Golden Anchor — Restaurant in London

🚇 Nunhead 🍺 £6.50 Camden Hells

The Golden Anchor is located in a residential area in Nunhead, Southeast London. The nearest station is Nunhead mainline.

This pub was built in 1867 and looks that it may have been altered at some point in the 1930’s. This pub may look familiar to you, as it featured on Tom Kerridge's “Saving Britains Pubs” series back in 2020.

This is a spacious two bar pub that has the main bar located at the front and a similar sized bar located at the rear. The decor here is contemporary with an eclectic mix of colourful and traditional furniture and bold fixtures and fittings. Just by the servery in the front bar is a table of dominoes which is a regular fixture here. At the front of the pub is a cosy outside space with parasols.

The beer line up was all keg and included familiar mainstream brands. I decided on a Camden Hells lager, my pint hit the spot, price point was a tad above average. This pub has served food in the past, but I couldn’t see a food menu when I visited.

We arrived just after 5pm on a warm Saturday afternoon in July. The pub had not long opened and was fairly quiet with one other local punter in attendance. We got talking to the Landlady and a member of the bar team, both were friendly and welcoming. It would seem this place comes alive in the evenings, it opens most days late afternoon and has a late license at weekends.

This pub shows sport on Sky and TNT, has Dominoes practice three nights a week, Vinyl nights on a Thursday and Karaoke and DJ nights.

As highlighted in the series with @cheftomkerridge , pubs are still facing a tough time of it, so it was great to see @thegoldenanchorpub surviving in this difficult climate. Next time you’re in the Nunhead/Peckham area, be sure to pay a visit.

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We visited this pub specifically for the Saturday pop-up Dominican restaurant and, while the food team was absolutely lovely, the bar service left a lot to be desired.

A couple of the cocktails we ordered were poorly made, but we were still happy to stay and enjoy the evening. However, things took a turn when my friend ordered a third mocktail that also wasn’t made well. She politely mentioned this to the bartender, who kindly offered to make her an alternative.

Shortly after, another staff member (possibly a manager or even a cleaner—it was never made clear, as no introduction was given) abruptly approached us and demanded, “Can you explain to me why you didn’t like the drink?”—a surprisingly confrontational and unnecessary tone for what had been a calm and respectful conversation. Despite this, my friend explained her feedback kindly. The staff member’s attitude was disgusting and unpleasant, and they began removing menus from our table without a word.

When we asked about getting another drink, the response was borderline aggressive. After that, we were effectively ignored by the bar staff and treated with a clear lack of respect.

To be clear, the team running the Dominican pop-up were warm, friendly, and professional. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the pub staff. There was one polite bartender, but the overall service was incredibly slow—expect to wait 30–40 minutes per drink.

If slow service and rude staff don’t bother you, you might still enjoy the atmosphere. But if you value decent service and being treated with basic courtesy, I’d strongly recommend giving this...

What a great local! We went in for a late lunch on a Saturday afternoon and wound up staying for four hours. The place has had a nice glow up, with comfortable seating, a roaring fireplace, a revamp of the drinks menu. Good selection of beers, with all the usuals plus some craft beers, wine and a great selection of spirits (including some good rum, which is key for me). The food is well presented and very tasty. I loved the wings, especially the jerk wings, tender and delicious. The goat curry was fantastic too.

But the key thing for me here is the friendly vibe. The people here are so lovely! Literally every staff member came over to say hello at some point, very friendly but not overbearing, just enough to make you feel welcome. We also had a nice chat with the landlady/owner; you get the feeling that they really care about what the locals think.

Much love and respect to the owners and the team here,...