The Derby, SE11

Tris C left this review about The Derby

As the Greyhound, this place dates back over 200 years. There are attractive hanging baskets of flowers outside and inside, the place having undergone a makeover in 2022.
Now a notionally Irish pub, the interior is clearly not as whacky as recorded by previous reviewers, nothing like as quirky, no jukebox, perhaps in an attempt to appeal to an older more affluent demographic. The pub goes back a bit, split level, bare boarded to the front, carpeted to the rear with much Gaelic gallimaufry on display alongside wallpaper to the end wall, a jumbo-sized reproduction from the A-Z of the area. The interior is somewhat brewers’ Tudor in nature, now with a white ceiling with exposed black rafters and dark grey wainscoting. A nod to the past exists in the form of some bevelled glass infill to dark wood partitions and a little etched and frosted glass to a door. Furniture is conventional and a choice of boxing or football was to be had on the multiple TVs, sound off so as not to distract from the rather good Dylan tribute act at 9.00pm on my Friday visit, with a moderate attendance of mixed middle-aged customers, quite a few Irish.
A dull ale lineup yielded two unused pumps, one with a reversed clip, then just Tribute at £2.60 a half and fine, served by a friendly barman.
This isn’t a bad pub but certainly warrants little effort to visit, though it’s a big improvement on the Hanover next door.

On 6^th August 2023 - rating: 5
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