please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Visited the Brockley Jack on a Sunday afternoon in mid October for another family meal & this was my first visit since the new manageress took over.
13.30 when we arrived and the pub was packed, all tables reserved so a good job we booked. A couple of new ales on the hand pumps, the Woodford’s Wherry was on good form while my father had a pint of Twickenham’s Naked Ladies and said it was decent.
A new food menu offering a slightly reduced amount of starters but still all the classics along with a large and varied choice of mains including Sunday Roasts. 5 of us ate and all enjoyed our lunches.
The Jack is a decent place to eat but does seem to be becoming more of a food destination than a regular pub.
The current bar staff could do with being a little more switched on, especially at busy times!
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6.30pm on Easter Sunday and another visit to the Jack for a family meal.
Table booked for 5.30pm but easily changed on the phone for an hour later and on arrival the table was ready and waiting for us.
The GK Brockley Jack ale was in good form as was the food and the service. The food menu has been changed and the food was better that last time, warmer and healthier.
Pretty busy probably due more to the fact that it was a bank holiday the following day.
A decent option for pub food in my area.
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Came in on Boxing Day with my father for a couple of beers and the place was just dull.
The beer is fine and reasonably enough priced but my goodness is this place boring.
Was back in yesterday (11/1/15) for another family lunch (not my choice). Food was very good and very edible, the beer was good…I had several pints of GK St Edmunds but again the rest of the pub is just dull.
Arguably my nearest pub but not one I wish to spend much time in especially since the LBD opened.
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Even though my brother and his family use this pub regularly, and had told me many times about how good it was, I had my first visit there on Tuesday 9th Dec for a family meal as it was my mothers 80th birthday. I must say I was very impressed by the menu and the quality of the food when delivered and the service was great. The bar service was spot on and I will certainly recommend this pub for a night out whether it be for drinks or to have a meal. Now having been here once I will definitely be popping back when next in London.
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Dinner with the family on Friday night for my Dad's 70th birthday.
We arrived just before 8pm and the bar and food seating areas were packed to the rafters.
The range of ales have increased since my last visit, the pumps now have Timothy Taylor landlord, Everards Tiger and Greene King IPA as well as Belhaven Best on gravity.
Service poor to start with but got much better as the evening went on and in the end the Manager was very good and attentive.
Food was good but the food service was a bit jumbled as the young lad did he's best.
As previously reported this used to be my local until 4 years ago and since then this is only my 2nd visit, it looks like I may be coming back again to give the place another chance.
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Used to be my local until the landlord ignored me one Christmas Day so I didn't return until a few weeks ago.
Large pub that was restored by Greene King pumping a couple of mill into the place several years back.
I used to bring the whole family he fr food and drinks but after the aforementioned incident I stopped using it.
Standard GK beers used to do a mean pint of Peroni and he ales are always drinkable if not a bit dull.
I personally think the brewery needs to revamp the place again and maybe cut back a bit on the food as the area is crying out for a proper decent pub as the only one within walking distance is the Ladywell Tavern and that's probably a bit far for the families with prams!
This place for me is the perfect example of large breweries ruining local pubs but to be honest the 'Jack was on its backside before they pumped money in.
Just a bit to bland for me.
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This isn't my local but is a pub I pop into occasionally.
The decor is pretty good for a chain pub - the pub has a long history and clearly it was refitted with that in mind.
I've always found the staff to be polite and they've never kept me waiting around when standing at the bar to order, which is an instant plus in my book (I can sort of understand RavensbourneAli's comment - we've never had an extended delay for food but I get the feeling that if there was one the staff might not be proactive in communicating it and would assume that diners here are going to be around for a while having a few drinks anyway and thus a delay in food service might not be an issue for customers).
The prices are certainly above average, but beer quality is sound and the prices probably reflect chain policy (Greene King) and the area, parts of which are gentrified.
Food is typical of a chain pub - fairly priced and consistent in quality.
Pub quiz on Thursdays (nothing too taxing or intimidating).
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This place was miles better before they poshed it up a few years ago.
Its now overpriced and the landlord and his staff are all cretins.
If I ever go in there again I'm wearing a shell-suit and bright white trainers just to annoy the staff.... they are clearly trying to keep the 'wrong sort' out.
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Just to add to my below comment, the 40 minute wait was especially annoying as there were a grand total of 19 people in the pub, most of which had already eaten. Why there was such a ludicrous wait i have no idea.
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Went to the Jack yesterday for the first time and I must say I was rather disappointed. It's a stunning building and I quite liked the decor and my expectations rose due to the initial feel the pub gave me. Unfortunately, the service was terrible. When I got to the bar one bar person was serving the only other customer at the bar while another bar person was standing at the end chatting to a friend. I waited five minutes before another customer came to the bar who was promptly served by the bar person who'd previously been chatting. I was finally served and took a seat with my girlfriend to peruse the menu. Having originally set out for an indian we decided to try the curry on the menu. I went to the bar and ordered my food and sat down again. Half an hour later I asked how much longer our meals would be and was told five minutes. We then overheard a customer ask how long the wait on food would be and they were told 45 minutes. We'd not been told about this wait when we ordered our food. Ten minutes later the food arrived and, while it was rather tasty, it certainly wasn't worth a 40 minute wait. As a licensee myself I expect communication to be much better in a pub of such quality. Next time I'll walk the extra 10 minutes and go to Jam Circus.
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Used to really like this before they changed the decor and lost some of it's ambience. Decent food, standard booze, but lacks something in buzz these days
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Having lived int he local area for over a year I have avoided this pub...such a shame as it's a fantastic friendly place, the staff really are super! The food is cracking for the price you pay and the Old Speckled Hen was the best pint I've had in a while.
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Good food. Obnoxious owner.
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Nice little Greene King pub with a theatre upstairs - ideal for a Friday night meal, followed by an independent show with friends. Would recommend the burgers - they don't taste like typical chain pub food.
I'm not a lover of GK beers, but the IPA was well kept and tasted as good as Greene King IPA is able to taste. We shall be back!
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Was passing the pub last Saturday when heard live music.
On the plus side
They have a rocking house band playing jazzy funky soul. They were all great but the sax player Frank and the singer Gordan were out of this World brilliant. If you like good live music go to this place on a Saturday night.
On the bad side
We couldn't get a seat near the band so although we could hear them we couldn't see them much.
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Simply a great pub.
The management and staff are all so friendly, there's decent food and I love it.
I have actually moved to Cockfosters - way up in North London, but a monthly (minimum!) pilgrimage to "The Jack" is a must.
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Large imposing suburban roadhouse, owned by Greene King.
It was formerly a Courage Pub and visited by me as such in the early 70's, when it appeared in the Evening Standard Guide to London Pubs.
"Brockley Jack" was apparently a local highwayman back in the 15th century.
Thankfully, the clientele seem more welcoming nowadays !
The building is late Victorian - you can see the date, AD 1898, high up in the brickwork outside at the top and, whilst a bit of the Victorian grandeur and feel remain, it's evidently recently had a substantial makeover. It now looks quite stylish, in a contemporary way and has a more upmarket feel and ambience than you might expect for South East London ( oops, hope this doesn't offend anyone ).
Inside, I noted an old photograph of the pub showing ownership by D Noakes & Son Entire ( presumably an old London brewer ) and you can still make out the lettering "Noakes Entire" in the brickwork outside.
The pub is one longish single bar with high ceilings and a carpeted restaurant area at the back.
Food is quite a large part of the operation, but doesn't over dominate and you don't feel uncomfortable just coming in for a pint, as indeed many apparent regulars seemed to be doing. Pleasingly, they were being greeted by name by the friendly manager - this is certainly not always the case when a pub has made a deliberate upmarket makeover.
I formed the view that this was a friendly, welcoming and well run establishment, based on my visit last Saturday afternoon.
Only Greene King IPA and Abbott were on the pump ( no guests ) , the former being as good a pint of IPA you will get and only � 2.40p.
There's an extensive outside seating area at the back and a pub theatre at the side.
There's a small TV, but it wasn't on during my visit, presumably to discourage any undesirables.
As modern pubs go, I was quite impressed by this place.
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Very good following refurbishment. The kind of place you feel welcome.
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First visit was two weeks ago to this pub to see a play at the little theatre there, tried to order food and was told by landlord that in his opinion, food would not be ready in time for start of show, as he was so honest and friendly, we felt fine about this and decided as the food looked nice on the menu, we would venture here again just to sample the food and came back on a Saturday night a week later. The landlord although a very busy pub reconised us and said hello and was very welcoming. The place is very friendly and the rear of the pub is quiet and great for food, we had a rustic starter to share with cut ham and followed by two nice steaks and great selection of desserts. On the night we went back, they had live latino music at one end and staff really freindly, with landlord and chef both coming out for a chat and making sure everything OK. Really nice decor, leather chairs, going back again as they have a pie night on wednesdays which looks good. Really good selection of wines. Great little find and perfect night especially with a fringe theatre attached to it.
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This pub has had a substantial makeover and reopened at the start of the summer as a very friendly, welcoming pub with well-chosen decor and huge comfy sofas at the theatre end of the pub (you can buy drinks in the interval and take them upstairs to see you through the final act).
Having been very down at heel in the past few years, with an emphasis on attracting sports fans with its huge TV screens, it's now a smart establishmen and is more like an upmarket drawing room. (there is a discreet TV screen above and next to the bar which shows some matches, tennis etc on request. Pub quizzes are also a regular event.)
The furniture consists of generous round and square tables that comfortably seat for or five people to eat or gather over a couple of pints or glasses of wine. Tables are well-spaced out but not spartan, and there are larger tables round the back leading out to the sun terrace.
We have eaten here several times and found the portions just the right size - not overwhelming but not parsimonious either. There's the right mix of traditional pub fare and some less obvious dishes. Vegetarians always have two or three choices too - a refreshing change.
Non-smokers will love the fact that the beer garden is a sun deck with no smoking allowed - if only there'd been any sun to enjoy this summer. Smokers have to make do with a pen-like area accessed from the side door.
Beer selections are better than the wines, I'd say, but there's plenty of draught choices of both ales and lagers.
The best of the Brockley pubs by a country mile.
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Tasteful redocoration. Lovely cheap meal, good choice of beer & good value wine, friendly staff also. Think having a full restaurant area and they had run out of some desserts shows its popularity.
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First time I've been in since the refurb (went in once before, never went back) and loved it. Only went following a recommendation from friends who regularly go down with their young children.
Food was good value, staff were very pleasant, good pint of real ale.
Great to have a decent pub at this end of the road (saves me walking to the Honor Oak).
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Fantastic. Really lovely pub, and a garden you can sit in without getting choked on cigarette smoke. Add friendly staff and tastey food and they've got a winner here!
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Re-opened after a complete renovation, and what a transformation. Excellent decor, beer and food with a nice walled courtyard garden (non-smoking). Much improved over it's old incarnation, and can't recommend highly enough for lunch.
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It has now opened. Was full of anticipation, as so few pubs in the area have bothered to do anything for smokers and i could see that they were making a garden at the back.
Walked in ... great: potentially pretty new garden, some cover, nice seats ... sign in management-speak saying soemthing like 'this is a non-smoking garden for the convenience of non-smokers' .... walked right out again. So did a lot of people I know.
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Brockley Jack is now being redesigned - will be reopening May and boards outside advertise Deli-boards and tapas!
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This is an object lesson in how to destroy a pub. When there were wooden booths inside and there were smoked glass windows and flock wallpaper, it was great. You could sit there and have a pint before seeing something a bit experimental in the theatre, pretending that you were in Camden. When they ripped out the �old fashioned� decor they also removed all of the charm and atmosphere of the place, hence the negative comments
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No, it is the worst ever. Nearest pub to my house too - damn!
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Food was very nice when I was there. Atmosphere poor (big plasma screen and music going on at the same time) and interiors not that nice.Wouldnt recommend it but not the worst pub ever.
anonymous - 7 Sep 2007 16:16 |
Now, admittedly I visited early on a Monday evening, but I was surprised by some of the other comments. Emphasis seemed to be on food (which looked good value), wine (which was good value), real ale (Cask Marque) and the theatre (Strindberg). Perhaps the smoking ban has civilised the place.
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I would not feel safe in there these days without a flack jacket and a big barky dog.
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Agree. This place is dire at present. It used to be OK in a split-personality way (it has a pub theatre as well as a red-neck kill-you-as-soon-as-look-at-you vibe). Now is just plastic, horrible decor, unfriendly staff. Doesn't even do being a red-neck place very well.
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Awful chain pub, was in there last week to watch the football, staff were rude, and the place ended up being full of very drunk individuals singing Frank Sinatra songs!!
Also another annoying thing is they start putting the chairs away around you even before the pub has called last orders!!
Much better pubs around the area, one to avoid!!
anonymous - 4 Jul 2006 14:06 |
Thought I should add, the quality of picture on the big screen is awful. Very faded image.
If you're going for the footy and it's a big game, get there early and bag a spot in front of the plasma screen at the opposite end of the bar to the big screen, it can get quite crowded.
Especially when 'the mighty Chelski' are playing. Of course I've always supported them. Even before they bought the league. And I've been a Chelsea pensioner since the age of 3. etc etc....
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Just a bland chain pub. Can be quite localsy and it's got a high loon quotient. I use it for the footy and that's about it.
Wouldn't recommend for females on their own unless you like the amorous attentions of inebriated idiots.
And the last time I was in someone put the Cr*zy fr*g song on the jukebox, which says it all really...
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Rough at frig with ignorant barstaff. I would have liked the bloke behind the bar to have taken my order before sorting the telly out. Apparently it used to be a great pub but it was as edgey as heck last Saturday night.
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Isn't it shut at the moment? Visited a few times in the past, real ale a bit dodgy, but a nice local boozer all the same.
tomario - 16 Nov 2003 15:19 |
Does anybody know the whereabouts of eric the old guv'nor?? I hope he's well.
rob - 6 Oct 2003 19:18 |
Bizarre mix of shiny chain pub, old fashioned local and experimental theatre (round the back). Good cheap food and loads of football on big screens.
Lee Cheshire - 17 Feb 2003 13:45 |
