The Spanish Galleon, Greenwich, SE10

I normally steer clear of Shepherd Neame pubs on account of their disappointing ale,but this one has an attractive curved exterior,great flower display and an unspoiled interior.All three external doors open onto seperate sections divided by archways and throughout the furniture is traditional.Two coal affect gas fires in the larger rooms but good brick fireplaces,fine wood panelling in the largest room and lots of pub ephemera dotted about.If I was a tourist this might tick the box of typical London pub . The welcome was friendly ,the muzak was laid back and with a wood floor throughout it all felt clean and tidy.I didn't investigate the upstairs seating . Three Sheps ale on my visit in Masterbrew,Spitfire and Whitstable Bay (£3 half,NBSS 2.5,average at best) .I moved on after a brief half as I'm unlikely to sink multiple pints of ale that doesn't excite me. However it's worth a squint for the good interior.

This is a Shepherd Neame pub, which (in the left hand room in which I sat) had on Spitfire and Late Red (£3.95 a pint), with a third pump having a Whitstable Bay clip, but also a "line cleaning" sign hanging from it. The "Great British Menu", as they call it, does have some traditional pub grub on it. The burger is £9.50, with extras at £1 a pop, and sarnies are £7 - £8.45 I had a roast beef sarny (£8.25) which came with a tiny bit of salad, chips in a little metal bucket of course - but was served on a plate instead of the too often seen block of wood. Cod & chips from their "fish & chip shop" is £10.95. The pub is split into several separate drinking areas. On the left is a fairly plain room - bare-boarded, normal tables and chairs, and with some original wood panelling on the walls. At the back of this room is what is probably an extension to the original pub, with a bit more seating and a glass roof letting in more light. The centre door into the pub takes you into a very small room with just the one table and stools, which I guess is a sort of waiting area as this room has the fish & chip counter, a first for me in a pub. There's a door leading to the "Upper Deck", which I didn't explore. On the right is another fairly large room, with more traditional furnishings and wood panelled walls, but its attractiveness is diminished somewhat by the presence of a fruit machine flashing away. This is quite a nice pub, and is really what I would expect from a pub a stone's throw from the Cutty Sark - a tourist lunch venue. Anyway, that's what it was when I was in at Wednesday lunchtime, but maybe in the evening it's a different place. It's not really worth going out of your way to seek out, but a decent enough place to stop off for a pint or bite to eat if you happen to be in Greenwich.

Shepherd Neame pub across the road from Cutty sark dlr station. Interior split in 2 by the take away chip shop counter. 3 real ales served.

Always call in here when in Greenwich had a decent pint of Whitsable By 3.9% nice chatty girl behind the bar from Sweden could have fallen love but the wife was with me