It may sound a bit pointless on January 1 to warn everyone against going to The Pilot, Greenwich on New Year's Eve. After all, we've just had New Year's Eve and the next one isn't due for 364 days. Even so, it's worth considering our experience at The Pilot on the night of December 31, 2022. They could not have been more curmudgeonly and unwelcoming, waiting to hasten us on our way, with the servers failing even to wish us a Happy New Year. The place was practically empty, the food indifferent and the wait staff sulky. The two young women who looked in on us had faces like thunder, so much so we felt like apologising for turning up to have dinner. They couldn't wait to get rid of us and we left at 11, knowing it was better to be somewhere they actually wanted guests. The pub management should look into why their staff's morale is so bad they vent their temper on diners. read more

As far as I can tell (and confirmed by my friend who works in North Greenwich) this is the only genuine pub on the penninsula. It is positioned at the end of a lone terrace of Victorian cottages - surrounded by a never ending development of high rise blocks. The Pilot attracts a captive audience of office workers and labourers from the surrounding sites. Mind you, it could hold its own even compared to more competitively located pubs. They have an impressive choice of beers, and not just white wine for the ladies (sorry, couldn't resist). The pub has been done up carefully to appeal to diners without losing the feel of a real pub. The beer garden is nonedescript in its design, and the sight of half finished appartment blocks is just depressing, but it is still lovely to be able to sit outside on a summer's evening. The food menu is somewhat predictable and we almost ordered fish and chips when the waitress read us the list of daily specials. The duck breast served with sweet potato gnocchi was impossible to resist, and we were not disappointed. I later saw the description on a board by the bar, and apparently the stringy bits in the sauce were meant to be chicoree - not quite up to restaurant standard, but overcooked sauce is forgivable in a pub (the duck was cooked perfectly and still pink inside). It's just that little bit too far to be the obvious choice for O2 visitors, but well worth the effort. read more

The Pilot - The beer garden with view of new developments - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

See all

The Pilot Inn might well be in tumbleweed town but it has so much character that it hurts... I sighed in delight as I i pushed open the door to see a fireplace, wallpaper lots of paintings of ships and all sorts of English pub stuff that make it authentic..Yep there was even an old man pub punter (and lets face what good ol'english pub can say they are the real deal without one of those).. So i my haze of delight I ordered the bangers and mash and was not disappointed. I am not a beer swill-er myself but for those of you that are I did notice a nice London Pride sign (apparently that's the stuff to drink if you are being an Englishman - or just like good beer). For those that go in summer I spied a delightful beer garden with tables and chairs on the grass (add something i think - rather than having it all paved).. ahh and it looks like you can stay here too. So come forth, be not afraid of tumbleweed..drink your London Pride and sleep over. Actually it is superbly located for the O2 - so if you are travelling out i reckon this could be a winner to stay, drink and dine at. read more

I have visited the Pilot Inn on and off for about 15 years, first visiting before the whole Greenwich Peninsula redevelopment started. It was then (mid-1990s) a somewhat isolated pub, but still full of character - it retains some of that character today, but is now much less isolated and a lot busier than it used to be. It is the nearest pub to the Greenwich Millennium Village, about a 10-minute walk from the O2, and about two minutes from the Thames Path. This makes it a handy watering hole if you are strolling the stretch from Greenwich round to, say, the Thames Barrier. Food is standard pub fare, freshly cooked/micro-waved to order, and my kids find the choice perfectly acceptable. Beers are pretty standard London pub selections (London Pride, etc). There is a beer garden out the back (south-facing, so nice on a sunny afternoon - but with plenty of shade if you don't want to get burnt), and some benches and tables at the front. There is also some car-parking - handy, as most of the roads nearby are yellow-lined - and also some bike parking - indeed, the Pilot is also a handy stop/destination if you are cycling along the Thames Path. read more

A decent Fullers pub, in a strange part of London..with little else in the very near proximity..but then with the overwhelming overflashy O2 not too far away either. Horrible area..where this is easily your best option for beers! Pub is 206 years old too....unlike every other building nearby! Unfortunately the family friendly aspect of the pub was highlighted in all the wrong ways as a tiny child (under 2ft and wearing a dummy for chrissakes) went through the bins for crisps and poured water off the balcony upstairs. I blame the...you fill in the blank. Does accommodation read more

Lovely pub, good food, good space - the garden at the back is ace. Good beer on the tab. Staff could be loopy and very confusing sometimes, wrong change/wrong order for example. The garden is always busy in summer but it also has lots of space indoors. One hassle could be accessibility because it's not near a bus stop or tube station (North Greenwich) so you'll have to walk for a while to reach it. read more

One of my favourite places in London - a little piece of history amongst the constantly changing Greenwich Peninsular - great for a pre show drink at the o2 - fresh fish served every Wednesday and a fantastic tranquil beer garden out back. Love it read more

I reserved space for my 22-person party here (in the Terrace room) on a Wednesday afternoon. I communicated mostly with Aline, who was remarkably patient as I changed my mind repeatedly and made her wait on responses for fairly long stretches of time. The price per person was reasonable for the menu I selected and the Terrace was a really lovely space. We had a buffet and all the food was GREAT!! The attendees kept commenting on the good food and how the staff was nice and responsive. I definitely recommend the Pilot's pub, whether for an organized event or for a random meal and pint. Thanks for a great opening dinner, Pilot team!! read more

Not your normal pub food, nice cozy little restaurant. Staff was very welcoming and helpful. Great ambiance and food!

I have been coming to the pilot for a while now as I am a local business man in the area. The barman refused to serve me food at the bar as i was told I must accept the waitress service ( which is a 12% charge). I have now been waiting over half an hour for a waitress to take my order, the only waitress in the vicinity is currently folding napkins! I can assure any person who's coming here that I will not be coming back due to the incompetent staff and horrendous service!! Not to mention £9.50 for a sandwich and chips.... The owners are living in a dream world!!!! read more

It's our local but we've only been twice. Staff are unfriendly and spend more time socialising with each other than making sure customers are served. They made a mistake in accepting an offer they had emailed me and tried to charge me 7£ for a drink they'd said would be free. Refused to have the manager come over, even after saying only they could sort the problem. Have never been back since - too bad because it's a cute pub. read more

Excellent location, good choice of beer and friendly staff, lacking in food options ..... Overall not a disappointing place to be.

A quaint pub were no pubs are present. So we got out of our tardia and stepped into a friendly place for an qle, and a rather nice beer garden. Only problem, not much about. But if ur walking by, far better than a franchise bar surely. read more

Wow I can't believe I had to add this fantastic little pub to Qype I was sure it would've been here already. OK so why does this pub deserve the four stars I've given it. Well first off this pub was one of the best kept little secrets in Greenwich and often frequented by many a local and people from all over London until it got mercilessly chopped off the map practically by the development of the O2 dome. But the little Pilot managed to fight off the big developers and still stays open to this day. The pub goes back many many years and has a seafaring theme, being that it is right on top of the river. The interior of the pub is very spacious with nicely placed tables and comfy chairs. The publicans are friendly and accomodating, offering fine beers, ales and spirits at reasonable prices, the atmosphere is very nice and there's never been any trouble in all the times I've been there. It is right off the beaten track but you can park there although the road is tiny so there's limited space. The trip is well worth it though, there's a cozy nook area to the left of the bar with tv showing music or sports, plenty of games machines and a really wonderful atmosphere amoungst the people who visit for a drink. Also the pub does a great line of food and many people chose to come here for dinner and a romantic night out. The video for Parklife by Blur was filmed in this road right next to the pub. I whole heartedly recommend a night at the Pilot read more

The Pilot - Pubs Near Me - London, XGL

See all

I live in Greenwich and this is one of my favourite pubs. It is one of the oldest in the area and has lots of character. Quite a large pub with a great beer garden for summer. I would recommend their pub nights every Tuesday and their fish of the day or extensive collection of cheeses are worth trying. They also have a good range of interesting beers and ales that includes local ones to the area. They even have a boutique hotel upstairs if you over imbibe, although I haven't stayed the night yet. read more

Lovely old pub great food and well kept ales, staff as said before are a bit loopy but very efficient, and up for a laugh. Reccomended read more

Great little pub for a summer afternoon pint, nice beer garden and they serve Stella. What more do want.

This is our local in Greenwich and we love it! Great outdoor roof terrace; proper little sun trap! And beer garden at the back. Quite a nice selection of food. Not massively keen on the pork scratchings; likely to break your teeth! If you're eating on the weekends I'd advise booking, especially if the weather is nice :) read more

The food is pretty bad, even a simple burger is beypnd the skills of the kitchen. However, it is a nice place to sit, particularly if you're sitting outside in the summer. So a no for food, but a yes for drinks. read more

This is (I think, being a tourist rather than a native) is the first pub that hoves into view after a ride on the Emirates sky thing, and all the more welcome for that. It has clearly been left high and dry by the surrounding development, and must have been a useful drinker before the docks were flattened. It has a very cool and shady garden on a hot day (30 degrees!) does a great pint of Pride. The walk into Greenwich afterwards was a killer. Get a bus.. read more

We like this pub. It's old fashioned traditional type watering hole well off the beaten track. The real ales are superb, worth a visit or two or three or more...... read more

We just had our Christmas lunch here, even though this is one of our favourite local pubs we will not be spending Christmas here again. They made a complete shambles of our booking, we were told we had to pay the whole price by the 25th of November, we came in on the 24th to pay and they took £20 from us, we sent an e-mail to confirm this the next day and whilst our table was held we came back the following week to complete the payment. On the day of the meal the waiter opened the bottle of Prosecco and because of the way he was holding it it hit my wife in the side of her head, no-one was seriously hurt and we proceeded with our meal. When the bill came it was very poorly printed, however, I could see there was an error on it as they were trying to charge us an additional £20 for the meal. I pointed out this was wrong as we had already paid the full value, it took us producing the e-mail communication from November to confirm we paid the full amount in 2 separate payments before they would remove that cost from the bill. Due to the poor printing of the bill I was surprised to learn after we had paid that despite my wife being hit in the side of the head by a cork no service charge or drinks were deducted from the bill, overall very poor service. read more

lovely little pub - bear in mind it has recently been refurbished though, so could change!!