After a long, long winter of hibernation, our beloved pubs have opened their gardens again. Say what you will, but pubs are an essential part of our local economy and vibrancy, and we're thrilled we can finally get back to one of our favourite Great British pastimes: settling into a pint of beer and a packet of crisps at your friendly local.
At Meet Bernard, we believe in the value of supporting local businesses, and that means supporting your local pubs. Pubs are one of the venues that have suffered disproportionately as a result of lockdown, so we believe it is your civic duty to head down to one of our favourites and share a couple of pints with your loved ones. With a list this nice, we're sure you can manage.
Without further ado, here's MB's top picks!
Where: 78-80 Perry Hill, London SE6 4EY
The Perry Hill in Catford is reopening under new management after almost two years; talk about good timing. And what’s more, it’s opening with an enormous pub garden with a capacity of more than 250 people, making it one of the largest beer gardens in South London. There’s talk of a stonking roast coming onto the menu too. This is one pub we’ll certainly be gracing for this summer's Great Escape.
Where: 319 Stanstead Road, Forest Hill, London SE23 1JB
The Blythe Hill Tavern is a CAMRA award-winning Victorian Corner pub, and is one of London’s Real Heritage pubs. We love the Blythe Hill Tavern for it’s selections of real ales, friendly staff, and the all-essential sun trap garden. During the Great Escape, make sure you head down to this piece of pub history.
Where: 40 Stuart Road, London. SE15 3BE
The Ivy House is a special pub. Formerly known as the Newlands Tavern, it is London’s first cooperatively owned pub. In April 2012, the pub was closed and sold to a developer. A team of community developers prevented the pub's destruction, raised a million pounds to buy the freehold, and the grade 11 listed pub remains to this day. This is a piece of pub history, and we love the Ivy House for that.
Where: Pelton Arms, 23-25 Pelton Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 9PQ
The Pelton Arms certainly has legendary status in the Greenwich area. Along with it’s selection of real ales, it’s got a sunday roast that’ll leave you full until Christmas. The thing we love about the Pelton Arms is it’s great live music scene and weekly summer film nights. You haven’t experienced the great Greenwich Pub Scene if you haven’t been to the Pelton Arms.
Where: 90 Crystal Palace Road, East Dulwich, London SE22, 9EY
No list of pubs in the Greenwich/Dulwich would be complete without mentioning the Actress. Only a stone’s throw from our East Dulwich branch, The Actress is where we get the creative juices flowing with our incredibly handsome and talented digital marketing team (who've had no input in the writing of this list whatsoever, we promise)...The food is superb, the service is always done with a smile and the location is, well, second-to-none.
The Rosendale
Where: 65 Rosendale Road, West Dulwich, London SE21 8EZ
Originally a Victorian coaching inn, this historic pub sits in the heart of West Dulwich. With it’s climbing frame, table football and table tennis facilities, The Rosendale provides the perfect family afternoon. The food is sublime, the ale selection wide and varied, and the friendly staff get a big Meet Bernard thumbs up.
The same principle that applies to any local store applies to pubs: use it or lose it. We have dearly missed our old watering holes over lockdown, and we couldn’t be more excited to see them open back up. They're the perfect place to reconnect with old friends, set the world to rights, and, of course, show off any new garments you may or may not have purchased over lockdown.
What do you think, did we miss any? Where would you recommend? Wherever your favourite haunt is, we thoroughly look forward to seeing your friendly faces in the pub garden soon. (Maybe in some of our latest threads?)
Love,
Team MB