The Anchor & Hope, Southwark, SE1

Official site of The Anchor & Hope - www.anchorandhopepub.co.uk

Official site of The Anchor & Hope - www.anchorandhopepub.co.uk

I clearly visited very shortly after BF's visit and obviously nothing had changed in the interim. I would say that about half of the "pub's" total area is available for drinkers (the area on the right), which is bare-boarded of course, and furnished with non-upholstered hard wooden chairs, some small round stools, normal "scrubbed" tables, and with a solitary tall table with tall stools. The outside is especially unattractive, being painted black with the pub's name in bold white lettering, and inside the walls are painted a sort of maroon or purple colour. I only had a fleeting look at the diners' area en route to and from the gents, and the only things of some interest there were the large, modern and unintelligible painting on the left, and the framed print montages featuring things and places I failed recognise. It was surprisingly quiet when I was in at around 1.0 PM on Tuesday, with only a handful of diners in the dining area, and only yours truly in the drinking area. I'm all for a quiet pint, and I got one in here as there was no music, TVs, or other distracting mechanical devices such as fruit machines or others of their ilk. I too encountered a farly uninspiring ale selection, with Tribute, Bombardier and Young's Bitter (£4.10 a pint) available. My pint of Bitter was in good shape as well - so some pluses even if it didn't strike me as anything special, and fairly characterless if truth be told.

This street corner gastro pub splits in two halves,the right side is a large open plan square room with crowded traditional furniture and the bar,and this is where you can sit and drink.The left side around a pillar is the restaurant and an open kitchen,where the tables cannot be booked but are offered first come,first served.It's been in the Good Food Guide for many years,and cooking skills are high but a meal will easily set you back £40 per head with some wine.However I have given marks as a pub,which is the weakest aspect.Given the care taken with the food ,a real ale selection of CW Bombardier,Youngs Bitter and St Austell Tribute (£4.40) seemed by comparison both dull and expensive.The pub gets rammed afterwork and before performances at the Old and Young Vic and with people waiting for a dining table asked to hang around the bar,getting served at peak times can be tricky.Sometimes diners spill out into the pub seating area,which detracts from a pubby atmosphere.There are better boozers close by,but if you like your food this is a bit of a treat.