The Lord Clyde, Borough

Quality pub with authentic feel and decent beers. Pint of T.E.A was about £3.75 and very drinkable. Good atmosphere with a genuinely friendly vibe. 9/10

10 May 2014 17:41

The Horniman at Hays, Southwark

Pretty big Nicholson's pub on the riverside end of Hay's Galleria. Some standing space outside by the river, which is OK in the summer. I used to work nearby, so I've been here a few times in the last few years.

Fairly busy on the Thursday evening I was there with mostly office workers having a drink in small groups. £3.95 for a pint of alright Doom Bar. The pub is OK, if unremarkable, but they still suffer from their age old problem of not having enough staff on. I've just had a look at the comments here going back to 2003 and by far the most common complaint is the slow service, a problem that appears to continue. The night I went they had 3 staff working between 6-7pm which I think is just not enough for a pub of this size with this many customers. I had to wait ages to get served.

This pub basically keeps going due to the captured market of thousands of local office workers and passing tourists. It's a classic example of a corporate pub, without much charm and inadequately staffed - all in a prime, fail safe location. It probably makes loads of money. 4/10.

16 Jan 2014 14:06

The Barrowboy and Banker, London Bridge

This pub is like show home for Fuller's. I don't remember being in Fuller's pub that was so obviously promoting their beers etc. It's a fairly big old place with a mezzanine floor that seems to be for eating only.

I went for the seasonal Red Fox which was OK, but... £4.15! Maybe the regular ales were cheaper. And Heineken was £4.45. This is not a cheap place to have a drink. It's location is pretty front and centre by the end of London Bridge and opposite the station, so I suppose that explains it. Still, that's pretty expensive for pubs round these parts.

Pretty busy when I was there with quite an interesting range of people from office people to young types in the early 20s.

The weirdest thing was the massive screen showing Valencia v Swansea in the Europa League. Why? No one was watching it. That screen and the other smaller TVs elsewhere in the pub surely completely undermine the Fuller's showcase. Very odd.

Having said that, I sort of quite like this pub's airy feel and I'm partial to the Fuller's beers, but... this place is just too expensive. 5/10

20 Sep 2013 22:30