Review: St James of Bermondsey SE16

Bermondsey was once known as Biscuit Town, due to the Peek Freans biscuit factory in the area, where the Garibaldi, the Bourbon and the Twiglet were invented. A pink wafer’s width away from the derelict site is St James of Bermondsey, a craft beer pub now puffing out its own sweet aroma of pies and beer. It sports a brown, pin-backed bar and a good selection of locally brewed ales from the cluster of breweries under the railway bridge. A grassless courtyard, spruced up with mirrors and pot plants, is overlooked by gantries, brick towers and the bridge, and shudders to the sound of cars, trains and guttural cries, but it still manages to feel like a retreat. Trees, peace and quiet are out of place in a London beer garden anyway. Pies by Pieminister and dog/child-friendly, with nearby Southwark Brewery’s LPA at £4.50 a pint.

St James of Bermondsey
72 St James’s Rd SE16 4QZ