The Phoenix, Denmark Hill, SE5

Imposing converted station building, spanning high above the tracks at Denmark Hill. High ceilings and verging on gastro-pub furniture, decor and menu. Pleasant enough, though. Four real ales on handpump: Doom Bar, Tribute, Junction and Wild Beer Bibble (£4.10).

The Phoenix is sited in old station building ajoining Denmark Hill train station. Once inside there is adecent sized oblong shaped room with the bar facing,the room is bare boarded with a mix of seating types,i sat on a pew type seat to the right,there was a bench seat to the front and normal tables and chairs eleswhere. There is a very high ceiling with a very large clock suspended from it,it was not working on my visit here. There were four real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Hadleys Blonde which went down well,but was very pricey at £2.15 for a half,ime now glad i only drink halfs while on a pub crawl,the other beers were Sambrooks Junction,Deuchars IPA and Doom Bar. There was some background music playing and a few people having meals,i dread to think what they would cost. This is a pleasant enough pub,but at those prices it only merits a short visit. Pub visited 13/9/2014

Four ales were on here - the usual suspects of Doom Bar and London Pride, plus Junction and Lavender Hill (£2.10 a half) from Sambrooks. A chalkboard also advertised three guest "craft" beers - Paulaner Hefeweiss; Camden 'Hells USA'; and Purity's 'Longhorn IPA'. There's a fixed price menu available Mon - Fri weekdays - two courses for £10 and three for £13. There are single-sheet printed menus on the tables, offering main courses around the £10 - £12 mark, with the nearest thing to pub brub being the fish and chips - “sustainably caught hake in cider and tarragon butter, double cooked chips” for £11.75. Another chalkboard advertised sarnies around the £7 mark. The pub itself is in the old Denmark Hill Station ticket office. This is an old, very substantial brick built edifice. This place hasn’t changed appreciably since previous reviewers’ visits, and still consists of a very high ceilinged room split into three distinct areas – the main bar area, the adjoining area with all tables laid for diners, and a first floor/mezzanine balcony room looking down over the bar. As you might expect, there is plenty of exposed brickwork inside this pub. The bar area has a couple of tall butcher’s block tall tables with tall stools, plus some banquette style seating along the side accompanied by normal tables and chairs. The main feature dominating the room is still the large station clock. It was showing 12.34 when I photographed it, but didn’t check whether this was the right time. I also spotted an Evening Standard Pub of the Year 1993 blue plaque behind the bar. This is quite an interesting conversion. But it’s more gastro than pub. It’s OK enough for a beer or two I guess, if the prices don’t frighten you off, but personally I prefer the more traditionally “pubby” pub.

This is the former Denmark Hill station hall whch suffered a devastating fire in the 1980s; subsequently this became one of the early Firkin pubs (Phoenix and Firkin) but now is independent. The former station hall is now a double storey height space with exposed roof trusses and bare yellow stock brickwork. Wooden floors, one end has a mezzanine area accessed by a spiral stair, the other partially separated area seems to be the favoured spot for dining, many tables being busy on Saturday afternoon. Decor is minimal, a few chalkboards listing menus, drinks and so forth, a couple of large mirrors but surprisingly no railway memorabilia except what I took to be a former station clock suspended by chains from the ceiling; this clock was stopped at 1:35, not sure if this has significance but another clock over the bar had the right time. As regards the important stuff there are four handpumps but two were off. Sambrooks Junction, Doom Bar plus reversed Pride and something from Wharfedale. The Pride returned while I drank my pint of Junction. Pump clips over the bar indicate that there is a good rotation policy. Single sheet menus were on each table, par for course prices, cheeseburger and fries £9.75, FR Gloucester Old Spot sausages with kale mash and wine gravy £8.75. Full English with veggie option served 'till 4, £7.50. Bar snacks available too. The TV was off, low key music playing. Some outdoor seating to the front.

After a fire gutted Denmark Hill Railway Station in 1980 the building was restored and the old ticket hall became a pub called the phoenix and Firkin, which I imagine was to commemorate the fire. At some point it became an O’Neill’s before adopting its current moniker of The Phoenix back in 2004. A massive station clock now hangs from the vaulted ceiling in the bar area, but I don’t know if this is the original one. The bar is located in the center of the pub on the back wall where four hand pumps can be found alongside a premium and standard draught selection. One of the hand pumps was unused leaving Red Squirrel’s Hopfest, Windsor and Eton’s Knight of the Garter and St Austell’s Tribute as the ale options. Food that would go into the gastro bracket is served with the mains all costing over £10, but meal deals are available during the daytime. To the left of the bar is a dining area that has set tables, but this area was empty during my recent sunny Friday afternoon visit. There is some more seating to the right of the bar where a couple of thick wooden high tables can be found along with a spiral staircase that leads up to some balcony seating that overlooks the bar. There is a plasma screen that was turned off and I saw no signs of any Sky Sports advertised. There was some easy listening music playing in the background which I think could have been swapped for something a little more upbeat. Out the front is some limited seating on the steps that lead up to the entrance. This isn’t the cheapest pub in the world, but I found the staff to be very friendly and it is ideally placed for a pre/post train journey pint. I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit again, but would certainly pop in again if passing.

Randomness Guide to London - Phoenix entry

Randomness Guide to London - Phoenix entry

Official site of the Phoenic, contains menu - www.thephoenixwindsorwalk.co.uk

Conversion of Denmark Hill station ticket hall, once one of the original Firkin pubs. Slightly strange character, much like the area, falling somewhere between local and gastropub. Not unpleasant though and keeps a couple of good ales.