The Star of Greenwich, Greenwich, SE10

I popped into the Star and Garter just after midday on a recent Wednesday and found myself to be the only customer. The woman working behind the bar was very welcoming and I settled down for a quick half of generic lager from the standard draught range. The bar supports two hand pumps and there is another in a separate area to the right which doubles up as a function room where a pool table can be found. During my visit all three hand pumps were badged with Young’s Ordinary. To the left and rear of the bar area is another seating area where a dartboard can be found in an alcove. There was some background music playing courtesy of Magic FM and the two plasma screens were switched off. I didn’t see any sport advertised, but there was some mention of a weekly quiz night and live music. There is also a poker night every Thursday. As I was about to leave an aged gentleman came in to pay up his lottery subs. This backed up my thoughts that this is a local community boozer. If I lived locally I would use this pub as I thought it had a friendly vibe.

This really is a locals’ pub, and one which any self-respecting tourist is likely to shy away from. When I was in on Thursday afternoon/early evening there were about a dozen or so other punters in there. As far as I could tell they were all drinking lager; all roughly the same demographic as my companion and I; and all seemed to be avidly and mostly vociferously following the racing being shown on the TV. We fitted in quite nicely – except of course that we were drinking the sole real ale on – Young’s Bitter at a very wallet friendly £3.10 a pint. There was no sign of any food of course. This pub is quite large for a backstreet local, having been extended into an adjoining house at some stage. It was very traditional 70s inside, being carpeted and furnished with banquettes and normal tables and chairs. There were three distinct yet interconnected drinking areas, separated by dark varnished rustic posts above the dado level. Everybody else clearly knew each other, but we were made welcome as strangers. It has to be said that the Young’s Bitter was not the best I’ve had, so you wouldn’t come here for the beer, but if you are after a quiet(ish) unpretentious locals’ pub then this one should work for you.

We called into this back street local’s pub on the basis of some good reviews elsewhere but were quite disappointed with what we found. There isn’t much intrinsically wrong with the pub but the very plain interior is just dull, faceless and lacking anything that stands out. For a Saturday night the place was virtually deserted apart from a private party being held in the screened off end section although the punters we did encounter seemed friendly and chatty enough. There is little on the beer side to tempt anyone in with the sole Real Ale being Youngs Ordinary and the rest standard kegs and lagers. A dart board at one end of the pub is worth noting but, unless you fancy sitting in a rather subdued atmosphere for an evening, there is very little to justify the walk from the centre of town.