SPENDING a Friday night in The Buff may not sound like a barrel of laughs, but it was a surprisingly good evening.

Just off a green at Green Street Green, it is nicely located and the landlord has done well to dress up a fairly ugly brick set-up with some giant windows and inviting tables outside.

First impressions can be deceiving, because I had misgivings when I first went in The Buff (Nope, not done with that pun yet).

Looking around, the place had more than a few slightly-older men in ill-fitting shirts, new shoes and too much aftershave and slightly-older women in high heels, hoop earrings and bottles of wine in coolers.

The interior was smart with lots of wood and an ochre (I believe it is called) colour scheme.

There were flowers and displays of wine bottles and I was afraid it was all getting a bit too aspirational.

During Wimbledon, the pub is offering the perfect Pimms or another jug free.

A band played middle of the road soft rock and even got polite applause after a particularly mumbly U2 cover.

A young man who looked liked Daily Mail sidebar regular Pro’ Green – except he wasn’t incredibly annoying - served me a pint of Greene King IPA and my chum a glass of rose (It’s better than a decaf mocha, I suppose, and at least in keeping with the surroundings.)

The price, £6.74, was reasonable and there were plenty of middle-of-the-road drinks to choose from but a rather disappointing selection of ales.

We sat on a sofa that was more for show than comfort and watched a bald man at the bar work his magic on a middle-aged lady in skyscraper heels – he was as smooth as the top of his head. Kudos.

Looking around, the pub was packed and everyone was having a ball – chatting, laughing, dancing.

It was pleasing to see so many people enjoying themselves in The Buff and I certainly didn’t expect to feel as comfortable as I did in The Buff.

The Buff, Pinewood Drive, Orpington BR6 9NL

How The Buff rated:

Decor **** Swish
Drink **** Lots of everything
Price *** Pretty reasonable
Atmosphere ***** Not a sad face in the place
Staff **** Happy and efficient despite the evening rush