The Pavilion, Sydenham, SE26

Not much has changed inside the pub since PSM’s visit here almost 5 years ago. It is a unfussy local’s boozer near the station looking pretty much as described by PSM, inside at least. Outside it is no longer painted bright yellow! Quaffs wise now no beers on hand pump. The keg offering is quite simple and as you would expect in a pub described as it has been described here. Brixton Reliance Pale Ale was the “exotic” offering. I had a pint of John Smiths tasting and looking the same as a pint of John Smiths always tastes and looks. There were still four screens in the L part of the pub, two showing the end afternoon horse racing cards and two showing the tennis. For once, I was clearly not the only one in the venue interested in the low grade racing fayre! Beer choice aside I like this type of pub, it is very authentic as a pub experience. Saying that the beer choice makes it an average 5 for me.

Just around the corner from Sydenham station, the Pavilion is a proper local’s pub with an old school, unpolished appeal to it. You enter into the front bar with an L-shaped servery opposite the front door and seating areas to either side. The right hand part of the room is formed into quite an intimate little space with nice banquette booths under the front windows and some limited dark wood panelling, giving it quite a traditional saloon bar feel. The left hand side has banquette and chair seating with plush fixed benches down the end wall and to the rear. A couple of fireplaces here hint at the former multiple room layout and each has a plain mirror above and TV screens to the side. The window sills and shelves behind the benches are crammed full of well thumbed old paperbacks, whilst the walls have been painted in warm shades, with a few sheets of feature wallpaper blending in fairly well to the overall look. The servery has a white tongue and groove counter and basic, plain wood bar back, all presumably much altered as a result of various renovations and layout changes down the years. Decor throughout includes old black and white photos of the area in days gone by and some nostalgic old paintings of idyllic scenes. A door to the rear and another to the right of the servery lead you through into the back bar which is a simple L-shaped space with a pool table and dartboard to the rear, an unmanned bar to the left and a mix of high tables with stools and standard benches and chairs to pick from. A karaoke session was in full swing on my late night visit, taking up the front left corner of the pub and keeping most of the packed house entertained, creating quite a fun, rowdy atmosphere. I didn’t expect to find any ale here, but they had two handpulls on the bar – one unused but the other dispensing Fullers London Pride at £3.40 a pint. I gave it a go and whilst it’s far from the best pint of Pride I’ve ever had, it was still in perfectly drinkable condition and served to me by a really friendly barman. This place isn’t really the sort of pub that’s going to have people travelling from afar to visit, but it’s a pretty solid community boozer that seems to have a devoted following and is at least able to maintain one cask ale in decent condition. Not somewhere I’m likely to rush back to, but I at least I had a good time whilst I was there.

The Pavilion looks like a pretty rough pub from the outside with a gawdy bright yellow lower front and a few people outside one on a chair,but this does not put me off going in Just like Rex. Once inside there is an L shaped room to the front with the bar facing,the room is carpeted and has comfy bench seating and chairs,there were four TVs with three showing horse racing and one showing football,there is also a separate bar room to the rear right right which has a dart board in it,the front room was very busy with a good lively atmosphere. There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Courage best which was a decent drink,the other beer was Courage Directors. I quite like drinking in these type of pubs,a proper pub with normal drinkers like myself. Pub visited 14/5/2016

Looking at this pub from the outside I expected it be the sort of tatty locals' pub that doesn't do real ale, judging by the scruffy looking smoker hanging around the entrance. Or possibly it was the lemon yellow painted exterior that gave me pause. But appearances can be deceiving - it did have Courage Director's on (£1.65 a half), which was surprisingly good. There was no sign of menus or food on Wednesday afternoon. It was surprisingly comfortable inside as well. It had a nice carpet on the floor, furnishings were traditional banquettes with normal tables and chairs, a nicely tiled fireplace with a log fire alight was a welcome sight on a cold February day, a gilded mirror plus some old prints were on the walls, and a shelf along the side had a row of books on it. Although an ordinary locals' boozer it had a friendly and warm feel to it. Maybe it's a different place in the evenings, but I enjoyed my brief midweek afternoon visit here. OK, the beer range isn't very extensive or exciting, but at least the Director's was in good shape.