The Kings Head, Bexley

The Kings Head is an attractive and historic building first recorded as a pub in 1713 although the building itself dates as far back as the 14th or 15th Century depending on what source you read. The central timber framed main building has been slightly extended with a Victorian frontage and modern function room to the rear but still retains much of its olde worlde charm. The interior has low beamed ceilings, a main front bar area with 2 extended side sections. To the left of the bar is a small paneled room with brick fireplace and a pair of bay banquettes. Beyond is the modern function/dining room. To the right of the bar is a deep narrow seated area culminating in an old brick arch fireplace that has been partly bricked in but with recesses that were presumably ovens or kilns, now used to store chopped firewood. In front of the fireplace are a cosy pair of chesterfields and on the wall hangs an old pub sign. I didn’t note any TV’s but there was some background piped music and, just inside the right hand entrance, a badly positioned dart board that would render the doorway unusable when a match is in progress (not that I have ever seen the board in use). Entertainment is also provided by a long standing Monday live jazz club. The décor throughout includes plenty of brasses, pots, pans, pictures, lanterns, horsey stuff and dangly bits from the ceiling. For all its rustic charm the pub is let down by its Greene King tie. The 6 pumps had just IPA and Abbott available (Old Goldeb Hen was off), a hardly inspiring selection that is even less appealing given that the same 3 wereavailable at the George 30 yards down the road. To confound matters, the quality of my Abbott was not particularly good either. Prices were round £3.20/£3.30 which is about par for the village although there was some good value pub grub with several choices around £5/6. This is certainly the most attractive and interesting pub in the village but the limited beers will always hold it back from being anything to go out of the way for.

It was very busy in here when I visited late on a Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago. The building is listed and from the 15th century so it has low beams and an olde world feel. The bar area almost splits the pub in two with the smaller right hand side being busy with an old local crowd and the larger right hand side being very quiet. The younger drinkers in the pub were all outside on the many picnic tables at the front of the pub. A standard draught selection is available and there are three hand pumps on the bar which were drawing Greene King IPA, Abbot and Sundance. A usual I had a pint of Guinness which was unfortunately not at its best, hopefully this was a one off. There are no TVs and there was no music in the background, but there was some mildly blue conversation emulating from the bar. It’s a shame that the Guinness wasn’t up to scratch as I quite liked it in here, maybe I will give it another go when next in the area.

Randomness Guide to London - King's Head entry

Randomness Guide to London - King's Head entry

This pub features in the GBG, yet the selection is a rather uninspiring GK IPA, Abbott and Morland Original Bitter. The place is clearly popular and was busy and lively at 6pm, warm and comfortable too. A nice old building in a pleasant street, but a decent guest beer wouldn't go amiss.