The Crown & Cushion, Lambeth, SE1

The pub looks a bit rough and ready from the outside and very much maintains an old school boozer vibe once inside, indeed it wouldn't look out of place in a scene from the Sweeny. Three handles on the bar with two beers on Old Speckled Hen and Southwark Bermondsey Best. Although the beers are not exactly up my street the pub is and I found it very enjoyable.

Dating from the late 18th century, this pub was rebuilt in the 1930s by who else other than A. E. Sewell, inhouse architect for Truman’s; indeed, much of the Truman’s regalia remains, including gold eagle motifs above the doors, each surmounted by a crown and cushion; it’s all very attractive, but what’s not so attractive is the general mess to the frontage, projecting Guinness sign and ugly, poorly maintained Carling sign hanging from the right-hand frontage; all the written narrative looks scruffy too. The Guinness sign is a clue to the pub’s metier, for this is an Irish pub: the floor’s bare boarded; there’s at least one raised area with an altogether woody interior, three-quarter height original natural wood panelling, traditional furniture with some pew seating, oil lamp-style sconces (probably original) and a veritable treasure trove of Gaelic gallimaufry along with knickknacks such as old radios, a clocking-in machine and typewriter to name but a few; a flight of stairs leads up to the Anglo-Thai dining room. Customers were a very mixed bunch, though trending towards the older end of the spectrum and seemingly none Irish, all making for a very good atmosphere, let down by football commentary (no-one watching) intruding into an otherwise good ambient soundtrack. Surprisingly there is cask ale here, the two GK offerings (IPA/OSH) wisely eschewed in favour of the far more welcome Bermondsey Best at £2.60 a half and in good nick, served by a friendly barman. A characterful boozer with a colourful cast of characters, this is comfortably the best pub in the vicinity; a better choice of cask beer would get the score up.

Official site of The Crown & Cushion - www.thecrownandcushion-london.foodanddrinksites.co.uk

Official site of The Crown & Cushion - www.thecrownandcushion-london.foodanddrinksites.co.uk

Well described by others, below.  I found the pub welcoming and a positive improvement over the many chain bars and dives in the area, the staff friendly and the commuters tolerable.  Ales on were GK IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Sharp’s Coaster; the latter was in excellent condition.  I’d definitely include in a crawl. 

The Crown and Cushion is an Irish pub with an English, Tao and Thai menu that can be eaten in or collected. The traditional Victorian décor is somewhat hidden behind lots of Irish paraphernalia, but the old school boozer atmosphere is not lost. I counted two plasma screens that were airing horse racing and I noted the presence of a dartboard, although there was a rather large table on the oche. Upstairs is a function room and the free Wi-Fi passcode was on the wall for all to use. I found the landlady to be very friendly and it is always reassuring to find yourself standing next to a vicar whilst supping at the bar. Available from the bar was a standard keg range and surprisingly for an Irish pub there were three hand pumps. These were drawing Greene King’s Old Speckled Hen, IPA and Santa’s Goliath Sack… titter! As Irish pubs go I thought this place was OK.

Having travelled via Waterloo Station for so many years, I found it most strange that I had never before visited this pub. It seems to be little, if any, changed from previous reviewers' visits. The black eagle on the exterior (now gold painted) identify it as an ex Truman's pub. But there's nothing inside of Truman heritage as far as I could see. The Irish influence is very strong - there are Guinness mirrors, adverts, and bunting all over the place, some Irish place names atre displayed, and I even detected Irish accents. The said Guinness adverts were the ancient wooden bas relief type, one even featuring the iconic toucan. I'm not sure what the "Rotherhithe Street" street name was doing there, but to be sure there was all manner of bric a brac around the place. There were a couple of TVs on, one muted and showing some cricket, with the other somewhat inevitably showing the horse racing. Furnishings seemed mainly to be wooden settles. Three handpumps were clipped for GK IPA, Old Speckled Hen, and Sharp's Cornish Coaster. When I was charged £3.10 for a pint of Cornish Coaster I wondered if I had misheard the barman/guv'nor - but he accepted the £3.10 I proffered so I guess I didn't and it really was such a reasonable price. But unfortunately it came up rank and undrinkable, although it was readily exchanged for a pint of GK IPA. Shame - if I had known I was going to end up with GK IPA I would probably have opted for a half. Food was available - I didnt see a menu but it smelled like Thai. Surprisingly this struck me as a real drinkers' local just round the corner from Waterloo Station. I would give it another go, on the assumption that I was just unlucky to get such a dodgy pint. To the guv'nor's credit, when I returned the pint he immediately reversed the clip, but maybe he suspected that it was about to go off.