Nags Head Peckham — Restaurant in London

🚇 Peckham Rye 🍺 £4.90 Cruzcampo

The Nags Head is located on busy Rye Lane towards the southern tip of Peckham in Southeast London. The nearest station is Peckham Rye.

This pub was built in 1871 and originally opened as The Morning Star. The name was changed to The Nags Head around 2000, possibly to cash in on Del Boy and Rodney’s favourite Peckham pub from Only Fools and Horses.

This is a traditionally decorated, one-bar pub with a down-to-earth local feel. The bar area is oblong in shape with the servery positioned along the back wall. The decor includes a mix of seating, a long banquette under the windows, boldly painted walls, plenty of TVs dotted around, and a proper pub carpet.

The beer line-up is entirely keg, offering a selection of beers, cider and stout. I opted for a Cruzcampo, which was spot on, price point was very reasonable at under a fiver. While no food is served in-house, the pub has partnered with @yardsalepizza, who deliver straight to your table.

I arrived just after 11am on an overcast Saturday morning in August. The pub had just opened and one other punter was in attendance, but before long a group of old-school locals arrived, picking out their horses for the day and taking the mick out of each other. The atmosphere was calm and relaxed, with the build-up to the Chelsea v Fulham game playing on mute while Have a Nice Day by Stereophonics played in the background. Service was excellent – the team member on duty was warm, welcoming, and friendly.

Visiting The Nags Head was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. My biggest takeaway was listening to the old boys in the corner studying the form and gently ribbing one another. This is a comfortable place to enjoy a pint, and the service was top-notch. The pub livens up in the evenings and is open until 1am every night. I left with a smile on my face – I’m sure Del Boy and Rodney would have approved.

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📅 30th August 2025

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Originally, I gave them 3 stars as I felt there was room for improvements and would have updated it later if things improved. But shortly after posting my original review, I was confronted by staff about it. One of them mentioning about their policies and asked me to take it down. "They are new and reviews like that could hurt business. Especially as they work so hard with local breweries to provide the best price." Shortly after I left, They were petty enough to say to someone who was in my party that I was "no longer welcomed". Loosely translated as, I'm Barred. Just because they can't take a little bit of constructive criticism. It doesn't bother me to much to be barred from a pub as I only drink coke and can get the same volume for half the price at a local fast food place. But to me, it's the principle of being barred just for having an opinion. This is disgusting and I'd advice against going to such a place that can be this rude to a customer. You do NOT confront a customer about a review and you certainly do NOT bar that person just because you aren't happy with a little constructive criticism.

My Original Review: Good atmosphere and music. The staff are friendly but can't always pull a proper pint. Either there's too much head or they just waste some to remove it. Also, they tend to put too much ice in the coke. So by the time you're drunk the coke, you still have half a pint of ice. Service can be slow sometimes as you order a drink and it's on the bar for a few minutes before it gets to your table. Other times it can be fast but sometimes very slow. Also got told off for having a KitKat on the table (unopened). They don't provide chocolate anyways and I'm not consuming it on the premises either. So I don't see what...

Really disappointing. I came around 11pm on Saturday 14th June with my partner and had a single pint, which I didn’t finish. We decided to leave and as we stepped out the door I realised I needed the loo. I turned around to re-enter and the doorman said “Not tonight love”. I explained I’d just left (he watched me leave and turn around within 5 seconds of leaving) and wanted to quickly use the loo as I had a 25 minute journey back home. The doorman said “You look like you’ve had too much”, I replied “I’ve had a single pint, which I didn’t even finish, and nothing else”, he said “you won’t be getting in here tonight” (even though I had just left?!). The whole interaction felt really strange and a weird power trip?? It was the shorter, stocky black guy on the door. Really really bizarre, have worked in bars and pubs myself for years and found the staff behind the bar to be friendly and pleasant. Hope management have a word with the door staff as this is really damaging for the pub’s otherwise nice atmosphere. Unfortunately my experience with that doorman will make this the last time I am a customer at this venue. Wouldn’t recommend to women unless you’ve got a...