The Bishop, East Dulwich, SE22

Pub SignMan left this review about The Bishop

This is a nice little cosy pub on Lordship Lane that has a bit of a wine bar feel to it. The pub has a simple single room layout with bare floorboards throughout, a mix of nicely contrasting light and dark painted walls and a crumbling bare brick pillar in the centre of the room. The servery is along the right-hand wall close to the front of the pub and has a dark wood counter with what looked like some sort of stone top and a white tile bar back dominated by a huge square mirror in the centre. An embryonic pump clip collection can be seen at one end of the bar, whilst at the other end, a shelf has been used to display flowers, which add a nice splash of colour. There’s an upright piano next to the bar, although it’s unclear if anyone ever tinkles the ivories, as it is topped with various potted plants and lit candles with an unused TV screen mounted on the wall above. High tables and stools run through the centre of the room with banquette booths down the left-hand wall, each separated by the same mid-height glazed partitioning screens as seen in the nearby Cherry Tree. These booths extend all the way down into a narrower rear space where you can also find a bookcase and another out of action TV screen, as well as access to the beer garden which has a good deal of additional seating and a well-maintained shelter. Walls throughout the pub have been decorated with landscape paintings and shelves stacked with random boxes, crates, bottles and other such junk. The lighting on my evening visit was muted to the point that I couldn’t even read my paper and I noticed a few hardy souls had opted to sit on the four or five picnic benches out on the pavement in front of the pub, perhaps so they could use the street lights to read their papers! A decent Motown soundtrack played in the background throughout my stay here, which was only permitted until 8pm, at which point I would have to give my table over to someone called Ray Ray according to a sign on my table that proclaimed it as ‘Ray Ray’s Corner’.
Thankfully I had the best part of an hour to go until Ray Ray’s regular arrival time, so I ordered a pint of Beavertown Gamma Ray in Ray Ray’s honour, having been told that there was no real ale available – a point emphasised by three turned pump clips and one real cider on the final pull. This set me back a small fortune and was far too cold to properly enjoy, so I upped and left well ahead of my deadline.
This felt like a nice cosy little spot to enjoy some good beer, so it was a real shame that there was none available on my visit. I came away feeling this would be a good place for couples looking for a quiet spot or perhaps to take friends who don’t normally enjoy pubs, as it has a crossover appeal to it. I’d probably come back again if I thought they had some cask ale on, but it didn’t quite hit the spot for me on this particular occasion.

On 25^th November 2020 - rating: 6
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