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Disappointment of the week with Tris39
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Detail Pages
The William Camden, Bexleyheath
Bexleyheath
DA7 4EQ
Pub Type
Greene KingReviews (Current Rating Average: 3½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The William Camden
This is a large 20th Century suburban pub of the sort that seems to be common in these parts of outer SE London. It's a huge U shaped room with the entrance in the middle and the bar facing you. There are areas to the right and left with a "public" area to the left and "lounge" to the right although the entrance end of the righr area seemed much the same as the left. There are three pool tables and a dart board at the far end of the left area and a juke box that attracted a strange man who appeared to be talking to it. On a Thursday afternoon there didn't seem to be many in apart from me and juke box man.
Needless to say there were TV screens everywhere which all seemed to be showing a cricket match with nobody watching.
Each side of the bar has three hand pumps whic both had one unused and GK IPA & Abbot. I went for the Abbot (£3.51) which was served in a hideous IPA glass with expanses of white, eggshell blue and orange. I guess that's one way to stop people nicking your glasses. The beer itself was reasonably OK.
This place had no appeal to me whatsoever and I won't be back.
On 3rd September 2018
- rating: 3
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The William Camden
There were two ales on in here - Old Speckled Hen and GK IPA (£1.55 a half). Interestingly there were two GK IPA pumps, one of the traditional sort, and the other one of those tall illuminated ones with a shiny pipe to the side of it. My half came from the traditional pump, and the barman said that the other one was never used. I speculated that it came into being as a result of some designer's idea of a flashy gimmick, and the barman didn't demur. The usual Greene King glossy pubco menu was available with plenty of colour photos for those who don't know what things like fish & chips look like.
This pub has two separate rooms, connected by a short corridor just inside the main entrance. The room on the left has a mix of carpeted and bare-boarded flooring, is furnished mainly with tall tables/tall stools with a few normal tables and chairs tucked away at the back. The room on the right has a little bit of banquette seating, but I guess is there for the pool tables dominating the room. I obviously spent my visit in the room on the left, where there were one or two prints on the walls, but otherwise not much decor worth mentioning. There's a garden at the back, and a bit of parking space at the front.
I thought that this was a fairly characterless pub, but nevertheless really handily placed near Bexleyheath Station, especially for someone about to commence a cross-London journey.
On 21st December 2014
- rating: 4
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The William Camden
Built in 1956 by Whitbreads, this large Greene King pub just outside Bexleyheath Station is named after the 17th Century antiquarian and historian who resided in nearby Chislehurst and owned the Manor of Bexley lands upon which the pub stands.
The interior is divided into separate Lounge and Public bars. The Public Bar to the right is dominated by 4 pool tables and there really isn’t much need to use the Public Bar unless it’s a game of pool you’re after. The Lounge Bar is quite spacious with a mix of seating but quite formulaic with plain light décor and all the usual pub amenities (games machines, flat screen TV’s etc). The walls have a few snippets about the life and work of William Camden although I can’t think that the average customer here would be the slightest bit interested.
There is a separate room wrapped around the back of the bar that looks like it would have been used more for functions or dining but now appears to just be an extension of the rest of the pub. Beyond is a pretty decent half paved, half turfed beer garden.
Beerwise there were 3 “normal” hand pumps, 2 badged with IPA and one with Abbot plus one of the new fangled north/south pull contraptions, also badged with IPA. The Abbott (£3) was drinkable but not particularly good. The food seemed quite good value with several main courses in the £6 to £7 brackett and various 2 for £9 offers being advertised around the pub.
The customer base was lacking a certain degree of eloquency and it didn’t strike me as the most welcoming of places. It is OK for a quick pint before/after the train or as a place to meet someone but I wouldn’t particularly go out of the way to make an effort to visit.
On 19th April 2011
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]