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Beer of the Week (w/e 15th June 2025) with Tris39 on the Pub Forum

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Submitted on Wednesday, 29^th May 2024
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Rusty Bucket, Eltham, SE9

11 Court Yard
SE9
SE9 5PR

Phone: 02088504281

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Served areas

Eltham

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

Bucking Fastard left this review about Rusty Bucket

The exterior wooden framed windows immediately catch the eye and the interior is a simple rectangle with dining type tables below these windows,a bench seat at the far right,a high table infront of the modern loo doors and some long refectorary tables in the middle of the pub.Fridges offer can with a discount for take out,while the large board shows the beer offerings.Food comprises toaties ,the small flatscreen was off and there is a large pile of board games .
The focus here is on indie beer from 17 taps with a wide range of styles and strength from the likes of Orbit,Bullhouse,Dupont,Vault City,Lost & Grounded and Verdant.The three cask ales were less exciting in Harveys Sussex Best,Iron Pier Joined at the Hop and Three Acre Spring,a bit lifeless,NBSS 2.5.However the real ale is a lot cheaper at £5 but then nothing strong or innovative.
I was left with the impression that offering great cask ale is not a high priority here and question why it made it into the 2025 GBG.However if you are looking for a sour/wheat/coffee imperial stout/belgian blonde/porter/DIPA/high ABV beer then delve onto the keg.Four real ciders too.Describing Guiness as a nitro stout shows how the love of keg has corrupted the owners mind !

On 9^th June 2025 - rating: 7
[User has posted 2971 recommendations about 2971 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Steve of N21 left this review about Rusty Bucket

Yep, I liked this one as well. Well described and unchanged from Pub Signman’s visit below, not really anything to add except for the fact that they now have some external bench seating on the pavement to the front of the pub and I overheard who I took to be the owner bemoaning how much the local Eltham council had increased his rates for the privilege.
All 18 taps on the tiled back wall were in operation and there were two real ales, in the form of Calmer Chameleon Pale Ale and Maris the Otter Bitter from Brew York in the small cool room cupboard next to the bar. I tried the Pale Ale which was fine and a half of the Kernal Amarillo Pale ale from the keg taps. Other craft options included ales from Deya, Siren, Pressure Drop, Werewolf, Stone Brewery and Brew York.
I was quite surprised to subsequently read that this was a former rough house pub and not a shop conversion into a micro pub, because it certainly had the feel and friendliness of the latter and I really enjoyed my visit here. And any place that includes pop art depictions of Bob Marley and Amy Winehouse amongst its décor scores with me.
Also decent opening hours for this one, but slight word of warning, it is card payment only.

On 29^th May 2024 - rating: 8
[User has posted 2245 recommendations about 2105 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Pub SignMan left this review about Rusty Bucket

Well positioned in the centre of Eltham, this is a decent craft beer bar that is probably about the same size as the famously small Wetherspoons a few doors down. The pub has a single rectangular room with modern floorboards, low tongue and groove wall panels with plain painted uppers and a short bar counter to the rear left under some helpful beer boards. The bar has a very basic painted counter and a white tile bar back with various taps mounted on it and the temperature-controlled taproom visible through a window to one side. Good table and chair seating fills most of the room with some high stools along ledges to the rear right. The large front windows in pleasing irregular shaped frames allow plenty of light in and the light-coloured walls contrast well with the mainly dark wood furniture. The walls have been decorated with a mix of modern art, photo collages and promotional material and there are some shelves to the rear right stacked with books and board games, whilst a jar is full of dog treats although there were no canine customers in sight on a Saturday evening visit. I’d only been sat down for a couple of minutes when I was joined by a very friendly young Geordie couple who I ended up chatting to for the rest of my time here and I generally got the impression that the pub has that ‘micropub’ feel where it’s easy to strike up a conversation.
There were three cask ales available when I arrived – Moor Stout, Northern Monk Eternal and a Best Bitter from an unknown brewery – but the pub’s speciality seems to be craft keg beer, with no less than 18 on tap covering a wide range of styles and strengths. My pint of the Moor Stout was a reasonable £4.00 and in very good shape.
I really liked this place which I had expected to be a micropub, so it came as a nice surprise to find something a bit more substantial. The welcoming, inclusive atmosphere, well kept ale and pleasant décor all worked well for me and this would probably be my pub of choice the next time I’m in Eltham.

On 14^th May 2020 - rating: 8
[User has posted 3361 recommendations about 3361 pubs]

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