The Duke of Greenwich opening day.

The Duke of Greenwich opening day.

by | Jul 13, 2023 | Business, Eating Out, Pub

Duke of Greenwich opening day.

On a lovely sunny evening on Wednesday 12th July we went t the opening of the new pub called The Duke of Greenwich (formerly The Vanbrugh).

I was mistaken in my last blog when I said that I thought the pub had been gutted and was completely different inside. Inside the layout is still the same.

The selection of craft and real ale beers on sale is most impressive although the barman did seem to go into a state of mind confusion when the wife asked for a glass of Pinot Grigio. She settled for a Sauvignon Blanc, which he could handle. I being a CAMRA member wanted to try out the real ales on offer.

Most of the real ales on offer were from the Brew By Numbers brewery which brews excellent beers just down the road by the river.

My wife also tried a Portuguese wine called ‘Chin Chin’ which she said was very nice.

The main food on offer that day was supplied by the large BBQ stage set up in the gardens although I am sure other food was being prepared in the restaurant part but was largely being ignored in favour of the BBQ.

I will eventually get around to writing a review about this place, but it will not be based on the opening day as that would be unfair. Most pubs are different in vibe and ambience once the celebrations are over and a more normal way of life sets in.

Going forward even if they kept the pub as it was on the opening day, I would be OK with that as we enjoyed ourselves. I will also try out their food to see what sort of selection they have but I strongly suspect that they will keep it as a basic pub grub establishment, which is fine as long as the food quality remains good.

The only reason the Vanbrugh closed was the licensee retired and there was no one available to take up the reigns. Let’s hope the Duke of Greenwich is a success. I for one will be popping in occasionally.

The Vanbrugh reopens

The Vanbrugh reopens

by | Jun 29, 2023 | Business, Pub

The Vanbrugh reopens soon

Pub BarThe much missed pub, The Vanbrugh which closed on the 11th March 2022 is set to finally reopen within a matter of weeks according to the local blog www.fromthemurkydepths.co.uk and I for one will love to try it out under new management.

From a notice attached to the pub door the new owners are an independent company made up of 5 friends who work in the hospitality sector and already run a pub called The Jolly Gardeners in Vauxhall.

I used to love sitting out in the garden area in this pub in the summertime, so reopening in July hopefully we will get to enjoy the garden area again.

At one time The Vanbrugh was noted locally for its excellent cuisine and restaurant area, but by the time the pub closed the food standard seemed to go from high end cuisine to fairly bog-standard pub grub, but the quality of the food remained excellent, if not a bit wanting in selection on the high-end side.

Let’s hope the new owners re-establish a newly invigorated standard and get the restaurant back to how it once was.

I for one am glad some of our local pubs like The Vanbrugh and the Star and Garter, now called the Star of Greenwich Community Pub which we thought were gone for good are making a comeback.

Update:

When the old Vanbrugh pub reopens on Wednesday, July 12th it will not be called the Vanbrugh, but will now be called the Duke of Greenwich and gathering by the amount of building material and waste stored outside the place has been gutted and will have a completely new look.

The Vanbrugh reopens

Win some, lose some.

by | Mar 5, 2023 | Pub

Win some, lose some.

Over the last few years, we have lost at least three pubs namely, The Vanbrugh, The White Swan and the Star and Garter and now we are about to gain two new ones. When I say we gain two new ones I actually mean we gain one new one and get back one that lost its licence in 2020 due to a particularly violent stabbing incident.

The formerly named pub the Star and Garter is set to reopen soon as the Star of Greenwich and run as a community-based pub rather than a commercial business enterprise and is at the moment trying to raise money in this endeavour by crowdfunding.

Their aim is to run the pub as a community pub run by east Greenwich people for east Greenwich people.

If you want to contribute to the crowdfunding then visit their website: The Star of Greenwich – Home

The other new pub is the new Wetherspoons pub at the O2 called the Stargazer which is planned to open on 21st March 2023.

The Wetherspoon business model has a bit of a bad reputation as well as the type of clientele that it attracts, which unfortunately includes me. I love the cheap prices (who doesn’t) as well as the large selection of beers and ales on offer.

Unfortunately, it can be noted that when a Wetherspoons opens near a well-established local the local struggles to compete against a giant like Wetherspoons and many go under.

There are a number of pubs in the O2 already that are charging a fairly high price for a pint of beer compared to Wetherspoons. The Observatory, a Nicholson’s pub, The Slug and Lettuce O2, an All Bar One and the O2 Blue Room. I’m sure they cannot be happy with their new neighbour.

Pub Bar
Enderby House

Enderby House

by | Jun 2, 2021 | Eating Out, Pub, Restaurant, Reviews

Enderby House

It’s great to be able to go into a restaurant to sit down and drink again, even if the Covid restrictions still limit group numbers to 6 people, and you have to book in advance and are usually limited to one and a half hours, but normality is slowly being restored, despite the Indian variant possibly delaying total freedom even further.
Taking full advantage of the sunshine this Bank holiday Monday we booked a table at the fairly new Enderby House pub along the river by the Greenwich peninsular.
Check out my review of the Enderby House on the pub review section.

 

The Vanbrugh reopens

Lockdown Easing

by | May 16, 2021 | Lockdown, Pub

Pub BarI do not know about you but personally I’m still finding this easing of lockdown still a bit hard to take.

I have tried a few times to sit down outside of a pub and have a drink as according to Boris Johnson we are all allowed to do now.
The trouble is its in the middle of May and to be frank the weather is absolutely appalling almost every day that I am not working and sitting in the pouring rain drinking a beer that is slowly being diluted with rainwater is not my idea of fun. On a lovely sunny day, it would be a different kettle of fish.

Also have you tried booking a table with a restricted number of tables outside at the few places that actually have an outside area or beer garden, to have any chance you have to book at least four to five days in advance, and even then, you are restricted to one and a half hours in which to order your beer drink up and leave. When I am in a large crowd of six or more, we could be there for at least three hours.

Tomorrow is May 17th and we should all be allowed back inside the pubs, but even this comes with problems. Still the obligatory table service must be adhered to, whereby you either give your order to a waiter or waitress and they bring your order to the table, or you order and pay with an app.

Either way an extra 12.5% is added to the bill to pay for the table service. Now I do not have a problem with this in the current climate as the pubs are being forced to work this way and so Someone has to pay for the waitering staff. This is a cost that the pubs can not afford to absorb as they have lost so much trade over the last year, that many are struggling to stay afloat at the moment, and I dare say that many will go under in the next month or two.

12.5% may not sound much but when you are already paying the extortionate London prices, the 12.5% can certainly be felt in the pocket on a good night out.

The Vanbrugh reopens

Green Goddess pop-up pub at Charlton House.

by | Apr 1, 2021 | Business, Pub

Pub Bar

If you want to have a beer outside when we are allowed on the 12th April, but cannot find a local that is either fully booked, or only has a tiny garden why not book up a drink up with a few friends at Charlton House gardens.
The pop-up Green Goddess pub is visiting Charlton House for a week commencing on the 12th April. The Green Goddess pop up pub is part of the Common Rioter brewery which is based in Plumstead. The opening times are Monday to Sunday 14:00 till 20:00 with last drinks ordered at 19:30 and last table bookings at 19:00.
The opening times may be a bit inconvenient if you want an evening drink but it is better than nothing at the moment. (see events calendar for more details}
They are also planning to open (subject to planning permission) a Beer Café- Nano Brewery Community Hub in the recently closed Barclays bank site opposite the Royal Standard pub at Blackheath Standard.