of Heineken????????
The thing I don't understand about this type of pub is this:
They must be making huge profits from the about of food they are doing. Instead of hammering the beer and cider, why don't they add 50p to main meals?
I have a theory that they don't actually want customers like me taking up valuable eating space and only having a couple of pints.
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I still like this pub a lot, if visiting during a quieter period.
But during my last 2 daytime weekend visits, nearly every single table (not just in the dining room area) has been reserved for "Diners".
But the final straw for me was a massive 40p jump in price for Addlestones Cider, from �3.50 to �3.90 a pint. I think they just lost me as a semi-regular at those prices.
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I try so hard to enjoy this place, but struggle every time.
The kids really need to be segregated from the drinkers. It feels more like a nursery than a pub.
Find the staff more and more rude. Last visit i stood at the bar again for about 10 minutes waiting to be served and find myself ignored . When the Aussie chap's pal walked in he saw him and served him immediately.
Little more manners, a please and thankyou, wouldn't go a miss "Brucey boy"!
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If I�d been on me own I�d have spun on my heel & done one, but the chaps had suggested an off-map visit so into the creche we went. Seriously, kids-o-clock, rammed with �em in rt-hand bar and playground garden. I wonder about a pub�s target market when 70% of the clientele aren�t even old enough to have pocket money, and their related 29% make a drink last & last until, at some invisible signal, they all disappeared at once, much like one-drink rags after a sky-match! At least the ale choice for our 1% minority included TT Landlord & Summer Lightning and the left hand bar area was (relatively) kid-free. The 3-pint round, though, was �9.80, ouch!
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Definitely NOT a pub. Used to be a big place, good for families in summer with its garden. Still good for families, but wealthier ones. On our 1 attampted visit to see what was done with it, on a Sunday, the greeter stood in my way, asked what we wanted. when I said well maybe some lunch, the reply was, sorry we are full. It was - no exageration - one third full, with reserved signs on every table free. Ok, but then even going to the bar wasnt welcomed. We were looked at as if expected to leave. So we did. Never been back.
Get the number a book ahead for anyrthing to do with the place it seems.
PS Beer festival in garden - what a joke! For mini beer festivals try Hoopers in SE15.
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Actually tried it again after being to the Plough where they had run out of beer.
There was a real ale fest in the garden, but oddly enough it had closed by the time I got there (9pm) - is this sensible drinking gone mad?
To my surprise a full set of Timothy Taylor beers on sale in side, never seen that outside of Yorkshire. It was too hard to price them according to the strength and duty so they were all at �3 each. Odd.
Mainly a bright youngish clientele, probably not that interested in ale so spose I should count my chickens, but on the down side made me feel not at all young or bright!
Still consider it's lost a lot of its charm from its days as a real pub
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Glad to be in an area where there are two good bars, here and the Forest Hill Tavern, both very friendly places, good food, and both have a nice custom base. We are getting spolited for choice. GREAT.
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I liked it a lot, but then I like children-friendly pubs, and this is certainly one. Gorgeous multi-roomed pub, beer OK but not as good as reviews below suggested, food looked pricey. Go with children.
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Umm, why are people complaining about the food. If you want decent food then go to a restarant - there are a few left.
Oh sorry, silly me, this is a restaurant. Then what is it doing on a pub web site?
And why am I at home on a Saturday night?
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Look out for the lovely little arts & crafts arm chairs. Glad to see they weren't chucked out in the refurb.
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Its good to have places that are family friendly -- and my son enjoyed a recent Sunday in the garden there. The food is good and is high quality, although a bit pricey. BUT, what spoiled our recent visit was a very high-strung manager who took away from the relaxed atmosphere we would otherwise have enjoyed. He could take some lessons from the Rye just up the road. Much more relaxed Sunday outing and pretty good food, too.
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Mmm, nice pub for catching the sun in the evening.
Not sure that under 12's should still be allowed in after 6pm, running around like lunatics, while the drinkers have to dodge out of THEIR way!
Staff need to learn that there are 3 sections to that tiny bar area.. left, right and middle.
I stood there for 10 minutes waiting to be served, only another customer actually noticed how long i had been waiting.
The staff need to spread out across the bar area, not congregate at one end.
Food is pricey for what it is, however the Jack Daniels and coke is a good price, even nicer when there are tall glasses left to have it it.
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This pub has huge potential and a lovely beer garden. However, the overall experience, is ruined by the following factors:
1. total lack of organisation and communication between the rather unfriendly bar staff. I've been kept waiting to get served at the bar for ages virtually every time I visit this pub.
2. The beer garden is totally overrun by scores of hyper very noisy kids at the weekend and also during the week.
3. the food is over priced. �3 for a bowl of chips, which were served in what could only be described as a small ashtray.
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The kiddies play area is brilliant, I wish I could say the same about the food which is below average. A wonderful sunday afternoon was spoilt when I asked for a high chair for my 2 year old, the pleasant staff brought out a filthy high chair with decaying food residue all over the chair and the table top. Rotten mushrooms were stuck to the fabric and tomato ketchup on the surface had already been infested with fungus. This was completely noticeable to the smiling staff who made no attempt to provide another one or even clean it. If I'm going to pay extortionate prices for the 'ambience' and 'garden' then I expect at least a minimal standard of hygiene which was sadly lacking.
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Good pub - great beer, good wines by the glass and bottle. Great food - from the same stable as "The Palmerston" but with the food being closer to properly cooked and served pub grub rather than gastro ambitious dining as at the Palmerston. (Not a criticism of the Palmerston - what it does it does very well - but it's not a real pub, more of an excellent bistro with prices that make it a "special" outing rather than a "let's give cooking a miss and go to the pub" place.)
Staff extremely helpful - have taken my partially disabled father-in-law there twice and they couldn't have been more caring and friendly.
Now a regular on my drinking / dining list.
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I used to live round the corner from this place and I used to go there for a pint when I had rowed with my boyfriend (i.e. often), I now still live nearby but not with the boyfriend.
It was a cheap but not actually very cheerful place which was dirty, sold horrible microwaved food and had a slab of concrete for a garden. Great... oh how we all hark back to the good old days but they weren't good.
Now it had been stripped back so you can see the lovely orignal features of the building, sells great (though not cheap) food, and the garden will be lovely come spring and summer. The beer is well kept and I have always found the staff friendly.
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Fair's fair - the beer is extraordinarily good. Judging, that is, by the one pint I will ever drink in there.
This isn't a pub, it's an operation to extract the maximum possible amount of money from a certain type of uncomplaining wallet. I was there at Sunday lunchtime. There was nowhere to sit inside unless you were buying food. I sat outside, in the freezing cold, with a view of the kitchens on one side and the series of mudslides that is the garden on the other. But the revamping of the interior would hardly have made that a cosier option anyway.
So rated 10 for beer, 0 for anything else, 5 overall.
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Many comments below sound harsh to me - So I went to check how things were at the Herne. For sat lunch there was a good mixture of locals in for the beer and East Dulwich well offs with baby chariot types, which seemed to work without Kosovo ethnic warfare.
The best thing for me was St Peter's Suffolk Gold on draught - the beer was well kept and the best pint I've hed in London for a long while. Other reviews have said of Suffolk Gold:
St Peter's, Suffolk Gold (England)
Made with Suffolk-grown malt and First Gold hops, this pours a deep bronze colour with a fast-dissipating off-white head. It has a very attractive nose that is overtly hoppy, with chicory and nettle notes, and a little aromatic, floral lift. There's fruitiness too, in an appealing profile. On the palate the hops don't disappoint, powering through with dry, bitter flavours and a real edge of endive and liquorice. There is a hint of caramel sweetness on the mid palate, and this beer finishes with real harmony as the two meld together 4.9% ABV, 50cl, brewery website, Onlyfinebeer, Beerritz.
No complaints at all. The damage for two pints, a pint of orange juice and lemonade and nuts, was �8.25 - OK given the ridiculous prices generally charged for soft drinks.
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This was a regular drinking hole of mine when I lived in Nunhead from 1986 to 1989. Then it was an honest-to-goodness Courage pub. Now it�s been gastro-pubbed by (I am told) the same people who own the Palmerston in Lordship Lane. They�ve done a pretty good job of keeping one part of it looking like a pub, but what used to be the public bar is now a restaurant seating area � nothing like a pub. They�ve opened the whole place up a bit, losing much of the cosiness and character, and if I recall, there never used to be a doorway through to the public bar, but I could be wrong.
There were three real ales available � great. I had a very tasty pint of Adnam�s Bitter.
The leaded windows are rather special although whether they are original or have been recently put in and made to look old, I ain�t sure.
I made a point of sitting in my old seat up at the pointy end of the unusual triangular room.
I would definitely go back here again... but can't help wishing they'd left the place alone.
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Lovely beer, but as no longer a pub (more of an extension of a Clapham bistro, aimed at families with young kids, cannot rate it as a pub.
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Went into the Herne for the first time since the refit today. Although the decor was nice, it lacked any atmosphere. Couldn't see any of the old regulars about. Interaction between bar staff and customers seemed to be non-existant apart from taking orders and money. The bar manager was very patronising to and swore at the member of staff who was taking our order, making us feel uncomfortable, especially as we had children with us.
We ordered food, and one of our party had to wait 15 minutes longer for her meal than the rest of us after we had asked time and time again as to it's whereabouts. The food was mediocre and over-priced, and seemed to exist in some sort of nouvelle cuisuine time warp - for �8.50 I'd expect to receive more than two fishcakes and a few leaves of rocket.
The pub was better before the refit. It had atmosphere and no pretensions to struggle to live up to. It also had a jukebox, which gave you the oppurtunity to listen to something other than Keane for the whole visit....
They had obviously spent a lot of money on the landscaping of the garden, but had failed to have the foresight that lots of small hills + lots of children running about = lots of mud.
The bar manager offered us a free drink on our return to make up for the slack service, but this was as we wre on our way out. We said we probably wouldn't come back, and his reply was "oh well" - he didn't seem that bothered at all about the experience his customers had had.
anonymous - 29 Oct 2006 00:53 |
Popped in again Wed lunchtime to see how things are going. Very friendly bar staff but not a soul in there apart from us. Reason - obvious. Cost us �12 for 4 drinks. Followed by �6 odd for a pint of pride and a small glass of wine. Phew!
The decor lacks any atmosphere and although a fortune has been psent on the garden (�18 grand I believe), but rough toilets have been left untouched. While there they were humping a second hand and ropey looking fridge into the kitchen. With the money spent elsewhere, using a second hand fridge seems a bit tight.
Bring back the carpets and the curtains AND THE LOCALS.
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I understand the Herne Tavern has recently been taken over by the owners of the Lord Palmerston in East Dulwich.
This means the interior has been spruced up (keeping the original Victorian features), the garden has been landscaped (mainly for the benefit of kids) and the food is now gastropub, but to the good and basic end of this genre.
Just been for Sunday lunch. Was pleased to see Addlestones on draught and Weston organics cider in bottles. Beer included Landlord, Deuchars IPA, Spitfire I think and others. Also a good range of wines.
The food was reasonable at about �10 for a main, the quality was excellent, with good medium rare beef served with celariac and red cabbage. Good and friendly staff, although I felt the service was suffering from the demand from the full garden and pub.
Contrary to other reviews this is proving highly popular with local people. I don't consider myself a "trendy", but I really enjoyed it. Best of luck to the new owners.
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very impressed
dinner monday, lunch tuesday. Very tasty
innovative garden
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Just reopened and not the old Herne we all grew to love. Aimed at trendys with plenty of money. �13 for a steak and chips and �10 for three drinks. No smoking anywhere inside pub either (not that I smoke), but it never bothered me). Smoking only in the garden. I give it 6 months before this place closes as they will not actract the rich and trendy people they want as their customers in this part of town. A big thumbs down. I'll see you in the Forest Hill Tavern.
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i love it when a pub's name rhymes
first pub i ever set foot in, age 6. i had a nice coke, my mate alex had orange squash and the crips were excellent.
26 years on i still pop in on accassion... there's something about this place i like. can be genuinely pleasant - nice little garden.
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Very old-fashioned looking pub but quite smart. Beer was disappointing though. I'm not a great fan of Courage beers at the best of times and my pint of Director's was cloudy and not very nice. Hard to see how the place has usurped the Clock House as East Dulwich's entry in the 2005 Good Beer Guide on this evidence.
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Horrible aggresive attitude from staff and fellow occupants, have been forced to go there a few times because it's the closest pub to my mate's house and we are very lazy. Not recommended.
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