Henley Arms, North Woolwich, E16

There was no real ale here, although there are a couple of handpumps on the bar counter. The landlady said that they only ever have real ale on occasionally during the summer, as there's hardly any call for it. I'm not surprised. There was no sign of any food on Wednesday afternoon. When you see the dilapidated and weather worn external signage you get the feeling that it's not going to be a gem of a pub. But inside it was a bit better than I expected. It's carpeted with a cheap looking, but apparently fairly new carpet and is furnished with normal tables and chairs, apart from two or three tall tables/tall stools. The walls are painted white, with the bar counter a light grey. It looks as if it's recently been redecorated to give it a bit of a spruce up. There are a few prints on the walls, but nothing exceptional; there's a juke box and a TV of course. This is a pretty routine estate pub, but an absolute gem in comparison with the Royal Standard down the road.