Palmerston

From a table at the Palmerston, you can watch the whole of East Dulwich go by if you sit there long enough - and that wouldn't be unpleasant in these relaxed wood-panelled surrounds. Twinned with the Herne Tavern, the Palmerston is where the owners concentrate their gastronomic efforts. The thick, bloody, 28-day Galloway ribeye is the biggest draw, but we've found more creative dishes to be hit and miss.

A chilled spiced apple soup offered an unexpectedly complex combination of flavours, but 'rare roast beef' was disappointingly dry and towards the brown end of the spectrum, though the accompanying salad of pickled girolles and minted peas exhibited freshness and zing. Desserts - well-executed gastropub staples - are worth ordering; the vanilla custard with raspberries and shortbread was so light that two portions wouldn't have been a challenge.

Opening in 2004 to critical acclaim, and catching East Dulwich just at the tipping point of its gentrification, the Palmerston has of late been resting on its laurels. Now that the local food scene has upped the ante considerably (no one is ever short of an artisanal loaf or free-range sausage in SE22), the pub may have to raise its game to remain a contender.