The New Inn, Gidea Park, Romford

This small U-shaped pub had a very welcoming local feel and the décor sparked flash backs to a time when a pub was a place where one went to have a beer and where nobody in the pub had ever heard of a Wasabi Pea, let alone tried one. There is only one hand pump which was pulling Greene King IPA, but there is a good range of standard products and I had a very nice pint of Guinness served to me by the friendly woman behind the bar. I counted four screens for showing Sky Sports, but these were all off during my weekday visit giving way to some random 80’s chart toppers. There are advertisements outside the front of the pub advertising live music on Friday and Saturday nights and traditional pub grub is served from 11am until 3pm everyday. There is some decking out the back with some picnic tables and this leads to a well kept grassed beer garden that has some more picnic tables and a very impressive children’s climbing frame with swings and a slide. This is how a pub should be and if the real ale range was a bit more thoughtful I would have given a ten rating.