On the market

The Coach & Horses is a small, homely pub with some rather good Victorian cut-glass mirrors behind the bar and you'll find it on a corner of Greenwich's covered market. So far so good.

When Dome fever swept through this part of SE10, it left things changed forever and there was an epic amount of 'tidying up'. The new Cutty Sark DLR station in the heart of what is now billed as 'Maritime Greenwich' brought with it an arcade of smart shops, and local pubs were made trendy at an alarming rate.

The Coach has preserved its pub credentials. Granted it is a pub that has some ambition in terms of food, but there is still an open fire (albeit gas) and there are still four real ales in pole position along the bar. The food is sound, rather than spectacular and service can be slow. However, there's a competitive weekday special of any two courses for £10.

The menu changes regularly, but starters may include a butternut squash soup with truffle oil or that retro favourite, panne camembert with fruit sauce which is surprisingly good - the cheese wedges just seared in the frying pan until pleasantly gooey.

There's also corn-fed chicken terrine - a well-made terrine, served at room temperature rather than fridge cold, and with a good texture and flavour. Mains range from wild mushroom and spinach risotto, to tuna nicoise, or pork chops glazed with brown sugar and mustard - the pork a bit tough, but well-flavoured.

The rib-eye steak with spinach, sauté potatoes and red wine is less successful, mainly because a steak ordered rare turns up well-done, the reduced red wine sauce is very silky-sticky. The pub comes into its own with the snack menu. The 'Coach lamb burger with big chips' is large and uncompromising and you could opt for a steak sandwich or Cumberland sausages and mash.

The food at the Coach is sound enough, but it is kept firmly in its place and must play second fiddle to the pubby, happy-drinkers side of things. In the context of the new post-Millennium tourist-targeting Greenwich, you cannot help feeling rather grateful.

The Coach & Horses
13 Greenwich Market, SE10 9HZ