The Dacre Arms, SE13

There were six ales on in here - GK IPA, Doom Bar, London Pride, Bombardier, Harvey's Best, and Brain's Rev James (£3.90 a pint). This is an Enterprise pub, so one shouldn't be surprised by the predominance of the usual suspects. But the Rev James was in good shape. They don't do food in here. This is a rare survivor of a backstreet locals' pub. It's carpeted, is furnished with fixed bench seating plus chairs and standard tables, and has some screening partitioning off several sections of the pub. The walls are all covered with inter-war fielded panelling and a couple of wood framed and cream tiled fireplaces are at the front and back of the pub. According to one of the locals I spoke to, the servery used to run across the centre of the room (it is currently on the left), effectively separating the public bar at the front from the saloon bar at the back. The changes occcurred in the 70s, which replaced the old bar counter and introduced the screening panels. Apparently the jug and bottle bar used to be where the ladies is currently sited, at the front on the left. Notwithstanding those fundamental changes, this remains a magnificent pub of the sort that went largely out of fashion some 40 or 50 years ago. The swathes of hops are still strung across the ceiling, and just about everywhere is covered with knick-knacks such as toby jugs, horse brasses, copper plates, old radios, etc, etc. There are also prints on the walls, many of them showing pubs that have been managed by the current tenant. I also saw some London Drinkers around the place, which is also a good sign. There are no TVs, juke boxes, games machines, or nything else like that. This is a gem of a pub - visit it while you can.

Cosy & friendly single-roomed neighbourhood pub with 6 handpumps serving mostly mainstream beers – Pride, Bombardier, Deuchers, Bass, Courage. Quiet Sat afternoon but we were advised that some would be returning from the Valley after the match – a nice fact that locals here support the local team. We were well received and both the barman and the handful of punters at the bar were happy to chat. Comfortable upholstered seating in sections around the walls & a slightly mad but star-quality West Highland terrier keeping an eye on proceedings. Hardly worthy of its brief spell at the top of the tree, but a very pleasant place for a few beers nevertheless.