Mr Plummy Mummy and I got a rare night out last night courtesy of my Mother in Law who watched the tot for us.
We decided to go for a drink and the plan was to take the bus to Greenwich. Of course, this means changing. The route options from Plumstead Common Road being:
Bus to Woolwich, change to another bus.
Stay on 53 to Deptford and take the DLR to Greenwich (2 mins)
Stay on 53 and walk through the park or down South Street.
In the end, we didn't make it to Greenwich. We did a mini pub crawl assuming 2 pubs counts as a crawl.
The first stop was the White Swan in Charlton. I've been meaning to go here since reading about it on the 853 blog. The barlady was friendly and the locals seemed fine. However, the place was more run down than I expected. However, this is a pub trying hard in modern times where pubs are closing on a daily basis. There is a sandpit in the garden for kids perfect for the Monday morning parents club, there is food and teas/coffees. They put on a lot of different nights to attract customers. We had inadvertently turned up on Quiz Night which wasn't really our thing so made a hasty exit after a half. If this was in Plumstead, I'd probably frequent it regularly but for myself, it is not somewhere I'd take a bus to. Having said that, well done them for all they do and good luck for the future.
The next stop on our Route 53 ride was the Royal Standard. My goodness what a difference. A larger pub well laid out with distinct zones, comfy couches to sit on, a garden and food/teas/coffee. The barman was again very friendly and introduced me to the THIRD. Yes, not a half, not a pint but a third. Fabulous for me as I often buy a half or pint of something then halfway through it's gone flat, or tasteless. The first third I went for was Columb-o ABV 4.0% from the Otley Brewery in Pontypridd which was a very fruity pale ale. It was nice, not at all fizzy and just went down well. The second third was Blond Witch from the Moorhouses brewery which didn't taste of much ... a problem as I could see myself easily drinking pint after pint of this without any effort and would fall down drunk before I knew it. Like the White Swan, the Royal wasn't full. Must be due to the footy, which was on TV in both pubs but luckily with the sound turned down so we could have a conversation without the background swarm of bees buzz of vuvuzelas.
Out of the two we preferred the Royal Standard, it is a great place to go mid-week and only a bus ride away. We might even venture one Sunday for a roast.
Beer in the evening reviews:
White Swan
Blackheath Royal Standard
Facebook pages:
White Swan
Blackheath Royal Standard
2 comments:
After giving up on ever seeing the arrival of the Young's gastropub in Woolwich Arsenal after it was due to open in 2009 (maybe 2008) we were heading down to catch a Clipper and found it open! Very nice too and ticks all the right boxes. Decent selection of beers/wines, pub menu, restaurant, comfy chairs inside, seating outside, high chairs, cakes/coffee, lunch and dinner menu and sunday lunch. Wifey got very excited and immediately txt'ed babysitting circle and we will be going for dinner on Thursday. It's apparently been open for about 2 and a half weeks but am surprised I'd seen no other mention in other blogs or local press. Could this be the end of schlepping off to Greenwich/Blackheath for a night out?
See: http://www.dialarch.com
Hiya JS,
Thanks for the information. The mums around here are indeed very excited as it means we don't have to go to Greenwich/blackheath anymore.
I had emailed the pub for info on baby friendliness but not heard anything so it's great you included that info in the comment.
I hope to get there sometime this week too.
Post a Comment