The White Bear, Kennington, SE11

An imposing looking stone built pub set a little way back from the road with a small patio seating area at the front, it is substantially bigger inside than it looks from the outside, extending back some considerably way and with a further outside seating area on beyond. It had a chilled out and relaxed vibe, although one of our friends did note that a few of the punters at the bar looked as though they’d stepped straight off the Made in Chelsea set. Internally it’s split in to two main rooms with a central bar counter in the middle of the front room and a further large room beyond that is perhaps more intended for dining. Decor wise it’s quite traditional and perhaps a little rustic, with a wood strip floor, as well as some wood panelling on the walls and a small amount of exposed brickwork. A small fireplace was off to the left, although this was not in use. Various bits and pieces were on the mantelpiece above, including an old radio set. Seating on the left was padded benches situated either side of tables and segmented off in to separate booths with wood partitioning. Another sectioned off area at the rear formed a cosy little snug with comfy looking sofas and this had something of a fairground theme with lots of old pictures on the walls and a roundabout horse making a bit of a feature. Beyond this, the dining area opened out with a large, windowed ceiling and many more pictures on the walls. Beers on tap were all from Youngs with their Bitter, Special and Winter Warmer. Ciders meanwhile were Old Rosie and Aspall’s Suffolk.

This place has had a return. Looks good, no major changes, as far as I remember. Very deceptive from the outside. There is seating out the front. Once inside, it goes a long way back and, what looks like a back garden. Only had Young's bitter on and a cider. Well worth a visit.

Official site of White Bear - www.whitebearkennington.co.uk

Official site of White Bear - www.whitebearkennington.co.uk

The White Bear is situated on the busy kennington park road. I did'nt like the look of this pub from the outside,once inside there is a decent sized L shaped room with the bar situated in the middle,there are normal tables and chairs on three sides of the bar,there was a high bench seat and tall chairs to the front left,there were loads of chairs along the bar. The room is carpeted and there were lots of framed footbal team photos on the front right wall,the TV was showing sky football. There was one real ale on the bar which was Doom Bar,this was drinkable but nothing special. I did'nt really take to this pub. Pub visited 2/8/2014

Quite an imposing facade, with the name in bold golden lettering, but distinctly tatty inside. 'J'-shaped bar with high ceiling supported by metal columns, plus an alcove at back with jukebox. Large sports screen and other TVs. Theatre upstairs. Front patio. As you might guess from the Tayto crisps on sale, much of the customer base appeared to be Irish. Just one of the two handpumps was working, offering EPA at £3.30. (NB - Review dates from April 2012.)