When I saw the Blythe Hill Tavern was the only entry under the Catford section of CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide 2004, I had to give it a try.
Sitting on the corner of Stanstead Road and Blythe Hill Lane, the Tavern serves only Fullers London Pride and Courage Best bitter on tap but a large selection of bottled ales and stouts makes up for the shortfall.
This is an Irish pub but not of the themed, O’So-authentic variety. In fact, nothing screams out I’m Irish. It doesn’t need to, it just is. It is a place where you are served by an Irish barman, the walls are covered with pictures of race horses and golf memorabilia and you can come to see the Gaelic Football World Cup.
I opted for a pint of Best (£1.95) and found myself a nice corner of the second room to take in the world. A television in one corner silently played Sky News while the other, with the sound on, played a racing channel.
Along with the pictures of race horses and jockeys, a number of unusual knick-knacks, such as old fruit machines and bizarre-looking beer dispensers, are arranged above doors and on the walls.
Engraved, dark wooden, bench-like seats line the walls, which are pretty but could do with recovering, as the seats and stools clearly have been.
There is a quiet room with a separate bar for those who don’t like the constant blare of a television, a large garden filled with tables and a small car park just off the road.
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