EDT - Under Refurbishment

[Sue]

  On 13/02/2025 at 16:35, PickledPorcupine said:

Yes i always assumed it was a freehold. I wouldnt blame him if he just wants to retire now being at the mercy of that crowd. 

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A friend who lives in the next road says the word on the street is that a young Irish family is  taking over the Blythe.

But also, some local (to the pub!) people were looking into the possibility of it becoming a community owned pub, which would have been nice.

Who knows. Wait and see, eh. Fingers crossed and hope it doesn't change too much 😭 There aren't many pubs like the Blythe left 😭

Edited February 14 by Sue

[Sephiroth]

Can’t see stonegate accepting an offer from community group.  Would love to be wrong 

if a young Irish family are going to take it over then good luck to them.  You need to be a canny operator (and Con was definitely that) to handle the hoops stonegate throw at you 

[Azalea]

I used to go to the Sylvan Post pub in Forest Hill before Covid but haven’t been since. I wonder how much it’s changed, if at all.

[CPR Dave]

Used to be owned by the same private equity group as the EDT I think.

[Azalea]

  On 16/02/2025 at 14:54, CPR Dave said:

Used to be owned by the same private equity group as the EDT I think.

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The Sylvan Post?

[Cyclemonkey]

It's now owned by the Portobello group and is still pretty decent.

[NewWave]

  On 16/02/2025 at 13:17, Azalea said:

I used to go to the Sylvan Post pub in Forest Hill before Covid but haven’t been since. I wonder how much it’s changed, if at all.

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@Azalea Sylvan post is the same,,and pretty busy.

Same interior still serves food nothing has changed.

[malumbu]

Changed ownership to Portobello from Antic, not sure when.  Not a bad move bearing in mind Antic's opaque operations and shady accounts  Food a bit too greasy.  Otherwise fine.

 

[CPR Dave]

Zetland Capital, a PE house with more than $1.5bn under management, owns a significant stake in Portobello.

https://www.zetlandcapital.com/insights/portobello-starboard/

 

There was different private equity firm behind the EDT before Antic I think. 

[Insuflo]

The Sylvan Post is quite grown up friendly until about 4pm. After that it’s strictly kids only. 

[malumbu]

Portabello are an independent business that operate 18 pubs https://portobellopubco.com/our-story/

Not sure how this squares with Zetland Capital, who claim to operate the pub.  Perhaps someone can explain.

[NewWave]

  On 17/02/2025 at 16:04, Insuflo said:

The Sylvan Post is quite grown up friendly until about 4pm. After that it’s strictly kids only. 

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I avoid daytime at weekends lots of families and children but kids in the evenings? We often go with our neighbours and we are all 50+..

[CPR Dave]

The link I have already posted explains everything Malumbu. Click it and read it again if you are still confused.

"Portobello Starboard is an acquisition platform backed by Zetland . Since launch in late 2021, Portobello Starboard has owned and operated a group of 18 freehold pubs located across the country and seeks to grow further."

[I hammer]

  On 17/02/2025 at 16:04, Insuflo said:

The Sylvan Post is quite grown up friendly until about 4pm. After that it’s strictly kids only. 

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When you refer to kids, do you mean trendy young adults? 

[Insuflo]

No, just children running around etc. Perhaps they pester their parents to take them there after school, I don’t know.

[Sue]

Just had a flyer through the door.

Posting here for people who haven't had theirs yet.

The 50% off food is for three days only, and advance bookings only.

I liked the EDT as it used to be, so I really hope the changes won't be too massive. Last time I looked through the window the bar seemed to be still in the same place, but who knows.

Think I'll wait a bit to try the food. When The Lordship launched, we went for a meal there and let's say things didn't go smoothly 😂

Anybody who was there will know what I mean 😂

They have redeemed themselves since, I hasten to add 😂

Edited March 6 by Sue

[BrandNewGuy]

 

  On 15/02/2025 at 13:26, Sephiroth said:

Can’t see stonegate accepting an offer from community group.  Would love to be wrong 

if a young Irish family are going to take it over then good luck to them.  You need to be a canny operator (and Con was definitely that) to handle the hoops stonegate throw at you 

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The good news is that the Blythe's new leaseholder is Austin Whelan, who runs a chain of very decent Irish pubs, mainly in south London. By all accounts, he has no intention of making any major changes. It reopened last week.

Edited March 6 by BrandNewGuy

[Sephiroth]

  On 06/03/2025 at 17:13, BrandNewGuy said:

 

The good news is that the Blythe's new leaseholder is Austin Whelan, who runs a chain of very decent Irish pubs, mainly in south London. By all accounts, he has no intention of making any major changes. It reopened last week.

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All good to hear. Cheers BNG

  On 06/03/2025 at 16:47, Sue said:

Just had a flyer through the door.

Posting here for people who haven't had theirs yet.

The 50% off food is for three days only, and advance bookings only.

I liked the EDT as it used to be, so I really hope the changes won't be too massive. Last time I looked through the window the bar seemed to be still in the same place, but who knows.

Think I'll wait a bit to try the food. When The Lordship launched, we went for a meal there and let's say things didn't go smoothly 😂

Anybody who was there will know what I mean 😂

They have redeemed themselves since, I hasten to add 😂

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If I’m honest, those fliers give off very bland corporate energy

 

also. Shouldn’t it be a relaunch party instead of a launch party? 
 

hopefully I’m wrong and it’s great 

[PickledPorcupine]

  On 06/03/2025 at 17:13, BrandNewGuy said:

 

The good news is that the Blythe's new leaseholder is Austin Whelan, who runs a chain of very decent Irish pubs, mainly in south London. By all accounts, he has no intention of making any major changes. It reopened last week.

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I went in on Saturday and it felt much the same. Seems the staff and their dresscode have been retained, and all the same beers on tap.  

[PickledPorcupine]

The new EDT will not be an improvement on the old, even if had turned into a middle class dog and buggy haven with high prices by the end.  

[Sue]

  On 11/03/2025 at 11:40, PickledPorcupine said:

I went in on Saturday and it felt much the same. Seems the staff and their dresscode have been retained, and all the same beers on tap.  

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They have a dress code?

We looked through the window on Sunday night.

Sadly it seems that  the lovely tiled floor has been replaced with something that looks like laminate, and there is some absolutely hideous wallpaper (my opinion only, I realise people have different tastes) above  the end of the bar.

I can't remember what was there before the wallpaper.

ETA: Ooops!!!!

Sorry, I was talking about the EDT!

Thanks to Malumbu for pointing it out!

 

Edited March 11 by Sue

[malumbu]

Dress code is the Blythe.  Flower boxes were being put up when I checked yesterday.  Terry, a long standing member of bar staff, has gone and Con left very quietly so no party. 

Some final pics of Con's reign from FB https://www.facebook.com/blythehilltavern

[Han92-ED]

Went to the EDT last night for their 50% off menu launch and it was delicious! Their starters were excellent - we had the aubergine & the Korean chicken, highly recommend 🤩 it’s definitely more on the pricier side now food-wise,  but has a lovely vibe still as a pub one side and then a restaurant the other side (similar to The Palmerston). Looking forward to going back ☺️

[Sue]

  On 20/03/2025 at 09:26, Han92-ED said:

Went to the EDT last night for their 50% off menu launch and it was delicious! Their starters were excellent - we had the aubergine & the Korean chicken, highly recommend 🤩 it’s definitely more on the pricier side now food-wise,  but has a lovely vibe still as a pub one side and then a restaurant the other side (similar to The Palmerston). Looking forward to going back ☺️

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Pleased to hear the EDT has good food! It has been very variable in the past.

I didn't realise the Palmerston had a restaurant on one side?

Do you mean the small room at the back near the toilets?

All the rest is one big room, isn't it?

Which part of the EDT is now the restaurant? The back room on  the right as you face the pub?

Also, I saw they had a sign to an upstairs lounge bar. I have deja vu. Wasn't it a lounge bar circa 2008, albeit the public access was  from the separate door on the street? 

I assume they are now using the indoor stairs?

Memo to self:  Go in and check all this out for yourself 🤣

I really miss the huge painting of a dancer (?)  that used to be in the EDT before they (understandably)  removed it to put in more windows and hence make the room lighter.

Does anybody know what happened to it? I so hope someone is enjoying it somewhere, and that it wasn't just destroyed.

[Han92-ED]

  On 20/03/2025 at 10:36, Sue said:

Pleased to hear the EDT has good food! It has been very variable in the past.

I didn't realise the Palmerston had a restaurant on one side?

Do you mean the small room at the back near the toilets?

All the rest is one big room, isn't it?

Which part of the EDT is now the restaurant? The back room on  the right as you face the pub?

Also, I saw they had a sign to an upstairs lounge bar. I have deja vu. Wasn't it a lounge bar circa 2008, albeit the public access was  from the separate door on the street? 

I assume they are now using the indoor stairs?

Memo to self:  Go in and check all this out for yourself 🤣

I really miss the huge painting of a dancer (?)  that used to be in the EDT before they (understandably)  removed it to put in more windows and hence make the room lighter.

Does anybody know what happened to it? I so hope someone is enjoying it somewhere, and that it wasn't just destroyed.

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The room on the right hand side has been set up as a restaurant; whereas the left hand side & behind the bar is still open for drinks & food! 🙂 yes saw the doors open to the lounge upstairs where I think/hope they will have their TVs set up for sport games again as they have all been removed from the downstairs room 🙂