please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A really good London local which runs a seven inch singles night, has a super array of thin and crispy pizzas and an ale selection which, although not perhaps the most imaginative in the world, is still more than decent (Landlord, Abbot, Adnams). Add in a mix of people - yummy mummies, hipsters, old lags - and you have a pretty fecund combination. The place does reflect the gentrification of the area and Mickey Pierce and Boycey probably wouldn't have been at home.
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Maybe I was expecting too much from the pizzas, after hearing nothing but rave reviews for the past 3 years.
I have to say, I wasn't all that impressed. The guy near our table had a pizza that was a bit burnt, but I like it like that, so that would have suited me. When ours arrived, 1 was burnt, but the other 2 were a bit undercooked ... must have been in different parts of the oven.
Not very nice cheese on them, which didn't look much like mozzerella. The peperoni was the large flat discs you find on cheap packet pizzas and not the little round flavour filled jobs.
For £9, I certainly wouldn't get another anytime soon.
My pint of Adnams Southwold was decent enough.
And once more the old problem of just Wrongbow cider on draught.
Having said all that, it's a nice cosy pub with a good atmosphere.
Maybe it was just a bad day in the pizza kitchen.
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Again another new pub for me in the local (ish) area. The Gowlett is a community pub that obviously has a loyal following.
My visit was at 2pm on a quiet Saturday afternoon so my review is based on this experience.
4 ales available, Harvey's Best, Adnams Explorer and Southwold, Brians The Young Rev. I opted for the Young Rev, no problem with this beer, nicely kept.
Bearly a dozen people were in with the majority being in a group of 6 that had ordered the stone baked pizzas....damn they looked and smelt good.
Pleasant enough pub, the 3 bar staff were busy preparing the bar for later, I'll come back one evening to have another look and a beer.
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Best pizza in London. Combine that with 7" singles night and you've got a fantastic local.
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Backstreet corner pub with a laid-back Bohemian like feel, with bare floorboards and wood panelling. There is a candle on each table. Artwork on the walls is available for sale. A big projector screen shows live sport, whilst there is a blue pool table near the Gowlett Road entrance and a DJ area in another corner. The beer range on my Sunday afternoon visit was Abbot, Pedigree, Cumberland Ale and Pride. Westons Organic was available in bottles. Pizzas appear to be a speciality. Although they seemed a little pricey, with the cheapest being around �7. A rear courtyard was quite busy. Signs above the bar celebrated the fact that this was the Southeast London CAMRA pub of the year in 2005/06. A nice enough place to chill out. Although it would benefit from a more adventurous drinks selection.
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I still don't really feel a relaxed vibe in this pub. Think it tries to do a bit of everything. The TV, the pool table, kind of dining area at one side of the bar, music decks presumably for a DJ.
My first vist, the atmosphere was spoiled by the annoying TV noise of Formula One. My second visit (last night) was a bit loud with a lot of noise coming from the pool table area.
There are certainly a lot worse pubs in the area, but this place just doesn't do it for me.
Also, as is all too common, Wrongbow is the only Cider offered on draught.
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Essentially a backstreet local, but with a slightly trendy/contemporary twist. Good Beer Guide listed for several years now, and rightly so as the four rotating ales are served in excellent condition, although the range tends to be a bit boring. (London Pride, Adnams, Abbot, Old Speckled Hen yesterday.)
The pizzas are especially good.
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message to the barman: snatching money from the hands of customers is very rude indeed
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Like its sister act, Old Nun's Head, the furniture here is proper wood tables/chairs one side, & ludicrously low tables and sofas opposite bar, pool table squashed in beyond. You've got to be sceptical about a pub which gets more comments for the pizzas than the beers but, in fairness, there were four handpumps (3 on?) and the Harveys was good 'til it ran out and the Adnams Explorer was also good, although both �3.10. Furthermore those pizzas did look pretty good. Not my kind of place, but I've been to a lot worse and is evidently popular locally with a friendly 20-30-something vibe.
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Locals digging out their old 45s and spinning on the decks tonight - heard some rockabilly / bluesy stuff - great. Beers good - pint of Tiger for me and a good crowd around the bar.
Always great staff here - a great success in the area.
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Almost as good as it gets. Inclusive vibe, dog and child friendly, serves the best pizzas in south London and always a good rotation of ales. Landlord is friendly, as are most of the locals.
Used to be my local, now sorely missed
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came in here butt somtoimes their arse a fue wanqers woo spoyool it
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The best thin crust Pizza outside of Italy, truly Amazing.
A constant rotation of Real Ales on tap, there's always something new.
Great music, a pool table, friendly crowd and bar staff.
An outside heated/covered terrace for the smokers and clean toilets.
There aren't any downsides to this pub...
10/10.
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Visited today en-route to Dulwich Picture Gallery. Had a superb pizza and good pints of Brakspear Bitter and Hooky's Gold. Deathly quiet, though it was a weekday afternoon, but very friendly and pleasant, if very poorly heated!
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Wish I'd tried the pizza now ! ANother children-friendly pub; wouldn't look out of place in Stoke Newington. Beer was the downside - OK but uninspiring Adnams. Once again London's Beer Guide enries don't make the grade for beer quality.
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They do Pizza here and everyone agrees it is very nice. The bar staff change every week but don't let that put you off. There is a Paul table to play on and it is very popular. The music is laid bark and eclectic. It is run by students and not far from eastdulwich.com. On Monday one of the students gets up and asks everyone loads of questions. The person who answers the most wins �150. It is good here.
hertz - 28 Jan 2008 19:37 |
Made another visit yesterday before heading to Hoopers for their winter beers. Guest beers were good and the pizzas were excellent.
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Made a trip south of the river to try this place out last Sat lunchtime - a couple of nice guest beers though a tad disappointing to see the ubiquitous Abbot and Adnams. If you can get decent guest beers, why bother with these?
It seems to be a popular lunchtime destination for parents and their kids (AND their grandparents) as they come in for what look to be very nice pizzas.
Best avoided if you have a low threshold for the little darlings.....
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This used to be a manky local pub, with hard man frosted windows and the lonely sound of pool balls clacking against each other in the gloom .
Its been jazzed up though.
Now its a manky local pub, with clear glass windows and the lonely sound of pool balls clacking against each other in the
gloom.Next to the brace of DJ decks.
But now its got Pizza.Homemade pizza. proper big, heart killing, cheese dripping pizza,BY the wheel or by the slice and not badly priced either.And devliishly hot chilli oil to boot.
Once more, rustic heavy duty tables and sturdy shop soiled chairs seem to have been retro installed to emphasise that this is still a pub.
Bespecled Mothers and boden clad kinder congregate in the cute boxed patio out back, where pub suplied ELC wooden toys lie scattered across the floor in a desperate effort to trip up the unwary of heavily laden.
A range of hand pulled flat stuff seems available and quite popular amongst the victims propping up the bar, cheefully chatting and skimming through the pub supplied sunday papers.I dont touch the brown stuff any more, as it stains my snow white beard & I have more than enough to moan about at the minute - The ever present the multinational chemical froth that calls itself fosters/stella / whatever is always available. I had a refreshing Staropramen in a bottle.
This is a local pub. I am shocked. people seem to talk to each other- at the bar even know each other.
A local bar in the reknowned shooting gallery of SE15 and I never got threatened, not even once. Not even a scowl for daring to trespass into someone elses manor.No chicken on a basket, no hookey gear on offer, no leather jacketed lumpy blokes weighted down with kilos of square cut 9ct Gold.No Ageing jags parked on the pavement outside
Tsk tsk tsk, what is society coming to.
National service would sort this lot out.
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Everyone involved here should be extremely proud of what they have done. This an absolute wonder of a bar! The pizza is possibly the finest in the country, the ale is amongst the best I have ever tasted (60 years of drinking it, I'm qualified)the beer garden is nothing short of wondrous, and the staff here are immense. Keep up the sterling work, you deserve a medal. I shall 100% be recommending The Gowlett Arms to the relevant authorities.
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Havent been in her for a while. lasdt time I came was around 6 monts ag o .was quiet a nice time but finisihed too soon.
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A decent pub in an area where I wouldn't necessarily expect a decent pub (but that's probably me). The beer was good and topped up without me asking.
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Many thanks to all the staff at the Gowlett for a good night out on Saturday. The black Elvis sure made the place rock. My thanks also to Tim behind the bar who after Elvis had left the building made sure I was delivered home safely. I will buy you a drink next time Im in. Just one question 'What on earth is in that organic wine?'
Many thanks. Jo
anonymous - 18 Dec 2006 12:26 |
I feel that a special mention is needed for Tim behind the Bar most nights! A cracking bloke who makes a cracking Bloody Mary and who also makes our regular Gowlett visits a real pleasure!
Thanks mate!
J&C
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Very friendly pub with a pool table, good music and great food - the best pizzas around. Five star.
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Please please please get rid of the sticky carpet and terrible selection of beer - other than that it's fine and has a nice atmosphere.
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The pizzas are good, but not brilliant, (very very thin and greasy and need a wider selection of toppings you could choose yourself). The lagers are ok, but not a brilliant selection. The music is set at a low volume and play easy listening non-descript dance compilations from open to close, (get a jukebox!!!) Brilliant it has a pool table though. Can get very full. Nice, (small), decked garden. Friendly barstaff and landlord. Can be a bit too child friendly, (get a babysitter!)
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Great pub.
The bar staff are friendly, quick and good humoured - the pizzas are lovely and the whole place feels warm and welcoming.
And it feels like a pub 'should' feel, ie: it's not part of some dull 'pile em high, sell em cheap' chain, nor is it one of those antiseptic trendy pubs which all seem to follow the same tired formula (art on the walls, pomegranete risotto on the menu..)
And they do a cracking bloody mary.
eelio - 16 May 2006 11:40 |
I'd heard such good things about this pub that I just had to try it. What a disappointment.
The pizza is tasty. Not quite BRB standards (nearest: Camberwell), but good nonetheless. However, slightly dodgy furnishings - could really do with getting rid of the carpet. The other disappointment was the awful selection of beers on tap: no budvar / kronenbourg / grolsch / star / bitburger etc. Who wants to drink Stella or Carling these days?
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Great pizza, probably the best I've had in the UK. Lots of guest ales that are continually changing, which are kept poorly most of the time that I try them, great atmospehere, very friendly, child friendly and dog friendly, the dogs annoy me, as they are allowed in the dining area, but I'm not a dog lover. Overall probably the best 'new style pub' in Peckham for me. Lovely slate tiles on the walls of mens bogs, friendly bar staff, nice decor, light and airy, pool table, regulars are friendly too, not a cliquey pub at all, good mixed crowd with a wide ranging age range too.
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This pub is wicked! It's got great beer, ales, pizzas, staff, and the best olives in the world!
I'm not a big fan of kids in pubs, but i'm not a kid so i tend to deal with it in an adult way.
I've nursed many a hangover in here on weekend days.
You're always greeted with a friendly smile and they've got wireless internet!
What more does anyone want or need.
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Anonymous, read what I put and think again... Simply you are agreeing with me. If you are fool enough from what I say to think I've got kids running around boozers then whatever. No more time for you.
Hooley, maybe I went too far on a personal level for which I apologise, but again I say it's the parent's fault, not the pub's - they're not doing anything wrong with having kids in as they serve food. Noone wants to see kids running amok. Noone wants to see kids running amok in the streets either, which makes it even more annoying in the pub because their parents are actually there. Maybe we should start a movement that speaks to unruly children's parents rather than slag the pubs off. That was my initial point.
I can think of 9 pubs around Peckham without even trying that are now blocks of flats because they didn't change. The Gowlett was a prime candidate to be the next one the way it was going before the current owners moved in.
I'd rather have CAMRA's SE London Pub of the Year on my doorstep with a few kids in during the day at the weekend than a block of over expensive poor quality flats any day.
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In response to Bandeeterama. A lot of assumptions have been made about my previous comment and my objections to children running through the pub the noise making it impossible to hold a conversation. There were also health and safety issues and we all felt the need to hold on to the table incase the drinks went flying as the children flew past our table! I didnt criticise the staff or the pub and for your information I have 3 children of my own and I am a non smoker. I go to the pub for 'grown up' time and a break from my 3 lovely children. Pubs are for adults and over 18's. If parents want to subject their children to a smokey atmosphere thats their responsibility. Its also their responsibility to make them sit down and behave themselves!!
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It's badly behaved kids that people object to, Mr Bandeeterama.
Perhaps you've a couple such kids yourself which might explain why you're so unsympathetic to people like Mr Hooley who rightly find them objectionable
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It seems a lot of people use these forums to slag off pubs because they've got kids in. Surely the ignorant parents are the ones to blame? Most good pubs now sell food to survive and at the weekends families take advantage of this. Why must you people do places down because they have the nerve to let kids in?? As far as I can tell by my (many!) visits to both The Rye and The Gowlett they are fantastically well run boozers with great staff, atmosphere, food & beer (with the Gowlett just coming out on top). I consider myself lucky to have them each just 200 yds from my door, and frankly they're probably better off without whining old scrooges ruining the atmosphere anyway, so hurrah, leave the best pubs to those people with a sens of humour. Remember hooley, you were a kid once, and maybe you're the way you are about this now because of the way you were treated. That doesn't make it right though. Enjoy your seedy smokey adults only mens club with all the others.
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I am a touch disappointed with the Gowlett. The staff are lovely but it takes ages to get served, i mean 20 minutes on a Saturday afternoon with only one member of staff on who was doing her best. Also it was like a creche, and I mean it, there were kids running everywhere, toys and all sorts over the place. Won't be returning. I had children myself but would not subject them to cigarette smoke, it is a pub after all!! I had to queue in the loos because of all the kids there. Sorry, but isnt it supposed to be over 18's?
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The Gowlett is by far and away my fave boozer in SE22 / SE15! Johnny has done wonders with this pub! The Pizzas are the best this side of Tuscanny and the beers not bad either. Friendly, warm atmosphere generated by friendly warm staff!
Great knitting club on Tuesday nights too!
10 out of 10!
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Just shows you that good friendly management can be the key to a good pub. Not much has been done (or needed to be) to the interior, but customers are made to feel welcome, and the pizzas are very good. Nice beer garden too.... well done !
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I went into the Gowlett on Saturday and sat outside in the little garden. I was then inundated by noisy badly behaved children. I moved inside to eat my pizza (which was delicious) in order to get away from all the screaming kids but unfortunately the children decided to run amock all through the pub. My friends met me later and we escaped because we couldnt bear it any longer. It truley was an awful experience. If parents want to take their children out, take them to the park please!!!!
anonymous - 5 Sep 2005 15:33 |
Popped in again during a quiet afternoon session. It really is a nice backstreet local - a bit more traditional looking that I previously thought. Spacious and nicely furnished with leather benches and sofas. In fact just about the only decent pub left in East Dulwich. (Yes I know the postcode is SE15 but I grew up round here so I'll set my own boundaries!)
Beers on offer were Kelham Island Easy Rider and Hook Norton Haymaker, both very palatable, as well as Adnams Bitter (which I didn't try).
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The Gowlett has brought Peckham into the 21st century. The manager and staff are warm and welcoming, there is no tv blaring in the background. They do organic wines and my only criticism is that the only thing on the menu is pizza. Highly recommended. It really emphasises the fact that Peckham is up and coming!!! About time - we have been starved of decent pubs in Peckham. Try the Rye Hotel as well especially in the summer as the beer garden is to die for. There is a canopy with candles and lights so you can still sit outside if the rain pours. The food is on the expensive side which is why I would only give the Rye 8 instead of 10. �8 for a salad - I mean we are in Peckham not the West End.!!!
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Fantastic pub! Check it out. It has just won Camra South London pub of the year for goodness sakes! And another award from a radio station.
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Stopped off in here while walking back from Dulwich on Friday evening. Had very small child with us and was wondering how that would be received. The landlord/barman opened the door for us to get through and said: "Does that answer your question?" He ushered us through to the outside area and opened the canopy (it looked like it would rain). Made us feel very welcome. Had a great pint of Abbot and two really good pints of Ruddles Best, a beer you would usually be a bit dubious about trying in most places. Felt so 'at home' we decided to sample the pizza, which was delicious and cooked properly. Will definitely come here again.
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A bit pricey and a bit trendy and modern for me, in an area where most of the pubs seems to have rushed into the 21st Century leaving me trailing in their wake - but a good selection of well-kept ales sourced mainly from the larger independent brewers, which is the main thing for a CAMRA type like myself. I reckon it's probably a good thing for an overtly modern pub to win the SE London CAMRA pub of the year award. The Gowlett is a also a convenient distance away for anyone watching matches at Dulwich Hamlet FC.
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Went to Gowlett recently and thought it had great potential as a local : didnt try the pizzas but given what the people at the next table were served will definately want to go back and sample. However, we come back to the same issue..... is it acceptable in a pub to let children crawl all over the floor, or even worse, let doting parents come over to your table (because the kids have made their own way there) and tell them that its naughty to play with matches ? SORT IT OUT !!!!!
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Great news. the gowlett se15 has just been voted SE London Pub of the Year 2005. What an achievement and very well deserved. Congratulations to all.
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I think cassius has yet to see what's so nice about the Gowlett. this place isn't trying to be anything. it feels comfortable like a real pub but not scabby or old man-like. nice pizza. laid back.friendly staff. space invaders type game that's with the screen in the table is great- i'm crap at it! pool too. this pub is cool.
anonymous - 25 Jan 2005 19:03 |
The Gowlett is a great pub. Newly refurbished. Friendly bar staff. A classy but laid back atmosphere.Ambient alternative music. Enough said
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The Gowlett doesn't really seem to know what it wants to be, and it would appear to be suffering from an identity crisis. It is half modern trendy bar and half traditional 'boozer'. The bar itself looks great, but the old fashioned banquettes and tables look out of place with what the place wants to be. Its a shame as it could be a great local
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Lovely opub-been renovated with lovely wooden floor and outside drinking area-pool table, chinese arcade game, stone baked pizzas and if you're out of matchboxes there's bricks to light your mathches-friendly pub nice mamagement most recommended
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