EDT - Under Refurbishment

[PickledPorcupine]

Sounds as expected and obviously firmly catering towards the middle classes who can afford to drop £80 on a meal for 2 with a round of drinks without breaking a sweat.

I dont suppose they have an affordable lager for those who dont fit into the above group? 

Do they have a pram/buggy park like they do at a creche? As that would come in handy im sure. 

Its a shame because going back before covid it was still an affordable pub, mostly used by drinkers. 

[Sue]

52 minutes ago, PickledPorcupine said:

Sounds as expected and obviously firmly catering towards the middle classes who can afford to drop £80 on a meal for 2 with a round of drinks without breaking a sweat.

I dont suppose they have an affordable lager for those who dont fit into the above group? 

Do they have a pram/buggy park like they do at a creche? As that would come in handy im sure. 

Its a shame because going back before covid it was still an affordable pub, mostly used by drinkers. 

They always used to have at least one (relatively) low priced ale on.

Don't know about lager.

And to be fair, if you are running this kind of  business, and the local demographic has changed around you, you have to allow for that or your business is going to fail.

[PickledPorcupine]

10 minutes ago, Sue said:

They always used to have at least one (relatively) low priced ale on.

Don't know about lager.

And to be fair, if you are running this kind of  business, and the local demographic has changed around you, you have to allow for that or your business is going to fail.

That was when Antic ran it. For all their faults, they did have an in house policy of always having at least 1 lager and ale on tap that was affordable, and i dont know if anyone noticed (unlikely around East Dulwich as prices are rarely an issue here) but they always priced a dish of sausages and mash at an affordable price, around £8. The idea was that even those without wealth could still come to the pub and have a meal and pint. 

I doubt that'll be the case now, with a new Pubco who own pubs in places like Bank, Fitzrovia, Clerkenwell and Highate Village. 

[nivag]

An £8 meal ain't exactly affordable IMO if you're on low income.

[malumbu]

You are going to have difficulties getting a meal in a greasy spoon for eight quid nowadays.  Prices gone up by maybe 30 % since Covid

[PickledPorcupine]

54 minutes ago, nivag said:

An £8 meal ain't exactly affordable IMO if you're on low income.

It used to be cheaper, before inflation. And maybe even people on a low income are allowed to treat themselves with a meal in a pub from time to time. 

And its certainly more affordable than the £17 the Cherry Tree charges. 

Edited March 20 by PickledPorcupine

[Insuflo]

If you fancy an affordable lager, head to Watson’s General Telegraph on Forest Hill Road. I forget the name of it but a 4% lager, brewed in east London somewhere: £8.20 a pint. Form an orderly queue…

[Sue]

25 minutes ago, Insuflo said:

If you fancy an affordable lager, head to Watson’s General Telegraph on Forest Hill Road. I forget the name of it but a 4% lager, brewed in east London somewhere: £8.20 a pint. Form an orderly queue…

😮😮😮

[malumbu]

1 hour ago, Insuflo said:

If you fancy an affordable lager, head to Watson’s General Telegraph on Forest Hill Road. I forget the name of it but a 4% lager, brewed in east London somewhere: £8.20 a pint. Form an orderly queue…

My least favourite pub on the planet, and there are some awful places out there.  I'll give it a miss.

[Sue]

7 hours ago, PickledPorcupine said:

 i dont know if anyone noticed (unlikely around East Dulwich as prices are rarely an issue here) but they always priced a dish of sausages and mash at an affordable price, around £8. The idea was that even those without wealth could still come to the pub and have a meal and pint.  

Their sausage and mash was an absolute bargain in the days when they did a really good veggie sausage and gravy.

Then they got a new chef.

The veggie sausages (I assume bought in, and from a different - presumably cheaper - source)  became absolutely disgusting, verging on inedible.

So no longer a bargain.

If you are looking for a bargain lunch, head to Chern Thai, near the station.

Lunchtime special 12 -3 Monday to Friday.

£9 for a main, £12 for main plus starter. Thai lager on draft. 

Very nice food and lovely people.

[malumbu]

Popped into EDT tonight, as it was crowded and they didn't give me free booze and food on our arrival went elsewhere.  It had a certain decrepit charm before. I'm sure it will be more profitable but I am less likely to visit.  Pub sign is awful.... In my opinion. 

[Sue]

10 hours ago, malumbu said:

 It had a certain decrepit charm before. I'm sure it will be more profitable but I am less likely to visit.  Pub sign is awful.... In my opinion. 

Sadly The Palmerston has (imo) gone the same way.

A gradual deterioration from the quirky charm it once had to a bland sort of corporate style and (imo) a horrid font for the pub name over the door outside  and terrible (imo) art inside (apologies if you are one of the artists, but I understand the art was shipped in by the pubco).

Tastes differ, obviously, but it all sets my teeth on edge.

In one of its incarnations, it used to have regularly  changing art displays by local artists. These  were much more interesting and engaging, and if one particular set were not to your personal taste, at least they weren't there permanently.

I will still continue to go there, because the manager and the staff are lovely. The changes aren't their fault, and I'm sure the pub will do well, because - as with the EDT - it is presumably meeting what research has shown the present East Dulwich residents want.

ETA: To be fair, some of the most recent changes have been an improvement, eg changing some of the  lighting to fit in better with its surroundings.

Edited March 21 by Sue

[BrandNewGuy]

A few of us went to the reopened EDT on Wednesday and opinion was mixed. Plus points - opening the upstairs room permanently (unless there's a function); generally good decor; better furniture (no more wobbly school chairs). Minus points - the prices are up about 10-15% on pre-closure; the food offering is underwhelming and overpriced. Having said that, I never went there to eat - well, the occasional bowl of chips - and I've been going since the late 90s.

I fear that the 'mixed' pub of the past in our area is a thing of the past - out of the price range of 'ordinary' people, though things have been heading that way in any case. Pubs as interesting, mixed social spaces in much of London are fast disappearing and there's probably not much the new owners could have done to turn that tide.

[Sue]

I've just noticed the EDT says outside " established 1999".

But it was there before that, surely?

Have I imagined it?

[ianr]

> But it was there before that, surely?

Very apparently so.  It even has the same landline phone number as that advertised in 1990.

Edited March 24 by ianr
URL replaced by small snippet of results p.1 screenshot, to be kind to BNA's server

[Jenijenjen]

It used to be called the East Dulwich Hotel, here is a link to a photo showing it from 1934

https://www.alamy.com/photograph-of-east-dulwich-tavern-east-dulwich-london-the-main-side-of-the-print-shown-here-depicts-corner-on-view-of-the-pub-the-back-of-the-print-available-on-request-details-trading-record-1934-1961-for-the-east-dulwich-tavern-east-dulwich-london-se22-8ew-as-of-july-2018-owner-antic-image560786129.html

Earliest advert I could find is from 1880 which can't have been long after it was built - no sign of it on the 1870 OS map.

 

[mrwb]

Wow look at those prices, 4 shillings for a guiness extra stout, 2 and 6 for Burton's dinner ale. Selling porter in 2 gallon (16 pint?) jars. Delivery any hour and for free? They knew how to live in 1880 by the look of it!

[Sue]

Thanks Ianr and Jenijenjen.

So from what Ianr has found, it has been the EDT since at least 1990, so I don't know why the new owners should have put 1999 on it (unless I misread it - I was over the road).

At least my memory is correct, as I was sure it was the EDT when I moved here in  1991!

[Penguin68]

14 minutes ago, mrwb said:

, 2 and 6 for Burton's dinner

That's per dozen, not just one pint. 2/6 (12.5p) was the price per pint of good bitter in 1968!

[malumbu]

24 minutes ago, Sue said:

Thanks Ianr and Jenijenjen.

So from what Ianr has found, it has been the EDT since at least 1990, so I don't know why the new owners should have put 1999 on it (unless I misread it - I was over the road).

At least my memory is correct, as I was sure it was the EDT when I moved here in  1991!

It was EDT probably even before then, we did the comedy, and this had been there already for a number of years.  It was the East Dulwich Comedy then, the wiki entry says 1988, but before then I think the comedy went as "Off the Tube" "or South of the River at this time of night mate" (cabbies apparently said this) or names along those lines.  

 

[Insuflo]

I think the 19.99 refers to the price of two pints in there now.