please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Saturday lunch time and I decide its time to revisit this 'spoons for the first time in almost 10 years, I cannot believe its been so long.
Having an entry in the last 2 Camra GBG's has made me want to visit and see why it's made it into the guide.
Normal 'spoons set up with 10 hand pumps, across the pumps there are 3 with coming soon on them, restricting the ale choice to 3 guests plus Ruddles and London Pride. For my first pint I opt for Cronx Kotchin @ 3.9% a very decent pint and priced at £2.35. However I wait for what seems an age to get served! My 2nd pint was Windsor & Eton’s Hurricane IPA @ 5.0% another decent pint and the service this time is much quicker.
The pub is nicer inside than I remember but the clientele are what I expected. A couple of obnoxious and loud fellas spouting crap but thankfully the place was empty enough for me to sit away from these people.
I can now understand why the London and Rye is in the GBG as the ale is very well kept.
Worth the visit and i promise not to leave it another 10 years until my next visit.
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Quite amazed about the comments about this community pub, having moved into the town for work reasons in 2011 i was looking for a local, Catford has a varied choice and we decided to have a little pub crawl one hazy summer evening to see what one would become our regular watering hole. Hunger got the best of us and we were drawn to the Rye as entering the door [which was being held open by a old Scottish fella for us]we could smell some tasty food being cooked from the kitchen quarters, Upon sitting down i really got a feel for Catford life and if i had a camera i would have took a picture of the moment, young men in jovial banter with their elders talking over subjects as diverse as work, soccer ,modern art and even a deeper conversation between a wily old Irishman and a rather over zealous but friendly young buck about the pitfalls of alcohol . After ordering a korma curry for us both we both went went for choice of a nice cold beer deciding for a Czech lager and it tasted like heaven in a jar along with the warm smile from the barman it made us feel a sense of belonging and the belief that we had found our local in Catford town. The food arrived served to us by the actual cook who looked dapper and kindly in body language as he carefully put down our two piping hot plates, i could see why he took such care as the food was a work of art and i commented to the regulars that the food was tasty and really hearty. After a good few hours we left for Soho to complete our night but most of the conversation that night was highlighting our earlier enjoyment in the Rye a pub we now call OUR LOCAL.
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Paid this pub a visit yesterday morning. No sign of any drug dealing and most of the clientele seemed fairly respectable. Beers on were Adnams Topaz Gold, Greene King Abbot Ale & Ruddles Best & Weltons Googly & Bat and Pad. The real cider was Westons Marcle Hill. Service was friendly and the place was clean. The best option I could find in what is a pretty poor part of London.
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Probably one of the worst pubs in Catford, saying that there is some pretty stiff competition.
It attracts the lower end of Catford dole-scroungers who come to loiter outside with their staffie dogs and intimidate passers-by.
Avoid unless you are one of the above.
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This pub has cleaned it's act up a bit recently, or the drug dealers and users are now more discrete. It's still not the sort of place you can really relax in though.
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Pretty typical Wetherspoons, had gone downhill a bit, poor food and service and annoying clientele starting to hang around, but seems to have had a bit of a resurrection in recent weeks.
Went there last week and had nice food and a very well kept pint, and staff much more attentive and keeping an eye out for potential trouble.
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Not one of Weatherspoons best! It has really gone downhill recently and could do with a whole new team of staff to start afresh. If your first visit to a Weatherspoons was this one yiu wouldn't go in another!
vic34 - 15 Feb 2010 17:50 |
Used to drink here most weeks but seriously gone down hill over the past few months. Mates told me its one to avoid recently but had to try myself and agree 100%. Bad atmosphere and Columbia's main export being sold and used on premises. I really hope Spoons clean up this place as it was my favourite pub.
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For some reason this JDW is more expensive than the nearby Lewisham branch and I don't know why. A bottle of Lech in here is �2.40 whereas a mile (or therabouts) up the road it is �2.20. Also in here the beer was almost warm, how hard can it be to serve properly chilled bottles from a fridge ? Not a good score I'm afraid.
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Typical JDW say no more
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Like most Spoons pubs the tables are always sticky with spilt beer. Staff very friendly and food tasty. This is my favourite pub for kicking back and relaxing all evening without having to worry about my pocket. Just a nice gentle drink chatting to friends for a few hours chilling out and a bite to eat if it takes my fancy. Hardly even seen any trouble, but staff are good at spotting problems before that get serious and march the person out of the premises. I've been drinking here for 5 years now and find it a pleasant and relaxing place to spend an evening.
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not the best of pub , ales are not the best , staff swear as much as the customers ,lot of kids running around, it looks like the mothers of catford take the kids to the pub instead of the park not good
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I visited this bar when it first opened and i have to say it's now worse. The food is still it's usual self but surprisingly not bad. I had a lovely pint of ale but the name escapes me as someone actually stole my case with my notes after i went outside to use my phone (and it was at my feet) still It what you get if you drink in this type of bar. Full of men and women who by the looks of them would look better sitting on the green with a bottle or two of mateus rose or white lightning.
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Spoons + Catford = well, it's not going to equal a decent pub. Why bother go somewhere else for abeeter pub and better beer.
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Typical JDW pub this one is very gloomy,beer ok most
of the staff are very friendly the food has greatly
improved over the last few weeks,although not the best place to take kids for sunday lunch due to the
language from a certain few drinkers which the managers seem to ignore.
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Much like any other Wetherspoons, really. The atmosphere isn't bad and the staff are pretty friendly.
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My lunch time local OK for a cheap pint and the odd leaving do. Agree that there is often a shortage of staff behind the bar but one superb barmaid does the work of three. Tables are often sticky and the whole pub now needs paint and refit. Not sure what the regulars will do when smoking is banned as nearly every punter seems to like a puff.
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A flat supermarket type JDW conversion. Lacks character and atmosphere. Often quite busy without being too packed. Most popular tables are those near the window as the interior can be depressingly gloomy.
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I agree that the tables are often dirty. The main problem with this pub is the lack of bar stools, meaning that you HAVE to sit at a table. However, a pint of Guinness was just �1.59 when I visited in November '04...which is not to be sniffed at.
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Standard Wetherspoon's fare. Staffing can be an issue, but usually possible to get a seat during lunchtime. Very difficult to get seat at night - very busy.
Joe - 4 Sep 2004 19:08 |
Wetherspoons cheap prices and variety, gets packed to the rafters, tables often dirty (too busy?), always short of staff (anyone want a job?), real ale normally kept ok, lots of old gits, lots of young gits
john - 18 Dec 2003 10:32 |
