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Lancaster crawl 17th July 2026 with sheffield hatter
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Detail Pages
The Commercial, Herne Hill, SE24
SE24
SE24 0JT
Pub Type
Castle (Mitchells & Butlers)Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Steve of N21 left this review about The Commercial
Dusted off the old passport again and went exploring south of the river to Herne Hill
I’ve only been here once before and that was in 1978 whilst working for GEC Traffic Automation when it was the location for the company’s London equipment installation depot and I was sent to spend two days of my apprenticeship on how the traffic controllers were installed on the street.
Like a lot of inner-city London of the late 70’s it was an area you didn’t want to linger long in and it was no surprise to me when the nearby area exploded a couple of years later with the ‘81 Brixton riots.
Well, exiting the train station yesterday into the weekly Sunday market, I didn’t recognise the place, and gentrification (with a capital G) has certainly come to Herne Hill. Now a place of artisan bakeries and cafes, Gastro pubs and microbreweries, and a very different demographic to the one I experienced back then.
On the drinking front I lingered longest in The Commercial opposite the station as it was the least foody of the traditional pub option of the area and more sport oriented with its multiple screens across the pub as well described below and decided to enjoy the available Dark Star Hop Head (£6.30 a pint) and watch a bit of the Scouse Derby whilst waiting for the Sunday lunchtime grazing crowds to subside before trying the other options. Two of the three hand pumps were in operation with Hobgoblin IPA on alongside the Hophead.
On 10th May 2026
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2351 recommendations about 2197 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
David Walton left this review about The Commercial
This was my start point on the evening crawl around HH and TH. Can’t miss this one as directly opposite as you exit HH station. It is a pretty big venue, quite quiet on arrival but punter occupation built steadily during my 30 mins or so here. They have multiple screens showing live footy, the were hand written directives dotted around the venue instructing where to sit depending on which game you wanted to watch tonight. So made sense of strategic viewing tables loading up to catch multiple screens. Felt like a pub viewing version of three dimensional chess. Surprised I wasn’t trampled on when I gave up my innocently chosen table that happened to have a charging socket that I realised was the place to be to watch the unfolding action a couple of hours hence. Quite a lot of keg options - only cask option was Wainwrights Gold which was a nice drink (I am absolutely in love and in awe of Alan’s use of that word). I think this place should be a really decent “station pub” if it had the beer options more balanced but at the moment it is only average in my eyes.
On 9th April 2024
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1770 recommendations about 1743 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about The Commercial
An old pub outside the station which has been tarted up in a modern style, mainly by painting the wood panelling in bright reds and blues, presumably to fit in with the local streetscape. The right hand side has pretensions to be more of a restaurant: look on the floor and you can see where the bar counter area has been halved to make more space. There are a few tables on the pavement outside. On handpump were TT Landlord, Dark Star Skylab and a cider. Tolerable, if you are waiting for a train.
On 14th July 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3959 recommendations about 3891 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Commercial
This is a good-sized pub with a very convenient location directly opposite Herne Hill station. A choice of entrances will take you into one of the two front bars, with the left door leading into the main bar which sees the servery run down the right-hand side of the room and plenty of seating over to the left. Long padded banquettes down the side wall have chairs and low stools in support and provide the majority of the room’s seating options. A nice fireplace stands to the front and this was lit on a chilly November evening, with a fairy-light lined mirror above and a TV showing muted Sky Sports News to one side. Moving further back, you reach a rear seating area with near full-height white wall panels, another fireplace, this time not lit, and a mix of pew and chair seating. A couple of old skylights act as an interesting feature for this part of the pub, whilst an old hatch through to the servery has been screened off and the walls are decorated with lots of old photos and retro advertisements. A door back here leads out to a beer garden, which I didn’t bother to explore on a cold and dark evening. The servery has a nice dark wood counter with rounded ends, a matching canopy and a windowed bar back that looks through to the other front room on the right-hand side of the pub. This is a smaller lounge-style space with high tables and stools under the bar back windows, benches to the front and tables and chairs elsewhere. Another lit fireplace on the right-hand wall had a plain mirror above and there was a second TV screen showing the same channel, whilst the rest of the wall space was decorated with mirrors, old photos and some advert prints.
There were three cask ales on the bar, giving a choice of Sharps Doom Bar, Titanic Plum Porter and Taylors landlord. I opted for a pint of the latter, which was in good condition, befitting the pub’s inclusion in the Good Beer Guide, and served to me by an indifferent barmaid.
This is a nice enough pub that has a few decent seating areas and interesting features to explore. The beer, whilst well-kept, is perhaps a little too pedestrian in its selection to merit repeat visits and the begrudging service and dubious station-side pub customers didn’t help matters either. Worth a look in passing but not one I’ll deliberately seek out in the future.
On 17th January 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3387 recommendations about 3387 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Commercial
A handsome looking pub that faces you immediately when exiting the station. The front lounge was nicely decorated and still retained a 1930's fireplace over on the left hand wall. The dining area was towards the rear of the pub and was decorated in white. Four pumps with three beers on, TT Landlord, Doombar and Redemption Trinity.
On 29th March 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3747 recommendations about 3747 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Commercial
Located directly opposite the railway station, with quite an attractive façade featuring a striking decorative band along the frontage. Retains two rooms, both rather dark, and one more of a lounge, but the bar on the other side has been extended to create a lighter dining area. Four handpumps on the counter, with Doom Bar, Ghost Ship and Proper Job (£4.55) available when I called in.
On 1st January 2018
- rating: 7
[User has posted 9165 recommendations about 9165 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Commercial
Good busy community pub with decent beers on.Quite foodie based but felt comfortable.Trumans -zephyr,(good)Sharps -atlantic,Longman -apa and Doom.
On 21st October 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Philip Carter left this review about The Commercial
Nice enough place. can get very busy. For a large pub, it has a small gents toilet. 2 standing, 1 seated. Powerful hand dryer is over the sink, proximity activated so it the tap is running and the dryer comes on, it splashed the water everywhere. Had a Fullers ale on, can't remember the name, but it was only 4.0 and costs £4.55 a pint. The choice of food is good, but the type is very small, take a magnifying glass is you want to eat there.
On 14th July 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 760 recommendations about 721 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Commercial
An open two bar place with a modern feel, some contemporary and cool music was playing in the background,the decor being a mix of white painted wood panel and exposed brick. Four hand pumps with three on, T.T Landlord ,Adnams Ghostship and Purity Mad Goose which was ok. Not a bad pub of its type.
On 9th April 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2331 recommendations about 2295 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Commercial
This pub had on Doom Bar, Cotleigh Uncle Sam, Rooster's Fort Smith, and Thwaites Wainwright (£4.20 a pint). This is very much a gastropub now. Main course are from £10 (for the beefburger - menu doesn't say with chips), to £14.50 for the 21-day aged bit of steak. Puds are £5.50. Par for the course I suppose.
This was once a CAMRA Regional Inventory pub, but sadly it no longer qualifies. I would guess that's because they've given it the gastropub look, having painted all the original wall panelling grey, apart from the wall on the right where they've ripped the panelling off to reveal the brickwork underneath. But some original stuff is still present, including a fair bit of wood panelling even it is painted grey, the original bar counter is still there although it's clear some of it has been resited at some point, and some of the original wood and glazed screening between the two rooms is still in place.
There are more than enough sofas in here; only one tall table/tall stools that I could see, and a few banquettes and normal tables and chairs. Not too bad I suppose. The room on the right has the inevitable exposed brick wall (where the panelling has been removed), and all the ceilings are painted light grey to match the walls. The room on the left seems to have bagged most of the sofas. But it was doing a good trade on Saturday lunchtime with almost everybody in there dining. It's clearly a thriving pub, and even though it's not the sort of "pubby" pub that I prefer, good luck to them I say. Having said that, I can't condone the cavalier way that they've treated the original features.
On 4th March 2016
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2621 recommendations about 2536 pubs]