Peckham is the glittering jewel of south-east London, alcohol is quite nice too, so here are the best places to combine the two. Find rooftop bars, beautiful beer gardens, cocktail dens and brilliant Sunday roasts ahead. Here’s a rundown of the best Peckham pubs and bars:
1) Beer Rebellion
For your first stop on your Peckham pub tour, tuck into some craft beer at the essential Beer Rebellion by Queens Road station, where you’ll find over a dozen cask and keg brews on tap and even more crispy boys in the fridge. There’s no food here, but you’re welcome to bring in some takeout from a nearby location.
129 Queens Road, SE15 2ND. More info.
2) Prince of Peckham
The cursed corner of Clayton Road has chewed up many an aspiring publican in recent years, but local hero Clemnent Ogbonnaya seems to have perfected the winning formula. There’s Caribbean-influenced comfort food from the kitchen and a lively mix of parties and events: disco yoga sessions, life drawing classes and grime’n’afrobeats nights are all on the current lineup. A proper modern community pub, then.
1 Clayton Road, SE15 5JA. More info.
3) Frank’s Café
Head up the hot pink stairs to the roof of Peckham’s multi-storey car park and you’ll find Frank’s Café, the biggest rooftop bar in south London. Art installations from Bold Tendencies are dotted about the space, while a modest red canopy provides some shelter when drizzle threatens. Or head downstairs!
Bold Tendencies, 7th-10th Floor Multi Storey Car Park, 95A Rye Ln, SE15 4ST. More info.
4) The bars at Peckham Levels
There are a range of traders who’ll happily sell you a beer at Peckham Levels’ street food market, but the hidden gem here is arguably the happy hour, which runs from 5 to 7pm Mondays to Fridays. Duppy rum punch for a fiver and pints for four quid? Yes please!
95A Rye Ln, London SE15 4ST. More info.
5) Jumbi Peckham
A brand new addition to the Peckham pubs and bars scene, Jumbi Peckham is right in the heart of Copeland Park and is designed to ‘celebrate the sounds and flavours of the African-Caribbean diaspora’. It’s not open right yet, but keep your eyes peeled on the website to be the first in the know!
Unit 4.1, Copeland Park, 133 Copeland Rd, London, SE15 3SN. More info.
6) Bussey Rooftop Bar
Waving distance from Frank’s is the more intimate Bussey Rooftop Bar, which sits alongside Rooftop Film Club’s open air cinema.
Fifth Floor Roof, Unit B, Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, SE15 4ST. More info.
7) CLF Art Café (aka the Bussey Building)
A bar of sorts, but this warehouse space is much better known for its big, boisterous club nights, especially their monthly Soul Train parties.
Block A, Bussey Building, 133 Rye Lane, SE15 4ST. See what’s coming up.
8) John the Unicorn
This three-storey boozer is as roomy as its name is cringey, so you can nearly always find somewhere to chill. Locally brewed bottled beers behind the bar, roasts on Sundays – you know the drill.
159 Rye Ln, SE15 4TL. More info.
9) The White Horse
This recently done-up Tudor-ish boozer is positively jumping on a weekend evening when DJs rev things up, but is pictured above at a more peaceful moment. Well-done British pub food is available from the kitchen.
20-22 Peckham Rye, SE15 4JR. More info.
10) Social
Right in the heart of Copeland Park, Social is a colourful, sun-dappled spot which is great for coffees during the day and for beers and cocktails at night. They have regular events here too.
Unit 9A&B, Copeland Park, 133 Copeland Rd, London, SE15 3SN. More info.
11) Four Quarters
This late-night cocktail bar put all their internal decor budget into classic arcade games and is frankly all the better for it. You’ll also find club nights and DJs in the basement: otherwise just spend all your quarters (four for a pound) on Time Crisis and pinball. (Don’t miss the upstairs room where you can settle down for games of Goldeneye 64, Mario Kart and other nostalgic classics.)
187 Rye Lane, SE15 4TP. More info.
12) The Angel Oak
This solidly-shiny Metropolitan pub on the corner of Peckham Rye Park boasts a roomy beer garden, reliably good pub grub and a big projector screening sport on the weekends. It used to be known as ‘The Rye’. Personally, we like it!
31 Peckham Rye, SE15 3NX. More info.
13) The Gowlett Arms
This much-loved community pub in Peckham shut its doors temporarily at the end of 2017, but after much garment-rending from locals has come back from the dead, dishing out the same warm hospitality and delicious stonebaked pizzas as it ever did. Hooray!
62 Gowlett Road, SE15 4HY. More info.
14) The Victoria Inn
The only Peckham pub that’ll let you sleep over, there’s a boutique hotel upstairs at the Victoria. Locals visit for the London-brewed craft beer on tap and friendly neighbourhood vibes.
77 Choumert Road, SE15 4AR. More info.
15) The Montpelier
This fine pub on Peckham’s Choumert Road also hosts indie film screenings in their tiny back room cinema. It’s certainly one of our favourite Peckham pubs.
43 Choumert Road, SE15 4AR. More info.
16) The Clock House
Just off the East Dulwich side of Peckham Rye Park is Young’s pub The Clock House. It’s two venues in one: behind a bookcase upstairs you’ll find Blake’s Bar, a hidden snug that hosts all sorts of events, like a Monday night chess club.
196a Peckham Rye, London, SE22 9QA. More info.
17) The Herne
We’re pushing the definition of Peckham by this point, but what they hey: stop by this fine pub on the corner of Peckham Rye Park to discover a properly gorgeous beer garden, perfect for summer days.
2 Forest Hill Rd, SE22 0RR. More info.
18) The Old Nun’s Head
Admittedly we’re getting into Nunhead now with this final addition of Peckham pubs and bars, but we’ll squeeze the Old Nun on the list anyway. This great pub off Nunhead Lane hosts a rotating cast of puntastic street food traders (while defaulting to a roast on Sundays, naturally) plus an eclectic mix of events including stand-up comedy, female arm-wrestling, pub quizzes and everything in-between.
15 Nunhead Green, SE15 3QQ. More info.
Also published on Medium.