A Mash-ing time at the Union

Poor Greenwich - it still seems to be suffering from the hangover of the Millennium Dome, with people very much of the attitude that they've 'been there', 'seen it' and 'done that'. You could almost forgive the denizens of Greenwich if they suggested they use the Dome for a bonfire this Guy Fawkes night, but that would only distract from one of their biggest events of the year - an enormous fireworks display which will be held on Blackheath this Saturday at 7.30pm.

But Greenwich has been making a big noise for other reasons in recent months, with the significant arrival of The Meantime Brewing Company. Beer fans will already be familiar with the name Alastair Hook - formerly at The Freedom Brewery in Fulham and responsible for the development of the Mash microbrewery - who is famous for developing and supplying smallbatch funky beers to discerning London bars. And now he has his own pub to use as a natural outlet for his excellent brews.

The Greenwich Union is a handsome pub. Long and narrow with a smart York
stone floor, part-panelled wooden walls and cheery yellow paintwork. Robust wooden furnishings indicate you are indeed in a pub, but the atmosphere is welcoming and unpretentiously fashionable. There's a conservatory area at the back of the pub, and a pleasant beer garden beyond that.

But a lot more than beer goes on here - jazz nights on Sundays, a pianist and vocalist on Tuesdays, an acoustic showcase on Wednesdays. And, although the food menu is limited to baguettes and the occasional hot dish in the week, they offer a traditional roast on Sundays with two bookable sittings at the slightly inhospitable hours (for a Sunday) of 1pm and 2.30pm.

But this place is going to be full of cardcarrying members of the Campaign For Real Ale, isn't it? Well, not on my visit. And as if to dispel the theory that beer bores are exclusively male, overweight and dishevelled-looking, I watched one evening as a couple of young girls giggled with excitement at being offered free samples of beers at the bar. 'Wow, that's lovely,' declares one, sampling the raspberry-flavoured beer. 'I'll have a pint of that.' The second also opts for a pint. 'Chocolate stout? Who would have thought of that?' They took their places at one of the candlelit tables, chatting endlessly.

Later that same evening some impossibly fashionable twentysomethings arrive. They spoke knowledgeably to their friends: 'Try the White beer, you'll like that. I'm having the Union lager.'

One of the girls approached to ask what I was drinking. The Golden Pilsener, I told her. 'How lovely, I was on that last night. Rather too much of it, as it happens.'

Now who says drinking beer is boring?

The Greenwich Union
56 Royal Hill, SE10 8RT