Southwark pubs

The Boot and Flogger, 10-20 Redcross Way, SE1 1TA

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I didn't even notice the place, so occupied was I with the reading the protest placards about an ancient graveyard across the road, which lay undiscovered until the Jubilee Line Extension started digging up human remains. The graveyard (for prostitutes, paupers and other undesirables) now lies underneath a car park, and is threatened with the further indignity of having an office building plonked on top of it. The Boot and Flogger occupies an anonymous grey building opposite, looking very much like Dickens' description of Dombey's counting house rather than a place of intoxication and frivolity. On entering I found myself in a long, generous-sized room with a selection of tables and large leather chairs, understated wooden furnishings and lots of very rich people. The name doesn't give it away, but this is a wine bar, and one of very excellent calibre indeed. The bar staff were friendly and helpful, the wine was well selected and of good quality, and the atmosphere convivial enough for me to keep a reign on my usual revolutionary instincts. No TV or any of that nonsense, and while the food was on the pricey side it at least tasted nice. The toilets, which are a rare surviving example of lost Edwardian subtlety and good taste, are worth the visit just in themselves. A splendid place, but I do worry about the exclusive - and exclusively white, at least on my visit - clientele, and the fact that it shuts at 8pm. An improvement on both of those scores would leave it almost peerless.

The Charles Dickens, 160 Union Street, Southwark, SE1 0LH

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Charming, lively. An impressively unaltered late-victorian exterior gives way to a warm and convivial establishment. Very inviting, apart from one annoying fellow marching up and down bellowing into a mobile phone. Excellent food. Not open weekends

Doggetts Coat and Badge, 1 Blackfriars Bridge, SE1 9UD

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Given its prominent location, The Doggetts could so easily be another awful tourist trap charging foreigners over the odds for dodgy beer and "traditional British food". It isn't. Sure, plenty of tourists do use this pub as a stopping off point on the Thames Path between the South Bank and the Tate Modern, however it is also popular with local office workers. There are two outside terraces making this a good summer pub. The terrace at the front offers fine views of the river between Blackfriars and Waterloo bridges. The terrace at the rear unfortunately overlooks a gigantic hole in the ground masquerading as a building site. Sky is permanently on the many TV screens making this a haven for sports fans. I have fond memories of queueing up outside the doors to see Brazil v England in the 2002 World Cup. The beer's not bad either. At the time of review Bombadier, London Pride, Bass and Speckled Hen were all on.

EV Bar, 97-99 Isabella St, Southwark, SE1 8DA

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We're all ending up the same, which is a luxury that wealth affords us. We can all, in our limited fashion, aspire to live like the elite, to wear what they do, eat where they eat and dance on the same dancefloors. Our lifestyles become a dream of how we think the other half live. This is why there has been a phenomenal growth in bars like the EV Bar, where those with pretensions of grandeur can flatter themselves that they have sophistication, taste and intellect, whilst surrounded by an unthreatening crowd as dull as they are. The EV bar is part of the ever-expanding Tas empire, which has made a fortune serving so-so faux Near Eastern food to people who can't be bothered finding somewhere proper to eat. Situated under a span of railway arches, the bar also contains a restaurant area and an organic bakery. Decked out in a sort of Habitat idea of Near Eastern exoticism, like something a pair of middle class, middle aged kaftan wearing WOMAD goers would drape their house in, it oozes a self-assured blandness that is matched by most of its clientele. Beer on tap? You've got Stella, otherwise there's puny, overpriced bottles of the usual glop. Best stick to the wine, which while being too expensive, isn't bad. It has a nice outside area in the summer, but its phenomenal popularity, based upon so little substance, makes me tremble for a time when most London bars will be like this.

Founders Arms, 52 Hopton Street, SE1 9JH

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Back when the idea of Britain having a modern art gallery was as likely as Lord Howe running the marathon, the Founders Arms was a bit of an anomaly. It was, for a start, a Modern Pub; a polygonal affair of brick and smoked glass, sat by an abandoned power station on the wrong side of the river. Quite awkwardly, the interior made a stab at being late Victorian, creating a faintly surreal sense of anachronism that I find really rather endearing, but which didn't earn it many punters. Even on a Friday evening one could amble along the shabby stretch of Bankside and find it half empty, and then sit there watching the dome of St Paul's across the river. Then the regeneration of the South Bank happened, along with Tate Modern and the Millenium Bridge, and even before they were finished there were suddenly thousands of people ambling along what had previously been a deserted stretch of river. The owners of the pub, Youngs, astutely decided to alter the appearance of the place. Out went the 1970s smoked glass and faux-old furnishings, and in came wooden floors, clear glass and food. It worked; the place was mobbed and has remained so ever since. On a warm day, if you're lucky enough to find a free outside table, the views across the City are spectacular, and it can be very calming to sit staring at the river slopping past this way and that. The beer, being Youngs, is excellent, and the food is first-rate pub grub too.

Jack's, 96 Isabella street, SE1 8DA

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We found this pub by accident and had THE most delicious food. At around 5 pm it really filled up and there was a great buzz in the place. The two owners are quite dishy too!!

The Lord Clyde, 27 Clennam Street, SE1 1ER

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The only problem with this pub is leaving. It's almost impossible. Nip in for a quick pint and you are doomed to stay until closing time, seduced by the lively atmosphere, the enormous velvet curtains hiding the door, the untouched-since-1913 furnishings, the lovely barstaff and, yes, even the beer. Consisting of several rooms surrounding a central bar, this pub is well cared-for by punters and staff alike, which helps it maintain a distinct laid-back atmosphere. A classic

Paper Moon, 24 Blackfriars Rd, SE1 8NY

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Nice pizza, shame about the pub. The rather charming entranceway belies the horrors within, where packs of workies bellow at each other over a bleak, uninteresting backdrop, speakers belching forth too-loud dollops of flatulant dross that are the musical equivalent of dog farts. As the beer's rubbish, the only two things to divert my attention were the delicious pizzas and the metal struts holding up the ceiling. Not a great place. Sky TV. Not open weekends, thankfully.

The Prince Albert, 76 Colombo Street, SE1 8DP

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Large windows and cheerful lights inside, this proves to be a pleasant pub sprawling generously beneath a tranche of offices. Rather modern and yet not crap, neither covered in pine nor overrun with the less melifluous of the larger-walleted amongst us, I really can't find fault with this place. Some folk near the door watch the football whilst others sit at the back, guzzle drinks and chat quietly. It all seems to work rather smoothly. Even the barmaid is extremely friendly - most unusual considering it is approaching last orders. Wide range of bitters, decent wine and food are all on offer, and seats are usually available even on Fridays. Not open weekends, but otherwise worth going slightly out of your way for.

Prince William Henry, 218 Blackfriars Rd, SE1 8NL

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Named, rather oddly, after a minor 18th century royal who couldn’t keep his trousers on, rather than a physical fusion between the two regal issues in line for the throne that are currently wasting air. Housed in a modern building of no consequence, the pub has suffered from a series of refits that, rather like a faulty airlock on a spacecraft, threaten to suck the life out of it. The whole interior has all gone a bit Laurence Llewelyn Bowen, marrying clear modern lines with slightly gothic furniture, resulting in the empty, lifeless feel of a Canary Wharf luxury apartment that wants to be a Mayfair mansion. A bevy of sulky barmaids work on their pouts behind the counter, like fish kissing the glass of a goldfish bowl in desperation to get out, while the posse of Important Suits that pass for clientele squawk and strut their stuff out on the rather weird acre of wooden decking to the front of the pub. A decent range of food, plus Young’s ales, pushes the whole place just into credit, but there are far better boozing holes in the immediate vicinity. The pub, like the rather sordid and silly prince it is named after, must do better.

The Ring, 72 Blackfriars Road, Southwark, SE1 8HA

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Stepping in here won't turn you invisible, or make you subject to attack from halitosis-breathing men in black with limited lines in dialogue. Nor is it a pub forged by Sauron the Dark Lord to rule over mankind. The truth, rather prosaically, is that the name refers to the boxing ring that used to stand opposite, but which has now been demolished to make way for some more offices. Its previous incarnation as an old man's boozer dying in a mephitic fug of Rothman's and cheap bitter, The Ring has been recreated as a quality establishment, upmarket without being offensive, combining elements of the traditional pub with something of the laid-back bar vibe. Intimate and friendly, the comfy seating, excellent Thai food and good selection of drinks make it a bit of a hit; the inevitable downside being that it can sometimes get rather crowded. Worth the effort, though. Open 7 days, Sky sports on a smallish screen. Get there before the new office block opens.

The Rose and Crown, 47 Colombo St, SE1 8DP

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Standing all on its own down the mazy turns of Colombo Street, this fine Victorian pub radiates cheer all year round. A battered wooden interior is very cosy, but doesn't provide many spaces to sit down, so either arrive early or expect to have to sit at the bar. It has an excellent range of beers (Shepherd Neame) and serves good food. An additional summertime bonus is the colossal beer garden, that seems to sprawl as far as the eye can see in all directions. Okay, maybe I exagerrate, but not by much...

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