Catford Constitutional, Catford, SE6

Pub SignMan left this review about Catford Constitutional

This is quite a large, impersonal feeling pub located on the main road through Catford. The interior is a sizable space some of which has been set up to look like a member’s club whilst the rest has the sort of industrial styling you find in most contemporary bars. There’s a fine terrazzo tiled floor, lattice wall panels with painted brick uppers, plenty of floral wallpaper and a bare concrete ceiling with exposed utilities in the front half of the room. Banquettes run down both sides, formed into booths to the left, with chairs in support to the right and a row of tables and chairs through centre, but the sheer size of the room means that there’s still loads of standing room as well. The bar appears part way down the right-hand wall and has a red, blocky counter and basic bar back, with no real features of note. Two more notional spaces can be found further back, with similar seating arrangements and different coloured wall panels. The whole place has been decorated with loads of mirrors, a never-ending high shelf rammed full of glassware and ceramic bits, framed arty maps possibly from a local artist, lots of random photos and blackboards advertising various bits. Chilled music was playing in the background but there were only four or five other customers on my midweek visit, so the place felt very empty.
The pub made a recent edition of the Good Beer Guide, and they had three handpulls in operation when I arrived, offering Black Sheep Bitter, Wadworth 6X and Volden Session (£4.70 a pint), whilst Sharps Sea Fury had just been taken off. A few keg options from local microbreweries rounded things out nicely and the barman who served me was friendly enough.
I felt that this place had an ‘Antic’ feel to it, but I’m not sure if it was ever part of that particular chain. I think my main takeaway from this visit is that the pub is far too big and open plan for the number of customers it’s currently attracting – adding some partitioning or maybe limiting the space available would make it feel a lot cosier and less like drinking in a warehouse. It’s quite a nice spot otherwise and whilst the beer range isn’t one to go out of your way for, it’s a solid enough option in a part of town with limited pub options.

Date of visit - 20th November 2024

On 21^st February 2025 - rating: 6
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