The Hole in the Wall, Waterloo, SE1

Visited 02/02/26. Visited previously 11/06/18. Cask here was Lilley's Wild Berry and Fire Dancer cider with another one of theirs unclipped. Then Sambrook's Blindside, Adnams Broadside, Bread & Butter Modern Ale from Vocation and LPA (London Pale Ale) from host London Beer Factory. The reversed clips were for Iron Pier Bitter and Five Points Best Bitter. Keg comprised a variety of LBF quaffs, the Day Dreamer NZ session IPA, Bounce the GF pale ale, Half Dome the WCIPA, Jungle Trip the NEIPA, Street Life a Pale Ale, Parasol a dry hopped lager, Bright Side a lager and Voodoo a nitro stout, then Staro, Stella, Pravha, Erdinger Weissbier, Adnams Wild Wave cider, Gravity Theory Berry Cherry cider, Benediktiner Hell, Estrella Galicia, Estrella, and Guinness. This place is now in London Beer Factory ownership. The front bar looking through the front large arched window onto the small bus terminus has a banquette around the perimeter serving regular tables with small stools the other side thereof. There is a bar counter along the rear wall with a few tall stools. The rear bar which is the main drinking space here is bare boarded with the bar counter down the left-hand side. Floor is occupied by benches around the perimeter, and the tables are regular and otherwise served by regular chairs. There are a couple of tall tables at the far end before the exit to the rather small rear beer garden. There are a few screens showing sports, absent sound, and a regular pop soundtrack playing. The walls house a reasonable number of mirrors generally of an alcohol advertising bias. Great this iconic venue is largely unchanged the other side of sale from private to BrewCo ownership and long may it stay that way. Saying that the small amount of sprucing-up has removed a little of the rough around the edges magic of the previous ownership. A very good rather than a stellar venue, nevertheless.

A return visit the other night and although studiously avoiding the scruffy prison visitors’-style room to the rear, I had a table in the lovely vibrating time warp front bar (see photo), with a fine pint of Allsopp’s IPA at a very reasonable £5.30; also available were Vocation Bread & Butter, Southwark London Pale Ale, Five Points Best, Forest Road Ride and By the Horns Hopadelic.

A return visit here in what must be more than ten years,the layout remains the same but is certainly less tatty than before. Tales of an improving beer range appear to be true if not groundbreaking, with beers represented by By The Horns, Siren and Southwark, as well Adnams Old Ale and my pick of Sambrooks Candlemaker. It certainly won't be top of my list of pubs to miss a train in with The Kings Arms , Waterloo Tap and now BrewDog to pick from but it has improved on it's old Courage Best days.

Fair to say that I wouldn't have ventured into this place if it hadn't been in the Good Beer Guide 2019. But never judge a book by its cover. Two rooms - with a larger main room exactly what you would expect for a Railway Arch. Setup for sport, with large screen showing Rugby on my visit. Majority of tables occupied, so a perch along the lengthy bar. Plenty of real ale choices - the Hogsback TEA was perfect condition and served in the branded glass. Would go back, if in the area.