The Hill, Forest Hill, SE23

The Hill is a pretty trendy pub that was converted from a shop. Once inside there is an oblong shaped room which runs to the rear,the room is carpeted and divided into different areas by partitions,the bar is to the rear right,there is a piano halfway down the left side,the seating is normal tables and chairs and all had knifes and forks on them but i did notice other drinkers sitting at these tables so i did with no problems. There was one real ale on the bar which was The Hill Pale Ale,this was a decent enough drink,but not sure who brews it. The background music was from Smooth Radio. This would be a pleasant place to bring the wife or girlfriend to but not really suited to me while doing a large pub crawl in the area. I will score this on how it looks and not on my needs or desires. Pub visited 14/5/2016

This 1980's shop conversion was previously known as the Forest Barn. Malt Shovel and Question Bar, but recently revamped itself as a strange mix of café, bar and restaurant, with real ale now available. You enter into a smart room with a deli counter immediately to your right with various pastries, cakes and fresh produce on show, beyond which is a pizza oven and a little further back, the servery. All of the seating is confined to the left hand side, partially obscured from the bar and deli area by retained partitioning walls. The carpeted front area has high quality furnishing including some large tables and chairs and comfortable button back armchairs. A baby grand piano in the front window does nothing to dispel the feel of being in a classy, if somewhat small, hotel lobby. The walls are decorated with elaborately framed mirrors and black and white photos of Forest Hill and I noticed a stack of board games on a table that also had leaflets and flyers for various local events. There is a slightly separate space to the rear with plenty more seating and relatively restrained décor as well as nice views out to the green beer garden. Stairs lead up to a function room, unexplored on this visit, and the venue's pub credentials were enhanced by posters advertising a weekly pub quiz. We popped in here for food and enjoyed some good pizza from a competitively priced menu. The service was friendly, if not entirely efficient and the place had a pretty good community vibe to it, with some family groups with well behaved kids in attendance. There are extensive wine and cocktails options listed on the menu, plus a limited keg beer range and a single real ale - Exmoor Fox - which was sadly very tired and perhaps indicative of the slow turnover enjoyed in such a venue. I had very low expectations for this place, having only visited because the nearby Sylvan Post had just closed their kitchen, but I was surprised to find a well presented, smart, comfortable multi-purpose venue that served up some enjoyable food. The beer was never going to be the big selling point here and you could certainly do worse if you're looking for a bite to eat in the area, but scoring it purely as a pub, it doesn't quite match up to others in the vicinity.