The Great Exhibition, East Dulwich, SE22

Official site of The Great Exhibition - www.greatexhibition.pub

Official site of The Great Exhibition - www.greatexhibition.pub

Originally known as the Crystal Palace Tavern, this large side street pub, a short distance from Lordship Lane, adopted its current name in 2012 when it was taken over by the Laine’s Brewery of Brighton. Anyone who has visited a Laine’s pub before should know exactly what to expect – a traditional boozer converted into an open plan, gentrified pub with Antic-style shabby-chic decor. Accordingly, we have an entrance porch with separate etched glass ‘Public’ and ‘Lounge’ panes leading into a large, high ceilinged room with exposed floorboards throughout. Large tables and sturdy chairs run under the front and side windows with banquettes to the right and some benches to the left. The servery is on the back wall and has a nice curved counter and mosaic topped bar back, adding some much needed character. Some grim floral wallpaper adorns part of one wall, but in general the colour scheme can be summed up as ‘green’, including the exterior of the pub, which is worth paying a bit of attention to thanks to some fantastic old lamps and a carved deer head among other decorative features. There is a stack of board games to one side of the bar next to a shelf full of listings magazines and flyers and an upright piano can also be found here near the door for the toilets. Music played quietly throughout our stay and I noticed there is a rear beer garden which was unfortunately out of action on our bright sunny evening visit, so we made do with one of the picnic benches in the L-shaped front patio area to the front and side of the pub. There are five handpulls on the bar but two were out of action leaving a choice of Animal Brewing Orca, Dark Star Hophead and Black Jack Mo Mild Mo Problems. I was a little surprised to find no Laine’s beers on, so opted for a pint of the Orca which was notably struggling in the heat and a little past its best. Later on I opted for the Hophead instead, but this was in even worse condition. We stopped here for a bite to eat and I have to say the food was very nice, as were both barmaids, one of whom tripped as she was bringing our food out, dropping a burger onto the floor. She dealt with what must have been quite an awkward and embarrassing situation for her in a very sensible and professional fashion whilst her colleague behind the bar was the very definition of a bubbly barmaid. I thought this was a fairly decent place – the sort of gentrified pub offering good food and two or three ales that seem to be springing up all across South London. The beer quality was a real shame and I might perhaps be generous in attributing this solely to the extreme temperatures outside. For me, the pub’s best asset is its staff who ensured a warm welcome and top quality service – improve their care of the cellar and this place could be onto a real winner.

Big lump of a place,and a bit dark and dingey inside.The pub was extremely busy inside and out, there was a DJ with a turntable on the go inside playing at an insanely loud level although it didn't seem to be bothering any other pub goers. There were 5 pumps on the bar with a choice of Laines "Bestest Bitter", Sambrooks Pumphouse Pale, Vibrant Forest Simcoe and one I failed to note along with Orchard Pig Explorer.I made a bee line for the Simcoe but unfortunately it was in poor condition. I didn't particularly enjoy my visit here.

There were a couple of ales on - Laine's Brewery Bitter and an American Pale Ale called Sir Thomas Gardyner (£2 a half), from the local Brick Brewery. There was also a 7% cider on; another pump had a reversed clip and fifth pump was unclipped. Clipboard menus were on all the tables, with burgers seemingly being the pub staple here. The "Exhibition Burger", which seems to come with just about everything you could possibly want with a burger (except a Chelsea Blond) costs £14.50. Although this is now a single room pub, there's plenty of evidence of its original multi room format with all the unused doors. The vestibule leading from Underhill Rd is original although it's been interfered with at some stage as at one time there was a jug and bottle bar leading from it. The bar back is original, although it's been re-sited since its multi room format days. Because this pub has retained many of its original Victorian features, and the wood hasn't been painted over in gastro grey, or whatever other colour is flavour of the moment, it doesn't have the look of a gastropub. But the menu is not at pub grub prices, and the furnishings are modern in feel - large scrubbed wooden tables with normal chairs, a large table (10-seater or so) with benches, and the obligatory sofa with low table. Nonetheless I quite liked it in here, but then again I usually do like places that haven't been totally wrecked and retain some of their original features.

The Great Exebition is a large looking corner pub. Once inside there was a large room with the bar facing,there was a long wooden bench seat facing the bar and some long tables,there was small area to the front right which had a bench seat and chairs,there was another area to the rear which was down a step,this area looked more like a dining area. There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Mallinsons Armerillo which was a nice drink,the other beer was Sleepless Ameican Pale Ale. The pub was very busy on my Saturday afternoon visit with the yummy mummys and daddys of East Dulwich,at one point i saw four babys being held aloft by their daddys. There was some decent backgroung music playing. This is a decent enough pub to have a drink in that was spoilt by the amount of babys being shown off. Pub visited 25/1/2014