The Blue Anchor — Restaurant in London

🚇Bermondsey 🍺 £5.00 Cruzcampo

The Blue Anchor is located on the busy Southwark Park Road in Bermondsey, Southeast London. The nearest Tube station is Bermondsey on the Jubilee Line.

This pub was built in 1875 and has origins tracing back to at least the 18th century. The pub’s name has significantly influenced the local area. The nearby Blue Anchor Lane, Blue Anchor Library, and the central market area known as ‘The Blue’ are thought to be named after the pub.

This good-sized, one-bar pub is laid out in a ‘U’ shape around a central servery. To the left are dartboards and a wall of framed Millwall shirts and Millwall through the years. The front bar area offers comfy seating with upholstered chairs around Britannia tables, while the right-hand side has raised booths with small wall-mounted screens. The decor includes green and cream walls, a large local map, multiple screens, a Peggy Mitchell poster, Millwall memorabilia, and a jazzy tartan carpet.

The beer line-up is a who’s who of familiar keg favourites, along with two cask ales. I opted for a Cruzcampo — my pint was excellent, price point was reasonable at a fiver. The pub doesn’t serve food, but if you visit on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, there’s a Pie & Mash stall called @the_pie_den located just to the left of The Old Bank pub, which receives rave reviews.

I arrived at midday on a sunny Friday lunchtime in April. There were a dozen or so punters in attendance ranging from old boys studying the form to lads talking a half-day. The atmosphere was relaxed, with 80s classics playing and the horse racing on mute on the screens around the bar. The service was spot-on, the barman was welcoming, friendly and busy running pints of Guinness to the regulars.

The pub shows live sports and hosts live music, karaoke, pub quizzes, and “Play Your Cards Right”.

Loved it here, this pub offers sensibly priced pints, welcoming hospitality, comfortable surroundings and there’s plenty to keep you entertained. This is a fantastic locals pub that serves the community well.

Follow @blueanchor251 for updates.

📅 4th April 2025

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I asked for a half pint and the bar women told me that they serve only full pints, I said yesterday you served me half pints with no problem. Bar women answered me that yesterday it wasn’t busy and she suggested me to find other pub if I fancy half pints. It’s very rude! Then later I felt cold and I put the hood on, and she asked me to take it off because of the CCTV. Yesterday, I was in the same pub and it wasn’t a problem at all. I was wearing a hood on and she didn’t ask me to take it off. Also yesterday I closed the entrance door which was always open, because I felt cold, and the same bar women immediately opened the door. I said I feel cold but she didn’t care about it. SO THE CONCLUSION IS - the bar women is...

I was hoping that I could get a reasonably priced pint here as it's Craft Union. Unfortunately for a pint and a non alcoholic small bottle it cost £6.95! So not surprisingly we only stayed for the one drink. This pub is not in the posh parts of London but is located in a pretty run down part of Bermondsey so why the high prices? It's quite a nice and spacious pub, and it's dog friendly but I can't afford to...