Randomness Guide to London - Differences between Version 16 and Version 5 of Old Salt Quay, SE16 5QU

Version 16 Version 5
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A Greene King pub on the riverside near the tip of the [[Locale Rotherhithe|Rotherhithe]] peninsula. Previously known as Spice Island, it changed its name some time around May-July 2007. It doesn't seem to have changed significantly from the tail-end of its previous incarnation, though the pool table is no more.
Note: [http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/comments.shtml/1985/ Beer In The Evening comments] as of July 2007 suggest this pub's now called "The Old Salt Quay", and other parts of the interweb seem to agree; for example, [http://www.thebestof.co.uk/southwark/events/82499 thebestof.co.uk] describes a "steak and seafood festival" including a champagne and Pimms bar, and live jazz. Whether the oysters and champagne signal a significant change from its previous incarnation, we're not sure, having been once-or-twice visitors rather than regulars.
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The upstairs part is billed as a "steak and seafood restaurant", and a sign outside declares "families welcome". The downstairs is fairly large, with a couple of separate areas leading off from the main open-plan bar area (one of these used to house the pool table but now just has more seating). A large riverside seating area is also accessible from the bar.
May 2008: Sunday bank holiday no food except the carvery upstairs (running until 6pm). Strongbow 3.15/pint, no more Jacques sadly. Coffee provided by Coffee Republic; Americano is 1.69. Outside seating still the same.
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[[Kake]] and [[doop]] visited on the afternoon of a Bank Holiday Sunday in May 2008. They weren't serving any food apart from the carvery upstairs, which was running until 6pm. Strongbow was £3.15/pint. doop had a coffee (provided by Coffee Republic); an Americano was £1.69.
The review below was written before the change of name:
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[[bob]] visited on a Sunday afternoon in August 2009. Greene King IPA and Abbot Ale were on. I had a pint of Greene King IPA chilled (£2.80) which was not from a hand pump. It was okay.
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Greene King pub on the river in Rotherhithe. It's fairly large. On the ground floor there are a couple of areas leading off from the main open-plan bar area; one with a pool table, and another with sofas and armchairs. A large riverside seating area is also accessible from the bar. There's a restaurant upstairs, also with outside seating (though it's not always open, and I don't know if it offers anything different from the main pub menu).
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The pub has its own car park. It also used to have bike parking (a dozen thingies to lock your bike to, under shelter) but we didn't check whether this survived the rename.
Accessibility is very good; the front door is wide, the ground floor is all on one level (apart from a 1-2cm high step at the threshold), there's a separate disabled toilet, access to the main part of the patio is step-free, and there's a lift to the upstairs restaurant. The chairs on the patio are a comfortably large size.
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Accessibility: The front door is wide, the ground floor is all on one level (apart from a 1-2cm high step at the threshold), there's a separate disabled toilet, access to the main part of the patio is step-free, and there's a lift to the upstairs restaurant. The chairs on the patio are a comfortably large size.
Standard Greene King beers on offer; Abbot Ale, Old Speckled Hen, Greene King IPA. They also had Jacques fruit cider (OK, it's basically Strongbow with squash in, but I like it --[[Kake]]), and I did spot a Leffe pump too. We paid &pound;4.10 for a pint and a half of Abbot, bizarrely served in one Guinness glass and one 1664 Blanc glass. It was drinkable, though not as good as at the [[Mayflower, SE16 4NF|Mayflower]] just up the road.
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The menu looked interesting; particularly the sharing platters (from &pound;4.65 for veggie nachos up to &pound;6.95 for the farmhouse deli board with cheese, ham, pork pie, etc). Cheaper options are topped spicy wedges (from &pound;2.25 for cheese or salsa up to &pound;2.85 for chilli) or jacket potatoes (&pound;3.75&#8211;4.75 depending on toppings). Sandwiches and wraps around &pound;5. Mains cost between &pound;5.65 (ham, egg, and chips) and &pound;8.95 (8oz sirloin steak). The mention of shortcrust pastry in the description of the steak and Old Speckled Hen pie (&pound;6.35) gives hope that it's a real pie rather than a travesty. They also have a separate burger menu offering "18 burgers from around the world".

The vegetarian choices are not extensive &#8212; only one main course, the butternut and sage risotto (&pound;5.95) &#8212; though some are potentially vegan, such as the chickpea masala pitta pocket (&pound;4.95), the jacket potato with beans (&pound;3.75), and the Indian sharing platter (&pound;6.25).

Unfortunately, the [http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/comments.shtml/1985/ Beer in the Evening comments] suggest that in fact the food is rather badly executed. We've not yet tested this.

The staff were "Eastern European and rather easily confused", according to [[Bob]], which is consistent with the BitE comments mentioned above.

Has its own car park and bike parking (a dozen thingies to lock your bike to, under shelter).
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* [https://www.pubsgalore.co.uk/pubreviews/54580/ Pubs Galore comments]
* [https://www.thamespath.org.uk/2007/09/30/spice-island-becomes-old-salt-quay/ Leigh Hatts review]
* [http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/comments.shtml/32389/ Beer In the Evening comments]
*
[https://whatpub.com/pubs/SEL/10720/ WhatPub entry]
* [http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/32/32389/Old_Salt_Quay/Rotherhithe Beer In the Evening entry] (no comments yet)
* [http://fancyapint.com/pubs/pub226.html Fancyapint review] (looking empty)
* [http://www.london-eating.co.uk/32016.htm London Eating comments] (no comments yet)
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<div class="last_verified">Last visited by [[bob]], August 2009.</div>
<div class="last_verified">Last visited 7 May 2007 by [[Kake]] and [[Bob]]. Food times and prices taken from blackboard and menu in pub, 7 May 2007.</div>
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category='Accessible Toilet,Beer Garden,Greene King,Pub Food,Pubs,River View,Step-Free Access'
edit_type='Minor tidying'
category='Beer Gardens,Bike Parking Available,Food Served Evenings,Food Served Lunchtimes,Pubs,Real Ale'
edit_type='Normal edit'
== Line 24 == == Line 35 ==
host='81.187.166.218'
host='195.189.143.37'
== Line 29 == == Line 40 ==
major_change='0'
major_change='1'
== Line 31 == == Line 42 ==
node_image='https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2525300775_eecf3371f6_m.jpg'
node_image_copyright='Kake'
node_image_licence='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/'
node_image_url='https://www.flickr.com/photos/kake_pugh/2525300775/'
node_image='https://farm1.static.flickr.com/209/442444533_941ff185b6_m_d.jpg'
node_image_copyright='Bob'
node_image_licence='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/'
node_image_url='https://www.flickr.com/photos/rjw1/442444533/'

Note: Beer In The Evening comments as of July 2007 suggest this pub's now called "The Old Salt Quay", and other parts of the interweb seem to agree; for example, thebestof.co.uk describes a "steak and seafood festival" including a champagne and Pimms bar, and live jazz. Whether the oysters and champagne signal a significant change from its previous incarnation, we're not sure, having been once-or-twice visitors rather than regulars.

May 2008: Sunday bank holiday no food except the carvery upstairs (running until 6pm). Strongbow 3.15/pint, no more Jacques sadly. Coffee provided by Coffee Republic; Americano is 1.69. Outside seating still the same.

The review below was written before the change of name:

Greene King pub on the river in Rotherhithe. It's fairly large. On the ground floor there are a couple of areas leading off from the main open-plan bar area; one with a pool table, and another with sofas and armchairs. A large riverside seating area is also accessible from the bar. There's a restaurant upstairs, also with outside seating (though it's not always open, and I don't know if it offers anything different from the main pub menu).

Accessibility is very good; the front door is wide, the ground floor is all on one level (apart from a 1-2cm high step at the threshold), there's a separate disabled toilet, access to the main part of the patio is step-free, and there's a lift to the upstairs restaurant. The chairs on the patio are a comfortably large size.

Standard Greene King beers on offer; Abbot Ale, Old Speckled Hen, Greene King IPA. They also had Jacques fruit cider (OK, it's basically Strongbow with squash in, but I like it --Kake), and I did spot a Leffe pump too. We paid £4.10 for a pint and a half of Abbot, bizarrely served in one Guinness glass and one 1664 Blanc glass. It was drinkable, though not as good as at the Mayflower just up the road.

The menu looked interesting; particularly the sharing platters (from £4.65 for veggie nachos up to £6.95 for the farmhouse deli board with cheese, ham, pork pie, etc). Cheaper options are topped spicy wedges (from £2.25 for cheese or salsa up to £2.85 for chilli) or jacket potatoes (£3.75–4.75 depending on toppings). Sandwiches and wraps around £5. Mains cost between £5.65 (ham, egg, and chips) and £8.95 (8oz sirloin steak). The mention of shortcrust pastry in the description of the steak and Old Speckled Hen pie (£6.35) gives hope that it's a real pie rather than a travesty. They also have a separate burger menu offering "18 burgers from around the world".

The vegetarian choices are not extensive — only one main course, the butternut and sage risotto (£5.95) — though some are potentially vegan, such as the chickpea masala pitta pocket (£4.95), the jacket potato with beans (£3.75), and the Indian sharing platter (£6.25).

Unfortunately, the Beer in the Evening comments suggest that in fact the food is rather badly executed. We've not yet tested this.

The staff were "Eastern European and rather easily confused", according to Bob, which is consistent with the BitE comments mentioned above.

Has its own car park and bike parking (a dozen thingies to lock your bike to, under shelter).

See also:

Last visited 7 May 2007 by Kake and Bob. Food times and prices taken from blackboard and menu in pub, 7 May 2007.

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