Berry & Barrel, SE9

Steve of N21 left this review about Berry & Barrel

This is the new kid on the block as far as the Eltham Micro’s are concerned (Eltham Micro’s, wasn’t that a song by the Jam?) when it opened in a former dry cleaner's shop in December 2020. What Eltham is doing to deserve three micro pubs is beyond me. It is certainly punching well above its weight from what I could see.
You have to be dedicated to find this one as it is a good ten-minute walk or a short bus ride from Eltham High Street but its probably just worth the effort. I thought they had done a very good conversion job on this one. Essentially one long room equipped with a mixture of high and low tables and stools with a traditional small bar counter to the left, and then a pleasant outdoor courtyard space to the rear of this room, beyond the well-appointed toilets. I thought this felt more like a modern bar than an ale micropub, although two prominent electronic boards, one behind the bar and one on the far wall of the room try to give this effect. These display the range of keg beers and cask ales on offer giving details of ABV and price but not which is cask or keg so you need to make an educated guess or will need to ask as I did. Cask ales are served from a rear room on gravity dispense but it was only one ale in the form of Bexley Brewery Hills and Holes Kent Pale Ale for my visit. On the modern craft key front there were two from Meantime, Beavertown Neck Oil and Signature Brew Rodie Session IPA as probably the most interesting option. I thought this was the weakest of the three micro’s for ale choice but still warmed to it as a modern bar and I hope it does well and I wish it success.
Opening hours are from 2.00PM most days.

On 29^th May 2024 - rating: 7
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