Northcote Arms, SW11

The high tables and chairs make it uncomfortable to sit and relax but they have outside seating.Good selection of beers.Rear bar area now seems to be for dining.Couple of handpumps with a very good Dancing Duck beer Dark Drake and I tried a keg from a new brewery Firebrand -Double rye pa.Superb and worth the high price this chain of pubs charges.

This is a simple craft beer style bar about halfway down the lively Northcote Road. I'd never really fancied trying the place out as the Draft House chain has a reputation for expensive beer, but I found myself walking past recently with a bit of time on my hands and decided to risk a swift half. The premises has a narrow, shop conversion style layout, with a curved servery running down the right hand side dominating the front part of the pub. This area is bare boarded with some awkward looking high banquette and stool seating under the front windows and a few more high stools along a drinking ledge that runs down the left side of the room. The place certainly isn't built for comfort and I found that I was just as happy propping up the bar as I would have been sat anywhere else. The walls have been decorated with a mix of music and beer themed posters as well as some classic modern art prints such as the impressive Jeff Koons reproduction near the front door. As you move further into the pub, past the end of the servery and the open kitchen, the room opens out into a dining room of sorts with banquette and standard seating filling the well lit, L-shaped space. More posters and modern art on the walls make the place feel quite colourful and there were a few people sat enjoying food from the menu which prices burgers around the £11 mark. Music played quietly in the background throughout my stay and I didn't notice any TV screens nor did I see live sport advertised anywhere. Only one ale - Purity War Lord Black - was available on my visit, with Sambrooks Wandle having recently been taken off and another hand pump left unclipped. Thankfully this was a pretty decent drink and the half slipped down nice and easy. Ironically, I failed to note how much it cost, so I remain none the wiser as to whether they overcharge for their beer. The keg range seems to be the real focus of their attention and there were some tempting options available including brews from Titanic, Magic Rock, Grain, Beavertown and London Fields as well as their own house lager, Belgian and German favourites and Mortimer Orchard Cider. A well thought out bottled beer range includes plenty of options from local London brewers and some US heavyweights. I agree with previous reviewers that this isn't a pub you're likely to settle down in (unless you're stopping for food maybe), but I did think it was one of those places that would be worth a look in passing to see if there is anything interesting on the bar. I thought it sat quite well with other pubs and bars in the vicinity and I saw enough to make me consider giving some of the other Draft House pubs around the capital a try.

There were three handpumps clipped here when I wandered in on Wednesday afternoon - but unfortunately the barmaid couldn't get anything out of the Sambrook's Junction or Wandle pumps, leaving me with the remaining option of Tillingbourne Black Troll, at £1.90 a half. Being part of the Draft House chain there was a mass of interesting stuff on keg, and a large fridge behind the bar was jam packed with unusual bottled beers. There was an A-board outside advertising a burger deal, giving a "yoke, poke or smoke burger" plus fries and a pint of Wandle for £10.75. I certainly know what a pint of Wandle is, as well as fries, and I suppose I could hazard a guess at a "smoke burger", but a yoke or poke burger has me at a loss. Anyway, my half of Black Troll was OK though. The main bar area as you enter is furnished with a tall upholstered bench with a bar to support your feet if you're tall enough, and some tall, solid wood stools painted a bright green. There's also a ledge by the wall with more green stools. Thess are undoubtedly the most garish and uncomfortable furnishings that I've ever encountered in a pub. Passing through an archway at the back of the bar takes you into into a room with all the tables laid for diners. The tables are all accompanied by simple wooden chairs, all painted he same bright green. One plus was the music being played. Frankly I'd rather do without having any music foisted on me, but others seem to like it so fair does. However, here they were playing some traditional blues which made a welcome change (for me anyway) from the usual banal pop music. This place is OK for a beer - and I'm assuming that the problems with the Sambrook ales were a temporary glitch - but for me the place was just too uncomfortable to want to spend any length of time. But that's just my subjective opinion.