The Horseshoe Inn, SE1

Official site of The Horseshoe Inn - www.thehorseshoeinnpub.co.uk

I noted Brakspear & gkipa last night, but believe Pride is a also regular. Either way, the Brakspear (£3) was pretty tired. The dartboard to the right of the bar was certainly not entertaining ‘serious' play by the ladies who preceded us, and our game did nothing to raise the standard. There is another board in the side/rear room. Lack of beer choice & quality leads me to doubt that I'll be back.

I was led to the Horseshoe Inn by a friend who knew its location, which was handy as I would never have found it. The bar stretches along the rear wall of this narrow pub and to the right of the bar is a dartboard. Standard draught was available alongside Ringwood Best, Hobgoblin and Marstons. Standard pub fare was available from around £10 for a main and a member of my group stumped up for a more expensive meat platter that went down quite well, although I ended up with a little more garlic bread than I would have liked. To the left of the pub is a separate seating area with another dartboard and a piano. Access from here can be gained to a beer garden full of picnic tables that stretches around to the rear of the pub. There was some background music emanating from the jukebox and the barmaid was cold and distant, even though we spent over £100 between us. I enjoyed the darts and the company, but not the hospitality… This pub is not on my list of revisits.

Official site of The Horseshoe Inn - www.thehorseshoeinnpub.co.uk

I searched this one out whilst in the area yesterday primarily to have a look at the pub that was used as The Railway Arms or “Heaven” in the last episode of the 3rd series of ‘Ashes to Ashes’. The Horseshoe Inn is an old style corner boozer tucked away in the backstreets behind London Bridge stations and Guy’s Hospital and can be problematical to find especially with the on-going disruptive Cross rail building work. . Decent enough looking from the outside with some attractive moldings above eye level as others have mentioned. Not in the best of areas though, especially as there is a drop in center for the homeless almost opposite, who were out in force on one of the first sunny days of spring, and having a local hobo try to ponce some money off you isn’t ideal on your way for a beer. Can’t blame the pub for that though. The interior is one main fairly minimal room, but there is a newer extension room behind the main bar and then a small patio garden area at the back primarily for use by the smokers, unless you like to stare at the London Bridge Station signal box whilst enjoying a pint. There are three real ale pumps on the bar and two Brakspear bears were on, (Oxford Gold and Bitter). The third pump was reversed but looked like it could have been Hobgoblin There was a Mongolian food menu available, which you don’t see often in a London pub but we didn’t eat here. Found this a largely inoffensive pub, but with no real redeeming features that would drag me back here if I don’t have to.

The Horseshoe is a reasonably large Brakspear pub located behind Guys Hospital, a short walk from London Bridge train station. Entrance takes you into an opened out main room with the bar counter opposite the front door. The room has bare floorboards and large windows along two sides which give plenty of light and emphasise the open space within. The right hand side of the room has a good range of seating, mainly from benches and standard tables and chairs. A TV screen was on showing muted 24 hour news coverage and there is an alcove at this end of the room, which houses a dartboard - the game seemingly being very popular in this pub. Opposite and to the right of the servery there are a limited number of tables and chairs and beyond them there is a second room with plenty of seating, which looks like it might be used as a dining area, but had been hired out by a darts team when I visited. There were three handpumps, but no Brakspear ales available. The choice was between Fullers London Pride, Ringwood Best and Harvey’s Best. I tried the Ringwood, which was well kept and served by a friendly barman. The pub offers a typical 'pub grub' menu but I also spotted a list of five or six Mongolian dishes which were reasonably priced and, if the curry I saw being taken out of the kitchen is anything to go by, look very tasty. There are, of course, some excellent pubs in this part of town which means that the Horseshoe wouldn't be an obvious destination, but I thought it was a welcoming enough place with more of a community feel to it than some of the more famous ale houses nearby and I wouldn't mind popping in again on occasion.

Old wood floored traditional boozer, quite large and all together pleasant

Pleasant, routine boozer with a keen darts following, fielding several teams in at least two leagues. It attracts a loyal group of regulars, and is handy for a quick on if the trains are delayed, it never gets as busy, nor attracts the braying city workers that crowd out the pubs nearer the main road. A largish, sparsely furnished bar area, which always feels cold, and a side room which feels even colder. It has been in the GBG and has some regard in CAMRA circles mainly, I suspect because it sells Brakspeares, but catching all the beers on at the same time is difficult.

Randomness Guide to London - Horseshoe Inn entry