The Mayflower, Rotherhithe, SE16

Just a short distance from Rotherhithe station, this is a fantastic old pub dating back to 1780 and capturing a sense of what a historic riverside pub might have felt like, in a way that so many other Thames tourist-trap venues fail to achieve. You enter into a dark room in which pretty much every surface is clad with dark wood, thereby adding to the low light and atmospheric feel. There's a small, traditional seating area to the front of the pub, under some lattice windows, which looked a little cramped and, much like the rest of the pub, was busy with diners on a Saturday lunchtime. The servery runs down the right hand side of the building and is directly opposite the entrance. It is a real sight to behold with all its decorative dark wood features and a canopy straining under the weight of ship's wheels, model ships, life rings, tankards and all manner of other bits. A bust stands on the end of the bar counter, wearing a headdress made from teeth and facing a couple of pew formed booths in which the pews are the star with their ship's head end pieces and witty quotes painted along the sides. Further along this left hand side, there is a raised seating area under a rare section of bare brick wall which is focused around a nice fireplace and a few more seats are squeezed into the rear right corner, past the end of the bar. The whole room is liberally decorated with an eclectic range of items, much of which seems like it might have come from an 18th Century riverside boozer, including mounted fish, ship's wheels, pulleys, masts, deer skulls, cages, stuffed birds (including what looked very much like a dodo to me), oil paintings, salvers, lamps, flags, keys and a few stuffed rats running along the rafters. It's a nice overall effect, even if it is perhaps a little contrived for the tourist market. To the rear there is a rather bland covered decked area with lots of bench seating. I'm guessing that the covering disappears in the summer months, as the decking forms part of a wonderful private jetty which offers some great views of the river. With the cover in place, only a small strip of the jetty affords this view and despite the poor weather, I made my way out here and watched river life pass by. There is a pretty good row of handpulls on the bar and these were offering Greene King London Glory and Abbot's Reserve, Dark Star Hophead, Saddler's One Stop Hop, Belhaven Smoke Stack Stout and a house beer called Mayflower Scurvy Ale. My pint of the One Stop Hop was in good nick and my only real gripe was that every table was occupied by diners, making it difficult to get comfortable inside. This is a quality pub with a good beer selection and arguably the best interior of any Thames pub this side of Big Ben. I thought the place suggested a keen eye for detail and a strong focus on quality - two attributes that set it apart from the vast majority of tourist-based pubs. I really enjoyed this visit and was slightly amazed that I'd never been before, having been a frequent visitor to Rotherhithe for five or six years in the mid 00's. It was certainly worth the wait and if you're looking for a riverside pub with which to impress visitors to London, this is a very good bet.

A 16th Century pub steeped in history, serving good food and good beer. The pub also has a experience Dickensian London, every Sunday when the pub is lit by candles and called 'Blackout Sunday'. The majority of the customers here try to find space out back on the timber jetty. I liked the small front room with leaded windows and the booths opposite the bar area. Beer wise we went for the GK Golden Breeze IPA and Black Wolf Brewery IPA, both were in good shape.

Great location overlooking the Thames with an interesting decor and good selection of beers.The Scurvy ale was in good form and £4 a pint.

Very attractive old riverside inn, run by Greene King these days, retaining a tremendous amount of character in the three small seating areas around the central bar counter. The best spot, however, if the weather permits and you can find a space, and you don't get drenched by salt water washing up through the slats (which happened to some whilst I was there, to rather dramatic effect) is the narrow decking terrace with a great view overlooking the Thames. The beer selection is good too, with the 'house' Scurvy Ale (£4.00) supplemented by Hook Norton Hooky, St Austell Liquid Sunshine, Ossett Silver King and Dark Star Hophead from five of six handpumps on this visit.