Best South-East London Bars

It’s hard to beat the riverside location of this historic Greenwich boozer (dating from 1837). At high tide, take a seat in a bay window projecting over the Thames – ideally with a pint from the choice of guest ales – & you’ll feel like you’re practically in the water. The atmospheric bar, with its dark-green walls & oil paintings of naval battles, seems to have changed little since Charles Dickens & William Gladstone drank here. By contrast, the large Collingwood Restaurant (fish is a forte) feels rather corporate, packing in tourists & displaying special offers on wine. All this history comes at a price; whitebait with paprika mayonnaise, the house special, costs £7 & you’ll pay upwards of £15 for mains, including baked haddock & Welsh rarebit, or spiced leg of lamb.

With around 60 beers to choose from, the stylish café-bar at the historic Old Brewery is an ale-lover’s paradise. Owner the Meantime Brewing Company supplies draught lagers, stouts, IPAs & porters – some produced at the brewery next door – but you’ll also find bottled beers from afar. The choice is helpfully listed by style, so you can decide between hoppy ales, fruit beers, Trappist brews & sour lambic beers from Belgium, among others. The double-height, brick-lined interior contains a scattering of tables; on fine days, the popular courtyard garden outside is a good bet. The short bar menu has been designed with beer matching in mind, so try some fish & chips with a crisp Meantime Helles lager.

This imposing, scruffy boozer opposite New Cross station scores top marks for effortless cool. The Amersham Arms houses a random assortment of antique radios, binoculars, kitsch crafts & old radios. It appeals to a motley crowd of Goldsmiths students, young artists, & media professionals priced out of more salubrious areas. Proper ales & draught lagers compete with £6 cocktails at the bar; order two of the same & pay only £1.50 extra (Mon-Fri 5-10pm & all day Sunday). Cheap bar food includes burgers, sandwiches, Saturday breakfasts & Sunday roasts. The large back room & upstairs gallery play host to regular DJs, monthly ska nights, film screenings & exhibitions. Every month there’s a jumble sale of vintage clothing & bric-a-brac, accompanied by DJs, live bands, tea, cake &, of course, booze.