The Great North Wood, West Norwood, SE27

The pub was very busy on a Monday evening with what I would describe as a very varied crowd. More demographically diversified than the last venue for sure. On a Quick Look in all directions from my mid point seat in the venue, would say was predominately drinkers rather than diners. Large screens occupied each corner of the venue showing what I would describe as “pre-sport”. the venue also advertises live music. Quaffs wise, two of the four hand pumps were operational. One was dispensing my choice of Forest Road Sesh session IPA and the other offering something called Bexley’s Own Beer from Bexleyheath Brewery. The more novel keg offerings were a premium strength offering from Sambrooks called Block Party. Again a glance around all of the visible quaffing space suggested punters here were drinking pretty much all the generic types of drink the venue had on offer. As noted, the pub is very close to West Norwood station and they still have the ticker tape style electronic departures board from the station next door. Interesting feature but if I was here it would be highly unlikely that I would be on tenterhooks if i missed the next train given trains are frequent here to pretty much anywhere you can get a train to from here. Saying that I do have to get more central for a meet. Checking the display i just missed the obvious train and now I have 30 mins to kill so chance to tick off another venue nearby. Oh Bugger!

This is a good sized, opened out pub with a bit of a modern, almost gastro-pub feel to it, located on the main road through West Norwood, close to the station. The room has a scuffed floorboarded interior with large arch-shaped windows along the front and left walls, a mix of plain and bare brick walls and a chunky central servery. The bar has an interesting counter, with curved ends, red frontage and a thick top, with a island unit in the place of a traditional bar back, the original having presumably been lost when the pub was knocked through into one large room. A dumb waiter has been retained though and there’s a decent beer bottle collection next to it. Also of note here is the train departure board for West Norwood station, which is very handy if you’re heading off by train after your visit here. The left-hand side of the pub is nice and bright and has been opened out a lot, allowing plenty of tables and chairs to run along the end wall whilst leaving plenty of standing room nearer the bar. Further back, an exposed brick wall has a nice fireplace and shelves full of board games. The right-hand side of the pub has a lot less natural light, so feels darker and a little cosier as a result. Two tows of tables and chairs, a smart brick fireplace with a large mirror above and plants along the mantelpiece make it feel homely enough and the plants are complimented by fresh flowers on each table. TV screens were showing muted coverage of a cricket match on both sides of the pub and a soul and funk soundtrack played away quietly in the background. There’s a large beer garden to the rear of the pub with plenty of seating, whilst some punters had opted to drink along side the road on the numerous picnic benches along the front pavement. I was a bit surprised to find three beers on handpull, all from the Sambrooks Brewery – Wandle, Session and White Gold – with a real cider making up the numbers. The White Gold was in decent enough shape, but not the most distinctive beer in recent memory. Plenty of punters were eating and I was a bit surprised to find quite a few children in here during the post-work hours. This place has quite a nice contemporary feel to it and offers a few different spaces from which to enjoy your drinks. As this type of modern makeover goes, I thought things were done fairly well and I enjoyed my visit, despite the predominance of diners around much of the room. It’s a decent addition to the local pub scene, meriting a look if you’re in the area.

Official site of The Great North Wood - www.thegreatnorthwood.co.uk

Official site of The Great North Wood - www.thegreatnorthwood.co.uk

Substantial, corner pub with two attractive façades enlivened by some hanging baskets. The interior has been given a very thorough gastro-pub makeover, with a mix of traditional and modern furniture that seems to work quite well. With plenty of windows and a reasonably high ceiling, the 'U'-shaped bar feels quite airy. There is a further table-service seating area and a smart restaurant area at first floor level, and there are also a few small tables out on the pavement. Four real ales on handpump: Runner and Lazarus from Truman's, Brixton Effra Ale and Dark Star Partridge (£4.10).