Hardys, Greenwich, SE10

As Tris describes, which is no suprise only being a week previous, although there's been an effort to maintain the interior to an extent, I still found it a little souless in here and given the beer choice, or lack of it ,I too opted for a half Guinness. This place is a no for me.

Official site of Hardys - hardysfreehouse.co.uk

Official site of Hardys - hardysfreehouse.co.uk

Spitfire, gkipa & (I think) Pride. The reason I'm unsure about the latter is that the Spitfire had run out (although the guv did check whether there was any more) and we didn't stay for a drink, which surprises me if there was Pride (a reasonable, if ubiquitous, safety net). Anyway, the early match was showing, as well as racing. Long bar on the right, good darts area. I'll look in again if over this way. No rating left this time.

The right hand side of Hardy’s is a separate café called the Green Pea so the actual pub in the left hand side of the building is quite long and thin. By the entrance is some seating along with a dartboard and a single step leads to the rear of the pub where seating is found along the left wall and the bar along the right. This is an Irish pub so it was not surprising to see the usual paraphernalia including road signs with the mileage to certain Irish towns. Sky Sports is shown and I counted two plasma screens that were airing Gold FM. On the back wall is a small stage area that I imagine gets used at the weekends for live music. Out the back is a paved seating area that was being used by a couple of smokers. The bar is stocked with standard draught and the two banks of three hand pumps were drawing Greene King IPA and Sharp’s Doom Bar. I didn’t see any food advertised, but I could smell the food from the adjacent café so I would be surprised if it wasn’t available in the pub. I found the service to be very friendly, but I could feel my life force draining away by the second so was happy to leave. This is a pub best left to the locals.

Hardys is a rather dull and basic Irish bar situated close to Maze Hill station and was previously called the Bricklayers Arms. The interior is quite deep with a long bar down the right hand side and a couple of bays of banquette seating opposite. There is a false ceiling covering the front half of the bar and dark tongue and groove wall coverings. A modern brick fireplace stands in the end corner and a few abstract splashes of surreal coloured glass catch the eye. There are old pictures of various Irish towns and villages and a few road signs but on the whole it is all a bit bland with the feel of a Working Mans Club. There is also a separate bar next door but this appears to be solely used as a café/coffee bar. Multiple screens show a diet of football and racing to a customer base that probably spends all day, every day in the pub. There is also a dart board, quiz nights and live music at weekends. The beers are mainstream witl the standard kegs, lagers and the 6 hand pumps offering a hit and, despite labeling itself as a Freehouse, the selction of ales seems to be limited to Greene King IPA and Speckled Hen and availability of either isn’t always guaranteed. Prices are at least a bit lower than the area average. The customer base tends to be a bit rough and ready but I never feel threatened or uncomfortable whenever I am in here which isn’t admittedly often. Hardys primary function for me has always been to kill 15 minutes for the train after visiting some of the better pubs in the area and I can’t really see anything changing.