DECOR ** (room for a lot of improvement) DRINK *** (lager and alcopops are the tipple of choice) PRICE * (West End prices and nothing to show for it) ATMOSPHERE *** (drink, dance, sing, collapse) STAFF ** (competant but distracted)

DRINKING in Bromley town centre on a Friday night, you would be forgiven for thinking lodgers from the local borstal or half-way house had been let loose and were running riot in the High Street’s smattering of uninspiring chain pubs.

It’s no surprise, therefore, that most of the borough’s gay punters choose to migrate to the West End for an evening of debauchery or chilled out supping without abuse from queer-bashing bigots.

These reprehensible cavemen believe that, despite having faces like something an oyster threw up, homosexual urges are so strong they might be pounced upon at any moment and forced to dance to The Village People with their pants around their ankles.

However, every town should have a decent pub for gays and their friends to enjoy a safe drink in, so it’s a cause for celebration that, after years of closure, Bromley’s only pink boozer The Star and Garter is back in business.

Unlike many gay bars which proudly display the rainbow flag in the window or billowing above the entrance, there’s little indication of The Star’s target market.

Instead, it looks more like a discount butcher’s with garish fluorescent stars in the windows, advertising the latest drinks promotions and weekly events.

They may be proud but the owners obviously prefer not to shout about it.

Nevertheless, the blaring sound system playing the latest cheesy chart hits and green lasers beaming from the bar say otherwise and it’s a pub which is eager to party.

As I found myself wiggling my bottom involuntarily to Rihanna’s latest assault on the charts and the ears, I decided the only way forward was to order a drink.

After waiting for the distracted barmaid to finish sexting her absent lover or Tweeting about Lady Gaga’s egg birth at the Grammys, I ordered an overpriced pint of Heineken (£3.50).

It’s a price tag which seems to have been slapped on many of the drinks on offer here with both a pint of Kronenbourg and a bottle of WKD also selling for £3.50.

It’s a price hike which could be overlooked if this were Soho, but in Bromley it’s a little unforgivable.

Ale drinkers may also feel withdrawal symptoms, with not a drop on tap, but I would have been surprised if there was.

Fortunately, The Star’s generous owners are offering punters a way to claw back the dosh frittered away on drinks by entering their Bromley’s Got Talent contest every Sunday.

With a cash prize of £500, it’s nothing to be sniffed at and deluded contestants can get an idea of how tone deaf they really are by scaring away the competition at the pub’s Wednesday night karaoke.

The shabbily decorated Star and Garter may look like a work in progress, but it’s a welcome addition to the High Street and, with a little more love, could add a little camp sparkle to Bromley’s monotone straight scene.

Become friends with Pub Spy on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ThePubSpy