The Cambria, SE5

This backstreet pub was originally a Wenlock house and dating from the late 19th century as the Cambria Arms, closed for three years until 24th March 2022 when it was disarmed and probably much altered since the last review. The floor is herringbone or lateral boarded, walls featuring natural wood field panelling, otherwise painted dark grey like some of the walls when not painted white, a colour scheme carried over to the ceiling. There’s some exposed original ironwork and the bar array looks to date from either the ‘30s or ‘50s, most of which can be seen in my photo, though not the shuffleboard. Décor takes the form of miscellaneous prints and distillers’ mirrors, light fittings being reproduction Victorian glass ‘n’ brass affairs; overall it’s rather smart and pleasant but less pleasant was the ugly Megavision screen showing silent, unwatched football; worse still, was the large, barely controlled slathering hound. Customers were largely young, trendy and in high spirits at the time of my Thursday 9.00pm visit. A safe cask combo took the form of Otter and Landlord, £5.75 a pint, decent, served by an affable barman. This isn’t a bad place. It’s not worth a special trip and the remote location makes it tricky to include on a crawl, but it’s certainly the smartest pub in SE5; consigning the TV screen and dog to a skip would get the score up a point.

Facebook page of The Cambria - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Cambria - www.facebook.com

Official site of The Cambria - thecambrialondon.co.uk

Official site of The Cambria - thecambrialondon.co.uk