The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, SW9 – a new real ale bar for Brixton

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

There’s a new real ale bar coming to Brixton – and I was lucky enough to be invited for a pre-opening preview (and to try out some of the delicious beers and ciders on offer). The pub officially opens tomorrow at 5pm.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

The Crown and Anchor is situated close to JAMM on Brixton Road and anyone looking for a trendy style bar or a lifestyle-defining music destination with superstar DJs can jog on: this place  is really only interested in one thing, and that’s beer. Lots of the stuff.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

Set up by the team behind Stoke Newington’s legendary Jolly Butchers boozer, the pub will serve up no less than 24 beers on tap, with seven real ales and three ciders on hand pumps.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

The pub will offer an ever-changing selection of carefully selected ales – expect to see at least one new ale almost daily – with prices starting at around £3.30 a pint (not as cheap as big brewery pubs, but then you’ll be getting properly looked-after ales here).

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

There’ll also be offering pub grub shortly after opening, with the accent on “hearty pub fare that goes well with beer,” so expect bangers and mash, veggie platters and lots of sharing plates, as well as tea and coffee, if you must.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

It’s great to see this old boozer coming back to life – many suspected that it was set to join our depressingly long list detailing the Lost Pubs of Brixton.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

The pub has rather an unusual claim to fame too: according to the Daily Herald’s Archive, it was the scene of the ‘first rock n roll club in Britain’, with club nights taking place in the mid fifties.

Check out our Crown and Anchor feature for more.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

The new owners have made some effort to retain original features. It’s looking very smart inside.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

A look along the bar towards the entrance – as you can see, folks were still busy getting the pub ready for the official opening tomorrow.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

A proper London ale! The Kernel Brewery is situated just a few miles from the Crown and Anchor, in Southwark.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

I don’t think I need to tell you how good these ales and ciders are.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

Downstairs in the cellar.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

Looking up from a disused part of the pub’s cellar.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

Staff being trained up in readiness for the opening tomorrow.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

The pub is very much a traditional affair, so there’ll be no massive TV screens blaring out Sky Sports.

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

The aftermath of my testing session. I’ll be back for more!

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

The windows were being cleaned when I was there, but the pub should benefit from lots of natural light.

The pub backs on Slade Gardens, and there’s talk of pedestrianising the small stub of road by the side of the pub and opening up the park gates – making this a fantastic place to enjoy a pint in the summer months

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, London SW9 - a new real ale bar for Brixton

A customer arrives a little early!

More info:
Talk about the pub on the urban75 forums.

Address:
The Crown And Anchor is at 246, Brixton Road, London, SW9 6AQ

Opening hours:
4.30pm – midnight in the week
Midday till 1am on Friday and Saturday
Sunday noon till 11pm
[Pub website]

Map location

10 Comments on “The Crown and Anchor, 246 Brixton Road, SW9 – a new real ale bar for Brixton”

  1. Very exciting, Brixton needs a quality beer perveyor, there’s only so much red stripe this middle aged lump can stomach.

    Kernel, Dark Star, Brew Dog!

  2. looks really good!
    had both those Brewdog pints in the vegan Catbar in Barcelona last week, blue one especially nice! good luck to the pub

  3. Great news! 5 minutes from my house, this place used to give me the chills when I walked past. Great to finally have a local this end of Brixton Road!

  4. Interesting indeed.

    Will this replace the Albert as Urban’s spiritual home I wonder.

    Be interested to hear what the prices are like..

  5. Dropped in on opening night… Fantastic selection of beers… When the kitchen is open it will be right up there with the Jolly Butchers. Brilliant traditional pub and a fantastic addition for Brixton or any where else.. It’s only 4 stops down the Victoria line from Green Park … Guy Rotchie eat your heart out!

  6. Bar Staff unknowledgable and not beer drinkers. Go to the Euston tap or cask bar in Pimlico who are doing the cask beer bar properly.

  7. Unlike Dave I thought the bar staff knew enough about the beer – you can taste it before you order and so far I went five times and was never disappointed. Great beer (says even my non-beer drinnking gf), good food, nice staff and a mixed crowd of people. What else do you ned from a pub. It will be my second home …

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