The Widows Son, E3

Established in 1848, the history and name of the pub are documented on one of the photos from August 2009. Situated in a rather unprepossessing location, this is a grade II*-listed former Taylor Walker house, as evinced by the arch over the hanging sign frame. A first in here a few nights ago and it's clear that the place has changed much since my photo of June 2014. Indeed it would seem that the reviews below no longer apply; gone is the Tetley’s, pool table and naval-themed décor. So then: welcome to the house of bun! There's a slate grey and dark grey all-over colour scheme, field panelled to the dado rail. The dark grey field panelled bar has a wooden top and may be modern; above, hangs a net brim full of the historic buns. I was expecting a slightly bready smell, such is the nature of the yeast, but no. To the rear is a dark sea green glazed tiled bar back; the ceiling is t 'n' g. The floor is darkish bare boarded except for a raised stage area with DJ paraphernalia and upright piano. Lighting is eclectic, as is the largely conventional furniture. There are some structural columns, one partly wound with rope - perhaps a nod to the naval link. Lighting is also rather mixed and pleasantly soothing with decent music playing at an agreeable level. Overall, it's a bit spartan with tables spaced fairly far apart, probably due to social engineering requirements. However, you can't fail to miss the beautiful Widow's Son polychromatic painted mirror proudly displayed on a wall but sadly cracked. What's also very attractive are the etched mirrors with red and black lettering to the top of a wall, with very lovely etched mirrors below - my guess is that this was the original bar back, with the current bar shifted towards the main window. Customers seemed to be young professionals, probably recent incomers living in the rather fancy flats that have gone up in recent years, in relatively close proximity to Canary Wharf. The pub was far from full, so perhaps there were more drinkers in the rear garden. Ales: none, just Eurofizz as far as I could make out with the very friendly and chatty barman serving me a good pint of Guinness at the 'new normal' price of £5.10. This was an unexpectedly good pub and is well worth the 10-minute walk from Bow Road tube - a couple of decent real ales would certainly get the score up by at least one point.

Basic boozer, with an irregular-shaped interior. Small raised seating area, otherwise limited furniture. Main feature is the pool table holding pride of place in the centre of the bar floor. Music channel on TV. Naval-themed decor, with details of the interesting 'Bun House' story on a small display. No real ale on tap, so opted for a quick pint of Tetley Smooth (£3.20) before moving on.

The story behind this pub is set out below, and on a board on the outside wall of the pub, photographed by John McGraw. As you would expect the naval theme is well represented in the decor, with numerous prints of RN ships on the walls, and rows of sailors' caps on a shelf above the bar back. I also noted that the end of the bar back had some nice cut glass remaining in it, as well as "wines & spirits" and similar panels. But other than that this pub has little to recommend it. The room is dominated by a pool table in the centre of the floor, there's a small raised and balustraded area on the left as you enter via the main door with some grubby banquettes and stools, and a a couple of basic tables and chairs at the end of the room. When I was in on Monday afternoon there was a bunch of workers in high visibility jackets standing around the bar, as well as a fair number of other punters in. In fact it was doing a fairly good trade. Obviously there's no real available (keg Tetley was the best bet), and nor did I see any sign of food or menus. I doubt whether I'll visit this one again.