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Resolution Way is quickly becoming Deptford’s answer to Bermondsey’s Maltby Street as its splendid railway arches fill up with modish watering holes. The latest of these is Gin & Beer, which joins Jamaican-inspired bar Buster Mantis and craft brewer Villages. It’s a slick, minimalist place with smooth concrete flooring and bare plywood cladding, and it serves up exactly what it says on the tin. On the towering shelves behind the bar you’ll find over 100 gins, while its fridges are reserved for an extraordinary collection of Belgian beer bottles, five of which are also on tap. A little cheese counter next to the bar holds a small selection of hard and soft varieties.
My friend and I were the only punters there on a rainy Thursday night, but staff made up for the lack of company, offering us a bowl of plump, shiny olives along with warm table service. The menu is impressive and easy to navigate despite its vastness: divided into ‘classic’, ‘citrus’, ‘complex’ and ‘sweet’, the gins range from well-known favourites like Monkey 47 and Beefeater, to oddball small-batch spirits like Spit-Roasted Pineapple Gin and Masons Dry Yorkshire Tea edition.
I opted for the Herbs and Ice, one of 13 gin cocktails on the menu. It arrived looking deliciously pearlescent and powder blue with a sprig of rosemary pegged to the side. Its weak flavour disappointed by comparison. My friend’s negroni was sharp and delicious, though, and we shared a bottle of Trappist Achel 8 Blond to finish, ending our trip on a crisp, malty note.
Everything about this place is stylish and considered, yet it seems a bit try-hard for such a quirky, arched setting. And when plenty of pubs fulfil the gin and beer brief these days, a little bit of kookiness would have gone a long way. More eccentricity of the spit-roasted pineapple variety, please.