The Hackney Carriage, Sidcup

The Hackney Carriage is a square room ringed by high tables. Outside, there's a small cordoned-off set of tables and chairs for those who smoke or just enjoy a bit of traffic noise. Ales are fetched from the cool room behind the bar, which certainly slows down the ordering process at busy times. There's plenty of choice in cask and keg, all from smaller breweries. This is a good choice if you find yourself in Sidcup, though not enough on its own to force a trip to London's southeastern suburbs.

Just over a year on from my first visit to this micropub, situated close to Sidcup station, I made a return visit. On my previous Saturday lunchtime trip, the place was dead and I think it was the lack of atmosphere that made it disappointing. This time was the opposite. By the time we were leaving, all tables were taken and it was fairly lively. Ales and craft beers are displayed on an electric screen behind the bar. The 6 real ales were Thornbridge Jaipur, Dorking Five Claw & Surrey XPA, Gun Project Babylon Pale Ale, Beerblefish Hackney TNT & Arbor Mosaic. Craft beers were Westerham Helles Belles, Beerblefish Cashmere Brut IPA, Hardywood Park Gingerbread Stout & Bedlam Hunky Dory. Ciders are listed on a blackboard on a side wall. They mix various ciders to produce their own concoctions - Cider Royale, Turbo Strawberry, Turbo Rhubarb & Turbo Mango. I'm not sure I'm entirely happy with this practice. So once again, I steered clear of these. Other ciders were Lilley's Gladiator, Somerset Scrumpy, Bee Sting, Rhubarb Cider, Mango Cider, Rum Cider, Red Rabbit & Strawberry Cider, Broadoak Moonshine, Harry's Scrummage & Snail's Bank Ribena Fruit Bat & Raspberry Ripple. A much improved visit on this occasion.

Another of Sidcup’s shop-converted micro pubs, this one is the closest to the station, set in a small parade of shops on the main road out of the town centre. I was greeted by a set of fully steamed up windows when I arrived early one evening, which made the place look like it was closed until you got closer and could see the lights were on inside. The pub has a simple rectangular room which narrows a little towards the rear. The room is fitted with bare floorboards and has dark painted walls which have been left pretty much unadorned, although a sign close to the bar announced that a refurbishment was due in the coming weeks, so this may well explain why it felt a little bare. Mid-height hard backed benches serve high tables down both sides of the room with high stools in support, but there’s not much else in the way of seating, so some might find these arrangements less than ideal. The servery is along the back wall and has a plain painted counter front with a metal top and a temperature-controlled tap room visible through a window on the bar back. The rest of the bar back is covered by blackboards which extend onto a side wall, all listing the beer, cider and other drink selections. The one bit of interesting décor I spotted was an old Hackney carriage plate which was stuck on the right-hand wall, tying in with the pub’s name which itself references the landlord’s previous job as a taxi driver. The beer boards listed four craft keg beers and a huge amount of real ciders plus all sorts of gins and other such spirits. They also have five cask ales, which on this occasion were Listers Best and APA, Gun Project Babylon, Good Chemistry Extra Special and Kent Session Pale. My pint of the APA was served by a very friendly barmaid and was in fine condition. This is a good example of the micropub formula with a decent atmosphere, some well-kept, interesting beer and very welcoming, efficient service. I’ll put aside concerns relating to the lack of décor as the refurbishment may well have remedied this. Definitely a place worth checking out and I’d be more than happy to jump off at Sidcup station the next time I’m passing through to check this place out again.

Another day, another micropub. This is another that's typical of the type - and that's a good thing. The tall benches/tall tables were present here, and all the tables had little sprigs of roses on them. Dry hops were strung along the ceiling in front of the bar counter. There were five ales on, all listed on a board behind the servery. They were all either £3.60 or £3.80 a pint, and as well as the ABV and prices, the distance in miles from the brewery was also stated. I had the Bedlam Amagansett, a 5% APA, which was on cracking form. I seem to say it about every micropub that I visit - if you like the style you'll like this one.

Official site of The Hackney Carriage - www.thehackneycarriagemicropub.com

Official site of The Hackney Carriage - www.thehackneycarriagemicropub.com