Some salvation Sarfside

Why aren't there more decent gastropubs south of the river? I used to worry that I was biased against the Sarfside - don't tell me you don't take riversides, everyone does - but the Michelin pub guide claims there are few estimable gastros in South London.

There's the Anchor And Hope in SE1, obviously, the Garrison and the Hartley in SE1, the Greyhound in SW1, the Palmerston in SE22 and the Freemasons in SW18.

The Dartmouth Arms used to be a filthy place, but since being taken over last September by two sleeping partners in some name ventures (Livebait, Real Greek) it has changed. The place is plain and avoids gastro cliches with futuristic light fittings and the odd wall papered in a teacup motif. The wine list offered easy drinking from France and the southern hemisphere at lower prices. The manager recommended a Borie de Maurel Esprit d'Automne 2003, firm, well-textured, jammy - a good choice. There are two well-kept ales (Bombadier and London Pride) and Kronenburg Blanc, a light French wheat beer.

White bean soup with fennel, roast garlic and pesto was an odd mix of flavours. The fennel tasted like pickled cabbage, the beans had been pureed to a gritty texture and the garlic was bitter. Cute dolly-sized lamb souvlaki was hard, dry and lukewarm - good spicing was not enough. More homemade foccacia was requested - a hit there, then.

Southern France did not come to mind at all with my bouillabaisse. Instead of a sparkling broth of herbs, spices, fish, tomato and olive oil there was a dark, salty, over-boiled slurry, with overcooked crayfish, a hard lump of salmon and two bland mussels. Why mess with a classic by adding cavalo nero leaves, and leaving out the little toasts, gruyere and aioli? What wasn't wrong with this dish. It was bizarre and very bad cooking. Two orders of featherblade beef (a tough shoulder cut with lots of flavour) went down very well, though. 'Not Pierre Koffman's daube of beef at Tante Claire,' said P, 'but the fact that I thought of that is its own compliment.'

A shared chocolate pot with some pleasantly chewy but anachronistic wafer was OK. Someone here needs to wake up if they want the Dartmouth to join the South's tiny Premier League.

The Dartmouth Arms
7 Dartmouth Road, SE23 3HN