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Image posted by Alan Winfield
Submitted on Saturday, 21st May 2016
With picture contributions to 6053 other pubs
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Detail Pages
Knowles of Norwood, West Norwood, SE27
SE27
SE27 9AF
Served areas
Reviews of Knowles of Norwood (Average Rating: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
David Walton left this review about Knowles of Norwood
At the risk of following the rather esteemed herd, I make this by some way my best pub of SE27 in terms of the well above average rating of 7! It is well described below but it really is a big venue and you would never guess how it stretches back off the rather busy main road outside the front.
This is a Portobello Brewing establishment. There was a lager x2 and pale ale keg offering of their own making plus some other interesting keg options, including an “end of season” smoked beer from the By the Horns Brewing Co called 36 Barrels, as well as an array of more regular seen quaffs (but no Cruzcampo here). Cask wise they had their own Star and APA plus a standard choice from Five Points. The Star went down a treat.
The name itself conjures up something a bit different and could imagine this place as a gentleman’s outfitters of yesteryear, with then a different type of serving staff roaming the floor with (imperial unit) measuring tapes around their necks, themselves in smart three piece attire. Suit you sir!
On 29th April 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 131 recommendations about 131 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Knowles of Norwood
This is a large Antic pub on the main road through West Norwood, converted from a former shop unit in the typical, rough and ready Antic style. Initial impressions are mixed, with some tacky floor tiles, red lincrusta ceiling and tatty looking pillars through the centre of the room all looking pretty off-putting. Tables served by old school chairs run through the centre of the room with comfier options around the perimeter, including some nice wing-back chairs under the large floor-to-ceiling front windows. Despite being situated in a former 99p-style discount store, the pub’s name refers to an old hardware store that was located hereabouts, and the internal décor references this, with a large number of small drawers similar to those you might find in a hardware store, line much of the left hand wall, along with some displays behind glass screens, whilst buckets, watering cans and the like have been hung from the ceiling. The right side of the room is a bit more circumspect, with a drinking ledge and notice board giving way to the servery which has a nice curved bar counter with a padded front, a basic, featureless bar back and a portrait of the Queen as a young woman. The room’s centrepiece seems to be a large safe, which stands pride of place in the middle of the room but serves no obvious purpose as far as I can tell. Further back there are some bookshelves lined with fairy lights, mainly stocking old Lonely Planet guide books, whilst steps lead up to a banquette lined plain seating area, set in a fairly enclosed space. Continuing further along, you reach an area dominated by a pool table and eventually the door for the beer garden. Pop music was playing through the first half of my mid-week evening visit, eventually making way for the evening’s pub quiz.
There were four cask ale options on this visit – Volden Session and Summer, Twickenham Redhead and a collaboration brew between Adnams and Cloudwater called So Many Different Worlds. I tried the latter and thought it was in pretty good shape although maybe not as exciting as I might have expected from such a pairing of fine brewers.
This is another Antic venture that has landed in a part of London starved of decent pub options, helping to revive the local scene. I quite liked the pub’s theme and thought the ambiance and ale selection were both worthy of note. There’s a good mini-crawl to be had around this area and this place is arguably the pick of the bunch.
On 25th November 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Knowles of Norwood
Large converted shop given the Antic treatment decor-wise, although the furniture is verging on the orderly (with various almost matching sets of tables and chairs). The wooden benches and planters out on the front patio area look surprisingly tidy too. The rectangular bar is partially sub-divided by bookshelf partitions; quite dark at the back but benefiting from full-height windows along the façade. Fairly modest selection of real ales from the four handpumps: Session (£3.30) and Pale from Volden, Dark Star Partridge and Naked Ladies from Twickenham.
On 5th August 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
View more reviews of Knowles of Norwood (6)
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- Official site of Knowles of Norwood - knowlesofnorwood.com
- Facebook - Knowles of Norwood
- CAMRA WhatPub :: Knowles of Norwood - whatpub.com
West Norwood, 0.33 miles, 6 min walk (show)
West Dulwich, 0.75 miles, 14 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Car Park : No last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Darts : No last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Jukebox : No last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Karaoke : No last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Micropub : No last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Pinball : No last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Pool Table : Yes last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Quiz Night : Yes last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 16 January 2016 by Aqualung .
- Real Cider : No last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
- WiFi : Yes last updated 25 November 2019 by Pub SignMan
