Gypsy Moth Refurbishment
Some of you may have noticed that the Gypsy Moth pub next to the Cutty Sark is closed and has been since the 6th January 2025.
The pub is undergoing a refurbishment and should be reopening on Thursday the 6th February 2025.
I remeber the last time this pub went through with a refurbishment and suddenly when it reopened the prices had increased substantially. Let’s hope this does not happen this time. It’s a tourist pub already with extotionate beer prices.
Plum Tree Beer Shop update (22 Jan 2025).
I should have updated this earlier but I’ve been a bit busy lately.
The Plum Tree Beer Shop has closed for good, unfortunately, and the owners are moving to Dorset. It would appear that the whole situation got out of hand when they tried to expand the business by installing a deli in the shop, but the deli failed as a business and started draining their finances. Their landlords reluctantly were forced to go through with repossession by their banks, who wanted their mortgage repayments. There may be a bit of good news though. They are looking for a buyer for the beer shop, so maybe, just maybe, the place may be saved at the last minute if someone is interested in purchasing the business.
I never got to review this place. I hope it is saved so I can review it with the new management. From what I’ve read it had quite a loyal customer base.
Another bit of bad pub news is that the Anglesea Arms in nearby Woolwich has also closed its doors for the last time.
New Indian Restaurant.
Whilst once again sitting in the River Ale House, in Woolwich Road I noticed that just across the road as new restaurant and bar had been opened.
It is an Indian restaurant and going from reviews dates it has been opened for a few month now.
The name Jatt and Juliet seems to be named after a successful Bollywood film franchise that at the moment is up to Jatt and Juliet 3.
The ratings are all 5 stars from 57 reviews. This I find suspicious especially when a lot of the reviews are from people with the surnames of Singh, Kaur and Grewal.
I will have to reserve judgement until I do a review of this place.
This place used to be a Turkish restaurant called ‘The Charcoal Meze House’ that also got a constant 5 star rating and I was also suspicious about those ratings too, until I actually went there with the wife and found it to be truly deserving of its constant 5 star rating. The food was excellent and The detail to service from the owners was second to none.
Unfortunately like a lot of businesses the Covid pandemic happened and the business could not survive the lockdowns and other forced business constraints put on them at the time, the restaurant closed and later became a pizzeria restaurant called Amore and Sapore, which also only lasted a few years.
Lets hope this place is a success and lasts longer.
The one that slipped through the net.
Whilst sitting in the River Ale House on Woolwich Road, I was flicking through the London Drinker magazine which is published bimonthly by the Campaign for real ale (CAMRA), when I noticed that the opening of a new micropub in the borough in late 2024, had occurred and I knew nothing about it.
It’s called the Good Choice and is located just within the borough boundary at Avery Hill.
With a draughts drinks selection of Stella, Guinness, Moretti (fake Italian beer), Cruzcampo (fake Spanish beer) and Inch’s cider or Neck Oil IPA. It’s fair to say that unlike many other Micropubs they have not embraced the wonders of real ales. Gathering from photos on their Instagram photos they do fancy cocktails also.
As I said this place slipped my radar since it opened on 27th September 2024, in what used to be a carpet shop, so I hope to do a review of the place sometime soon.
Whether they do real ale or not, the opening of a new pub in the borough is always good news, especially after losing so many pubs lately.
More Greenwich Pub Closures.
Well, here we go again, as soon as you think there is going to be a revival or restoration of pubs in the London borough of Greenwich, expectations come crumbling down, recently we have lost the 300 Bar in Creek Road, and the Star of Greenwich in Greenwich Park Street.
The Star of Greenwich was one pub that I wanted to succeed in as it was a Community pub run by the community for the community but it was unable to get a deal for £50K in rent arrears by their landlords, Greenwich Hospital, which operates independently but is overseen by the Ministry of Defence. I hope this pub can come back in some form that is similar to the Star of Greenwich community mindset.
We also have two pubs planned to open this year but after Antic Pubs again got into financial difficulties, they will not see the light of day. They were the planned Volunteer in Powis Street and the Plumble on Plumstead High Street. Unfortunately, after Antic was saved from administration they had to sell off 10 pubs to the ‘Urban Pubs and Bars group’ the two long-awaited new pubs were quietly side-lined and forgotten about. I don’t know if Antic or Urban Pubs and Bars own the lease to these two properties now.
The good news is that according to the Murky Depths website, there are signs that the Gun Pit in Woolwich may have been resurrected and may in future be opening again, as a hotel rather than another hostel.
Another bit of bad news is the forced closure of the Plum Tree Beer Shop on Plumstead Common Road, which although they class themselves as a beer shop is a micropub by any other definition. Unfortunately, they have had to close due to outstanding issues with their landlord. They say they will give everyone an update next week. Let’s hope this is just a temporary closure and they will be back in business soon.