The Gregorian, Bermondsey, SE16

A short walk from Bermondsey tube, this has a very old history dating all the way back to the mid-16th century, the current incarnation being an inter-war years pub, rebuilt in the brewers’ Tudor style, still run by Antic. There’s some Courage lettering to the fascia, then it’s into a big rambling place. On the right is a snug dedicated to watching sport; to the left, there’s a private hire snug. Thereafter, it’s a big room with a worn – probably original – herringbone parquet floor, slightly brewers’ Tudor interior only marginally Anticfied, deeply coffered ceiling to the main room, wood panelling – probably original – framed Georgian prints, patterned plates above the picture rail and a grand crystal chandelier; tables were conventional, whilst chairs had tubular steel legs, said tables home to numbered bottles containing dead flowers. To the right, there’s a charming little snug with various knickknacks; customers were a younger, trendy crowd, the pub well attended on my Thursday evening visit. There were just two ales on offer, which was a bit of a disappointment as I could have done with a Plum Porter refill, with just Tribute then Volden Pale at a reasonable £2.40 a half, served by a friendly barmaid and on good form. This is a pretty decent pub, making for a good double with the very fine Old Justice, a couple of minutes’ walk north of here.

A couple of us gathered here when emerging from Bermodsey tube station before heading off to visit several of the breweries on the mile and I would concur with PSM below that Antic seem to be making a decent fist of this one. Granted we were in soon after its lunchtime opening and virtually the only ones in, so there were no service issues, and were able to stroll around the pleasant mult-room layout well described by PSM below. All six pumps in operation on this Saturday lunchtime and alongside the same Volden Session, Adnams Ghost Ship and St Austell Tribute mentioned below there were two of my favourite beers in the form of Oakham Citra and Titanic Plum Porter and a cider on the last pump. The Plum porter was in fine form and this proved to be a very good launching point for what turned out to be an excellent drinking day.

Located just down the road from Bermondsey tube station, this is a huge Brewer's Tudor pub, formerly known as the Gregorian Arms, but now arm-less under the stewardship of the reliable Antic pub chain. The pub is set a fair way back from the main road, which means there is room for a large pavement seating area out the front, including a sizeable overspill space over an adjacent road, which was packed with people on a warm, post-work summer's evening. entering into the pub, you find a multiple room interior with plenty of interesting period features and all the usual oddities you come to associate with this chain. The front room houses the main bar and has nice parquet flooring, old-school floral wallpaper and some limited banquette and chair seating options. The servery, set along the rear wall, has a pleasing traditional counter and bar back that has presumably been salvaged from the pub's previous incarnation. To the left, there's a nice partitioning screen with a doorway leading through into a similarly furnished side room with more of the same seating as in the main bar. Moving past the servery, you enter the rear room which is the largest and has tatty banquette seating around the perimeter and metal framed chairs elsewhere. decor in here is similar to the bar area with the exception of some smart wood panels in places. A row of wall mounted plates runs around the room just below ceiling level and there are various deer skulls and old portraits knocking about in typical Antic style. A nice fireplace on the back wall has a boar's head above and a stuffed bird to one side. I spotted at least one TV screen which remained switched off in favour of what I would describe as a jazz-funk soundtrack. There is an open kitchen to the left and a quick glance at the menu showed most meals were available for £10.50. One final room, a side lounge, can be found through a door to the left, where sofas seem to be the order of the day, and a quick trip to the gents unearthed some great tiling along the passageway leading there. Six handpulls dispensed Volden Session, Adnams Ghost Ship, St Austell Tribute and Bath Gem with two pumps not utilised. The Ghost Ship was £4.00 for a pint and despite the hot weather, was served in fine condition, allowing it to slip down nicely as I cooled down in the rear lounge. This felt like a worthy Antic project, with them having breathed life back into the sort of large roadside pub that is rapidly heading for extinction across the capital. They've created a pleasant multiple room pub which merits a bit of exploration and paired this with well kept beer, resulting in a pub that I'm sure will reward repeat visits.

Official site of The Gregorian - thegregorian.co.uk

Official site of The Gregorian - thegregorian.co.uk

Busy,four roomed pub.Eclectic Antic interior as you would expect.Couple of dull cask beers on so I tried Theakstons-peculiar ipa on keg.Not bad

The latest addition to the Antic brand sees The Gregorian (an original pub) converted to the sort of pub for which Antic is notorious. Another view is that they've injected some life into this one. Anyway, all floor coverings have been removed, revealing the original bare boards that have clearly seen much wear over the years - particularly the back room with herringbone parquet that has suffered considerable mistreatment over time. There are four distinct rooms. The room as you enter has the bar counter and little else in the way of furnishings; there are separate rooms to the right and left; and to the back is the large room with parquet flooring. There's a fairly large seating area at the front, which is set back a fair way from the main road. As usual Antic have gone for the cheap look - actually not just a cheap look - it really is cheap, with mainly formica topped tables and cheap looking chairs. There's the usual array of odd decor, including framed display cases containing butterflies, various bookshelves, a stuffed bird (albatross?) about to take flight, and some mounted skulls of some small antelope like creatures. Typically bizarre. I didn't see a menu, but the ale selection was "OK", with Adnam's Fat Sprat, Tribute, Caledonian Lipsmacker Lemon Ale, and Butcombe Bitter (£1.70 a half) on. There were at least a couple of handpumps not in use. The ale prices are always competetive in Antic pubs - the £1.70 for a half of Butcombe Bitter in here compares very favourably with the £2.40 I paid for a half of Landlord earlier in the day. And I have hopes that the ale selection might improve. This is another worthy, and interesting, addition to the Antic stable.