The Gregorian Pub Jamaica Rd

Since the Gregorian Pub in Jamaica Road, as known as The Greg to locals has now turned into a gastro pub we dont go in there no more. It used to be nice in there with groups playing and singers. Now its very expensive and I wondered what others thoughts on this about the pub since it changed hands?

It's soulless. The day I went in there the sullen boy behind the jump was more interested in his phone conversation and served us as he spoke to his mate, no apology for being so rude (and sooooo unprofessional). Was in there 90 minutes and we were the only customers. On a Friday afternoon! Won't be going back. And I hate the stuffed seagull too...

DebraG wrote:

It's soulless. The day I went in there the sullen boy behind the jump was more interested in his phone conversation and served us as he spoke to his mate, no apology for being so rude (and sooooo unprofessional). Was in there 90 minutes and we were the only customers. On a Friday afternoon! Won't be going back. And I hate the stuffed seagull too...

Haven't been in there for ages, but the experience you relate would turn me right off, I HATE bad service in a pub.
I don't expect the bar staff to leap to attention as I walk through the door, but I do expect someone to notice that I'm standing at the bar, and serve me rather than make phone calls, or chat among themselves.
There again, stuffed seagull, mmmm, sounds interesting, is it stuffed with peppers, mushrooms, or what?
Eternal question, does it taste like chicken?

Nice one Tom :-) It's some poor bird that stands eternally with its wings aloft, ready to take flight - much like all the old Greg customers!

I've been in a few times since it reopened. It feels a bit half-done, if you know what I mean. As if they've refurbished it but done it on the cheap.

Service was average, I've had better and worse.

The food is very good, although a bit on the pricey side.

There are better and worse pubs in the area in my opinion.

One thing I have picked up on over the last couple of years is that there's a lot of snobbery from the 'old' locals of pubs like the Greg and the St James who seem very anti-change and against businesses trying to offer something a bit more modern than the traditional old boozer, of which there are loads around the Bermondsey/Blue area.

The demographics in the area have shifted and businesses need to cater for this (or they do if they want to remain in business) - a lot of people seem to begrudge this.

I am certainly old and terribly local - never been called a snob before, unless you're referring to a shoe maker (look it up) in which case I probably am, my Grandad was indeed a cobbler.

If I go into a pub intent on parting with my hard-earned I expect a cheery greeting, maybe even a bit of banter, and a well-poured drink, not some lout on his mobile. And I forgot to mention my glass was dirty with someone else's lipstick.

And 'boozer' is a very common word don't you think? Very outdated...

Guy's Street wrote:

traditional old boozer, of which there are loads around the Bermondsey/Blue area.

Loads? Really? I can think of only three in the bit you're referring to. Like DebraG, I'm terribly local, but there is clearly a whole section of Bermondsey with "loads" of "old boozers" that I've never visited.

I do object to these yuppy joints. A public house is, well, public, open to all. These new places price real locals out. For balance, I'm a teetotaller and rarely visit pubs.

If you think drinks are expensive, just buy one less in a night. Usually balances things out for me and saves my liver.

I'm not keen on the Gregorian, but I don't mind pubs upping their game a bit with some decent food and better beers.

Nobody is stopping anyone from going in anywhere, are they?

FWIW I think the boatman is great fun, if you consider that an old style pub. But I read recently that it's also up for the chop, a shame. It seems like you have to adapt or die...

The Bank, The Queen Vic, The Blue Anchor, The Forresters, the Stanley Arms - that is 5 off the top of my head within a stretch of about 1km. I know of a few people who drink in these pubs and used to drink in the St James and the Greg. Some I've seen in the latter two since they were refurbished - but you only have to visit various forms of social media for these two pubs to see there's a bit of resentment that new management have tried to change things up a bit and perhaps cater for a different part of the community.

I think that The Boatman is going to close, I've heard it from so many people, that there must be at least a grain of truth in it.
I've never been more than a social drinker, I've gone weeks/months on end without stepping over the threshold of any pub, plus your habits change as you get older, e.g. I probably avoid places with live music now, as I want to hear and be heard in conversation, whereas in the 70s and 80s I was happy trying to lip read, or catch enough that I could keep up.
If anyone had asked me about The Blue Anchor, I'd have said, "closed for ages now", I really didn't think that it was still there, but as I am 'down The Blue' now about as often as I'm in Marylebone Road, it's easy to forget.
I know that The Bank is on the site of the old H.S.B.C., (nearly typed Midland Bank), in Southwark Park Road but I've never thought of it as a pub, I thought that it was a restaurant, so maybe it's a gastro pub.
I used to go in the Stanley a gazillion years back, it was always sparkling clean, a regular old Bermondsey pub.
I rarely went in The Foresters, and I'm pleased to read that it's had a make over, it always felt a tad scruffy to me.
The Queen Vic was a good old pub, but I doubt I've been in there for 30 years.
The pub that I use the most now is The Ship, St. Mary Church St., Rotherhithe, probably because I can see it from my kitchen window, and on the extremely rare occasions that I indulge in too much of the Smirnoff brothers creation, I can roll home in 3 or 4 minutes, including two steps forward, one step back.