Previously The Charles Dickens, this atmospheric backstreet boozer is the most recent offering from the McElhinney family whose four other Southwark watering holes include The Kings Arms. Dickens would doubtless marvel that the interior here – a cod-antique Irish taproom: all bare woods, cough-linctus brown furniture, dusty old curios and a partitioned-off quaint snug – appears little altered since he breathed his last in 1870. In contrast, fashionable London and Dublin craft ales, stouts and porters hold sway behind the bar, along with a fair range of wines, and whiskies (Scots, Irish, American and Japanese). Competitively priced Thai street food is served (in waxed paper boxes) through a hatch that looks straight from a Dickens novel. Stir fries such as beef pad gra prow, curries (a mild chicken gaeng massaman for instance) and noodle dishes (including vegan options) are suitably tasty, and portions won’t leave Oliver Twist begging for more.