The Greenwich Pensioner, E14

This is a very early Victorian freestanding pub – the result of World War II bombing – with some lovely Taylor Walker tiling, probably dating from the 1930s, but as Rex mentions, it looks promising but flatters to deceive. Refurbished in early 2023, visible on the pub’s website gallery, the interior has been knocked about a fair bit, with black wainscoting to the dado then a white colour scheme with interesting Grecian-style cornice, modern pale floor, booth-style seating to the left, furniture being restaurant-style with bottled flowers on tables; the bar back has some weird new Mogul-style bar back, which wouldn’t look out of place in an Indian restaurant but with loads of pot plants, miscellaneous prints and of course, an upright Joanna, with few customers at the time of my Friday 8.50pm visit – some south-east Asian tourists probably staying in the upstairs rooms – then older more traditional locals. Real ale took the form of one unused pump, then Wainwright’s Amber, £2.90 a half, as dull as expected, served by a barmaid who struggled with English. This is a bit of a sad experience, getting a ‘4’ rather than ‘3’ by dint of supplying a cask beer, but then that’s pretty much the theme for E14 pubs, the borough’s best examples to be found in E2 and E3. Rated 3.5.

Official site of The Greenwich Pensioner - greenwichpensioner.co.uk

Official site of The Greenwich Pensioner - greenwichpensioner.co.uk

The Greenwich Pensioner is a square single room pub with a bar on the back wall that supports standard keg fonts in addition to a tap for keg Yardbird Pale Ale. There are two plasma screens, one of which was off and the other was showing a comedy program on E4 or some such channel. I did spot a live sport advertisement but my visit was on a Friday afternoon when I found myself to be the only person in the pub. There is a pool table, a dartboard and some gaming machines. The furniture is made up of some high tables and chairs, a couple of sofas, some standard tables and chairs and some stools that are spread along a beer shelf that runs down the left hand wall. Out the front are a couple of picnic tables and the friendly barmaid mentioned that the rear garden was a nice spot to relax, but I didn’t venture out to have a look. I have to admit that I concur with the views that this pub is a bit disappointing, especially considering the exterior. I do not plan to return to this part of town any time soon.