Bars & Pubs

'For the dreaming, the drowning and the drunk' says the mural on the back wall behind a shin-level stage whose activities have pushed this former workaday Irish pub into the vortex of what outsiders term the New Cross Scene. And, certainly, spiky, pierced student types from nearby Goldsmiths College and beyond flock around the horseshoe bar or make out on the squishy black sofas while Cop On The Edge or Lime Headed Dog thrash indiely. And it's contagious. The team behind this ('Rocklands' - yeuch!) has taken over the former miserable market pub the Deptford Arms and turned it indie. Here, it's still nitrokeg lagers till 2am, with free admission and youth hostel beds next door should it come to it.

Time Out Bars, Pubs & Clubs Guide 2008/9