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Disappointment of the week with Tris39
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The Old Brewery, Greenwich, SE10
SE10
SE10 9LW
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about The Old Brewery
Lease taken over by Young's
On 25th November 2016
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Old Brewery
This is a relatively newly (a few years anyway) converted Meantime bar. In the small-ish bar area there's plenty of exposed brickwork, modern furnishings, glass cases at the back displaying bottles - all very 21st Century. I didn't visit the larger room further back. The best features of this bar are perhaps its setting in the old Royal Naval College, and the large, enclosed drinking area outside at the front.
Being a Meantime bar it obviously showcases their products. But it's expensive - as an example the Yakima Red, a dark amber 4.1% keg beer, is £5 a pint. There were a couple of Hohead ales on handpump - APA and Hophead, at £4.80 and £4.60 a pint respectively. The food's obviously not cheap either. Light bites and starters are £6 upwards, and main courses are £11.95 upwards. The grilled angus beefburger, with the usual accompaniments, is £13.50, and with cheese, bacon or coleslaw an extra £1.50 a pop.
This is a nice spot to enjoy a quiet drink on a nice day. But a session here would probably be prohibitively expensive. Apparently the local students give this place a miss; that's not surprising.
On 24th September 2015
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about The Old Brewery
Split into 2 areas a cafe/bar area with the brewery on display and a bar area with exposed brickwork and bottles on display. Full range of meantime beers and 2 guests( both dark star beers on my visit). Also a wide selection of bottles. Whiff-Whaff available.
On 1st May 2015
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Old Brewery
The Old Brewery consists of a narrow bar area and a much larger restaurant with views of the on-site brewing apparatus. The bar has a lounge feel which was supplemented by the music selection. There were no other distractions such as gaming machines or televisions.
The full Meantime Brewery range was available and there were also three hand pumps that were drawing Dark Star’s Hophead and Pale Ale alongside Thatcher’s Heritage cider during my recent Wednesday afternoon visit. I opted for the Hophead which was well served, but very expensive at £2.40 for a half. The food is also very expensive as the cheapest main I could find was a risotto priced at £12.50.
Outside there is a large patio area full of seating, some of which is covered by four jumbrellas.
I thought that this place lacked any sort of atmosphere and the rip off prices will see that I avoid it in future.
On 17th June 2014
- rating: 5
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Old Brewery
Housed within the grounds of the Royal Naval College, this is an interesting venture by the local Meantime Brewery which includes on site brewing of experimental beers to supplement those from the main site. The eight copper vessels are on display inside, labelled to inform as to what is going on inside. Two rooms, the smaller, older area has the bar, lots of exposed brickwork including a barrel vaulted ceiling, stools at the window, a feature wall of stacks of bottles. Through a lobby into a much larger modern space with another café servery, exposed metal trussed roof and skylights, this is where the coppers are, housed on an end wall stacked three high. The walls in here have a fascinating timeline of pub and brewing history, focussing on the decline and rebirth of the independent brewer and free of tie house, I found this a most enjoyable and interesting feature, very well laid out. There is also a high level, ceiling suspended, undulating rack of bottles, purely as a decorative feature but otherwise this room is a bit featureless.
There is an extremely large outdoor seating area, clearly hugely popular on a warm and sunny afternoon, the bar counter was heaving too.
Loads of Meantime fonts plus others too, cask ales are limited to three handpumps, one was a cider, from Thatcher's, plus two from Dark Star, American IPA and Hophead. I asked for an IPA, this was off despite the clip not being reversed so plumped for half of the Hophead. I was fully prepared for high prices here but £2.40 for a half of a 3.8% beer is really having a laugh at the punters' expense and I said so too. I should have been prepared by the bloke served before me paying over £21 for four drinks.
It is a decent venture and idea but it lacks that pub feeling and the pricing structure for me is completely off putting, the clientele are always going to be transient, so why should they care. I can't see me returning to be fleeced. Scored accordingly.
On 19th May 2014
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Old Brewery
Interesting conversion, but the two side entrances can be a bit tricky to locate - depending on which direction you approach from - and the main doors fronting the Old Royal Naval College appearing not to be in use (at least during the winter). Very busy inside, but too cold for anybody to consider using the patio seating area. Curious, but quite successful, mixture of traditional and modern decor / furniture. However, the bar was badly understaffed, with tables which didn't appear to have been cleared for hours. Unlike my first visit a year ago, two of the three handpumps was in operation (offering Dark Star Bitter and a draught cider). More to the point as the Meantime brewery tap, plenty of interesting offerings from the two banks of nine keg taps on the counter including a wide selection of seasonals and regulars. Separate cafe / restaurant with just three core beers on but interesting views of the micro-brewhouse. Overall, you can see the (potential) appeal of this place, but my second visit still left me feeling rather underimpressed.
On 15th March 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Erwin Mertens left this review about The Old Brewery
Service is OK, Beer is Ok, but lacks "Pub" atmosphere.
On 28th December 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3 recommendations about 3 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Old Brewery
This bar, situated in the Old Royal Naval College, was opened by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, back in 2010 as a second Greenwich outlet for the local Meantime Brewery. As well as a bar and restaurant, Meantime have also opened a small on-site microbrewery, where they create experimental brews separate from their main Blackwall Lane Brewery. This means that brewing returns to this site, which was once a brewhouse for the pensioners in the Royal Naval Hospital. The building is split into two distinct areas with a lobby in between that has a timeline of the Meantime Brewery on the walls. To the right is a large restaurant, hidden behind some heavy drapes, which I didn’t explore properly, although I did spot the large brewing vessels visible on one side of the room. On the left hand side of the main entrance, there is a lower level L shaped bar, where most punters could be found on my Saturday evening visit. The bar runs down one wall, leaving a narrow strip with a few high tables and stools have been arranged. One wall is covered in a vast shelving unit which has been filled with beer bottles, whilst the impressively high bar back boasts a lot more brewerania which seems to be ordered chronologically, with the older items on the higher shelves. A TV on the back wall was showing muted coverage of a Six Nations rugby fixture and quite a few people decided to brave the freezing temperatures in order to take their drinks outside into the sizable seating area available.
There are three hand pumps on the bar, but all were out of action on my visit, much to the distress of one customer who stormed out, not content to pick from the nine Meantime beers on tap. For the record, these were Pilsner, Wheat, London Lager, London Pale Ale, Stout, Belgian Quad, Yakima Red, Nelson Sauvin Saison and Saison du Nuit. I tried the Yakima Red, expensive at £2.50 for a half and not all that enjoyable as it was served so cold that I really struggled to taste anything at all. There was a good bottled beer selection in the fridges as well, covering a lot of styles.
I really liked the way this nice space has been used to create a classy bar and restaurant. I was a bit disappointed with the beer and it’s not the first time I’ve struggled with Meantime brews, but I still think this place is a real asset to Greenwich and well worth a look.
On 14th March 2013
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The Old Brewery
This newly established bar/restaurant/café enterprise is situated in a wing of the historic Old Naval College and isn’t the easiest place to find, especially at night when the dimly grounds offer little in the way of a clue.
The main bar is a single shoebox of a room with bare brick walls, a series of shallow brick arched ceilings with contemporary décor and furnishings centring on a large glas display case at one end laden with bottles. It sounds horrendous but is actually quite stylish and more pleasing to the eye than it sounds, even for traditionalist pub goers like myself..
Leadiing from the bar is the main hall that incorporates the quite spectacular dining area with one end dominated by the large copper brewing vessels and an impressive “wave” of bottles dangling overhead. It wasn’t very busy for my visit (an early midweek evening) and there isn’t a great deal of seating in the main bar but there is a large courtyard area which would be fine when the weather allows.
There is a good selection of beers with 3 ales available on hand pump (Sambrook Junction, Dark Star Hophead and their own Mean Time Pale Ale on my visit) and an extensive selection of global bottled beers as well as a range of Mean Time Beers on draught. Prices are a bit steep with the Pale Ale at £3.60 a pint but this wasn’t entirely unexpected. The barman on my visit came over as very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the beer which is always a good sign.
Food is also quite expensive but there is a selection of bar food or a full restaurant menu that is probably suited for special occasions rather than something to soak up a couple of pints.
I’m not a fan of modern bars but the Old Brewery did strike me as quite impressive, if a little bit on the expensive side.
It is a welcome addition to the Greenwich drinking scene and I will certinly be making use of it again in the not too distant future.
On 11th February 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]