UNCLE TOM'S CABIN I…read morehave long since come to the conclusion that in general terms, the only decent pubs in the UK are to be found either in major cities, ports, traditional market towns or indeed just about anywhere in the country that is not 'suburban'. In that respect, we are lucky living where we do. While the pubs in our town are a nondescript bunch, a swift 10-15 mins drive will see you out in the country, where acceptable hostelries commence as close as about 4 miles away. Thus it was that a recommendation led us to Cookham Dean many years ago when considering a local upon which to bestow our favour. Cookham is a very sizable area, consisting of Cookham Village by the river, Cookham Rise, which provides the railway station and then Cookham Dean which at a higher elevation in several senses is the 'jewel in the crown of the Cookhams'. Indeed, the real estate prices and clear demographic profile of the nearby residents suggest anything but Life among the lowly, which was the alternative title of Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous novel. In fact in 2011, the Daily Telegraph deemed Cookham to be Britain's second-richest village (before you Google it, number one was East Horsley in Surrey). In the old days the then landlord of UTC (may he and his lovely lady rest in peace) was a quirky and bristling retired major who seemed to favour Basil Fawlty as a role model. At that time, the pub served the locals as an admirable alternative to either going home or staying at home and was very much like a private gentleman's club. Indeed, woe betide the errant unknown passer-by who entered, only to then suffer the kind of disdain meted out to an 'other ranker' who had shown the temerity of venturing into the officer's mess without having been summoned (despite the fact that either war had unexpectedly broken out, or the colonel had just exploded messily on the parade ground). But all things must pass and when aforementioned couple retired, the establishment saw various landlords (some of whom were actually quite OK), but none of whom were quite in the same league as 'Mr & Mrs Major' in terms of being such a unique institution. After a few years, we refrained from attending for quite a few years until just recently, when curiosity got the better of me and I set out to become reacquainted with the cozy bar and pleasant shaded garden. The current landlord/lady have been there for three years and certainly seem to have made some positive changes. For instance, a luncheon menu (not just sandwiches) and evening menu Photo link: http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd76/Textklick/Qype%20pix/2012-05-05142736.jpg Photo link: http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd76/Textklick/Qype%20pix/2012-05-05144659.jpg and they have tided the place up, while keeping the charming traditional aspects such as tongue and groove walls: Photo link: http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd76/Textklick/Qype%20pix/2012-05-05144422.jpg and a much more gleaming bar than way back when. Photo link: http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd76/Textklick/Qype%20pix/2012-05-05145321.jpg The Sunday lunches are also extremely fragrant (I have not eaten one yet merely drooled) and the pub grub is highly spoken of on other review sites. Indeed a couple of astute observers note that the locals seem to make a point of eating there which when you think about it certainly does not apply in the case of everyone's local boozer. Update: August 2012: Finally got round to lunch there on a gorgeous summer's day. Freshly grilled sardines with salad. So much the better as not really traditional pub fare and beautifully done! I'll be back.

This is a locals pub in cookham Dean. It used to serve much better food - the food is average now -…read morenormal Sunday roasts and midweek fish & chips. There are nicer country pubs in the area - such as the Jolly Farmer which is not far at all

Wow, the Hermits, how many nights I have spent in this place I do not know. I've lived in…read moreCamberwell for four years and this is the place we always come back to. It's a winner with everyone. I think because it has charm. It's a proper old fashioned London boozer; old photos on the walls, a selection of ales, wooden floors, bar and furniture, frosted windows â" all that malarkey and a completely unpretentious feel. Everyone likes it, which is evident from the mixed bag of people you get inside which only adds to its appeal. Unlike some of my friends who cannot fault the place, my problem is the lighting; I think it's too bright and wish they'd just unscrew a few of the bar lights to make it more inviting and true to its namesake. I am also disappointed by the prices which seem to be rising slowly but surely. This is not a cheap option despite its looks. Summer nights are best the Hermits when the punters spill out onto the pavements, but equally a winter evening is great, curled up inside with one of the many warm beverages on offer - a hot toddy or mulled wine is always best in an old-fashioned pub. Word of warning: If you order a Brothers cider, there is a festival and normal version and the festival one is about 4% stronger!

Despite lots of my friends waxing lyrical about the Hermits, I've always been put off from going in…read moreby the fact you can't see in through the windows and its general air of This is our pub, please go away. That said, come the summer it sells slushy cider a half-pint of Westons with enough ice shavings in it to turn it into a boozey Slush Puppie. I'd meant to try this for ages, and it was absolutely delicious. I'm sure I've had Westons before, but for some reason this one tasted almost exactly like balsamic vinegar (which I love, but was slightly unexpected). It's a nice, airy pub with plenty of big cosy tables and places to squash into, but if I were going out, I'd still make a beeline to somewhere like the Stormbird or the Tiger first.

This is a large pub-style bar and eaterie at the far end of Alexandra Palace…read more It has a high ceiling and central bar areas, with plenty of seating and tall windows. It is isn't the most atmospheric of places, but on a nice day the substantial outside area (somehow 'beer garden' doesn't quite fit the vast terrace) has spectacular views over north London towards the City and Docklands. This area is also used for outside events on a regular basis. The pub itself is pretty unremarkable, though the staff are friendly and the food is OK - nothing to shout about, slightly upmarket pub fare, but it's not trying to be a gastropub. It serves a small selection of real ales.

A genuine Irish pub with a genuine Irish charm!…read more Forget your Irish theme pubs and chains, if you are looking for a good Irish pub this is the real deal. You will get a warm Irish welcome from the moment you walk in. We were there to watch a match. The pub is a great venue for sports, having loads of screens around the bar so you will always be able to see whereever you are and a back room with a giant screen. In particular if you are looking to watch Irish sport, GAA or Munster rugby this is the place to go - for Munster fans this is the new South London base of the Munster Supporters Club. After the match was over we stayed on to enjoy the craic. The pub has a great beer garden and best of all the beer is cheap - two pints for less than £7, an absolute bargain!!! Later in the night there was a fantastic band who had us all up dancing. There was also a man selling oysters and guinness, of which we indulged more than we should have. Overall we had a fantastic night and I can't wait to go back again - highly recommended!

If you're looking for some cool swanky hipster drinking hole you won't find it here this is a…read moreproper drinkers pub with reasonable prices a great range of Spirits and a recently friendly bunch of people in a nice part of Gipsy Hill and if you fancy a drink around this area you could do no better than come here it's also been next to the station so swaggering home after a skinful won't be a problem

A great pub for a summer drink! The staff are very friendly, striking up a conversation the moment…read moreyou walk through the door. The drinks are reasonably priced and they do a mean roast of Sunday's. Out back they have a fantastic beer garden with plenty of seating. You can even reserve an area for parties/get togethers. A classic - I recommend!

This place was cool but since we took a 35 minute taxi ride to come here after my friend read…read more'amazing reviews' about the Bangers and Mash I would say its absolutely not worth the ride. It might be cool if it were a 10 minute walk but definitely not worth the ride. All considering I had a Ginger cider (decent) and Fish and Chips (decent). We also shared the Sticky Toffee Pudding (dry and not all decent). The service was meh/ok. Sorry I wasted the taxi ride and pounds. Nothing to write home about. Would not come back.

I've been in a bit of a funk recently, and meeting a friend here seemed like it might be just the…read morething I needed. I hadn't seen my buddy in years and it was hysterical for me to realise that living in India for an extended period of time has given him an Indian twinge to his originally German accent.... Anyways I digress! I ended up ordering the beetroot ravioli upstairs - super cute and fresh - but a tiny portion. The prices are a little steep so I ended up not eating any more, but if I'm ever flush I will deffo return. The decor is very English tea-room upstairs which I much prefer to the fusty old-man pub theme downstairs. (Not to be mean. It's just not my cup of tea/beer ;) But major props for being a veggie pub! And will totes recco!

Nice little pub on the road to Brixton, with a small…read moreexternal area by the road (even poetic licence wouldn't allow me to call it a garden!) Just a shame it fills up so much in good weather or for major sport. Serves 3 or 4 standard real ales. Can't recall exactly what I supped, but it was alright.

This place has come under new management and from the sounds of things, is VERY different from what…read moreit used to be! For a start there are no regular reggae nights, instead they provide a friendly, local service in beautiful surroundings. To me, the decor has a 'gentlemans hunters lodge' feel to it in some parts. Blue walls, leather chairs and a woodburning stove. As I said it has been taken over, and recently refurbished, so they are 'finding their feet', so to speak. They participate in a lot of local events, which is one of the things that makes South East London so great. One of the coolest things about this place is the staff.They know their stuff. Compared to a lot of the pubs in Forest Hill, this one has a lot going for it and I think is gonna be great. The beer garden is wrapped around the back of the pub, and their are seats out the front too, which I imagine would be a suntrap on a Summer afternoon. It feels quite child friendly, but dont quote me! Well worth a visit.

Bit of a disappointment, especially considering how good the pub looks from the outside. I expected…read morebetter, even from a chain pub (Shepheard Neame). Just a couple of beers and the football updates on such a big screen (and high enough volume) so as to be impossible to ignore. Managed to find an odd chilly nook at the back to get away from the not sexist (to the best of my knowledge) Jeff Stelling. Also back there was a small restauranty bit, looking more like a breakfast room at a hotel out of season. Felt like a bit of a wasted opportunity to me.

This is a great place for a drink if you want to do a bar crawl in Clapham. It's very close to the…read moretube, it's at the start of Clapham's bar strip and it's very spacious inside and out. It's not the sort of place you'd stay in all night as it's not as lively as some of the other bars in the street and the atmosphere is lacking something that I can't quite put my finger on. They offer food and there are some healthy choices on the menu but my Halloumi salad was utterly tasteless. The cous cous had no flavour at all - just a mushy mess. Eggs Benedict came with something that had the consistency of hollandaise but not the flavour. What redeems this place is that it's 2 for 1 on Thursday nights,the service is swift and it's in a great location. I'd drink in there again but I wouldn't touch their food any more.

Nothing particularly wrong with The Clapham North IMHO, been here a few times for a swift pint…read more And usually that's what it is, very swift. I tend to get wound up by the stange mix of people in here. Ok, so the North Clapham area tends to be where those fresh out of the graduation robes reside, that's fine. It tends to be where people get off the tube when people want to go for that 'Clapham Night Out! Yeah!'. That's fine too. But for me, the combination starts to grate. Screechy 21 year olds pouting about their love life and lads from the home counties looking for a stare contest! Whaaaa? Stop it! Be quiet! There are MUCH better places literally round the corner which are more my cup of tea! See Landor and Falcon, for example.