The Black Prince, SE11

There were four real ales on during my visit – Young’s Bitter, Young’s London Gold, Bombardier, and Deuchars IPA. The Young’s Bitter tasted fine. They seem to have gone a bit foody. There was nothing basic like a sandwich or a baguette available during a Saturday lunchtime; in fact the most basic items on the menu were the burgers. I went for the Black Prince burger for £8.75, which turned out to be quite good, but strangely the not too hot chips that came with it were in a little white pot instead of being on the plate. There was a lively and vociferous crowd in there on Saturday afternoon for the Spurs v Man Utd match. It’s been stripped out from the backstreet local that it would have been at some stage. There’s now a horseshoe bar counter dominating the centre of the room, and no carpeting either although the bare boards look like originals. Normal tables and chairs, a couple of settles and sofas, along with the usual stools at the bar make up the furnishings. The walls have dark wood panelling up to above door height, with dark red wallpaper above that. I spotted a coat of arms above the fireplace – that of the Black Prince perhaps – and an ancient looking piano. The exterior has been painted over, but I suspect that some of the original tiling remains underneath. The design looks Victorian to me. The bar back inside still bears the infamous words “Double Diamond”, suggesting that this used to be an Ind Coope pub. The pub had a nice lived in feel to it, as well as a friendly vibe. It still retains sufficient of its pub character for me to be happy to pay a return visit.

Quality night out whether with the family or the fellas. Quality beer & munch to boot. Definitely use again. Well done, Marky Boy.