The Grosvenor Arms, Mayfair

This pub closed down in July 2006.

18 Sep 2006 00:09

The Powder Monkey, Greenwich

The Powder Monkey is an excellent new Gay venue for Greenwich. It has been well designed and beautifully crafted.
The Ground Floor Bar is well shaped, fashionably decorated with a good range of drinks available and there are sufficient bar staff to allow a pretty, quick service.
The First Floor Disco is remarkable for it's good use of space; a DJ box, a reasonable dance area, shelves & stools around the walls and a corner bar serving the same selection of drinks as on the Ground.
The Second Floor Bar is a classically designed smoke free area with velvet trappings and furniture fit for the queens who mostly grace it. There is a bar but no draught is sold up here.
The only downside is the toilets which are in the basement. Two urinals (in the original shape of lips) and one cubicle for the entire pub!
The DJ's music plays at a good volume on the First Floor and a resonable volume on the other two; reasonable enough to allow conversation. The staff are friendly. The clientel are of mixed ages although there are a few too many 'fag hags' around but there is no apparent exclusively Gay door policy. The Powder Monkey is a fantastic venue and a much needed addition to Greenwich's already diverse range of drinking places. The Cricketer's which it replaced was an unremarkable old pub; Greenwich already had enough good old pubs to satisfy.

16 Sep 2006 11:36