The White Horse, Bromley

With its original brown brewer's tiling on the exterior this looked like it could be a backstreet gem. But unfortunately it was bedlam inside, with the youthful members of some film crew rushing around. One or two even had high vis jackets for some reason. The Harvey's Sussex Best was in poor condition, but we didn't take the chance of asking for it to be exchanged for Doom Bar. Perhaps if one visited at a time when it wasn't being used for a film shoot, and if the Harvey's was in good condition, then it would probably result in a much more enjoyable visit.

A street corner local, inside there is a compact truncated U shape with the central bar open on two sides. The shorter side has a dartboard and pool table but nothing here was accessible as some student types were using the pub for some kind of filming project. The pub is carpeted with laminate flooring around the bar, a fireplace has a TV over. Beige coloured wainscoting, the bar back is light green, modern and featureless with turquoise backlighting. Seating also not fantastic with only a couple of proper normal level tables, high tables, a pair of sofas and some bucket seats dominate. There are a few picnic benches outside. Harvey's Sussex Best..not in the best condition, Doom Bar and Rosie's Pig cider. No signs of food. This wasn't the best pub of our trip around Bromley but we may have picked the wrong day with the student invasion dominating things.

The White Horse is a really nice looking pub that is just down from the Red Lion. Once inside there is a single room which is almost V shaped with the bar separating the two halfs,the left side is the larger being quite narrow with normal tables and chairs,i had a drink in the right side which is smaller,this also had normal tables and chairs. There were four pumps on the bar all unclipped,i asked for a drink of real ale more in hope but was told no call for it here,locals do like the lager though,i was offered a bottle of Kingston Pale but opted for the draught Guinness which was ok but as bland as ever. I was offered a paper to read but i didnt want to stay that long. This is a nice looking pub that seems to be a bit down at heel at the moment which is a shame. Pub visited 14/2/2015

Situated near Bromley North station, this back street local’s corner pub looks enticing enough from the outside with its attracative half tiled facade and flower boxes on the window sills. The U shaped interior has fairly narrow drinking areas with a pair of TV’s (Sky and ESPN shown), dart board and famous drinking quotes around the bar canopy. The recess for the toilets contains a montage of film star pictures – ladies one side, gents to the other. In most aspects this is a fairly run of the mill place with no great pretences but I was quite taken in by the friendly nature of the staff and customers who all greeted one another (and me) with a “love”, “darling” or a “sweetheart” giving me the impression that this is a close knit, friendly and loyal customer base. The pub did fall short on the beer front although,to be fair, my visit (an early Saturday lunctime) probably didn’t coincide with one of its better moments. Of the 4 hand pumps, Harveys Best was the only one clipped and this wasn’t available -“waiting for it to settle” which does I suppose show that they are not prepared to offer beer that isn’t at its best. With no other ale alternative I was left with a mainstreram cjoice of kegs, lagers etc. My overall impressions were very positive but a more extensive and interesting selection is needed for the place to stand out a bit more among its numerous neighbours.