The Long Pond, Eltham, SE9

I don't think this pub can have changed since previous reviewers' visits. You have the main room at the front with a handful of modern tall tables and tall stools, with another small room at the back on the left with a handful of normal tables and chairs. The room at the back had paintings on the wall by a local artist, with a price list so they're obviously for sale. One of them featured the pub. It was in this room that I spotted the sign on the wall banning customers from speaking on their mobile 'phones, on penalty of a £1 fine which goes to charity. The beers available were listed on a blackboard behind the small counter. On my visit, what I would guess might be the house beer, Tonbridge Pond Life was on at a very reasonable £3 a pint, plus Mad Cat Session Pale (£3.40), Bexley Bob (£3.60), and Whitstable East India Pale (£3.60). Being a micropub it's a bit short on luxury - but who cares? However, on a cold January day day it was uncomfortably cold in here. It was so cold I'm sure my wife would have walked out after 30 seconds, but my chums and I are hardier souls, although we weren't tempted to stay for a second pint. On another day I'm sure it would be fine, and the beer selection was just fine, and at very reasonable prices to boot.

Opened in late 2014, this is another example of the growing micro pub trend that has proven so successful throughout Kent and this part of London. As micro pubs go, this one, located in a former plumbing supplies store, is actually pretty large, with something akin to a two room layout. The front room is bare boarded with painted walls, high tables and chairs throughout and a basic serving counter to the rear. Beers are listed on boards behind the bar and all the ales are racked up in a taproom at the rear which can be viewed through windows in the adjacent corridor leading to the toilets. Some nice bits of art adorn the walls alongside a few beer related items, including pump clips along the ceiling beams, and a cracking old Eltham Park railway sign which references the long since departed station that was once located a few doors down. To the rear left is a small second 'room' with pew and standard seating, red half panelled walls and patterned wallpaper. Windows on the right side open into the bar area, but this is not a service hatch and you will need to make the short walk through to the main room to get your beer. Notices on the walls make it clear that phone calls are not permitted, but using your phone to browse or text is fine. The blackboards listed a good range of local ales - Caveman Shopper Gold, Kent Black Gold, Gadds No 5, Wantsum Black Prince and a house beer called Pond Life which I believe is a rebadged Tonbridge beer. Four real ciders were also listed on the boards. I tried the Black Prince and have to say I was very disappointed with the quality of my pint. The pub was doing a good trade on a Saturday evening and I'm prepared to put my bad beer down as a misfortunate bit of timing on my part. I really liked the feel of this pub, which seemed a lot cosier and pub-like when compared to other micro pubs I have visited. The place is a little way from the other public houses in Eltham, but efforts to find it will be well rewarded. Had my pint been better quality, I would have scored this place even higher - it's well worth a visit.