Gregorian, Bermondsey  

A boozer with a bit of an identity crisis, although one that is probably shared by Bermondsey itself nowadays. The pub is a big Tudorbethan place, now converted into one large room, and the furnishings are frankly suburban in character, although relatively limited for the space available. Some of the decor is in a state of decrepitude, while we were confused by a pub with 'Shalom' on its coat of arms having a plethora of graffiti promoting an English far-right organisation all around its gents' loos, even if one wag had decoded the offending initials as standing for 'no fun'. The nod to new Bermondsey comes in the provision of free Wi-Fi access, and we saw two laptop-users taking full advantage of this, not far from a couple of dependency drinkers more likely to recall fondly the first wireless era. The two real ales advertised were not available on our visit, and we greatly enjoyed reading the beer mats provided, encouraging those who had been fined at magistrates courts to pay their fines promptly or face the consequences. We couldn't possibly comment on what this might appear to imply about a significant proportion of the clientele... The Gregorian is vaguely competent, and probably serves as a reasonable enough place to meet someone arriving by tube, but all in all it's nothing special at all.

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