Amersham Arms, New Cross, SE14

Handily located for Goldsmith’s University, this is a popular student pub and live music venue on the main drag through New Cross. The pub has been refurbished since my last visit many years ago, and seems to have gone for a rather dark, depressing look, with everything done out in dark wood (floors, wall panelling, servery), dark red paint (upper sections of walls) and even dark lighting if that isn’t too much of an oxymoron – lamps in the window sills and under tatty shades above the bar counter are all very dimly lit. In fact, more light was being provided by the neon Red Bull and Jack Daniels signs behind the bar than by the combined efforts of all the lamps in the pub. The servery protrudes into the room from the rear, opposite the entrance, effectively splitting the room in two. The room is opened out into a single space now, but was presumably a two bar set up in the past and a serving hatch next to a side door to the right, suggests that there may once have been a bottle and jug here in the past. Some great padded banquette seating runs around the perimeter with a few sofas over to the left in a space that runs a little further towards the rear than in the right hand side. Decor was limited to gig posters for a backroom venue, a few moody paintings that matched the tone of the colour scheme and some odd beery bits here and there. Perhaps the most interesting features are the old wireless radios, sewing machines and cash registers that fill the window sills alongside listing magazines and gig flyers. I noted a DJ booth over to one side and recall being here years ago on a DJ night which saw the place heaving, although on this occasion there were just a few quiet rock tunes playing in the background. There are two handpulls on the bar, both of which were out of action on my Wednesday evening visit, so I wound up with a pint of Brewdog Punk IPA from a limited keg selection. This set me back £4.85 and really is a pale imitation of the great cask version they used to make of this beer. This place clearly has a well defined target market and they don’t really make any concessions to pleasing other customers, presumably because they don’t need to. It’s probably worth a look if you want to catch some live music, fancy a DJ night or if you happen to study locally, but for the casual passerby, far better options can be found in either direction.

There was just the one real ale on - Doom Bar (yawn) at £2.10 a half. No sign of food on Wednesday evening. This pub would have been dead had it not been for the participants of the pub crawl I was on, with only two other punters in. There are just a handful of normal tables and chairs, with a small garden/smoking are to the left of the pub. It was very gloomy in there, and the atmosphere was not really improved by the glitterball flickering away. There were a few odds and ends around the place - old sewing machines, radios, and the like - but nothing of any great interest. There's a DJ booth on the left so I guess music must be important here, and I suppose it must get busier when a DJ is here doing their thing. But as a pub I thought this one was very basic, and not the sort of place to which I'm likely to return.

Dark interior lit up with neon and fairy lights.Very quiet on my visit but probably gets busier later.Signs indicate they have comedy-live music-dj,s-gallery-art-craft beer -street food-free wifi -folk club -heated roof terrace -happy hour.All that and Doombar on cask.You wouldn't need to leave this pub ever.

Official site of Amersham Arms - www.theamershamarms.com

Perhaps most prominent when viewed after dark from the platforms of New Cross station when the old red neon 'TAKE COURAGE' illuminated sign really stands out. The pub itself is now probably best known as a music venue, although the stripped-out bar still retains some dark wood panelling. As you would expect, there is little in the way of furniture to clutter the place up, and a band could be heard warming up in the main venue space further back when I stopped by. Two handpumps on the counter, offering Deuchar's IPA and a decent pint of Harvey's (£3.90).

Official site of Amersham Arms - www.theamershamarms.com

Randomness Guide to London - Amersham Arms entry

Randomness Guide to London - Amersham Arms entry

Prominent pub opposite New Cross station, heavily aimed at students with live music, silly cocktails etc. Could be worse but could be much better. Seems to usually have Harveys and a guest beer on, but wasn't in great condition.