The Ship, South Norwood

Aah, the Ship. I shouldn't like this pub but I do. It is a bit of a Tardis pub being bigger in the inside. We went on a Friday night with only three other people in the pub, one who left when we accidently put a brolly on his chair. The pub looks a little tatty but has a smart outside area. It is currently leaking which is not great. Has pool and darts although the pool table is slightly askew. The Abbots was good and was served by a smiling European chap but there was no variety. Remarkably, given the unfriendly nature of other South Norwood pubs, this is the one I may come back to, if only to sit in the nice outside area.

14 Sep 2013 17:03

The Cherry Trees, South Norwood

The first pub out of the station. On the negative side the music was a bit loud, the bar staff a bit grim, and the London pride tasted off. The staff were not bothered about that. On the plus side there was no hassle, the juke box is good. It has pool and darts but best of all is a spacious outside area, no doubt to cater for the large pre=match clientele. A little make over, taking care of the bitter, friendlier bar staff and some soap in the toilet dispensers then this would be a decent pub. I get the impression in South Norwood that pubs don't want to invest in attracking new customers!

14 Sep 2013 16:53

The Jolly Sailor, South Norwood

If you want to be stared at when entering a pub, when you order your drink, continually monitored when drinking and then aggressively abused and accused of being a drug pusher when asking about the garden area then this is pub for you. Even by South Norwood standards this pub does not want to cater for the casual drinker and you will feel menaced to the extent you should leave. This is a local pub for local people, like the Slaughtered Lamb in American Werewolf.

If you do want to front it out then you'll be in a bright space with pool darts big screen and generic lager on tap, the token bitter is John Smiths although we were told there was no bitter. I don't think real ale drinkers would be welcome, mind you no-one is!!!

14 Sep 2013 16:31