The Horniman at Hay's, SE1

This large Nicholson's pub is situated right on the river, bang in front of HMS Belfast and with good views of Tower Bridge. L-shaped and with an upper dining gallery, most of the seating is to the side but there is a raised area right in front of the bar which returns to one side where there are high tables and stools which although not my favoured form of seating allow a good all round view of the pub. The bar area has an attractive tiled floor and the bar itself is worth a look with plenty of carved dark wood, mirrors and a globe themed clock. Above the bar there is a frieze depicting various world scenes, ships and spouting whales, a caravan of camels, a thunderstorm and so on. This frieze is extended around the gallery plinth. Even by Nicholson's standards the beer range is good, there are numerous handpumps dotted about and my visit saw Great Heck Angel, St Austell Nicholson's Pale Ale, Pride, Wharfebank VPA, Thornbridge Jaipur, Brains SA, Moor Revival (£3.90), Caledonian Flying Scotsman, Sambrooks Junction and Downton Chocolate Orange. That's a decent line up in anyone's book. I note some others' concerns regarding service but my experience was positive with tasters offered, in fact as I wandered around having a look I was asked if I could be helped by two different barstaff. My pint was however at that do I ask for a top up or not level being a little short but not worth making a fuss over. Any pub in a location like this will see a transient customer base with a lot of tourist visitors but again I was pleased to see an American visitor being helped by the staff with the ales described and tasters given. TVs were muted showing a news channel while quiet jazz and piano music played. Based on today's visit I would certainly pop by again, I bet the outdoor seating is at a premium on a warmer day as well.

Large multi-level Nicholson's pub located on the Thames walkway. Ornate interior as described below. Real ale and food served.

This is a large Nicholson's pub located on the Thames path, next to the Hay's Gallery. The split level interior sees the servery located on the lower level at the back of the room with a very limited selection of seating. The higher level runs in a strip around the front of the room and provides some additional seating looking out towards the river. To the left hand side of the bar the room opens out a bit more and it is here that the majority of the seating can be found. There is also further seating upstairs in what appeared to be more of a dining area, although people were eating throughout the pub. The servery is perhaps the pub's standout feature, with a fine bar back which includes a globe shaped clock and a frieze. There is quite a bit of riverside seating outside, which comes in handy on a sunny day, but for which there is always keen competition. For me, the pub's finest asset - its riverside location - creates its biggest flaws. The place is very tourist orientated and as such, there tends to be no real focus on providing a decent service. On my recent visit I waited far longer than I would normally be prepared to, whilst the barman took forever to process a food order and then served someone out of turn before finally getting around to me. I persevered as I was keen to try a pint of Moor North Star, which I spotted on one of the many hand pumps, but my patience was not rewarded as I was informed that it was in fact off and they just hadn't bothered to turn the pump clip. I made do with a pint of St Peter's IPA instead, which wasn't really in great condition. The other pumps offered Ringwood Boondoggle, Fullers London Pride, Sharp's Doom Bar, St Austell Tribute, Thornbridge Jaipur, Jennings Cumberland, Nethergate Umbel Ale and Hopdaemon Incubus - a tidy line up even by Nicholson's standards. The pub also failed to endear itself to me by having my number one pub annoyance - the aggressive toilet attendant. Quite why any self respecting establishment provides this bizarre 'service' is beyond me, but it ensured that I left after just the one pint, rather than settling down for a few as planned. Despite the shortcomings, this is a fairly pleasant place to stop off and I'm sure they will continue to do well regardless of how many people they put off with poor service, flat beer and pushy perfumers.