The Blythe Hill Tavern, Catford, SE23

The prominent golden cockerel outside shows that in the days of the big six breweries this was a Courage pub. It probably hasn't changed that much since those days apart from the fact that it is a regular GBG entry whereas then it was all keg. The separate three rooms are well described below and I parked myself in the narrow room to the right. There was a choice of five beers Harvey's Best, Dark Star Hophead, Courage Best, Tring Fanny Ebbs and Adnam's Broadside. I went for the Dark Star Hophead (£3.30) which was in very good nick although a trifle on the warm side. Although this is a good example of a relatively unspoilt London pub it didn't impress me as much as it clearly does others. I thought the beer choice was a bit pedestrian and the TV screens are an annoyance. The Caffrey's mirror above the door as you enter is more a Bargain Hunt heavy loss item than an Antiques Road Show treasure. The live evening music is another downside for me. The saddest thing about this pub is that I remember a time when much of the London Young's tied estate was just like this but without the TV screens. It's certainly worth a look but not one I would return to unless I was passing close by. I wish I had referred to Whatpub before coming here as they say it does a 10% CAMRA discount.

The Blythe Hill Tavern is a fine traditional pub at the Catford end of Forest Hill. The pub has a three room format, with the main bar on the right hand side of the building. This room is quite narrow, with the bar running along the left side whilst a few tables fill the space opposite. A TV screen was on showing League 1 football to a good crowd of customers. At the rear of the room there is access to the back room, which is carpeted and has a mixture of banquette and standard seating, as well as a very short stretch of bar. A few books are lined up on a shelf behind the banquettes and there are a further two TV screens, one showing the football, the other offering At the Races, which was appropriate given the horse racing theme of the room which included lots of photos, paintings and even a jockey's silks. Access to the garden is possible from this rear room. The left hand side of the pub houses a second bar, which didn't appear to be in use during my stay. This room is almost wedge shaped and has yet another TV screen, again showing the football. There were five beers on when I visited - London Pride, Dark Star Hophead (£2.95), Courage Best, Harvey's Best and Adnams Broadside and my pint of Hophead was well kept. Most punters seemed to be drinking Guinness, which may be explained by the fact that most of the customers and staff appeared to be Irish. This is a classic example of an old-fashioned local's pub with plenty of character and is the sort of place I would happily spend a good bit of time in. Worth making the trek down Stanstead Road from the train station.

A traditional pub with three distinct seperate areas although it is possible to move between them inside. The right sided room is very narrow with the bar running along one side and small tables with chairs backs to the wall, facing the bar. There are also a few bar stools. There are old framed adverts above the bar, A Caffrey's mirror, Millwall FC team photo, a montage of Irish writers and a TV in the front corner showing at the time cricket, then football later. Behind here is a rectangular room at the back of the pub; this has a horse racing theme with several photographs and a jockey's jersey in a frame. Naturally the TV in here had the racing showing. Completing the circuit the left side room from the front is smaller, has an attractive fireplace, and its own seperate bar (unmanned yesterday PM) with two pumps clipped with Pride and Courage Best. I opted to sit in the narrow room where the choice of Pride or Courage were supplemented by Adnams Broadside and Dark Star Hophead. The bar counter had several part poured pints of Guinness on it, being allowed to settle before finishing pouring. The black stuff moves quickly here. There is also a pleasant paved rear garden with well tended flower beds and tubs, bench seating and a small kids play area. I liked this pub a great deal, comfortable, traditional and really quite busy of a Saturday afternoon, as it truly deserves to be.

Randomness Guide to London - Blythe Hill Tavern entry

Randomness Guide to London - Blythe Hill Tavern entry

This is one of the better London pubs that I have encountered. JohnBonser said I would like it, and he was right. It’s still a three-room pub, each with their own door to the outside, although they are now interconnected. As others have said, this pub has thankfully remained a traditional style boozer. There’s the Public Bar on the left; what must be the Saloon Bar on the right, with another comfortable connected room at the back that I guess would be the Lounge Bar. There are mock beams on the ceiling, which seems to be a feature of inter-war pubs. I sat in the Saloon Bar, where there was a flatscreen TV on the wall showing the racing. I also spotted a couple of one-armed bandits, but the one in the Saloon Bar was thankfully switched off, or possibly broken. This is another of those special unpretentious pubs that seem to be getting rarer by the year, whose attraction is the feel of their very ordinariness – although I realise that that is something of a contradiction. It seems to be something of an “Irish” pub – the barman and the clientele when I was in were clearly from the Emerald Isle. Plus there was a superb Guinness mirror in the Lounge, as well as the iconic Guinness toucan poster above the TV in the Saloon Bar. Nothing wrong with any of that of course. There were six real ales on when I was in recently, including General Wolfe 1759, from Westerham Brewery. Unfortunately I didn’t spot the General Wolfe until I’d ordered a pint of Dark Star Hophead – but it was a good pint nonetheless, and for under the £3 mark. The General Wolfe clip was there for all to see – but I missed it somehow! They don’t do food, at least not on a weekday lunchtime, but the barman was quite happy for me to pop to the caff a couple of doors down the road to bring a sarny back to the pub. This is a pub worth going out of your way to find, as long as you are someone who appreciates the traditional pub.