Pubs Galore - the UK pub guide

There has been a fire a the former 'Star' pub on Westgate; see T&A:
https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/19846531.fire-former-star-pub-site-westgate-bradford/
https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/19847829.fire-former-bradford-pub-started-deliberately/

I visited the Lord Nelson early on a recent weekday evening when there were a few locals playing on the pool table in the right hand bar and another couple watching football in the larger square open plan left hand bar. Both Sky and BT Sports are shown. The three hand pumps on the bar were all badged with Holts Bitter and their keg range was also available. No dogs or children allowed.

Another excellent addition to the city centre. Very friendly and knowledgeable barman couldn't do enough to help us choose our beers from the excellent selection.
The bar itself is well appointed and a little quirky. The beers were superb. I will call again soon!

Date Visited: 13th August.

A pub has been here since 1702: the Green Dragon, with this Grade II-listed former replacement arriving in 1900, the original being built by Richard Payne of Rochester, whose countenance can be seen above a fireplace. It’s been under the stewardship of Wetherspoon’s since 1983, which makes it their oldest surviving branch.
I’ve passed this place countless times and it always seems to depict the tableau outlined in the previous review, some earlier ones too. Indeed, I almost entered here a couple of months before the previous reviewer and saw a customer- the same one? - slumped at a table early evening and of course, there were the staggering all-day drinkers.
Well, I think that maybe Timbo read the previous reviews because the place seems to have upped its game. It matches the earlier descriptions though now with a marble bar top, but the tables to the front are, booths aside, now high; it’s hard to slump at a high table. There are still the multiple games machines near the entrance and seemingly just the one TV and a real fire, albeit gas; something of a rarity for a 'spoons. But the real reason to visit is the fine frontage with the marvellous glazed tiles with integrated mirrors in the front section; there’s also the very ornate and impressive lantern in the middle section which was probably the billiards room. Walls and ceiling are clad in Anaglypta, painted mainly white or Eau de Nil; the fireplaces seem now to be in good condition. The only sign of tattiness that I saw was a small patch of peeling paper which looks to be the result of water ingression.
The customer base was probably the most interesting aspect of the place, as the large majority of customers were either middle-aged Afro-Caribbeans or elderly Africans, having a high old time. Another oddity here is that there were no empty glasses or plates on tables – what’s going on here?
The other item of note were the prices with all ales priced at an astonishing £1.99, apart from Abbot at £2.29. For the record, the other ales were: Portobello’s JPA, Block109 Brewing’s Wembeerly, Three Sods’ Mon Cheri or Session, East London Brewing’s Cowcatcher or Pale, which was in excellent condition; Doom Bar, Abbott and GK IPA as staples.
I don’t know how long this pricing will last, but as things stand, this is now one of the best boozers in Stoke Newington. If they continue to sell ELB’s Pale to this standard and especially this price, I’d make a return.

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A promised return with an altered ale option aside from the predictable Doom/GK possey: Purity Ubu, Fire Island Buffalo, Sambrook's Pumphouse and Powerhouse, ELB's Cowcatcher and Quadrant on excellent form at just £1.99 a pint.

Situated in an unlikely location a good 15-minute walk South from Brixton station and a similar distance from Herne Hill station, this is a shop converted craft beer bar and bottle shop. Unlike most bottle shops, this place has a very prominent servery and a wider selection of draught beers, making it feel more focussed on their on-sales. The place has a simple single room layout with the bar and fridges to the front and a scruffy seating area at the rear. The bar runs down much of the left-hand wall and has a simple counter front, cinema-style beer boards and a row of taps along the plain bar back. There’s a drinking ledge opposite with a few high stools, but otherwise this bare boarded space is mostly set aside for through traffic. The fridges are also on the right-hand wall and looked to be well stocked with bottles and cans, as a steady stream of punters came and went with their takeouts. One high table with bar stools has been positioned next to the bar but seemed to be occupied with friends of the staff, so regular punters were relegated to a slightly wider rear area with a rough concrete floor and dark painted walls. Two office-style sofas with low tables and matching armchairs , flank a long, high table made from some sort of old storage unit, with high stools around it. This space has plenty of hipster artwork on the walls plus two large French medical diagrams, one of which depicted images of healthy human organs alongside pictures of those taken from an alcoholic – something to ponder as you sup your 12% abv imperial stout. A staircase next to the entrance lead down to a pleasant basement area with four or five more tables and plenty of chairs. More hip modern art lines the walls and there was a huge TV screen showing what looked like the demo of some sort of Mario-Kart game – whether you can play this game or not, I couldn’t fathom out. Decent alternative rock tunes played quietly in the background and there was a nice vibe from a modest mid-week crowd including one group of youngsters who were having a team meeting in the pub.
There were around eight or nine craft keg lines to choose from, offering brews from the likes of canopy, Real Ale Company and Wild Weather. I tried the latter’s Maple Latte Stout, which was great and ended up staying longer than intended so that I could try out a couple of the other beers on offer. The staff all seemed quite friendly and I noticed a couple of them were happy to help punters select the right beer from the bewildering selection in the fridges.
I’m not normally a fan of these bottle shop craft beer bars, but I thought this one had just about struck the right balance and it seemed like a good place to try a few interesting beers. The provision of proper seating areas, including a separate basement space, means that you don’t feel like your drinking in a shop and this combined with some unusual beers and friendly service, make this somewhere that’s well worth investigating.