Aske And Ye Shall Find A Decent Pub

Tom Hedley worships at The Old Haberdasher.

New Cross wasn’t always androgynous pubs and chicken shops. In the seventeenth century the land belonged to the Worshipful Haberdashers’ Company, a wealthy livery company which aided the development of the area for more than 200 years, sustaining its growth as a centre of trade.

This brings us to The Old Haberdasher, a testament to historic New Cross life which nowadays is equally intent on serving traditional residents alongside the kids who’ve come in from the student highway to Goldsmiths College (another worshipful company!).

The interior is what can be described at ‘mature’. Now I know mature doesn’t sound exciting, but we’re talking about heritage here. Pure, unencumbered heritage. It is decked out in timber panels and 1950s first class train carriage couches, sticky mahogany tabletops and bookshelves – even our beloved widescreen TVs have trouble fitting in.

There are small touches to please a younger crowd, such as Singapore Tiger beer on draught (a rare sight in the south east London). Mon – Fri £5 lunch menus keep the venue affordable. My hard-to-please veggie companions were well catered for with vegan ciabattas with portobello mushrooms and roasted peppers, and mixed vegetable curries.

The patio outback caters for the British idea of a summer outing. It’d be nice to see an Aussie-style barbie out here, though. Around Brixton, the combination of food, drink, music and beer garden, seems to go down a treat.

At weekends, Sunday roasts and all day sport showings make this local a tempting choice.

INFO: £5 lunch menu Mon – Fri, 12pm – 4pm, The Old Haberdasher, 44 Lewisham Way, London, SE14 6NP, info@theoldhaberdasher.com 020 8305 6560

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