The Shipwrights Arms, London Bridge, SE1

A stunning exterior gives way to a less interesting interior,the only feature of note inside is a tiled mural of a dockyard scene from a few centuries ago. Is a large single room with high a ceiling,the floor is carpeted. The large central island bar has two banks of three handpumps,all were in use but had a very uninspiring selection,Doom Bar was doubled up,Deuchars IPA,St Austell Tribute,Adnams Southwold and Brakespeare Bitter, the latter was as expected very average.With a better beer range I would be tempted back,but as it stands probably not.

Slightly scruffy pub with central bar taking up a lot of space means it gets very busy being close to London Bridge & the Shard and with only standard beers available not really worth a special effort.

Lovely looking pub from outside but less impressive inside.Very busy.Three common beers Duechars, Doombar and Flying Scotsman.

It has taken me five years, but as promised I have returned to the Shipwrights Arms at a quieter time (Monday afternoon) so that I could have a proper look around. Unsurprisingly the décor has changed little since my last visit as this is still a high ceilinged single room with a central bar. There is a nautical theme throughout with some interesting tiling that has been mentioned by previous reviewers. At the rear is a jukebox that was providing some background music for the ten or so other punters present. I noted a rolled up projector screen, but there were no advertisements for any live sporting events. The bar is stocked with standard draught and there are three hand pumps on the front of the bar and another two at the rear. These were drawing Deuchars, Doom Bar, Caledonian’s Flying Scotsman, Bombardier and Adnams Southwold. Food is available from midday until 15:00 and 17:00 until 21:00 during the week and from midday until 16:00 at the weekends. My visit was whilst the kitchen was closed so I didn’t see any menus, but the roast dinners on the specials board were all priced at £10, which is reasonable for the area. Thankfully the service was much friendlier and attentive during this visit so I have increased my rating from a 5 to a 7 accordingly. 14th April 2009 This is a single room high ceilinged pub with a central bar that offers Deuchars, Adnams and Spitfire alongside a premium and standard draught selection. I found the staff to be extremely slow and more concerned with cleaning glasses than serving, which I wouldn’t have minded if they had run out of clean ones but there were plenty. I will revisit this place at a quieter time so that I can have a better look around.