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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat on the Pub Forum

The Herne Tavern, East Dulwich, SE22

2 Forest Hill Road
SE22
SE22 0RR
Phone: 02082999521

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Pub Type

Punch Taverns

Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Pub SignMan left this review about The Herne Tavern

Set in a pleasant neighbourhood at the South Western cornwr of Peckham Rye Park, this is an impressive two bar pub with a few notable features. You enter into a large main bar area with bare boards, half height dark wood panelling and some amazing leaded windows with 'Saloon' and 'Lounge' panes and green stained glass inserts. The servery is over to the left and has a nice dark wood counter with satisfying curved ends and a slightly knocked about bar back that retains some leaded glasswork, but also now looks straight through to the other bar. Tables and chairs fill an open space to the right, around a small brick fireplace, with an upright piano at the far end. Meanwhike, the left-hand bar is much smaller, but has similar panelling and windows, plenty more seating and an old fashioned tiled fireplace. The pub is sparingly decorated with a model boat, a few old movie posters, mirrors and paintings, plus some Euro '24 flag bunting. Staff had placed a small vase of fresh flowers on every table, which I thought was quite a nice touch, whilst a door to the rear takes you out to an unexplored beer garden.
I only called here because I had a bit of time to kill and was therefore not expecting to find any ale, so it was a nice surprise to see three handpulls in use, giving a choice of St Austell Tribute (£5.10 a pint), Harvey's Sussex Best and Wadworth Horizon. Sadly, the Tribute wasn't really up to much, suggesting that three ales might be a bit of a stretch for this place.
I liked the feel of this pub, which looks great in passing and has a few interesting features to explore as well as a proper two bar layout. It was let down by the beer quality, which can perhaps be remedied by focusing on a smaller range. Get that bit right and I'd be inclined to call in again the next time I'm out this way.

Date of visit - 11th June 2024

On 22nd October 2024 - rating: 6
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]

David Walton left this review about The Herne Tavern

V similar view to the below. Physically a nice pub with interesting features, Ok but nothing particularly interesting beer wise making it better than a 5 for me but not within remote distance of a 7 absent a much more interesting cask range. The outside space was large will undoubtedly see large numbers here on a nice summer evening. The venue felt like it had a good proportion of the chattering classes of East Dulwich present on my time here and I felt I was the subject of some real time analysis regarding what was I typing into my hand held device during the duration of my time here!

Beer wise three of the four hand pumps were dispensing. Harvey’s and Tribute as per previous review plus what the clip described as a crisp golden ale called Horizon that I was totally drawn in to the the tune of a single pint. It was a golden ale but I wasn’t sure where to land on the crispness spectrum in my synopsis of the pint. Loads of keg choices. I did record but I can’t be asked to individually record as there was nothing remotely interesting or different. If I was to say the Gipsy Hill Bandit pale ale was the most left field beer on tap here you would understand my decision to save the next 2 mins of my life in preference to glancing the covers of OK and Hello magazines in preference.

This is actually, snide comments about the bland keg offering above aside, a very decent pub. If I were in the area I would definitely pop in again to see if at the point in time there was a more interesting cask offering available. Even with the choice I was faced with it is very pleasant and definitely better than a number of other ED venues.

On 28th May 2024 - rating: 6
[User has posted 631 recommendations about 631 pubs]

Steve of N21 left this review about The Herne Tavern

This is an OK pub but after the Ivy House earlier on the crawl the heritage features here are not really in the same league. Some nice stained glass windows to the front and the former public bar is the most untouched of the three now interconnected internal spaces. Some nice traditional panelling here and it remains fairly untouched, or at least uncovered from the dreaded shades of grey Farrow and Ball paint that has inflicted the dining areas of the other spaces.
Then at the back there’s a very pleasant outside garden area with a fair section undercover, which I guess was beefed up due to the pandemic.
Thre of the four pumps were in operation for my visit with the rather pedestrian choice of St Austell Tribute, Harvey’s Sussex Best and Butcombe Bitter, the latter of which was a decent pint.
As BF says below, solid enough but nothing spectacular and not worth a special journey for. But if you are trying to make it to the Gowlett from the nearby Watson's General Telegraph, then its worth poking your nose in.

On 2nd May 2024 - rating: 6
[User has posted 2236 recommendations about 2098 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Bucking Fastard left this review about The Herne Tavern

I was drawn here by the CAMRA Historic Pub of National Importance listing,but left a bit underwhelmed.The exterior is the best part With seperate doors to what would have been two,possibly three rooms.These days you enter into a stripped out L shaped lounge area but with a wooden floor and not many original features apart from the wood panelling.The best of the heritage is in the small public bar to the side,although the external entrance door is locked so just drift around.The bar here is more traditional as is the furniture,and the carved wood fetures are pleasing.The corridor leads to a small rear section then delicate doors to the beer garden before a return to the lounge.Food is a large feature here,and the area has gentrified.
Just two ales on Harvey's Sussex Best and St Austell Tribute (just ok,NBSS 2.5,£5.30) and that nothing too exciting.There is a pub quiz and thankfully the sports flatscreens were off but the interior hardly justifies a special trip ,I can see no reason to return.

On 7th April 2023 - rating: 6
[User has posted 2936 recommendations about 2936 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Ian Mapp left this review about The Herne Tavern

Another huge, handsome pub - inside and out - with a good beer garden.

This was the only place after freedom day that I found were still insisting on app ordering only. It was efficient and the Harveys Sussex Best was in fine condition.

On 28th July 2021 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1563 recommendations about 1543 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

john gray left this review about The Herne Tavern

Nice food led pub with 4 handpumps.Large rambling beer garden to the rear.Friendly barstaff.Very good pint of Brockley -golden.May be a heritage pub but a very dull exterior to my mind.

On 30th September 2013 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Rex Rattus left this review about The Herne Tavern

This pub is on the CAMRA Inventory of Heritage pubs with interiors deemed worthy of preservation, and it’s not difficult to see why. The exterior retains its attractive original tiling, which can be seen from the photographs. Inside, the original wall panelling, bar back, and general structure of the pub remains in place. The leaded windows still denote the original separate rooms of this pub, with the public bar on the left, the saloon bar on the right leading to an offshoot on the far right that would have been a lounge bar. The old public bar, which is reached via an archway from the saloon bar, seems to be mainly intended as a restaurant, with all the tables set for diners. Furnishings are all normal tables and chairs, but with just one tall table with tall stools looking a bit out of place.
For some reason I didn’t make a note of all the ales on (there were three or four as I recall) but I do recall there being Purity Mad Goose, and Westgate (i.e. Greene King) Sun Dance. I was there at mid afternoon on a midweek day, and didn’t notice any food being served, or any menus around the place, but it is clear that at other times food must pay an important part of their business if they are content to set aside a room for diners. I wouldn’t regard this as a destination pub, but I enjoyed my brief visit, and wouldn’t mind visiting again.

On 18th August 2010 - rating: 7
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

train man left this review about The Herne Tavern

If I'd been on me own I'd have spun on my heel & done one, but the chaps had suggested an off-map visit so into the creche we went. Seriously, kids-o-clock, rammed with ‘em in rt-hand bar and playground garden. I wonder about a pub's target market when 70% of the clientele aren't even old enough to have pocket money, and their related 29% make a drink last & last until, at some invisible signal, they all disappeared at once, much like one-drink rags after a sky-match! At least the ale choice for our 1% minority included TT Landlord & Summer Lightning and the left hand bar area was (relatively) kid-free. The 3-pint round, though, was £9.80, ouch!

On 17th May 2009 - rating: 5
[User has posted 412 recommendations about 411 pubs]