The Crown & Greyhound – a venerable pile of a pub in Dulwich Village, and ‘The Dog’ to locals – was closed for renovations for so long it feels like a miracle it’s reopened at all. It’s still recognisably the same local institution (and the Village’s only proper watering hole), but it’s been given a neat revamp. It’s nothing too progressive though: rather like the sprawling Half Moon in nearby Herne Hill (which has also had a significant facelift), it’s simply a decent, classic London pub, and all the better for it.
There’s acres of wooden panelling, decorative glass, snazzy cornicing and artfully mismatched furniture. The pub comprises a massive, leafy beer garden, a back room covered in framed butterflies and other faux naturalist bits ’n’ pieces, and a restaurant doing snazzed-up takes on standard pub grub.
The bar had alternative mainstream beers and ales like Meantime, Camden and Sharp’s on tap, and a host of modish craft ales in the fridge. It’s 2017, so of course there’s gallons of gin. It’s much like any other posh neighbourhood pub – and reliably crammed with families on my visit – but it has a warm familiarity. It’s a more than welcome return. The old Dog’s still got it.