Old Nun's Head

Drinkers and diners are both happy at this brick and timber 1930s boozer. The former get a sterling selection of cask-conditioned ales (Harveys Sussex, Woodforde's Wherry, Hopback Summer Lightning and York Constantine on our visit), plus cocktails and an acceptable wine list. The latter get massive plates of hearty, unpretentious food at decent prices (the most expensive dish, sirloin steak, was £13; most were around £8). There's plenty of seating: at large wooden tables next to the central bar, in the back garden and in the front yard facing Nunhead Green. Carnivores get the best deal: there was just one fish and one vegetarian main (puy lentil and mushroom lasagne, served with chunky chips and salad - decent but no better than most home cooks could turn out). More ambitious were lamb chops (slightly dry) with roasted garlic and anchovies, new potatoes and a tasty salsa of red pepper, green beans and black olives. Top marks went to a starter of salmon and spring onion fish cakes: grease-free and fluffy yet crammed with chunks of fish. And the name? A nunnery once occuped this site; the rebellious Mother Superior was murdered during the Reformation and her head stuck on a pikestaff on the green.