Thomas A'Becket, Bermondsey, SE1

This is another magnificent old Victorian pub whose best days are long gone. This is more of a cocktail bar than a pub. There’s no real ale obviously. Food is advertised as being available between noon and 9.0 PM, but I didn’t see a menu. The open plan kitchen is behind the bar. The purple illumination of the bar counter facing, the the metal trunking on the ceiling as a decorative feature, and the chalkboard extolling the award-winning cocktails all tell you what sort of place this is. If that isn’t enough, the advertised opening times of between noon and 3.30 AM also tell you something. The best thing about this pub is the Blue Plaque on the wall, telling us that Sir Henry Cooper trained at the gym that used to be here. It’s a very different place now. This is not the sort of place that I usually frequent, and I’m absolutely sure I won’t be visiting again. I expect to be questioned by at least one forum member as to why the heavens I went in here! But if you like drinking in cocktail bars then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t like this place.