Golden Goose, Camberwell, SE5

This is an early Victorian pub, but I can’t believe the extraordinary structure – with Charrington’s lanterns and formerly a Courage sign bracket – is that old. This was the Union Tavern – the name visible to the entrance vestibule’s floor and my Apple Pay – until 2010 when it closed to reopen in 2016 with the current name and pub theatre to the right-hand side. There’s a two-room format, the rear rather modern with décor in the form of posters for past theatre productions, then a somewhat narcolepsy-inducing front room with a shades of grey colour scheme, modern black bar back, modern boarded floor, no real décor, pool table, unused jukebox, lounge furniture and faint smell of cat pee. There were a few customers in the rear room, and just three in the pool room, all seemingly students, which is the norm in these climes. There’s no cask, just Eurofizz then either Neck Oil or Guinness, £3.30 a half, served by a couldn’t-give-a-toss barmaid. I think the Clarendon is marginally the better bet. Or head north to the Black Prince or Old Red Lion, or south to the Hermits Cave.

Official site of Golden Goose - www.goldengoosetheatre.co.uk

Official site of Golden Goose - www.goldengoosetheatre.co.uk

Not sure what's happening here, in quite an interesting-looking corner pub (also badged as La Tavernetta on one side), but only one of the two bars was open (and from the comments of a couple of other customers, sometimes not even that). Anyway, the irregularly shaped main bar has been refurbished in a rather austere black / white modern style, with the pool table being the main feature. Thankfully, it was a fine day, and the tidy screened patio garden at the front was an OK spot for a pint of Caledonian Coast to Coast (overpriced at £4.05) in the absence of any real ale.