please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Wetherspoons, close to Brixton stations. The beer in decent and is very cheap for area. Very busy, small for a Wetherspoons and unfortunately there always seems to be a few weirdos.
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Called in here last week. Beer good. Staff excellent. Old Thumper at £2.50 a pint - yes! That's right. Cheaper than West Dorset pubs I'm more used to. Good mix of clientelle all co-existing without any trouble. Farage would hate that.
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It's a spoons - that's it.
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High street Wetherspoons pub, deceptively large inside. Spent a good few hours here prior to a gig at the nearby O2 Academy. A vast range of characters came in and out, quite a lively place. Good beer range at good prices, a few nice ones. Ate there too, food took quite a while but they did warn us of this.
If in the area again would probably pop in for a cheap beer
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Typical Wetherspoons pack-em-in pub with little atmosphere.
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Popped in for a drink one evening about a month ago. Usually with Wetherspoons pubs you know what to expect, but not this one. The place smelled terrible, like mothballs. The one beer I had was pretty grim, I can't remember what it was but I don't think I was too adventurous. I won't be back.
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Have had some memorable times in here eating and drinking before a gig at the Academy. The locals say that on non-gig nights the place is fairly quiet - but before gigs it is crowded, and you can feel the excitement. The place is poorly run and is not too clean. The bar staff struggle with most things - they are under stress and often out of their depth so check you are getting the right drinks, food and change.
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Oh. dear, this was the second weatherspoons I visited over the weekend, one in Aylesbury Buckinghamshire where the bar staff were friendly, helpful and knowledgable and the atmosphere was relaxed but smart, here however is the other end of the scale smelly loos, bleak surroundings, staff who have not grasped English let alone the fine points of real ale, we were there for 20 minutes and had to seperate beggers ask for money. Asked for a pint of abbot ale, was told "NO" without any explanation, had to settle for an ice cold John Smiths which didn't challenge the taste buds much. Just about ok for a pre-gig quick beer but please don't consider eating here.
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If we were still in the 18th or 19th century then the Beehive would be a �gaudy gin palace�. It is a noisy place, the toilets are repulsive and unhygienic and there are often robust exchanges of views among the punters that can and do become physical.
The clientele is replete with comic and tragic characters: the insane, pished old men, the local benefiterati, wheelers and dealers, bull-shitters, shop lifters, pavement princesses, students as well as market and office workers and ne-er do wells of every race, class, nation and trade. Every night the place echoes their course laughter and arguments onto Brixton high Street.
People going to gigs at the Academy regularly pop in for a few snifters on their way to concerts. Sometimes respectable lost white tourists from the suburbs visiting �vibrant� Brixton make the mistake of coming in for a restorative ale and a ploughman�s lunch much to the amusement of locals.
The staff is mostly foreign and nobody with a human heart can regard their situation without pity: invariably badly paid, overworked with no union representation and rudely treated by their punters � demonstrating that no native born Brit would choose to suffer such exploitation unless really desperate.
In summary, the Beehive remains a no nonsense working class pub in an ever gentrifying Brixton. The Beehive most accurately reflects Brixton�s multicultural demographic make up. As Brixton turns into Clapham and poor people are more and more pushed further out of London, one can draw some comfort that there is for the time being at least such an oasis free from pretentious arty-fartyness and vulgar ostentation. For all these reasons the Beehive is probably looked down upon by the snootier neighbouring establishments. Cheers.
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Noisy,smells of B.O.Worst Wetherspoons I have been in upto now.
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Fred is very popular here. He really likes the Beehive because the drinks are cheap and feels comfortable here
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Oh dear - if you wish to have all the negative stereotypes about Wetherspoons reinforced, then a trip to this pokey little outlet will probably do the trick. There was some grim entertainment to be had watching the staff complaining about abuse from some unsavoury customers who weren't making much sense at a few minutes short of twelve noon (actually the punters were being rude to each other as far as I could tell). Ten handpumps, but three 'available soon' just leaving Brains SA and Elgoods Black Dog in addition to the usual suspects. The bar person tried pouring three different pints of the former (which was obviously at the end of the barrel) and then poured the various quantities into a single glass. For �1.95 I couldn't be bothered to argue as the end result was drinkable, and at least it wasn't slops, but by this time I was mostly interested in heading for the exit. Grim.
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I'd like to describe this place as a sh+t hole but it's not that good.
Closes early.
meict - 14 Feb 2010 11:49 |
Rubbish lay out, very busy as it was gig night at the academy.
Limited beer selction, very dull standard offerings...no micro breweries .
Staff as well as punters smoking inside the doorway before the main door into the pub. Orrid.
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I went here the other day prior to a gig at the Academy. As I left the pub, there, right in front of me and all the people smoking outside, was a man taking a rock of crack out of a plastic bag. Beer very gassy, had an eclectic bunch of Pensioners, Yardies, Rude Boys, Gipsies and Poles. Everyone was pissed. Toilets smelled like a rabbit hutch. Other than that not bad.
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Brixton can be a busy, vibrant, and sometimes slightly scary place - full of lots of people with quite strong identities. The Beehive reflects this and is buzzing (sorry about the pun) � it�s a pub with an atmosphere that is almost attitude (apparently not everyone likes places like this). The real ale is good, the food is good. Go and visit it!
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Was in here Saturday night. Fine. It is a 'spoons. Better than Balham, worse than Victoria. Unbeatable prices, coz it is a 'spoons; shit atmos and clientele, coz it is a 'spoons.
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From the outside and indeed, upon entering, The Beehive seems like any other old-style Wetherspoon. The usual furnishing, groups huddled together and ales on offer breath an air of familiarity. However, that�s where the similarities end. Notices for CCTV adorns the walls and as for the gents? Well, now there is a story. There is none of the usual advertisements within and the two cubicles have low metal doors. The kind you can peer your head over � not particularly reassuring! The beer selection was reasonable and my Spitfire tasted fine, but I most definitely couldn�t settle here. I visited last Wednesday (12th Dec) prior to a gig at the nearby Academy and whilst I can perhaps envisage supping a couple here beforehand again, I certainly don�t relish a return visit.
HTM69 - 16 Dec 2007 11:57 |
I popped in here for a quick drink in July 2005 whilst I was looking at house in Brixton. This was a few days after the unfortunate shooting up the road in Stockwell. This pub was quite an experience, and had the atmosphere best described as the pilot light being on, just waiting for the explosion...
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This is a rather typical but small Wetherspoons and one would say rather inadequate for the area that it caters for. Only yards from the Brixton Academy and close to the market and shopping areas, it attracts a large number of varied punters and gets particularly rammed prior to Academy events. The interior is long, narrow and furnished in the usual �Spoons style with a few interesting old local photos and a displays. Although small, the beer selection is eclectic enough to suit most people�s tastes but then anyone on this site knows what to expect from a Wetherspoons, be it good or bad. The non smoking rear is divided up by wood and glass screens making a series of snugs, one with a fireplace and is probably the best bet to find a seat. I have never encountered any problems with service and this place has done me well on a few occasions although it must be said that there is not a lot of competition in the area unless you know where to go.
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Okay for a pre-Academy pint, better than the Goose across the way (although a warm can of tennants in a shop doorway would be preferable to that place). Last time I was here it seemed to be full of very smelly, very drunk men with collections of rotting carrier bags who were leering at anyone female. The bloke I was with said there was a tramp passed out in the toilets.
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Old-style 'Spoons - treat as a McDonalds for beer,
not that real ale was great
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As the previous comment says, a good place to go before a gig at the Academy. I've been in here twice before gigs and both times it's been a pleasant pre-gig drink and the service has been good. An interesting mix of locals and gig-goers on a gig night too. If I wasn't going to the Academy, however, I wouldn't go here, but it serves its purpose well.
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Been in a few times before gigs at the Academy and really can't complain. Always had good service, the locals I've encountered have been friendly, seems like a good mix of society.
All in all a good pub for a pint or 2 before you take out a second mortgage to buy a beer at the gig.
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Good for a few pints before a gig at Brixton Academy. Otherwise probably best avoided.
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Marginally better than "Spoons" at Victoria station, and that's not saying much.
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what i dump but good beer and food and staff are polite.
full of grump old men. who dont want too share tables.
i love the idea of increased non smoking area.get some back ground music and get rid of chaep drinking punter. sometimes the pub is just full of oldmen drinking one pint for 2hours.
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HI
ive been to this pub on many times to the academy.
its got the point where i dont fancy going inn any more.the pub is beatiful,nice drinks and food. But the old pissed men who are in everyday. and fights which ive witnessed makes me feel unsafe.The staff are extra nice and ready too help you. I feel sorry for them. Across the road they got the goose which is worst on drinks qaulity but atmosphere is beter. they got music to chill out and door men check and going round.i spoke to the door men and the actually told me the fighting pub of brixton is the wetherspoons across. I think the best way do deal with this have music get young energetic crowds and have door men.
the bar staff i hope the all get prices everyweek cause i personally wouldn't work even for nothig in this beehive pub.
anonymous - 25 Mar 2005 22:05 |
I've only ever been in here before going to a gig at the Academy. It is always packed, takes an age to get served and the staff have a habit of not turning round the beer clips when a beer is 'off'. Worth seeking out other pubs in the area.
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A cesspit of pissed locals at anytime of the day. Worst pub in Brixton by a mile.
Loz - 6 Oct 2004 13:15 |
Okay, so it's fairly grotty and populated mainly by pissed old men. But it makes a decent enough pre-gig watering hole if you're off to the Academy - the two nearest pubs tend to be rammed.
creatif - 3 Jun 2004 15:09 |
There are 2 types of Wetherspoons, the nice local and the real dump which is just full of drunks out for the cheap beer, this is definitely one of the latter.
Bernard - 24 Feb 2004 12:06 |
Horrible pub. Any pub that has to put those blue lights in the toilets tells you something about the regular customers
thomas - 19 Feb 2004 14:48 |
Quite a nice pub although beware when you go to the toilet! I went in the ladies by mistake! I dont know if the sign wasnt clear or I was too drunk, I cant remember. Very near to the Brixton academy which is handy for a few pints before a good gig.
Billy - 9 Jan 2004 11:52 |
Nice pub - shame that when you order a cocktail jug that the manager doesn't put in the correct number of shots.
BE CAREFUL AND MAKE SURE YOU GET WHAT YOU ORDER
Nuns - 21 Nov 2003 13:35 |
