Hermits Cave, Camberwell, SE5

This is a late 19th century pub, rebuilt in this curvaceous form in 1902, still featuring a Whitbread sign bracket. The first thing you notice on approach are the lovely etched glass windows. The well preserved – or restored – Edwardian theme continues with a bare boarded floor, dark wainscoting, pale pink floral Edwardian-style wallpaper then a cream, textured ceiling. The bar array and pot shelf are all original, the bar back exhibiting some lovely etched and engraved mirrors; to complete the ensemble, there’s a fine wood and mirror overmantel above a wonderfully ornate marble fireplace. Lighting comes from Edwardian-style tulip sconces and there’s no music, enthusiastic conversation ruling the roost at the time of my Saturday 9.50pm visit. Furniture is traditional with décor taking the form of prints from yesteryear, a stuffed moose head and plenty of eclectic knickknacks above the pot shelf. Customers were of the CAMRA bent, a couple of women in their 70s passing favourable comments about the quality of their Jaipur. There were seven pumps, one unused, one clip I couldn’t read then Brew York Pale, Jaipur, Thornbridge Union, Gun Extra Pale and Marble Stout, a steal at £2.50 a half for a 5.7% beer, ok and served by a friendly barmaid. This is one of the best boozers I’ve visited south of the river outside SE1. Or indeed inside SE1. Rated 7.5.

Unspoiled and imposing Victorian boozer. Curved external appearance, with etched bay windows. Advertised as open at midday and the door was just being opened at 12:16pm. I was the only saturday lunch time punter for my 30 minute stay. 2-3 casks on and my Adnams Ghost Ship was in good condition, even if the first sold of the day. Lovely chatty Irish landlady, who's family have run the place for 25 years. Good Beer Guide 2022.

This is a nice, ornate street corner pub with some interesting Victorian features, located across the road from its sister pub the Stormbird. The interior describes a wide arc and has scuffed bare floorboards throughout and a similarly curved servery around the rear wall. The bar has a nice dark wood counter with some well worked supporting pillars holding up a grand gantry which has a row of overhanging lamps along it, held in place by decorative brass brackets. The gantry has been topped with an eclectic selection of items including standard pub décor like jugs, lamps and bottles, plus some oddities such as handpulls, a strange looking bust and an ancient looking jack-in-the-box. Seating almost exclusively follows the front wall in the right-hand half of the pub, with a mix of benches, high stools and chairs available beneath the spectacular etched glass windows that act as the pub’s most distinctive feature – they are certainly eye-catching even getting my attention as I was walking along on the other side of the road late at night. A fine marble fireplace dominates the end wall, with a large elaborate mantle and plain mirror above. The walls have a green lincrusta lower section and warm red floral wallpapered uppers decorated with modest art prints and shelves full of old whisky bottles and boxes. The left-hand side of the pub is partly obscured by a section of partitioning wall on entry, but opens out beyond the end of the servery, giving the place a semi self-contained lounge bar feel, with similar furniture and décor to the main bar area. They had two cask ales available when I arrived – Five Points Pale and Fyne Ales Jarl – with Five Points Bitter having recently been taken off. A friendly but overworked barmaid showed me to the last remaining table and poured a very nice pint of the Jarl which was a timely reminder of what a good beer this can be. There was a full house on my Thursday evening visit, with plenty of other punters getting turned away as the night went on. This is a nice pub that has kept a lot of its traditional features and benefits from this by feeling like a nice local’s pub in a part of town full of over-modernised, craft beer focussed venues. This was the pick of the Camberwell pubs I visited on a recent crawl of the area and would be the first place I’d mark down for a revisit.

Nice old curved pub, opened out inside but remaining reasonably traditional, wood flooring, wallpapered walls and etched glass windows.Seven handpumps on the bar,I didn't note all the beers but Adnams Mosaic and Fyne Ales Jarl were among them, the later being very good, also a couple of Ciders were on a couple of the handles. A decent pub.