The Summerfield, Lee, SE12

Official site of The Summerfield - thesummerfield.co.uk

Official site of The Summerfield - thesummerfield.co.uk

When you visit a London pub that hasn't yet been reviewed, you usually realise why on entering. But this one was better than I expected. There's the standard central horseshoe bar, with the drinking area surrounding it. There were two pairs of handpumps on each side of the bar. The pair around to the left had one unclipped and the other a Doom Bar clip, whereas the pair around to the right had Adnam's Southwold and Harvey's Best (£2 a half). Menus and table numbers in little holders were on all the tables on Wednesday afternoon; standard burgers, and fish & chips are £9.95, other pub grub main meals were £8.95, and sarnies were £6.50 - £6.95. The place is carpeted, of which I heartily approve, and furnishings are upholstered settles, sofas, and normal tables and chairs plus some small round stools. There's some miscellaneous bric a brac on shelves, but it looks a bit contrived, and of course there's now plenty of grey paint about the place. They also have profound sayings as some sort of decor on the walls, but I didn't spot anything of heritage value. I spotted a fruit machine and TVs; there are picnic benches at the front and a bit of a garden at the back. There was a bunch of locals in during my mid-afternoon visit. It looks like the sort of pub where the locals are undeterred by some pubco's attempt to ponce up the place. It still looks like a locals' pub to me, and that's a good thing. My Harvey's Best was in good shape as well.