{"id":732,"date":"2020-01-22T17:57:44","date_gmt":"2020-01-22T17:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=732"},"modified":"2020-01-22T17:58:34","modified_gmt":"2020-01-22T17:58:34","slug":"a-palace-of-variety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2020\/01\/22\/a-palace-of-variety\/","title":{"rendered":"A palace of variety"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Crystal Palace is famous for a long burned down, rather large greenhouse. Or perhaps the two television transmitting towers that take advantage of the area being South London\u2019s answer to Parliament Hill? But to London\u2019s beer drinkers, the area offers a great opportunity for a pub crawl that sits \u2013 topographically at least \u2013 way above other rivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This crawl starts and finishes at Crystal Palace\nstation. It mainly follows the compact Crystal Palace Triangle; an area of\npubs, bars and mostly independent shops at the top of Westow Hill, about a\nten-minute steep walk uphill from the station (though there\u2019s plenty of buses\nwhich can take the strain). There\u2019s a surprising concentration of pubs in the\ntriangle and many more good ones than space allows to mention. So, don\u2019t be\nsurprised if you get lost in this triangle for longer than you anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Westow House is right at the top of Westow Hill, bang at a location that\u2019s perhaps unique in London. It\u2019s where the boundaries of five London boroughs converge at one single point: three inner, Lewisham, Southwark, and Lambeth, and two outer, Croydon and Bromley. On the Lambeth side, and maybe flouncing inner-city chutzpah, Westow House is a large Victorian pub, known both for its quirky d\u00e9cor (an Antic trademark) and its range of real ales. There\u2019s usually something available from Volden, Antic\u2019s house brewery, often Palace Pale, produced specially for the pub. Guests include Thornbridge Jaipur IPA and LocAles from the likes of Brockley brewery. The pub has a knack of appealing to all kinds of customers. On one hand there\u2019s a menu that\u2019s very quinoa burger gastropub but there\u2019s also sport on the TV screens and table football to play yourself plus a library stuffed with quirky paperbacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A new take on handpumps (from Halloween) <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Apparently Second World War bombs obliterated the pub\u2019s\noriginal upper storeys. For the last two years the pub has been shrouded in\nscaffolding. At the end of 2019 Antic revealed the results of a restoration,\nreinstating the pub to its former glory with a function room and several\nboutique hotel bedrooms on two rebuilt upper floors. The restoration of Westow\nHouse mitigates, to some degree, the fate of the Grape and Grain opposite,\nwhich was a real-ale fixture until its closure late 2017. It is reported it will\nreturn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several pubs further along Westow Hill, including\nWalker Briggs, another Antic house. It\u2019s a long, thin pub with spectacular\nviews from the back over the London\nskyline. The basement toilets (gents at least) appear to be extraordinarily\nancient. A good selection of ales, included, on my visit, Volden\u2019s Autumn, Pint\nfrom Marble Brewery and Oakham Citra. Opposite Walker Briggs is Craft and\nCourage, a cosy micropub that eschews mass-produced beers. There\u2019s no cask\nbeer, unfortunately, but worth a look if you dabble with keg ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the road \u2013 and passing from Lambeth to Croydon \u2013 the Sparrowhawk stands at a busy crossroads at the western corner of the Triangle. The open plan layout, huge windows and chunky pine furniture attract the sort of Millennial foodie crowd that large pubs like this need to thrive but I can attest that it does a nice pint of Harvey\u2019s Sussex Best. Turn left at the Sparrowhawk and at the final corner of the triangle \u2013 crossing the boundary into Bromley \u2013 is the Alma. This is another Victorian pub with a central bar surrounded by wooden furniture which attracts a varied crowd, including young families and diners. The pub promotes LocAle and, unusually, frequently offers a mild. It was Magg\u2019s Mild from West Berkshire Brewery on my visit. The Alma also serves beers from breweries such as Long Man, Purity and East London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rather than returning directly to Crystal Palace station, it\u2019s worth taking a diversion along the back streets that run steeply downhill away from the Alma towards the main road between Crystal Palace and Anerley stations. That\u2019s where the Gipsy Hill brewery-run micropub, the Douglas Fir, can be found. Formerly a hairdressers, it offers a couple of unusual cask beers (in addition to keg) in a disarmingly cosy and friendly environment. My Almasty Simcoe successfully took my mind off the steep trek back uphill to Crystal Palace station.
Charlie Mackle (who also took the photos)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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