ReviewAnother lockdown opening on this stretch of road between Penge and Beckenham, this is a bar/bottle shop located a few doors down from Clock House station. Unlike the majority of bottle shop-based bars, this place has been nicely presented and the on-site drinking aspect seems to be given precedence, making it feel a lot more pub/bar-like than most such ventures. The room feels quite spacious, perhaps thanks to the bright and airy interior created by the white walls (with a darker feature wall to one side) and full height shop windows at the front. Two long tables, to the front and through the centre, are served by canteen benches whilst three small square tables with hard wooden chairs are positioned along the right-hand wall. A couple more canteen tables and benches have been squeezed out on the pavement, rounding out the full range of seating available. The servery fills the rear left corner of the room and has a pleasant timber-fronted counter and plain bar back, with the keg taps mounted on the wall and beer boards comprising framed posters above. Various bits of contemporary art line the walls, bright potted plants fill the front window and smaller plants potted in colourful beer cans adorn each table, helping to create a more homely feel than you might otherwise expect. To the rear right, a few fridges are bursting with bottled and canned beer for drinking in or taking out and a cool soundtrack backed the low murmur of conversation on a steady Sunday afternoon.
Unusually for such a venture, the bar attempts to keep one cask ale on alongside the ten craft keg taps. This lone cask option was Vibrant Forest Otto, which the cheery barman poured for me before heading off to chat with various other customers. It poured a little flat, suggesting it might have been on a little too long, but still had plenty of flavour. Keg options were dominated by Vibrant Forest as well, although a few others from highly rated craft brewers such as Moor, were also on.
I wasn’t expecting this place to feel like a proper bar, so that came as a very pleasant surprise and I enjoyed my time in here much more than I thought I would. This is definitely an asset in a part of town that is a bit low on pub stock and I’m sure I’ll pop out here again some time to give it another go.
