Wheatsheaf, SE1

Somehow, despite regularly passing through this part of town, I never managed to visit the Wheatsheaf before its closure and subsequent refurbishment. I therefore can’t really compare this current incarnation with the pub’s previous format, which is probably a good thing, given Young’s record of ruining interesting traditional pubs. The first thing to notice is that there are still two functioning entrances, marked ‘Saloon Bar’ and ‘Public Bar’ on their respective doors. Sadly, however, these both lead into fairly similarly styled areas, with some half-hearted partitioning in the front section prior to reaching the central servery. There are bare floorboards and pastel shaded walls which create quite a bright interior and ironically, the more comfortable seating seems to be on the Public Bar side with button back banquettes down the side wall compared to high stools on the Saloon Bar side. The room extends past the servery to a dining area at the rear which has a tiled kitchen style wall and a counter with a coffee machine and a display of various wine bottles behind a metal grille. I spotted at least one TV screen in here, but it was turned off in favour of some quiet background music. On the right hand side of the pub, door lead out to a partially covered side patio with mixed seating. There is a large mural of the Market and the Shard on the back wall, a street lamp in the middle of the courtyard and in the far corner, the front half of a VW camper van has been converted into some sort of BBQ kitchen-cum-serving hatch. A trip to the toilets saw the Gents signposted as ‘Barrow Boys’ and the Ladies as ‘Milk Maids’, which is almost worth taking a point off for. On the bar there was Young’s Ordinary, London Gold and Stoney’s Gold (the latter two probably being the same thing), Wells Bombardier and a guest ale which I wouldn’t have spotted had the barman not helpfully pointed it out, which was Hackney American Pale Ale (£4.05). The keg range was quite diverse and included stuff from Meantime and Camden as well as Aspall’s Cyder. The aforementioned barman was very helpful and gave me a taster of the APA which was useful before making such a substantial financial investment. I’d probably be pulling my hair out if I’d regularly used this place in the past, as it is now aiming for a young affluent crowd and has obviously had to make sacrifices to the traditional pub that it was before. However, as these places go, I thought it was quite nicely done and still felt like a proper pub, albeit one with a rubbish colour scheme. I’ll probably call in now and again, but there are plenty of better pubs nearby.

Newly reopened in its truncated form, having had the top lopped off to make way for the new railway bridge. The central island bar remains in the front section, as do the now glassless screens, however the seating style has changed and seems to have been designed by an A level interior design student desperate to come up with something "different". There are worryingly slender tall tables, small uneven circular tables connected to upholstered benches by sections of keyclamp handrail and towards the rear a long table has fixed stools that swivel in and out. A real mishmash of bizarre and unneeded folly. The rear area has exposed brickwork, wood panelling, a partial transluscent roof and a good impression of a domestic kitchen on the back wall complete with a Smeg fridge freezer and a coffee machine, flanked by glass bottles on shelves behind mesh netting. The panelling and associated woodwork in the front area has been painted that shade of turquoise/green favoured by gastro joints but thankfully the leaded windows and Public Bar and Saloon doors remain untouched. Lights shaped like bowler hats and inverted wooded crates over the bar gantry containing wine glasses at the perfect height to bang your head on complete the picture of design gone mad. Still a Youngs pub, Bitter, Stoney (London) Gold, Winter Warmer plus Bombardier and guest Hackney Brewery American Pale Ale which sadly we didn't spot until leaving. The Bitter and Gold were both off on arrival at opening time however the clips were not reversed. Food is available at a price and for some reason you have to fill out a form to order it. I'm not sure what they were trying to achieve here but I just wish they had left it as it once was, a decent boozer with original features.

I paid my first visit to this pub following its re-opening after a four-period of closure, to find mysef in a pub that I hardly recognised. It’s been given the standard Young’s treatment, so it’s all pastel shades and tall tables and tall stools. There is however an uncomfortable looking upholstered bench on the left (in the old Public Bar part), and at the back is a room with normal tables and chairs, which seemed to be the seating area of choice for those who were dining. The method of of getting your food is a little unusual, with little forms on the table whereon you tick the appropriate boxes and hand it in over the bar. It’s not cheap either with, for example, the Borough’s Beef Burger weighing in at £10. There’s some outside seating through a doorway on the right – That’s new as I recall. The screen at the front that would once have divided the two bars is still there, although there’s no glazing in it now, and the central island servery is still in situ. Being a Young’s pub there are no surprises with the beer, with no guest ale on when I was in. By Young’s standards the refurbishment’s quite restrained, but I still reckon that it’s now a run-of-the mill pub, and nothing like the charming little boozer that I recall.

Now open and it seems that the interior has largly been restored to its old layout.

Popped in to this Youngs pub (previously a Bass Charrington house) before the advent of the construction-work induced closure. It’s a basic, traditional boozer with not much in the way of creature comforts but the atmosphere made up for that. Usual selection of Wells & Youngs beer on, mine was fine. A solid if unspectacular place that will nonetheless be a loss to the area.