The Vanbrugh

The Vanbrugh

by | May 2, 2026 | Business, Community, Eating Out, Pub, Uncategorized

You can’t keep a good pub down. I only found out via social media that the Vanbrugh pub has risen from the demise of the Duke of Greenwich, which was forced to close due to landlord greed.


I noticed on Instagram that the Vanbrugh was having its opening night on the 1st May, so after finishing my other prior drink-ups planned for that evening, I rushed over to the Vanbrugh, and the place was heaving.
There was a DJ in the corner keeping the atmosphere going; the pub garden was very busy on a nice, sunny evening, and there was an outdoor bar as well.


The general layout of the pub has not changed much, but the toilet facilities have changed drastically. Gone are the Ladies and Gents to be replaced by three unisex toilets with the entrance located by the kitchen and two disabled unisex toilets, one in the room leading to the pub garden and another in the garden.
Unfortunately, all the real ales and craft beers are gone, replaced by generic pub selections.
The food selection has also changed, replaced by what I can only describe as a very middle-class pub menu. Not posh but not your usual pub grub either.


One thing that they have right over the Duke of Greenwich is the pub’s opening times. The Duke of Greenwich did not open on Mondays or Tuesdays and only stayed open for half a day on Sundays. They seemed to treat their opening hours as if they were at a brewery taproom rather than a pub. The new Vanbrugh has decent standard opening hours, though they close at 9 pm on a Sunday, which is still a bit early.
I’m now going to have to remove the Duke of Greenwich review, wait a while and do another review. It’s never fair to give a review on any establishment’s opening night, as it never gives a true reflection of how the place is doing.

The Last Drop Inn

by | Feb 1, 2026 | Uncategorized

 

The Last Drop Inn

It looks like Eltham will be getting another micropub soon, after a licence was granted for a pub to be called ‘The Last Drop Inn’ to be created in a closed-down care and disability shop at 279 Eltham High Street, at the corner with Elderslie Road.

The Last Drop Inn will be just half a mile from another micropub, the Long Pond in Westmount Road.

There is no indication whether the establishment will specialise in real ale like the nearby Long Pond or Rusty Bucket, or stick to mainly branded beers like the ‘Good Choice up the road at Avery Hill. I do hope they are a real ale pub.

They have a licence to sell beer from 11 am to 11 pm, but probably won’t open these hours to accommodate staff and customer preferences.

I just hope they do not have ridiculously short opening hours like the Long Pond, the Green Goddess, or the now-closed Duke of Greenwich. I’m sure the unbelievably strange opening hours of the Duke of Greenwich contributed in some part to its demise.

 

Southeast Sessions

Southeast Sessions

by | Nov 16, 2025 | Uncategorized

Southeast Sessions.

This was the second month in a row that I have attended the Southeast Sessions at St Richard’s Church, and I will probably be going to quite a few in the future. The Southeast Sessions are acoustic sessions featuring amateur, up-and-coming, and established professional songwriting artists, showcasing and demoing their talent and original songs.

The quality varies, but it’s apparent that they all have talent.

Last month, the Artists were Brooke Law, Lawrence O, Maria Mihalik and Owen Morgan.

Brooke Law’s talent is outstanding, and she already has several albums and awards to her name.

October’s lineup: Owen Morgan, Brooke Law, Laurence O and Maria Mihalik.

 

This month, November, we had the talents of Florence Sommerville, Ben Lawrence, Luke Catley and Owen Morgan.

Florence Sommerville

 

Ben Lawrence

Luke Catley

Owen Morgan

Once again, it was the girl who was the brightest talent with awards to her name in the country music scene.  Both Florence and Ben have recorded singles to their names.

Luke is usually the sound technician at these sessions, but this month he was on stage.  He is currently studying a university course in songwriting as a mature student.

The Sessions are set up and organised by local Charlton man Owen Morgan, who hosts most of the shows.

The first time my wife and I attended one of these sessions, we were sitting there waiting for the show to start when we caught sight, out of the corner of our eye, a gentleman heading towards us wearing a very large crucifix.

My very first thought was Oh no, we are about to be accosted by the vicar who will harass us with God squad speak.

I, being a devout atheist, dreaded these conversations. Still, I needn’t have worried, as it turned out he was Owen Morgan, the organiser, who had just noticed a few new faces and wanted to introduce himself and welcome the new session viewers. It turns out, he’s a very nice bloke.

They have a very rudimentary bar, which is essentially just a hatch into the kitchen, serving a small selection of bottled beers, wines, and soft drinks.  The drinks are not cheap, but then again, the church is always looking for ways to generate a charitable profit.

I would highly recommend these sessions if you’re interested in encouraging new songwriting talent or simply looking for something to do midweek.

The ticketing for this event is somewhat unusual.  They have a ‘pay what you think the show is worth’ policy, with a recommended price of about £13. I personally think £13 is more than reasonable. However, how can you possibly judge if an event is worth the ticket value until you see the actual act? I personally think it is worth the recommended ticket price.

 

 

 

Update: Zaibatsu grand reopening

Update: Zaibatsu grand reopening

by | Oct 21, 2025 | Uncategorized

Zaibatsu Update: Grand reopening.

The 2025 reopening of Zaibatsu has been scheduled for October 30th at 6 pm. I suspect the place has already been fully booked out. I have already said that I will let them settle in before booking a date and getting an updated review of the place. I don’t think we will be disappointed if past experiences of the old Zaibatsu are anything to go by.