The Old Dispensary

Pub in Camberwell

9 / 10 from 2 reviews

Address
325 Camberwell New Road
Camberwell
London
SE5 0TF

Map

Telephone
020 7708 8831

Region
Camberwell

Nearest Station
Denmark Hill
0.55 miles

Category
Pubs

Website
http://www.olddispensary.co.uk/

Opening Summary
Mon - Fri: 11:00 - 23:00

Edit Venue Information

Venue Facilities

Food Served

Big Screen TV

Disabled Facilities

Children Welcome

Credit Cards Accepted

Music Played

Live Music Played

Outdoor Area

Live jazz in the evening, BT and Sky Sports during the day - it's pretty much the perfect Sunday end to the weekend.

All In London

The Old Dispensary pub in camberwell has a new team and were bringing a new feel but keeping with the great tradition of Irish pubs. Based in Camberwell in central London we have sunday dinners and snacks during the week. Pub quiz nights. funky house and junk nights , traditional irish folk nights jack in the box kitchen nights coming soon and huge television screens for all your football during the world cup. great ales in our camberwell pub. bottled beers wines and spirits student discounts on some beers.

The Old Dispensary Picture Gallery

old dispensary pub

old dispensarypub camberwell

All In London Review

An absolutely, confusingly brilliant pub with heart... and good beers.

A peculiar pub, The Old Dispensary is a balancing act between the old and the new, laid out by the somewhat warming dichotomy captured by the scene we discover at the bar on our first visit - that of classic Camberwell drinker meets craft beer connoisseurs meets students - and none knows quite what to make of the others.

This new breed of beers featured on the taps appear in stark contrast to the array of characters lined up in front of them. But never judge a book by its cover (a lie because we judge books by their covers all of the time); this pub shares the necessity of new beers with its need to retain the locals who drain the kegs.

Before we finally decided to visit the Old Dispensary we couldn’t quite pigeon hole the pub. And since visiting we remain at a loss to work it out – except that we like it. Lit with a warm orange glow, home to a secretive beer garden for those endless London summers (right?) and in possession of some prime window booths, it’s our new favourite. It shouldn’t quite work but it does, from the Sunday night jazz to the live football, the barflies to the drunken eighteen-year-olds who remind you that London is actually home to youngens doing the same sorts of things you did when you were that age – just in a pub in Camberwell Green rather than Suburbia Central. Lucky them.

Those much-discussed beers at the bar include the likes of Goose Island, Sam Brooks and a good cast of ales. During our post-Christmas visit we’re over the moon to find Only Fools and Horses on the screens around the pub. There’s no sound but just having it there is enough, like leaving the TV on for the dog when you go out. Both contemporary and gloriously old school, The Old Dispensary is an accessible traditional boozer at which to drink, enjoy the football and hear a little live jazz. Confusing? Absolutely confusingly brilliant.

Reviewed by T.A.O anonymously
Published on Jan 28, 2016