The Horseshoe Inn, SE1

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

Randomness Guide to London - Horseshoe Inn entry

They had Gale’s Butser; Breakspear’s Bitter; and the ubiquitous London Pride on. The Gales Butser was excellent (at £3 a pint), and was readily topped up without being asked. The food was OK – I had a ciabatta chicken sandwich for £4.95. The landlord was friendly and chatty – he had the latest version of What’s Brewing on the counter in order to place an advert for a forthcoming beer festival in March; plus there were copies of London Drinker available. I regard these as very good signs indeed. The pub itself is tucked away behind London Bridge near Guys Hospital. It is essentially a one-room pub, but with a room at the back on the left that was being used by diners during my visit. It’s bare-boarded, with a high ceiling that should let in a lot of light. But on a gloomy and wet Wednesday in January there wasn’t much light about, and it was made gloomier by the canopy let down outside one of the windows, presumably to accommodate smokers. The only other negative thing for me was the fact that the music being played and Sky News on the large plasma TV were in competition with each other. But I found this to be a friendly and welcoming pub with decent beer on handpump. There’s also a functioning dartboard. I would certainly go back.

This late Victorian (1897) pub is tucked away round the back of Guys Hopsital and seems to appeal to locals, workers and students alike. The interior is quite plain and not particularly memorable with much of the frontage windowed and little inside that attracts any attention. The main bar area has an unobtrusive darts area to one side but, as the sign says, it is for serious players only so don't expect to be popular if you start playing loopy or halve it! 2 well positioned TVs seem geared for sports (they were both tuned to different rugby matches on our visit). To the left of the bar is a side room which I recall being more of a sofa lounge when I last came here but they seem to have ditched the soft furnishings for something a bit more solid and robust although I didn't get the impression it was specifically a dining area. 3 Ales; Brakspear, London Pride & Sweet Chariot – decent condition and prices comparable for the area. The food looked very good and the portions quite substantial. Not one of the better known pubs in the area and I'm not sure I would particularly spend a whole evening here but well worth a quick pint as part of a crawl.