The Cutty Sark Tavern, Greenwich

Another pub having undergone a pretentious makeover. The upstairs - including the seats with the fine views over the River - are now part of an overpriced food-only "dining room". They were sitting empty when I was there while the remainder of the upstairs was filling up when people could have been watching the beautiful sunset with a pint - surely the main reason to visit this pub!

This seems part of an irritating and mean-spirited trend to bilk punters out of as much money as possible instead of providing a comfortable and enjoyable atmosphere in which to enjoy a drink, company and maybe some food.

This pub was always on my drinking route in Greenwich. Not anymore.

1 Dec 2013 15:33

The Hare and Billet, Blackheath

What was once a fine local pub that welcomed a wide variety of people has now been turned into a dismal hangout for wealthy hipsters. The prices are the highest I've encountered in any pub anywhere. Where there used to be a great menu of superior pub food there is now a menu that is pretentious and expensive. A new restaurant area sits empty most of the time and the rest of the pub is unwelcoming and stuffed with only large tables filled with parties of braying hipsters. Definitely not the place for a quiet cosy comfortable drink. The long list of real ales will satisfy some but it's not worth the loss of a fine pub in a great position on the Heath.

1 Dec 2013 14:52

The Crown, Blackheath

Now reopened after the refurbishment. It's definitely gone upmarket and a lot of effort has been put ino the swish design, but as a result it's now full of large leather armchairs meaning there are much fewer places to actually sit down and drink. What was a comfy pub is now straddling the fence between a smart bar and bit of a posing lounge : we'll have to see what way it turns out.

On the plus side, it's clean, bright and fresh, the food looked good although I haven't had any of it myself yet and while not much has been done to the outside -it's still the same old tables and chairs -we spent a very pleasant afternoon in the sunshine here. The tables are great for large groups or those that don't mind mingling with strangers, but it would have been good to
have a few seats or benches for smaller groups or pairs of people.

Obviously, the prices have all gone up and it's a little on the expensive side and I'd imagine a lot of the old regulars will now feel excluded. It's a pity to see what was a cosy old-fashioned pub with a lot of potential be lost forever; it certainly needed some improvements but could have been made to work. While the new pub is attractive and would probably be a great, slightly smarter destination in the evening (although I usually give Blackheath a miss in the evenings, especially at weekends), as a place for a quiet pint in comfortable surroundings, I'll be looking elsewhere.

5 Jul 2011 14:24