The Dog & Bell, Deptford, SE8

Looks like its had a make over. Immaculate, inside and out. Traditional pub - possibly the only London pub with a Bar Skittles Table? Four for five real ales on. I went safe for a perfect pint of London Pride at £3.80. Worth seeking out. A near religious experience with the stained glass window and pew type seating. My type of Church. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2nw0e2o

Pride, ESB, plus 3 excellent guests, Gravesend Shrimpers, Itchen Valley Godfather, Dark Star Over the Moon, all in excellent shape. Nice ‘pew' seating next to large front windows, the side/rear room has plenty of conventional tables/chairs, some new artwork, an unused victorian style fireplace and bar-billiard table at far end. I have a note stating that there is a paved beer garden, although memory is somewhat hazy on that. Nice ambience, and good to see the new guv (Irish = well-run bar) maintaining the attractive beer selection offered by his predecessor. 27 September 2007 Fullers Pride & ESB plus 3 guests incl Nethergate and Pictish. I enjoyed them but felt that some people travelling here might expect a juxtaposition of different beer styles in the guest rotation - these were all golden ales. Still, the locals are very lucky to have this in their area, or would be if they'd turn that ludicrously loud talk radio down behind the bar - as if I need reminding how expensive my mortgage is getting while I'm having a pint!

They had five ales on in here when I visited Wednesday lunchtime - London Pride, Colchester Diesel, Hogsback TEA, Mauldon Mole Trap and Clarence & Frederick Golden Ale (£3 a pint). I had a pint of the Clarence & Frederick which, while a little hazy, was a tasty hoppy summer style ale. I didn'e eat in here, but I did see a chalkboard on the wall advertising sarnies at £3.50 and pub grub main meals at around £6 - £7. There's a bit of outside seating at the back, and there were some newspapers for customers to read. This is not only the best pub (by a country mile) in Deptford, it's the only decent pub there and was a welcome sight after the depressing walk up Deptford High St and spotting at least four closed pubs, with only the uninspiring White Swan bucking the trend. This pub hasn't changed appreciably since my last visit some five years ago (which is a very good thing indeed). The layout is the same with the separate room on the right that still contains the bar billiards table, and with traditional furnishings throughout. This is a reasonably priced, clean and simple pub that does decent ale. That works for me. Definitely worth the walk from Deptford Station.

Having heard a good few things about this place, I ventured in here with high hopes after walking the Deptford Creek. It’s tucked away down a side street off the main drag and certainly takes a little bit of determination to find. There’s a traditional bar to the left as you enter and a separate, more sparse, room up a few steps to the right. A friendly welcome and a couple of pints of ESB were got (cheap too, compared to Fuller’s own pubs) which sat alongside a couple of interesting micro brews and London Pride. Sunday lunch was being served and we decided to partake, having worked up an appetite. This is where things went massively awry – in short, my friend’s turned up and mine didn’t, even after I went over to the bar to have a quiet word. Still having not turned up and my friend now finished I decided it was money-back time and matey doing the dinners then proceeded to get snotty and started loudly blaming the woman behind the bar, then me. Abysmal customer service and it put a real dampener on what I judged to be a really good little ale pub (the other beers were all good as we drank them whilst waiting for the Bermuda Triangle roast). Whilst I’d happily recommend this place for liquid refreshment, steer clear of the food is my advice. Without the ‘incident’ I would’ve given this one an 8. Shame.