The Watch House (JD Wetherspoon), Lewisham, SE13

This Lewisham branch of the Wetherspoons chain is a fairly old-school example which calls to mind several of its South London peers. The pub is set in a wide, but not particularly deep, room with the usual carpeting and dark wood panelled walls. A few centrally positioned sections of supporting wall help to break up the space nicely and have been surrounded by dark wood display cabinets full of old books and arty prints. A small, raised seating area to the front right offers basic tables and chairs, and these can be found down either side of the room too. High tables and stools fill the mid-section, whilst a small side room to the left has some banquette booths, although this looked like quite a scruffy space and I think I’d rather sit on the more uncomfortable high stools than chance it in there. The bar can be found along the back wall and it has an early ‘Spoons era dark wood counter and mirrored bar back. Over to the left, a fireplace has a dragon statue on its hearth, whilst the walls are covered with local history boards, especially in the rear right corner, where you can learn about local pop culture icons such as Kate Bush and Ginger Baker. On the bar, the three regular ‘Spoons’ ales were supplemented by three highly uninspiring guest ales, the pick of which was Hook Norton Old Hooky at £2.57 a pint. The bar staff all seemed to be highly incompetent, with the exception of the no nonsense barmaid who served me and seemed to be getting through about four times as many customers as the rest of her team put together. The beer was in pretty good nick and there was a good crowd in on a Friday night, without it ever feeling like it was too packed. I generally find a lot of South London Wetherspoons to be interchangeable and not all that interesting, and this place seems to slot straight into that category. For all the plus points such as the cheap beer, good seating options and interesting décor, there was an equal negative, like the poor service, grubby tables and uninspiring guest ale range. I’d call in again if I was in the area, but more because there aren’t that many other decent options rather than because this place is worth repeat visits. Date of visit – 28th July 2023