The Roundhouse, Becontree, Dagenham

Located roughly halfway between Upney and Becontree tube stations, next to Mayesbrook Park, this is a very impressive pub built, as the name implies, in a circular design with a number of bars in approximate wedge shapes tapering towards a huge servery area. I had a stroll through some of the rooms, including the public bar, dining room, games room and music bar. The place is so big that it inevitably feels empty, despite a good few locals trying to fill up the public bar and one or two getting ready to eat in the dining room. Aside from the design, there are a few other nice bits of decor, including the ceilings and friezes. The pub is carpeted pretty much throughout and it seemed like it had been spruced up a bit recently as I didn't find it as tatty as Rex's review below suggested it might be. The pub has a rich musical heritage and in the late 60's and 70's it attracted some of the heavyweights of British rock including Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Thin Lizzy, 10cc, Hawkwind and The Stranglers. The site of the old car park is now a small cul de sac called Bragg Close, named after the singer Billy Bragg whose family are from the local area. Sadly, not a great deal is made of this element of the pub's past, unless I missed it as I wandered around. Nowadays, entertainment is provided by a number of TV screens, most of which were showing either Football Focus (walls were draped with West Ham and England flags) or At The Races to a predominantly male clientele. The locals seemed like a pretty rough and ready bunch and I learnt several new, innovative ways to use the f-word during my short stay! Beer consisted of Guinness, John Smith's or Courage Best on keg, as well as the usual lager suspects. Food wise, I saw a steak baguette advertised at £4, but I didn't get a chance to check the menu out. I didn't get much in the way of a warm welcome from either the locals or the bar staff, who looked surprised to see a new face, and can imagine that many visitors would find the place a little intimidating. Having said that, it's so big that you can probably find a whole bar to yourself somewhere. I'm glad I went there to have a look at a fantastic old building, but the chances of me going back are virtually zero.

No real ale – just keg John Smith's and Courage Best, plus the usual bog standard fizzy stuff. This must have been impressive once with its several bars making up the overall circular design of the pub. Now it's all a bit tatty. You know it's not going to be good when the mat in the entrance is strewn with cigarette butts and a screwed up empty cigarette packet. The sign for the over 35s karaoke sums it up. Characterless now – not worth bothering with.