Drink 5/5 Decor 5/5 Food 4/5 Price 3/5 Atmosphere 4/5 Staff 3/5

SLOGAN T-shirts are traditionally sold alongside food outlets in the USA. I got crabs at Big Joe's Bethesda Crabshack', Not only the food sparkles at the Silver Diner' and other gems are seen emblazoned across the chests of Americans.

If the tradition extended to British pubs, the T-shirt for the White Hart would be PubSpy lost his virginity in the White Hart'.

Obviously not in the traditional sense but in the fish finger sandwich sense. This was a whole new experience for me.

Having got off the bus in Crystal Palace, I assumed I was in the warm, rosy glow of Shopperland, but in fact I had ventured into the dark, uncharted waters of Upper Norwood. I'm glad I did, not least because the normally tyrannical bosses at Shopper Towers still agreed to reimburse my quaffing and noshing despite my geographical gaffe.

Anyway, back to the fish finger sandwiches. Something tells me they are very different from those slapped between stale bread in student digs across the land. I had to choose between focaccia and ciabatta, and then with or without rosemary.

This stylish way of taking a bog-standard sandwich up to the next level epitomises the way the pub works.

I counted 17 beers on tap, each colourfully marked out with alphabet fridge magnets on a wall-mounted menu. I could have sat and drunk all night.

As it was I sampled a perfectly chilled Kirin and a fruitily refreshing Marstons Old Empire served in a good old traditional beer mug with a handle.

The pub seems to pride itself on having traditional touches in a modern environment.

There were leather sofas for slouching on, candles on each table and two lucky punters got to swing in hanging cane furniture.

All in all the White Hart is a refreshing change from the traditional pub experience.