ReviewLast Visited: 17th February 2018.
Originally this was the Trafalgar Tavern, then the Fuzzock & Firkin before becoming the scruffy Tavern in the Town. Being off the beaten track, the only people who visit tend to be those who are in the know. I first came here just after the reopening and complained that it was infested with riff-raff with the foulest language in all of Christendom. Perhaps management cleared them out as several visits later, they are no more. Boarded up for around four years, it just goes to show what can be done with a little imagination: now double winner of the CAMRA North London branch Pub of the Year (2013 and 2015) and currently on CAMRA’s shortlist for the Top 5 London pubs.
This is a lively boozer with much knick-knacks and a slightly nautical slant though hardly an annoying Jolly Jack Tar theme pub. There’s an old metal Truman’s sign and this being one of their former pubs, may once have been mounted outside. Beneath, there’s a real coal fire, next to which was an enormous black cat with white paws, looking for all the world like the Egyptian Bastet, reclining on his miniature chaise longue, oblivious to the mandolin folk band and people singing along. There are food menus on the tables offering quite adventurous fayre though this isn’t a gastropub, grub revolving around the humble though hand-made pie.
As with my last visit in October 2016, the barman asked if I had a CAMRA card; the pub also participates in the CAMRA LocAle scheme. Ales: 12 pumps (one double-clipped) so too many to record but my pint of Bermondsey Best was £3.90 which was very good and amazingly cheap for London.
With the added benefit of a midnight licence Wednesday to Saturday, this is a great pub.
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My first pre-plague visit a couple of nights ago and nothing has changed, with all eight ale pumps and the two ciders in operation, friendly staff with a barmaid prompting me for a non-existent CAMRA card.
My pint of ELB's Cowcatcher was on great form and just £4.00, £3.80 with the aforementioned card.
An increasingly middle-aged-looking Nelson was on the prowl, looking for a friendly snuggle but ignoring my advances.
It's still steady as she goes at the Ad.
On 21st September 2021 - rating: 9
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A couple of more recent visits and all is not well in paradise.
On one visit, a customer casually strolled over to my table, picked up a tealight, lit his fag and then sashayed across the floor to smoke it outside; an invasion of my space and breach of the law.
One of the reasons to visit the pub is because of the breadth, quality and price of ales but on another visit, the beers were virtually all the same: pale and similar in style, with little to distinguish them.
Another visit and a fat man was munching a pie at the bar when tables were available. Not only is this unhygienic, but he was blocking the pump clips, one of the main reasons to visit the pub.
Another visit was greeted by a trio of young men who decided to watch the football on an iPhone, propping it up against a glass and blasting me with its fizzy tinny sound. This is a fairly quiet pub with no TVs, so why are people in effect allowed to bring along a TV?
On the same visit, the pub loon joined me at my table, proceeding to go about his strange habits; I studiously ignored him until he left, me being prompted to leave by the above. Finding a quiet table, I was again joined by the loon.
This is seemingly now something of a scrotes' pub. Until recently, I would have paid a visit to both this and the neighbouring Southampton Arms, finding little to distinguish between the two. Now it's no contest: when next in the area, I won't even bother with this place; does it have a new manager?
