The Palm, N15

Visited 27/05/25 No cask. The two hand pumps were seemingly decorative only. The keg offering was Guinness, Crafty Apple, Santiago from Two Flints, the Salmon Slate West Coast IPA from Hammerton, the Sun Shine lager from local brewery Goodness, their own branded Palm lager, Neck Oil, Deya Steady Rolling Man, the Pale Fire from Pressure Drop, the session IPA People Money Space Time from Verdant, the Peach Melba Sour from Pilot and the AF Fresh from Cloudwater. Pleasant venue with the island bar counter occupying the centre of the bare boarded floor space. Some tall stool seating at parts of the bar counter but generally seating here via regular tables and chairs, most of which suggest they look to attract diners. Not surprisingly there are a fair few potted plants here, most seemingly of the palm variety! There is a fabric sofa tucked in the far corner from the side entrance. This was in hindsight quite a small venue. One of the notable features was the colourful leaded panels in the upper part of the windows on the two street facing sides. Will appeal to craft fans but would be a good venue if those two hand pumps were dispensing something decent rather than being unfunctional.

The former Lord Palmerston is a mid-19th century pub, rebuilt in the 1930s for Truman’s by their inhouse architect, A. E. Sewell, the current name dating from 2019. The exterior is typical Sewell, with two Truman’s ‘eagle’ logotypes and three interesting airbricks above the pavement, partially disguised with the ‘THB’ (Truman Hanbury & Buxton) logo (see photo). Typically for one designed by Sewell, the interior would feature near full height wood panelling, with Truman’s beer names inlaid into it at picture rail height; no doubt there would have been one of his trademark white Vitrolite ceilings too. Alas, no longer; the interior is now wine bar chic, with a modern boarded floor, white and pale grey colour scheme with black ceiling and an abundance of spun metal lampshades, from which little illumination emanated from obligatory filament bulbs. Décor comes in the form of a few framed trendy prints, along with potted palms (natch) and palm-themed artwork, all to banal free-to-air muzak on loop. The lavs amounted to two unisex cubicles and if I were a woman, I’d not fancy using them and speaking of which, customers were young and trendy. There’s no cask here of course, a nod to its past being two largely concealed pumps, then a limited keg range, me going for the Hammerton Tuned (£3.10 a half), served by a clueless barmaid who passed me over in favour of two customers who’d clearly arrived after my dramatic entrance. I was surprised that no-one had reviewed this place before, but with the style bar aesthetic, lack of cask and dozy staff, I can’t see many prospective PuG reviewers beating a path to its door; it’s a lot better than the Fountain though…

Official site of The Palm - thepalmpub.co.uk

Facebook page of The Palm - www.facebook.com

Official site of The Palm - thepalmpub.co.uk

Facebook page of The Palm - www.facebook.com