Funky Munky, Camberwell

As mentioned in previous reviews, it’s been called the Stormbird for a while now, and is unrecognisable from its previous incarnation.

Very nice little pub, and extremely friendly staff. Almost a student-like atmosphere, but with no students. A large number of the taps were not in use, which was a shame. A little surprised that they seemed to serve almost nothing but different variations of IPA as well; a few other different styles of beer wouldn’t have gone amiss.

23 Feb 2014 20:44

The Rosendale, West Dulwich

Oh dear. Don’t come to this pub when it’s busy. Bar too rammed to get a seat, yet half of the building was empty because it’s set aside for diners only. You wouldn’t want to eat here anyway, because it’s restaurant prices (to eat in a pub? Yeah, right!). A few interesting local beers, but you have to go outside in the cold if you want to sit down to drink them.

The clientele are awful, seemingly consisting of those elements of the braying masses so overcome with their own sense of entitlement that they will use every muscle and reflex in their body to try to edge in front of you at the bar and jump the queue. If anybody is even serving, that is; service seems somewhat difficult to come by.

To quote the reviewer below, it’s just some poncey restaurant with a small bar attached. Avoid this place. Really.

23 Feb 2014 20:42

Inn Deep, Glasgow

Where to start? Williams Brothers have finally opened their own pub. (Well, it’s been open for a little while now, but I don’t get to visit Glasgow all that often). Just in case you’re unaware, Alloa’s Williams Brothers are in a league of their own when it comes to craft brewing.

Most breweries which produce a range of drinks in double figures are tending to churn out ranges of identical bitters (given different names for some peculiar reason). Williams Brothers are the complete antithesis of this approach; producing a wide range of their own drinks based on both and entirely original ideas. Just for starters there are heather and spruce beers, their Cesar Augustus lager/IPA hybrid, Seven Giraffes ale; and don’t even get me started on Midnight Sun, possibly my favourite tipple of all time.

It seems almost tangential to talk about the pub itself. But it’s comfy, they have guest beers as well, the staff are knowledgeable and helpful, a perfect location overlooking the River Kelvin, and they also have the arch next door as an unusual beer garden.

If you genuinely like beer, then you couldn’t invent a better pub than this. It’s as simple as that.

23 Feb 2014 20:38