Graduate, Greenwich

There comes a point in life when you have to be open and admit what you are. Yes the Graduate is an “old fashioned” pub that hasn’t been decorated or improved in God knows how long, yes it is still clinging to the belief that it is a traditional Irish boozer (somehow attempting to stamp this impression into the initial mind-set of everyone entering by having a poster policy ensuring only Guinness is advertised), and yes, it has two fairly decent pool tables which are desperately screaming from the back of the room that this pub has more to offer. But the fact has to remain that this pub is so far back in the closet that I wasn’t sure if it was a pool hall at the back or Narnia.

In true Barrymore style, the handful of patrons in there on a Sunday afternoon assured me that the pub over the road (that opens at 6) was the gay bar, but judging by half the clientele, if that one is the main attraction, this was certainly the aperitif. The staff were friendly and the drinks were fine, the gents had that familiar smell of leaky urinals and over used disinfectant (which indicates they were presumably clean), and the music was audible enough so as not to be too loud but to mask the fact there was no one else in there.

All in all, this pub needs to work out what it wants to be in order to attract a crowd. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with going after the pink pound, but you won’t attract too many of that crowd without introducing a paint brush. An Irish pub is always a good draw, but again they need to be catered for.

All in all, this pub is trying to appeal to everyone on the cheap and I fear that due to that it may be appealing to no one. It gets an extra point though as it’s the first place a man has ever called me attractive.

5 Aug 2013 15:03

The Watch House, Lewisham

When is a Whetherspoons not a Whetherspoons? Er, well never really, but at least you know what you’re going to get. I first walked into the Watch House at about 6:30 on a Friday and was greeted by your usual Whetherspoons collection of old blokes outside the front doors, the odd “Croydon Facelift” mum with bored kiddy in tow and your staple Lewisham group of “gangstaaas”, however everyone seemed friendly and non-offensive.

The only thing that can ever set one Whetherspoons apart from another is the friendliness of its staff. In fairness to the Watch House, me and my mate stood at the bar most of the evening and had a good craic with most of the barstaff. The service was kinda slow (but hey it’s a Whetherspoons) and the beer was pretty good (ditto) and the (reasonably) young staff seemed capable enough at dealing with any minor scuffles before they became a problem.

No Whetherspoons pub has any particular atmosphere or ambiance and the Watch Tower is no different, but I guess that’s the point. In a world where yuppies want to sit on their laptops and the “yoof” want to sit around with plugs in their ears, no one wants to take notice of the world around them or interact with other people, so your average Joe like me has to make do with talking to bar staff or the old blokes outside the front.

Still, met a nice old bloke called Max, and the bar staff will probably recognise me next time. Result!

4 Aug 2013 15:52

Whelans, Surrey Quays

There are three types of pub in this world; one you’d take your missus into, one you’d go to with your mates and one you can just wander into, have a dirty pint, a game of pool and a bloody good craic. This one is definitely the latter. Oddly this is a pub that my old man never dragged me into as a kid in the 80’s (odd as we only lived 2 miles away and he dragged me into seemingly every other pub in a 5 mile radius every Sunday afternoon), so I thought I’d give it a go. I had my trusty dog, Spike, with me and was advised it by a nearby (not so dog friendly) pub.

It was early doors on a Sunday and the footie was about to start on Sky. It was fairly empty but a couple of Strongbows later it had started to fill up. The natives were friendly got into a bit of Arsenal related banter and felt at home. Pool table looked decent (didn’t play as there was some sort of in house tourney going on – although to be fair I never put my pound down) and a decent beer garden for a crafty fag.

The atmosphere might’ve been a bit blue for the missus and I think you’d miss out on a lot of this pub if you went with your mates and sat in the corner, but for what it is, it seems a good craic. Service was pretty decent, as soon as it got a bit busier another bloke came down from upstairs to help out.

All in all a good five hours spent – definitely worth a visit if you’re after an honest boozer where everyone gets involved.

4 Aug 2013 15:16