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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Komakino .
Submitted on Thursday, 20th April 2023
With picture contributions to 725 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (3 more images)
Detail Pages
Skehans, Nunhead, SE14
SE14
SE14 5TW
Served areas
Reviews of Skehans (Average Rating: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Bucking Fastard left this review about Skehans
This pub gets lots of positive comments by journos,especially Time Out but it is a long way from being the best pub in London IMHO.It is however a very good example of a smart Irish pub both internally and externally and lots of loving care is lavished on it by the owners.
Ivy creeps up the exterior,with a good selection of potting plants giving colour.There is an external beer terrace which was packed on a sunny Saturday by the young people who inhabit this gentryfing part of Nunhead.Internally the FA Cup final was on creating a lively atmosphere with two screens showing it while a third above the pool table was showing Leinster loosing to Toulouse which quickly identified the Irish customers of the pub,a distinct minority.The darts board was unplayable and the beer garden outside is tiny.
The decoration is noteworth,with some fine mirrors,great ceiling cornicing,comfortable leather backed bench seating,with the large plate glass windows giving great natural sunlight inside.On the walls hung musical instruments .Food options came from a thai menu from a seperate restaurant on site.
I could see no sign of real ale,on a hot day Guiness wasn't flowing that quickly and most punters were on the lager.I sufficed with a half of Blue Moon Belgian White .There is a minimum £10 card spend ,luckily I had some cash.
It maybe better to visit this pub when it's quiet or during Irish folk music events but having safisfied my curiosity, I can't see myself returning given the lack of ale on my visit.Popular with the young but I felt a bit out of place.
On 26th May 2024
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2936 recommendations about 2936 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Komakino . left this review about Skehans
A place that continually makes 'Top 50 Pubs in London' lists (usually by Time Out), this is an imposing corner-plot pub which is a good 10-minute yomp from Brockley Overground. Pretty unspectacular from the outside; outdoor vegetation appears almost overgrown in parts and a lick of paint here and there wouldn't go amiss, there's a marginal ramp-up inside. Bare floorboarded and high-ceilinged, it's open plan and the space inside is a L-shaped, with the bar located in front to the right following the L until it stops and the remaining space is occupied by a pool table. Doors either side beyond lead to the toilets. The door on the right to the Gents' and a tiny courtyard patio garden. Real ale can be found here: three handpulls occupy the far right of the bar, with Sharps's Doom Bar and Brockley Brewery Pale Ale available (Brockley Red Ale had the dreaded plastic cup over the handle). Lighting is low and there's plenty of paraphernalia on the walls. The predominantly dark wood scheme making things a tad Gothic in air. The Brockley Pale was £5 a pint, but with a £10 minimum card spend, I had to plump for two. I think the shtick here is inclusivity: busy on my early evening visit, the place was comprised of students, young professionals and tradespeople, all happily coexisting. Oh, and the place doubles as a Thai restaurant. Friendly staff help the cause and I've certainly had worse experiences in what should have been 'better' pubs. I can't get massively excited about the place, but did enjoy my brief sojourn albeit just to see what the fuss was all about.
On 21st April 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1077 recommendations about 1077 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Skehans
Having made a visit to the excellent Chai's Garden Thai restaurant which is located in a former stable block in this pub's beer garden, it seemed daft not to have a quick look in the pub itself before departing. It's a nice Victorian street corner pub, originally known as the Duke of Connaught before changing it's name to McConnells and then Skehans, reflecting the Irish ownership over the years. The pub is bare boarded with a typical L shaped interior, offering button backed banquettes, standard chairs and low stools as seating options throughout. The windows are frosted and have the pub's name inset into them, whilst the walls are covered with the usual range of Irish themed memorabilia including Guinness signs, horse racing items and old black and white photographs including some to the rear showing Croke Park and other Irish sporting venues. The servery is quite nice and traditional in appearance, despite an unusual 'Swiss Cottage' style bar back, and has a few old artefacts including bottles and battered cases stacked up on the canopy. There are also numerous musical instruments dotted around the room and the pub puts on regular live music, with a local musician belting them out in the front left corner during our stay. A TV screen is hung in one corner of the room, turned off on this visit, and there is a book swap, pool table and juke box to appeal to various customer groups. The garden is very well kept and has a nice shelter at one end, as well as the aforementioned restaurant with its high gabled roof and odd décor that includes a stuffed owl, old organ and a large candelabra among other things. Service here was very good and the food was well received by everyone in our large party.
Just the two rather predicable ales on handpull unfortunately - Fuller's London Pride and Sharp's Doom Bar. The Doom Bar was actually kept very well but after three pints of it I was more than happy to move on elsewhere. This is a shame as I found the staff and locals very welcoming and I would like to think they could swap one of these for something a little more interesting (perhaps from the local Brockley Brewery?).
I would certainly recommend this pub for the food or for anyone looking for decent live music in the area, and I quite liked the fact that it seemed to be well looked after with a good customer base and community feel to it. However, the lack of interesting beers would put me off making this a regular watering hole.
On 4th October 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]
View more reviews of Skehans (5)
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- Official site of Skehans - www.skehans.com
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Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 04 October 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 04 October 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 04 October 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Car Park : No last updated 04 October 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 04 October 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Darts : Yes last updated 05 April 2022 by Komakino .
- Dog Friendly : No last updated 21 May 2024 by Tris C
- Hot Food : Yes - Thai. - last updated 28 October 2022 by Tris C
- Jukebox : Yes last updated 04 October 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Karaoke : Yes - Fridays. - last updated 28 October 2022 by Tris C
- Live Music : Yes - Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. - last updated 28 October 2022 by Tris C
- Live TV Sports : Yes last updated 05 April 2022 by Komakino .
- Micropub : No last updated 01 April 2022 by Tris C
- Pinball : No last updated 04 October 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Pool Table : Yes last updated 04 October 2014 by Pub SignMan
- Quiz Night : Yes - Thursdays 20.30. - last updated 28 October 2022 by Tris C
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 27 February 2007 by Alan Hurdle
- Real Cider : No last updated 04 October 2014 by Pub SignMan
