John the Unicorn, SE15

Well described by my fellow Galoriteers. its the usual chic ,casual dump but it seems to work as its busy.Only Volden -pale and light ale but the latter was very good.

This is one of Antic's latest ventures, opening in February 2016 in a former shop unit just a minute or two from Peckham Rye train station. You enter into a large open plan room with terrazzo flooring and a U shaped servery on the rear wall. Annoyingly, the hand pumps have been split into two banks down each side of the bar, so you need to fight your way from one side of the pub to the other in order to view all of the ale options. A lot of standard and bench seating has been used to fill the bulk of the room, which has mixed panelling on the walls and some ledges under the front windows supplemented by high stools. You can pass the bar on either side to move through to a cosier lounge style space with lots of framed pictures on the walls and a selection of comfier looking seating options. Beyond is a rather cold and lonely looking area, devoid of any customers on a busy Friday night visit. Here, large windows run along the back wall and there is some trippy, cube patterned wallpaper, with seating confined to flimsy looking plastic chairs. Stairs near the entrance lead up to a large first floor room with stacks more seating and a kitchen which was serving up a basic pie menu from a local company, but apparently has plans for expansion in the future. Music played throughout our visit and the place was absolutely heaving in the after-work peak hours we visited. Having made my way round the bar to establish all ale options - Volden Porter, Otley Oxymoron, Brick Kinsale Bitter and one unclipped pump - I then endured an epic wait for service and when someone did eventually come to take my order, a fellow barman knocked a glass of the bar and my barman scurried off to clear it up before returning and serving someone else. I eventually got served a very good pint of the Porter and probably enjoyed it even more thanks to the prolonged anticipation. This place felt like a bit of a work in progress, with certain areas seemingly rushed in their design and food only available from local providers, rather than from the pub's own kitchen. The service was also dismal - slow and unfocussed with no idea as to how to serve people in turn. I generally enjoy Antic pubs, but this one needs a lot of work to convince me to return - at least the beer tasted good.

Official site of John the Unicorn - johntheunicorn.com

Official site of John the Unicorn - johntheunicorn.com