The Burn Bullock, Mitcham

From the outside this is an imposing Georgian building sitting in a corner location opposite the Cricket Green. On a sunny afternoon with a cricket match in full swing it looked just the part for a nice pint however the exterior and interior are two very different things. The front room is vaguely L-shaped, a mixture of laminated flooring and original boards, bizarre seating, three tables with bespoke shaped cushioned seats designed to fit exactly the perimeter shape of the tables, one white, two black, up a step to what I suppose are dining tables but with plastic table cloths. Posies of plastic flowers on the tables, venetian blinds. The rear room was closed off and in darkness. I suspect this may now be a Caribbean pub, very few customers were in but the few that were plus the landlord were all from the West Indies and products on sale such as Carib, Dragon Stout and Rum Cream reinforce this. The draught selection was rather dull, GK IPA and Bombardier, at least the pub is open still but it must be a shadow of what it once was.

The Burn Bullock is a large pub that is situated on a busy crossroads just to the south of the town centre. Once inside i went into a fairly large room that was dimly lite and also empty on my mid afternoon visit,after seeing the grand frontage i was a bit dissapointed with the interior. There were two real ales on the bar i had a drink of Adnams Broadside and this was a decent enough drink the other beer was London Pride. I think this pub is more of an evening venue for younger drinkers. Pub visited 7/1/2006

This is a decent sized pub occupying a corner site on London Road and Cricket Green at Mitcham. Inside the front bar’s furnished with normal tables and chairs, and with some black and white photographs on the walls, mainly of South London scenes. There’s a large clock on the back of one of the entrance vestibules, a pool table, a juke box, and some games machines. The TV screens are still here of course, but only one was on, and that was on the bar back, showing some children’s cartoon programme with the sound on. Rather strange really, as there were only two other people in the pub, sitting at the bar chatting with the barmaid. There’s another slightly more intimate room at the back on the left of the bar counter. This room contained a handful of tables and chairs, with all the tables having an empty wine bottle on them, presumably in an attempt to convey the aura of a wine bar. I didn’t see any sign of food or menus during my midweek late lunchtime visit. There were three handpumps on the bar – one apparently unused, another with a GKIPA clip reversed, and the third inevitably dispensing London Pride (£3 a pint). It certainly seems to have improved a bit since Roger’s visit, but it’s still fairly run of the mill in my opinion. Seeing it on a dark and dismal day in December probably meant that I didn’t see it at its best, but it nonetheless seemed gloomy inside. I suspect the couple at the bar and I didn’t represent their typical customer base, and it might well be a very different place if it’s busy when they show football. But it did have one ale on, and the service from the barmaid was friendly and welcoming. However, I doubt whether I’ll visit again.