The Farriers Arms

The Farriers Arms in London stands as a defiant reminder of what pubs used to be, and what the best of them still are. Tucked away on Lower Road where Deptford meets Rotherhithe, this Victorian-era establishment rises above its neighboring shops like a guardian of times past, its 1869 facade telling stories that span generations.

Step inside The Farriers Arms and you'll find yourself transported to a London that many feared lost to time. The narrow frontage opens into a long, welcoming space where the present day feels delightfully uncertain. A well-worn carpet, bearing the badges of countless footfalls, leads you past light green tongue-and-groove panels that climb halfway up cream-painted walls. There's an honest beauty here that money can't manufacture.

The bar stretches along the left wall like a weathered shoreline, where locals gather like seabirds, their conversations rising and falling in familiar rhythms. Here, authenticity isn't a marketing strategy but a natural state of being. A small raised area at the front offers a subtle change in perspective, while the back opens to reveal a pool table that serves as a social hub when the sports aren't playing on the modest screens above.

The warmth here isn't just in the welcome - though you'll find plenty of that from the legendary barlady who knows most patrons by name and newcomers by intuition. It's in the way conversations flow freely between strangers, the way regulars shift on their barstools to make room for new arrivals, the way the pub's resident cat and dog make their rounds like furry publicans ensuring everyone feels at home.

Behind the bar, you won't find craft beer flights or artisanal gin collections. Instead, there's a straightforward selection of well-kept keg beers that respect both tradition and wallets. A pint of Madri - a recent concession to changing tastes - still costs little more than a fiver, a price point that feels like a gentle handshake rather than a transaction.

The back garden provides a breath of fresh air and often, weather permitting, the warm glow of conversation under open skies. It's a modest space, like everything here, but that's rather the point. The Farriers Arms has never been about grandeur - it's about creating space for life to happen naturally.

Entertainment comes in the form of karaoke nights and free pool sessions, but the real show is the ongoing theater of community that plays out daily. During football matches, the energy shifts and swells, the pub becoming a collective living room where every goal and near-miss is experienced communally.

Time here moves differently than in London's more polished establishments. Afternoons stretch luxuriously into evenings, marked not by artisan small plates but by the changing cast of characters who make this their second home. The cash-only policy feels less like an inconvenience and more like a gentle rebellion against the digital age's relentless march.

You might notice the carpet is worn in places, or that the decor wouldn't make it onto an interior design Instagram feed. But focusing on these surface details would be missing the point entirely. The Farriers Arms is a place where the invisible architecture of community takes precedence over aesthetic perfection, where every scuff and scrape is a badge of honor rather than a blemish.

Near Surrey Quays station, just three minutes' walk away, The Farriers Arms stands as proof that London's soul hasn't been entirely polished away. Come here not to be seen, but to truly be - to join a story that's been unfolding since Victoria sat on the throne, and that continues to write new chapters every day. Push open that door, feel the warmth of welcome wash over you, and discover what a real London pub has always been about.