Old Kings Head, SE1

This is a cracking little traditional boozer, hidden away down a narrow alleyway off the busy Borough High Street. The pub has a simple, single room interior with the servery occupying one corner, leaving an L shaped layout, mostly filled with seating. You enter through a lovely stained glass door with similarly decorated windows showing images of a rose, a coat of arms and the eponymous king’s head. The room has been carpeted throughout, with some low wood panelling on the walls, offset by floral wallpaper and a dark wood servery. The bar back displays a couple of large model fire engines and another of an old tram, whilst some miniaturised pump clips run along a shelf below. There are high tables and stools in a row through the middle of the room, whilst regular tables and chairs skirt the perimeter. The place has been decorated with a collection of interesting black and white photos and drawings of the local area and in one corner of the room there is a lovely tiled fireplace with a pub mirror above, which dates itself to March 1978. A similar mirror with the word ‘Saloon’ etched into it, hangs further along the wall. For all of these characterful features, the main distraction for a decent post-lunchtime crowd, was provided by a TV and large projector screen, both showing a rugby fixture between South Africa and New Zealand, with the commentary audible, but not excessively loud. An additional TV near the front door was showing Soccer Saturday and I enjoyed sitting anonymously between a load of Millwall fans as news of their team getting a good thumping by my beloved AFC Bournemouth filtered through during the afternoon. The pub does seem to be predominantly wet-led, but there is a hearty pub grub menu available, with all main meals coming in under a tenner. There are six handpulls which seem to always offer a selection of tried and tested, if not always thrilling, ale options. On my visit, the options were St Austell Proper Job and Tribute, Harveys Best and IPA, Taylor Landlord and Sharp’s Doom Bar. I decided to test the Proper Job’s credentials as an APA and thought it was a very refreshing pint in excellent condition. I’ve walked past this place hundreds of times, but never got round to going in, thanks to the plentiful supply of excellent pubs in the vicinity. Having now visited, I’ll be sure to include this down to earth boozer as a regular stop-off when in the London Bridge area.

Have been back in on quite a few evenings for a pint since my inaugural review back in 2009, but visited again yesterday at lunchtime for the first time in search of a decent pint and hopefully some pub scoff, as I had ignored to see if they did food on my previous visits. And as others have mentioned there is a basic pub food menu at a very very reasonable price point. A large chilli Jacket potato at a price point below what a pint of ale will cost you north of the river and a no-frills Ham , Egg and chips like your mum used to cook you. The six ales on were St Austell’s Tribute and Proper Job, Sharps Doombar, Bombadier, Harveys Best and TT Landlord and the Harveys and Timothy Taylors were absolutely superb pints. Yes, you will find more non-mainstream ale offerings in other local hostelries, but the more I visit this place the more I feel this pub fits me like a well-worn comfortable pair of shoes, and we could have stayed here all afternoon if it wasn’t for the fact that we had timed tickets to go up the Shard. And now that I know they do cheap decent grub as well, time to increase my rating.

Beautiful interior. Great selection of ales and dog friendly!

Hidden away down a narrow cobbled lane off Borough High Street is The Old Kings Head, a single room pub that claims to have been established in 1881. The room is part carpeted, part wood floor and, whilst there is traditional style seating along the sides of the room, a few circular tables and bar stools in the centre of the room reflect the fact that it’s often standing room only. The walls are decorated with old photos and prints of the area, including some interesting ones of pubs long gone such as The Talbot and The White Hart. A framed article tells us that Henry VIIII used this pub and that the original building on this site was destroyed in The Great Fire of London. Of particular note are the large leaded decorative windows with regal motifs. These windows can be opened right out in the summer months to provide much needed air and light. Above the bar back is a model of an old fire engine and a London tram. Several “Old Kings Head” mirrors also decorate the walls. A basic food menu is offered at lunchtimes and early evening ( eg – ham, egg and chips ) at competitive prices, reflecting the fact that this is an earthy, unpretentious pub with, rather like The Market Porter, a wide customer mix and something of a local feel. On the real ale front, several recent early evening visits found the two banks of pumps on the L shaped bar counter serving Doom Bar, Butcombe Bitter, Bombardier, Harveys Best plus St Austells Tribute and Proper Job, which led me to wonder if the landlord is a West Country man, but there didn’t appear to be anybody obviously in charge to ask. Notably, and something that I wish more pubs would do, there’s a Happy Hour from 4-7 pm on Mondays to Thursdays when all real ales are £ 2.50p. This seems to be a pub that serves real ale rather than a real ale pub if you get my drift, but the seldom seen Proper Job was in good nick on both visits and, at £ 2.50p during happy hour, takes some beating. You probably won’t want to stay here all evening, but it’s worth including in any crawl round the area’s many good pubs

The pub is easily missed, tucked away down the narrow cobbled Old King's Yard. Inside the L-shaped room is carpeted, with mostly traditional style seating. There are attractive leaded windows with Royal motifs, bottles on high shelves and models of an old fire engine, a tram and a trader's bicycle set above the bar. Half height wood panelling, framed prints of the locality complete the scene. One standard TV in a corner plus a drop down screen in the opposite one where showing SSN football plus live rugby on Saturday. There are six handpumps in two banks, I'd advise walking around to check the full picture although some were double clipped. Butcombe Bitter, St Austell Tribute, Sharp's Doom Bar plus the superior Proper Job, Harvey's Sussex Best and Bombardier. Plenty of old clips and mats around the bar area suggesting a decent guest policy. A good spot and with a local feel despite the busy area.

Official site of the Old Kings Head - www.theoldkingshead.uk.com

Official site of the Old Kings Head - www.theoldkingshead.uk.com