The Iron Horse, Sidcup

Facebook page of The Iron Horse - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Iron Horse - www.facebook.com

Right by Sidcup station on the ground floor of a modern building,this bar has a low ceiling ,rectangular with a small stage at the far end which seems to be it's raison d'etre as a live music venue some evenings,open mic Mondays.There are high tables in the middle,more traditional tables elsewhere but a dark atomosphere not helped by lots of Halloween tat everywhere.Food seems available from a short menu but possibly after 6pm.There is a patio outside right by a busy road and station carpark. Needless to say no real ale and a half of Neck Oil set me back £3.05 which seemed usury. The lack of atmosphere was only broken when the barman got the juke box working .It's an awful pub unless you like live music.

Visited 12/08/24 Quiet venue on my visit with just some old timers chatting to the lady behind the bar and the manager / owner who was sitting at one of the tables doing some pub admin. The venue is a long rectangular pub, nice and shady and a welcome respite from the heat outside today. The bar is on the left-hand wall towards the middle to back as you enter via a small reception-like structure in the front right-hand corner. Some old style wooden bifold type doors run along the right-hand side with some church style benches in front thereof with a small patio outside facing the station entrance. There is also a small patio outside on the main road next to the M&S. Seating in rest of pub consists of half a dozen lime green leather armchairs around a large table in the left hand corner and then tall tables and chairs along the middle of the boarded floor. There is a stage at the back of the pub (with an upright piano against the back wall) and there was a board showing the upcoming live music. Cask Doom & Bexley's Own Beer from Bexley Brewery again didn't spot initially. The latter was absolutely fine. Lots of keg options with lagers (Moretti, K1664, Madri, Cruz), Guinness, Neck Oil & Inch’s cider Thought this was a perfectly pleasant pub and I wouldn't hesitate to pop in again when in Sidcup. Obviously visited at different times compared to some much earlier revies but the area around the pub seems to have been developed quite a bit over the last half dozen years or so.

This pub was handily placed for a final drink before catching our train home from sidcup Station. We had a much better experience than the previous reviewers who visited it during its Metro Bar incarnation. It really doesn't look much from the outside, and on entering this opinion was confirmed as we couldn't see any handpumps, but on closer examination at the far end of the counter I spied a couple of pumps hiding behind a gang of bar blockers. They were dispensing a pair from the local Bexley Brewery - Five Arches and BOB (Bexley's Own Beer). A half of Five Arches and a soda water was £2.15 which seems quite good to me, as long as you don't have to drink the soda water! There was no sign of any food on a Wednesday afternoon; it really didn't look like a foody place. The barmaid was a chatty and friendly soul who offered me a taster of the BOB. The pub itself is a new build affair, with none of the architectural merit of pubs built a hundred or more years ago. It's basically a concrete box. There are tall tables with tall stools in the centre of the room, with settles in booths along the side. There's also a bit of outside seating, mainly for smokers I guess. Inside again, there's a stage at one end of the room, and regular live entertainment advertised. There's more music themed decor in the couple of guitars on the wall behind the servery, rock posters (e.g. for the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin) and album covers for the likes of Deep Purple (In Rock). I didn't find this to be the sort of pub where you would want to while away an hour over a pint (or two, or three), but the prsence of a couple of well kept real ales gets it few plus points.

Official site of Iron Horse - theironhorseuk.com

Official site of Iron Horse - theironhorseuk.com