Marquis of Lorne, SW9

Dating from 1880, grade II-listed and featuring on CAMRA’s list of pubs with historic interiors, this being of Regional Importance, with photos in attendance. It’s well described below, of note being the very attractive exterior tiling. However, I found the interior to be a bit scruffy, typical of this type of basic locals’ boozer, with a stack of skateboards and bikes by the door. There’s a carpet, games machine, sport and tatty fliers advertising sports fixtures, otherwise eclectic décor with a pool table to the rear. The bar counter does the place no favours either, with a forest of illuminated chrome founts and no real ale, me having to seek solace in a half of Kronenbourg at £2.50, served by a very traditional old-school landlady; of note is that the pub has a strict cash-only policy, though I’ve come to learn that cardless pubs are typical of this type, so brought some cash just in case. This pub could be a lot better with a brush-up and some real ale. Otherwise, it’s not too bad, but the drinks’ choice is a bit of a disincentive to making a return.

This is a rare surviving back street pub which has retained a typical working class boozer feel in an area that has been rapidly gentrifying in recent years. The pub clearly had a multiple room layout in the past, but now has a single U-shaped set-up as various rooms have been successively knocked through. A separate games area to the front right is the only room to have kept its partitioning wall and now offers a degree of sanctuary for those wanting a game of pool. Elsewhere, the room runs down the left hand side and around past the rear part of the servery in a predominantly carpeted room with nice large windows with bull’s eye panes along two sides. There is limited seating to the front of the pub where the regulars seem to crowd around the bar, but plenty of tables and chairs appear down the left wall and on round into the rear part of the pub. An old gas fire that looks a bit like the one my Gran had in her front room, stands on the back wall in a marble surround and is flanked with some incongruous vases full of twigs and has a big plain mirror above. The bar has a long, curved dark wood counter with a mirrored bar back and a canopy decorated with old framed Guinness adverts, which continue to run around to the far end of the room where the toilets can be found. A TV screen above the side porch was playing old school pop and rock tunes when I arrived but was soon switched to a live football match with the commentary audible. There were lots of flowers dotted around the pub which brightened things up quite considerably and the exterior of the pub looked pretty special, with some excellent tiling evident, but it was hard to fully appreciate in the dark. Sadly there were no ales on at the bar, just keg Greene King IPA and an admittedly wide range of well known keg brands. I ended up with a pint of Guinness for £4.00, which went down reasonably well and was served to me by an old fashioned landlady. Signs around the bar made it very clear that the pub accepts cash only. In many ways, this was a very nice pub with an attractive exterior and hints of a former traditional set-up inside. The place has a proper local’s pub feel to it and is nicely tucked away so that it draws little if any traffic from the nearby Brixton Academy on gig nights, but the lack of any proper beer means that it’s really only worth the one visit to check the place out, as far better beer can be found elsewhere in the local area.