The Durham Arms, Romford

I'm not surprised that Alan Winfield is the only other pub reviewer to have ventured in here. This has to be a contender for the grottiest exterior of a pub that I've seen. It's been painted a dirty grey colour, the wooden window frames are rotting away, and the bottom halves of the windows are taken up by advertisements for quality beverages such as Stella, John Smiths, Carlsberg and Strongbow. The interior matches the exterior. The carpet is held in place by gaffer tape in places, at least one electricity socket is hanging from the wall, and one table was losing its equilibrium by tilting to one side. There are album covers on the walls and pillars featuring musical greats like T-Rex, Engelbert Humperdinck and Gilbert O'Sullivan. There was some loud pop music being played, and maybe they have live entertainment as by the door there were some rickety bits of wood or hardboard that may have been a stage. There's a "beer garden' at the back. My expectations regarding real ale were met fully - there wasn't any of course. But on the plus side my half of Guinness (£1.90) tasted fine. I probably won't be back.

The Durham Arms is a large pub that is situated on a busy road. I was not that struck with the look of this pub. Once inside there is a single L shaped room with the bar facing on the left side,the room is carpeted,the seating is normal tables and chairs,there is a pool table and darts board on the right side and a small stage close to the front right. There were no real ales on the bar,i had a drink of John Smiths Extra Cold crap which was a pretty crap drink. This is a locals pub and probably best left for them. Pub visited 30/6/2016