The Ship - Jew's Row

It seems the trend for gastro pubs is to focus more on being a restuarant than a bar. The Ship sits at the other end of the scale – it is first and foremost a pub but one that happens to also have a great kitchen. That does mean that it gets very busy and it can be difficult to make it through the crowded bar to the dining room itself. However, it works and still feels inviting. Food itself is good – definitely not just pub grub, this has flair and quality. The menu is simple but offers good choice. Wine list is good – a reasonable selection and variety. Serving staff are friendly and knowledgable. Always a pleasant experience.

Decided to go to lunch today at the Ship, as I had seen good reviews and had drunk there occasionally. Well food OK, what do you expect for barbeque? Service is strange as I was asked for a mobile number so they could text me when food was ready, I didn't realise I had to go and get my food, instead of it being brought to me, no wonder they did what they did, see later… As for the outside, well it is South London, and there is a cement factory across the road, so views are not what they could been and the seating is haphazard, at least the clientele are very nice, no yobs here, even if it was August and the schools are on holiday, all the customers were very respectful, and pleasant. The only issue I had was after arriving home, I notice that the actual charge they made was not what i had paid, as I was overcharged by 3GBP, and as such i didn't notice that instead of a *6GBP charge it was charged at *9GBP (3GBP difference, I know is not the end of the world, but if they do this to everyone, they how much are they overcharging customers by, especially as they say they do not charge service on top of the bill, yet the customer has to go and get there food when it is ready! Maybe the 3GBP charge is for the text message they send you to say your food is ready to collect, rather than they bring it out to you? Anyway i am not sure I would go again, unless I had cash and paid what was written, certainly I wouldn't set up a tab (as I did in this case) as they obviously try and rip you off as they presume (like me) you a) wont notice or b) not care, or c) not notice and therefore not be aware they do do this; how many of us simply pocket the credit/debit card receipt and not the actual food and drink receipt when we leave (that is the reason I noticed, as I picked up both)? I have seen this pub packed on weekends and evenings (especially in nice weather) and I wonder how many unsuspecting people have had this happen to them? Visited August 2013