The Dog & Bell, Deptford, SE8

Around 1900 there were approximately 150 pubs in SE8, today there are about nine. Situated in a pub graveyard and close to the Thames and Deptford Creek, this one dates from at least the start of the 19th century, but I suspect was rebuilt in the same century; it’s very much a backstreet pub, with some of the curtilage punctuated by colourful kegs. It also recently featured in a Time Out list of must-visit London pubs. The Guinness sign to the fascia and stained glass Celtic knotwork to the picture windows indicate that this was once an Irish pub, as do some of the whiskey distillers’ mirrors, but despite the vestigial Gaelic gallimaufry, it’s an Irish pub no more. The interior is a real old-school traditional experience with a riot of knickknacks and nautical ephemera – a boat is nailed to the ceiling – and Toby jugs; hop bines adorn the pot shelf. There’s a bar billiards table and rather good live acoustic music wafted out of a side room. Customers were about 1% traditional curmudgeonly old locals, then 99% students from the nearby University of Greenwich campus and accommodation block, the large majority crowded out front, all doing studenty things. The ale front wasn’t as exciting as I was led to believe, with three real ciders then Iron Pier Killick’s Mill, Surrey Hills Greensand IPA, Cellar Head IPA and Blue Bee’s Langsett Light at just £2.10 a half, served by very friendly bar staff; it was however a bit of a ‘juicy’ beer, which isn’t to my liking; there were also 42 bottled beers offered on a board, many Belgian. This is a real pubgoers’ pub and although it may seem a little heretical, a better and wider choice of beers would have got the score up a point.