Tripadvisor.co.uk

“Fantastic for families with small children looking for a relaxing pub experience”

5 of 5 stars - Reviewed 1 June 2011

If you have small children and would like to have a relaxing al fresco lunch, there are very few nicer places in London to be on a warm day than the Herne. For families, the very best thing about the Herne is the large garden with a play area that is not enormous, but easily interesting enough to keep toddlers, pre-schoolers and young school children very well occupied while their parents lunch and have a pint or two of the well kept beers. At weekend lunchtimes there are usually a fair number of small people in this play area, enough for a fun atmosphere.

The food is generally good quality gastro-pub, at prices that are fairly typical for the area and with a reasonable selections of kids' meals. The pub clearly sources good quality ingredients, and there is also a good range of more than satisfactory wines and beers. Service can be a bit slow when they are busy, but who cares if the sun is shining and you are relaxing over a nice glass of wine while your child scamps very happily around the garden?

The high prevalence of quite small people obviously has its downside if you come without children, so don't come at lunchtime if you have a real aversion to free-range children, but plenty of adults without children do seem to come here, and in the evenings it has the character of a mainstream good quality gastro-pub, popular with the local communities. There are also good quiz nights, music and beer festivals and a variety of other locally popular events.

The 63 bus will bring you here from the South Bank (near Southwark station) or the Elephant and Castle, or you can walk or take the 63 or 363 from Peckham Rye. The pub is an easy walk from many parts of East Dulwich, Nunhead, Peckham and Forest Hill, and can be combined with a trip to lovely Victorian Peckham Rye Park, just across the road, or to the Horniman Museum a kilometre or so away. Reasonable local parking.