The Mansion Pub, Kennington, SE11

A short distance from Kennington tube station, this large, modern gastro style pub is the first London outlet for the Oakham Brewery. You enter through a glass porch into a bare boarded room with an unusual large circular metal decoration laid into the floor in front of the entrance. The area to the right is a notional lounge, with comfortable sofas, pouffes and padded high stools as well as a raised padded banquette along the end wall. A TV screen was turned on at this end of the room when I visited, showing a snooker match which one lone customer was watching, providing his own commentary, before the screen was switched off and loud music took over. The dark wood servery runs along the back wall and has a gong as a centrepiece on the bar back, presumably an oriental equivalent to the ‘last orders’ bell. An hint of the orient might well be what the pub has aimed for, considering the food on offer is almost exclusively Thai. The left hand side of the pub, which extends to the rear past the end of the servery, has been set aside for diners, with most tables already laid in anticipation. There are more padded banquettes and plenty of standard tables and chairs throughout this space which has minimal décor – the most striking feature being a mysterious set of valves on the left hand wall. A trip down to the toilets will see you pass an unusual bit of stonework which depicts some rather eye-opening scenes. At the bar, Oakham ales are obviously well represented across the two banks of hand pumps. Options on my visit were Inferno, JHB, Black Hole Porter, Citra and Edgar’s Bazaar, plus Apple, which I assume is their own cider. A guest of Blue Monkey Bonobo was also on handpull whilst the keg options included the likes of Camden and Krombacher. A blackboard at the far end of the bar listed a few beer and food matching suggestions. I sampled the Porter and Inferno, both of which were in excellent condition. The place was quiet throughout my fairly long visit, but I can’t imagine it gets all that lively given the emphasis on food. This place lacks the warmth and atmosphere of a great pub and I would suggest that it’s the weakest of the brewery’s four houses, but for top quality beer, there is no getting away from the fact that this is a must do.

These days known as "Oaka at the Mansion House", this is Oakham Ale's London outpost. The left-hand side on entering houses a Thai restaurant; the bar's on the right. This area does very much feel like 'that bit where you get a glass of wine and wait for your friends to arrive'. You needn't order wine, as the bar holds two banks of 5 handpumps, principally devoted to Oakham's hoppy delights (though it should be noted that the actual number of ales on sale is no more than 5-6); one pump was serving a guest beer. The pints I tried were certainly in good shape and at standard London prices. The bar staff are top-notch and the restaurant's already a big hit, doing good business on a Friday afternoon. Overall, though, it really doesn't have a great 'pub' feel. This one's going to appeal to Oakham fans and lovers of Thai food, I reckon. General pub-goers are, quite possibly, not likely to linger.

Although you can't fault the beers the bar side of this pub feels like a waiting room for the attached restaurant and at £3.80 for a pint of Citra this is way over the top.Very pleasant staff.

This is a new venture, waiting to bed in, so time will tell whether 10 Oakham Ales plus two Weston's ciders can attract the throughpull needed to maintain quality. The interior is very modern indeed, this is unlikely to appeal to traditionalists such as myself, but the beers are a proper magnet. The beer menu is spread across two banks of five chrome handpumps with the stronger and more seasonal options situated towards ther bar end. I went for the Citra, a lovely hoppy beer of the type Oakham do so well, it didn't disappoint. An L-shaped interior with the larger side set up for formal dining, the menu is Pan-Asian, the drinking end however has limited seating and of that nothing I'd consider comfortable, high cream benches, pouffes plus a hard bench at a risibly low table. Folding doors to the frontage facing the busy main trunk road, lots of dark wood, globe lights, one end wall has some mock-up beer taps pouring water into a stainless steel trough. It isn't pubby or traditional at all but the beer was good and the choice very different for the location, worthy of a look and an easy double header with the very good Old Red Lion next door.