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The Pilot Inn

South East England Greater London Greenwich

10 Guest Rooms
Contemporary Pub with Rooms

A proper Greenwich pub with rooms and good food – a great alternative to nearby chains.

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Those of a certain age might recognise the row of worker's cottage butting up next to this North Greenwich pub. They featured in Blur's video for ParkLife back in 1994, and to be fair look much the same now as they did then – though the area around has changed beyond recognition. Then, the area around the pub was part wasteland; since then this part of London has become a proper and rather desirable neighbourhood, spurred on by the O2, the tube station and thousands of luxury flats jostling for a view of the river.

The Pilot has changed too, but in a good way, from what was a tremendous neighbourhood pub in an area where you'd least expect it to an even better pub that serves great food and has some cosy boutique rooms upstairs for those looking for an alternative to the charms of the nearby Holiday Inn (or indeed those of Greenwich's many other chain hotels). A lovely Georgian building, owned and run by Fullers, it still makes the most of its maritime roots, which date back to the early 19th century when (along with the cottages) it was built to serve local coal workers. It's a homely sort of place, with lots of nooks and crannies inside and a terrace and secluded garden out the back – and it serves a menu of tasty bar snacks and sandwiches and pub classics like fish and chips, chicken kiev, mussels, steaks and burgers, making it a perfect place for a drink or something to eat before or after a gig at the O2, which is a less than ten-minute walk away.

There are ten contemporary and well-appointed rooms upstairs, equipped with comfy cast-iron beds, high quality bed linens, Freeview TVs and en-suite bathrooms, wifi and tea- and coffee-making facilities; the cheaper ones are quite compact but they have everything you need. You're a two-minute walk from the riverside path (which you could follow in half an hour into the centre of Greenwich), and a five-minute walk from the cable car (the-called 'Emirates Airline'., worth a trip for the views alone), river bus services and the tube. All in all. The Pilot is a comfy and rather authentic base for a stay in London – certainly a welcoming place to return to at the end of the day.