please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The Pub recently reopened; which was good news. However, the selection of beer is poor. If you like beer, No cold dark beer, no wheat beer. Just a choice of two bottled lagers. The Trinity, 5 minutes to the North and the Duke of York 3 minutes to the South both have cold bottled dark ale and wheat beer etc. when asked about other beer types in the Ship the staff did not even know what it was. Avoid. Not a good pub
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First time visit - and last. Disappointing for a Fuller's pub. London Pride very dull tasting. Too many tables with 'reserved' notices on them - at 5.30 on a Tuesday. Bartender thought he was in a club or hipster joint rather than a pub. Was probably once a good local boozer, now doesn't know whether it's trying to be slightly trendy for the craft and wine brigade, or still wanting to accommodate local beer drinkers.
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My first ever visit to this Fullers pub on a Wednesday afternoon.
The Ship is a pub I have been meaning to tick since 2013 but hadn't got round to it, so after a meeting in the local area it was a good opportunity.
A friendly barmaid greets me as I approach the bar. There are 5 hand pumps offering 4 different Fullers ales. These are London Pride, ESB, Seafarers & Chiswick Bitter. The Pride is on 2 pumps.
I choose a pint of Chiswick and it’s very good, well kept and refreshing.
The pub is more than half full with a mix of locals and workers. There is football and racing on the television screens in the front bar with the back bar area being a little more quiet.
I sit at the bar with my pint watching and listening the locals.
The Ship appears to be very much a community pub aswell as being a favourable place to watch sport with lots of up coming football and rugby games advertised.
I may return and there’s a few pubs in the area that I haven’t been in so The Ship could be part of a crawl soon.
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Fullers pub about midway between Borough and Elephant & Castle tube stations. CAMRA seem to rate this pub fairly highly. It's in the current Good Beer Guide and I noticed that they host branch meetings here. It has a nice enough interior with plenty to keep you occupied, including TVs and board games. Lighting is just about right and service was good. Ales are limited to Fullers - Pride, HSB, ESB & Chiswick. But a reasonable pub as Fullers pubs go.
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Great pub in every way, well run by Mike.
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I go here quite often. It was refurbished in late 2012. The refurb didn't come a moment too soon becase the men's toilets were foul, there was no lock on the door, the water came out so hot in the basin it was a real health and safety issue. On one occasion I found the toilet seat on the window sill. They're now much improved.
The food is patchy. It depends on the chef. I had to send the fish and chips back once. There was virtually no fish. It was dreadful. The food is definitely expensive for the quality. It's as though they've seen what other pubs can charge but forget that if you ask for a premium you do need to deliver something good. The food here is never better than average and it's plain pub fare - nothing gastro. There's almost no healthy option either.
The biggest problem is the lack of a decent manager. The guy who runs this place really doesn't seem to care. Some of the bar staff give the impression they really don't care either - although some can be quite friendly.
Weekends the crowd here comes to watch sport on the various screens.
It's a shame really. This pub coould be good. It doesn't seem to know quite what it wants to be. If it wants to be a decent local then it needs to work on the decent. If it wants to be a destination pub it needs to offer people a reason to go out of their way. If it wants customers it has to care about its customers.
If you put a really goood manager in here, one who'd listen and think for a while and then give his or her customers what they want it could be a little gem.
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I've been here a good few times now because my friend's a bit of a bar spider/regular in this public house. Being next door to quite a built up area it has a well-established local clientele but also pulls in other passing trade. The large windows make it nice and airy and it's cool in summer and inside it boasts panelled walls and pleasant nautical decor. I tend to have the Staropromen which is offered on draught and it's a nice drop. Both the mens' and ladies' toilets are clean, which is always nice. Outside there's a pleasant outside seating area with a patio heater.
I think it had pretentions for becoming a gastropub at some point (although a menu did spell mussels as 'muscles') but luckily it's abandoned such dreams and the food's not exactly cheap but is hot and plentiful.
I went there one Saturday afternoon and sport was on - not being a huge fan of such things I did find it annoying that it was being shown from both ends of the pub which kind of ruins your conversation really. However once the main match finished it became lovely and quiet.
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Spent a few hours here a couple of weeks ago on a Friday afternoon, drying off after a long walk in the rain. Very pleasant pub, decent beer kept fairly well. Welcoming staff when we visited, and was a great place to relax.
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I totally agree with Gann that service could be a little bit better - are you listening, O Fullers regional manager?
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Good for a nice, cheap pint of Chiswick (even if I was given an old 5p coin instead of a 10p by one of the barmen). Clientele can be a bit geezerish, and I agree that you can sometimes struggle to get served, despite the number of bar staff. But a good and reliable pub - an asset to the area
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Fell on this pub by accident as its not near anywhere. It was an afternoon but still had a fair few clientele. Serves food which I wasnt hopeful of - but got excellent portions, served hot and tasted great and not at city prices! Reasonable range of beers and excellent friendly service. Worth getting lost for! Beer garden will be great in the summer.
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Don't really love this much at all. The selection of beers is nothing special, the bar gets sticky and as adamsh0re says it's a bit old man-ish. There are better around.
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A traditonal pub with good selection of beers. The pub itself was littlle bit 'old man-ish' in atmosphere but still a good place to drink if you want a nice quiet pint away from all the 'student' haunts surrounding it.
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Will concur with the posters below that this is a very decent Fullers pub and is a sight for sore eyes when escaping from the E&C heading north. Good traditional pub decor as described well below and the full range of Fullers Ales on pump.
And the two screens at either end of the bar were showing the two Europa League games with Fulham and Liverpool with the sound muted, so you could enjoy the footy but not have it intrude into your conversation.
Only issue I had with the Ship was with the service. There seemed to be three people working the bar, but only one was ever serving and any particular time. Firstly the guy who served us on entering seemed to think that as he was pulling seven pints he could get away with outrageously short pulls. A mistake he did not make subsequently after reminding him that we had asked for pints and not halves.
And then when the bar area got busy with waiting thirsty punters, one of the bar staff who was obviously carrying out a stock check seemed to consider it more important to count the number of bags of peanuts, rather than serve waiting customers.
But a small moan and all in all The Ship is a good solid traditional pub and long may it remain so.
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Traditional Fullers pub a short walk away from Borough Tube Station.
The long single bar is unpretentious, yet pleasant and comfortable with much wood panelling and the usual collection of nautical prints and pictures on the walls. An alcove at the far end of the pub contains a dartboard.
On my recent early evening visit, the pub was surprisingly quiet, with just half a dozen or so regulars presents. A smallish plasma TV on silent , tuned to Chelsea TV, enabled me to wallow in nostalgia as a Chelsea v Arsenal game from an earlier season featuring stars such as Kerry Dixon and a youthful looking David Seaman was showing.
The pub proudly announces that it has a secret beer garden which it describes as "the only oasis of calm in Borough" . There's also an upstairs function room with occasional comedy nights.
The full range of Fullers beers was on and the London Pride - at a cheapish ( relatively ) price of � 2.85p - was in excellent form. I noted that the ESB was � 3.05p - a price cheaper than many pubs sell the London Pride for.
This is not a pub worth going out of your way to visit, but I'd happily call in again if passing.
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This is a decent Fullers pub that had four of their ales on the five hand pumps during my visit. There was also a large standard draught selection alongside Staropramen and the barman that served me was very friendly. The pub seemed to be well kept and clean, but there were a couple of fruit flies buzzing around my pint which was a little irritating.
There are a couple of plasma screens that show Sky Sports, but these were both off as no events were on so there was some inoffensive background music playing. There is a dartboard at the end of the long thin bar and there is also a function room upstairs that is available for hire and also hosts a comedy night every other Friday evening.
The food menus behind the bar advertised sandwiches and pies and I laughed when I read the sign saying �selection of foreign bottled beers� with Leffe, Heineken and Budweiser sitting above it.
I�m a big fan of Fullers pubs and I thought that this one was above average and I would have no hesitation in returning.
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The ship is a great pub in this area. we go there alot after university and have a few drinks. it helps living next door though!! the staff are all friendly, the beer garden has a heated gazebo and the prices are pretty cheap! but we mainly go for the cute aussie bartender with the scruffy hair.. marry me!!
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Fantastic pub. Goood ale. Good food. Good company. Good Staff. Go to this pub.
JoanL - 12 Oct 2009 22:51 |
The entire Fuller�s range was on, with the exception of Gale�s Seafarer. The Chiswick was on good form, and at a pretty reasonable �2.60 a pint. This is quite an attractive pub, both inside and out � I think well tended hanging baskets always give a pub an attractive look. It looks like a classic inter-war pub to me. Gone are the original partitions between the different rooms that would undoubtedly have been there at some time in the past, but the bar counter and wood panelled walls certainly appear to be the real deal. There are some of those high stool and tables that I quite dislike, but there are a number of normal tables and chairs round the sides. The barmaid was friendly enough without being chatty. The menu was fairly standard pub grub (nothing wrong with that) at reasonable prices. I didn�t eat there so can�t say any more than that about the food. There was a TV on, but muted, showing Sky Sports. The decor on the walls, consisting of prints and miscellaneous artifacts was, as you would expect, entirely of a nautical nature. There is also a functional dartboard at the back, being used when I was in there � Strongers would approve.
So, we have a clean, comfortable and welcoming pub doing decent Fuller�s ales. You wouldn�t travel from the other side of London just to visit it, but it�s definitely worth dropping in for a pint if you�re in the area.
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Went in for a sunday roast last week , was superb. drinks service a little slow but football was on so it was understandable. will go back if i have the chance.
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Nice little Fullers pub far enough away from the Borough in one dirction and the Elephant & Castle in the other resulting in a quieter pub than many in the area.
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Food is ok, not quick mind you. But the Fullers beers are excellent and the prices are a great improvement on other pubs a mile up the road. Nice little beer garden too. Still a bit old man and dog, but don't let that put you off.
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I recognise the food service could be better, but you always get a good pint of Chiswick ale here.
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Really good E.S.B. . Food very average , and why do the bar staff spend more time walking round the pub serving up meals , than actually serving beer . Why does the pub not install a tannoy telling customers their food is ready , they then in turn could come to the bar and collect their grub . Thereby leaving the bar staff much more time to serve other customers.
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Very good choice of Fullers ales. Food OK. But a rather ordinary venue.
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Good Fullers pub, with more of a local feel than some of the after-work establishments closer to London Bridge station. Nice pint of Discovery.
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Returned again. Food still very good but the Pride was rather iffy (ESB fine, though).
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Excellent ales. And they have now improved the time it takes for a food order to be delivered: used to wait 35 minutes for sandwiches and the pub was not particularly crowded!
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Decent Fullers pub. The beer was excellent and the range of burgers quite beautiful!
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Since the new manager took over a couple of months ago think his name is Alex, this pub has gone from strength to strength! Great beer and fantastic food. Well done!
anonymous - 27 Dec 2006 12:58 |
Since Sarah left, the new and often changing staff are lacking in communication skills. However, the Pride is always superb and the beer garden is a great sun-trap/hide-away from the London trafic.
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down to earth local, ok beer, let down by mute unfriendly bar staff
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I have been using this fine Fuller's pub quite a bit recently, during the lunch-time sessions and the beers are always excellent and the atmosphere welcoming. The lovely Sarah and her staff are always pleased to see you.
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I've been in here a few times, usually just to have a leak. Apart from the usual office workers, there is an air of 'surveilance' about the place, being just over the road from the Old Bill. Plenty of bent coppers talking shop. Best to keep your head down, and get on wiv your drink!
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Pretty seedy due to certain regulars, the food has been pretty rubbish, drinks are alright, the staff are usually lovely and friendly and it's still alright to relax back with a couple of mates and wind away the hours happily talking crap. Overall 'nothing special'.
DaveK - 17 Jun 2005 12:57 |
God is it a nice pub. Good staff, nice clientele, mellow like a pair of slippers.
anonymous - 17 Apr 2005 21:16 |
Its a great Pub, nice people, great food, great atmusphere!!! Love it!!
EBONY - 26 Oct 2004 11:12 |
i used to work round the corner, and this place was a haven for harrassed real ale drinkers. it's changed from it's old slightly seedy but very welcoming self, into something more trendy, but still worth a visit.
richard - 1 Jun 2004 13:30 |
I'm lovin' it!
Steenie - 13 Apr 2004 20:33 |
Superb, sexy clientele. Keep it coming lads!
Sara - 23 Feb 2004 21:52 |
I love it - full of atmosphere!
Juliet - 29 Dec 2003 18:16 |
Stale beer, stale carpets, stale staff, stale women. In a word: stale.
Clive - 2 Dec 2003 16:58 |
Nice friendly staff, always helpfull, good atmosphere.
Quiet room upstairs.
Philip - 26 Sep 2003 11:17 |
Great Fuller's pub, with a cosy beer garden for the good weather. The very atractive ladies that use it, make drinking the Pride there an even greater pleasure.
John - 23 Sep 2003 03:57 |
It's great, a traditional pub with trendy elements
Stephen Morris - 19 Jul 2003 23:14 |
