Salt Deptford, Deptford, SE8

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Pub SignMan left this review about Taproom SE8

Situated in the redeveloped area directly outside Deptford station, this is one of several new bars looking to attract young, well-heeled customers to drink expensive beer in bland surroundings. Styled like most modern craft beer bars, this place, which is linked to the Hop Stuff Brewery, has a simple single room interior with an open plan layout, bare concrete floors covered in ugly yellow and black tape denoting a supposed one-way system, and large floor to ceiling windows to the front which allow lots of light in. Chunky long tables with backless benches are mixed in alongside smaller square tables with hard metal chairs to form the majority of the seating options, although there is also a concrete pillar in the centre of the room with shoddy looking MDF high tables on all four sides, supplemented by bar stools, should the need for an uncomfortable, ugly seating spot suddenly take your fancy. The usual exposed utilities dangle from the ceiling and over to the left there is an open pizza kitchen with a cheap looking bit of chipboard frontage, a ‘Taproom’ light box above and a floor to ceiling blackboard with the menu on it to one side. The servery is at the rear of the room and actually has quite a nice counter front, seemingly made from old reconditioned floorboards, in sharp contrast to the cheap, bodge-job look of much of the rest of the room. Having said that, the effect is ruined by the awful bare blockwork bar back which includes another cheapo bit of carpentry to house the long row of keg taps. A beer board hangs from the right side of the bar back, but customers were presented with a comprehensive printed menu on arrival to discourage people from approaching the bar. A row of canteen style benches and tables can be found out along the front of the pub in a small fenced off cobbled space, whilst inside, chilled IDM played quietly in the background.
No less than 15 craft beers were listed on draught, although they didn’t have anything on cask. Breweries represented included the likes of Siren, Verdant, Wiper & True, Hammerton and Lost & Grounded, plus a cider from Harry Masters. There were a few beers that I fancied trying, but prices were astronomical, so I ended up compromising by going the Northern Monk Eternal, which still came in at an eye watering £4.30 for two-thirds. The beer was a disappointing, flavourless session IPA that was so devoid of character, I almost felt it had been watered down. The staff were generally a friendly and helpful bunch, but any good will was quickly lost when I asked to settle up and discovered they had added a 15% table service charge, making my pint a now very hefty £4.95 for two-thirds. Sadly, I didn’t click that this had happened until after I’d paid up, which is pretty shoddy behaviour in my book, as the Covid restrictions in place at the time meant that table service was the only means of getting served.
I wasn’t really sold on this place, which felt like a potentially nice space that had been spoiled by the cheap looking interior design and bland, characterless décor and furnishings. The cheery service and decent beer selection made me open to the possibility of returning, but the blatant profiteering from the current Covid situation felt like a dirty tactic and means there is no chance I’ll be heading back here again.

On 21^st July 2021 - rating: 4
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