The Britannia, SE1

The pub has a U-shaped, wooden boarded single room with some wood panelling and large arched windows to the side. Mixed seating , mostly traditional but with a pair of sofas to one end and one high table to the side. There is some flock wallpaper of the type once prevalent in your local curry house and the ceiling is wood boarded and painted white. I spotted a pair of large brewery mirrors from Bass and Fullers which always enhance a pub I believe. I didn't get a feel of the place being particularly upmarket or minimalist as reported earlier although curiously there was a large Betty Boop figure on top of a mini fridge on the bar counter and the price of my pint certainly made me wince. There were two handpumps, Oakham Citra plus Wychwood Thrasher; I went for the Citra but £4.30 for what is admittedly a decent beer is way too much even for SE1. The big attraction here though is the huge selection of mainly single malt whiskies, 130 of them are listed on a chalkboard on an end wall, indexed alphabetically and by region. Prices start at £3.95 for a 35cl measure but many are considerably more and I'd be none too pleased if I spilled a 28 year old, 60.1%abv Mosstowie as I would have needed to fork out £19.10 for the chance to sample it. The window cills are full of whisky boxes. Food is served, menus were on the tables, bangers and mash £8.95, door step chip butties were £3.95, I was rather tempted but resisted. I quite liked the pub, I tend to enjoy old backstreet locals but the pricing is prohibitive and would probably prevent me from returning.

Modern barely furnished type place so common these days. Apart from the brass water dispenser and all the whisky stuff it's all rather familiar and depressing.