Jolly Woodman in Bromley

Proper boozer with good beer and a nice bunch of locals, without feeling "too local"

They always serve short pints☹ Good pub good beer but short measures. Why don't pubs fill.the pints up? I get fed up with asking for a top up.

A friendly, traditional village type pub. Lots of atmosphere and ambiance - highly recommended.

One of my very favourite pubs, especially when sunny and it is possible to sit outside. Excellent bar staff.

Not had any food there but the service and atmosphere are great, good bunch on both sides of the bar 🍻

Opens at midday on Friday closes at 12.30am

Great pub, they pour an excellent Guinness

Make sure to stop in here anytime I’m back in London.

A fabulous welcome from the team and patrons. The choice of drinks and snacks was fantastic. Expertly served. Can’t wait to go back again.

Friendly happy place to catch up with friends 🧡

Great place for a pint with friends

A very nice traditional old fashioned small pub selling excellent beers. Please note limited food brought in from the Chancery Pub a few doors up.

Always a great experience at this traditional busy local.

Good selection of real ales, great atmosphere. Proper pub.

Great sun trap when it's out! Great service as always, dam good Guinness

Best proper old school pub for miles.

Great Morris-friendly place in a pretty side road. Good beer and friendly people

This pub used to be my local many years ago and back then it was very much a "locals" pub. It had it's regulars and it's personalities and even had the tankards of regular customers hanging up behind the bar. It was a little dingy but it was cosy and always had a great atmosphere. I imagine it may have been a bit daunting to people who had never been before though. Then I moved away and and didn't return for 30 years. Things have changed a bit since I was last there but the core qualities that made this pub great have remained. The cosiness and friendly atmosphere has remained but the decor has been smartened up and it is now bright and welcoming. Though I haven't been for a long time, and it was hard for me to tell, it looked like there was still quite a few local residents frequenting the place but they were less insular than we used to be and were friendly and welcoming. The staff were pleasant and efficient, joking and chatting with the customers and contributing to the overall happy ambiance. The only problem with the place is the same problem it's always had, The Jolly Woodman is small. It's very difficult to maneuver around inside and getting your drinks from the bar to your table can be an adventure as customers have to dance around each other to avoid disaster. Not so bad on a quiet night, but a problem when it gets busy. Still, it can't be helped so, to mitigate this, the beer garden has loads of seating, heaters and a big waterproof awning. I like this place as I have many happy memories associated with it. Now, having returned, I'm hoping to make many more. Cheers.

Could take more care in how they serve the Guinness but it's a nice traditional pub ..toilets need attention as in bleach in urinals

A traditional pub with a decent garden. Personally, I love it.

Great boozers, meeting family and friends,

Friendly staff, great atmosphere.

Actually don't want to promote this so I can keep to myself🤫

Went with friends. A proper old pub. Great atmosphere, good beers. Gets very busy.

Little gem of a pub in Beckenham like pubs used to be

The local of the locals. If you are looking for a ‘local’ look no further! This is the most local pub in Beckenham. Full of the regulars! You are welcomed in with inviting faces and friendly locations that will chat all evening to you! The landlord is great and the beer selection is great 🍻

Lovely country style pub with beer garden out the back too!

great beer choices and the Otter went down a treat

This is a little gem. Set back off of the main road in a quite cul-de-sac. A proper pub. Extremely friendly staff and great beer. It's quite small and can get very busy but this adds to the charm. We love going there.

Authentic friendly place. Best pub in Beckenham.

Perfect pub, not trying to be a restaurant.

Basic, but old school pub, where people are encouraged to talk to one another, and not sit playing with their phones!!

What a lovely pub, the Sussex Best was gorgeous.

Nice little down to earth booze off the main road. The crowd are locals and not pretentious. They also pull a perfect Guinness!

A small pub but full of characters from the local community. Popped in for a friend's birthday drinks. The bar itself is small but two staff working promptly served with a smile. It was very warm in there . But had a few drinks . Will return. Give it a try

The Woodman is a beacon of community in a town that can sometimes feel quite transient given it's great commuter links into different parts of the City, and it's 'night-out' culture. The Woodman truly is a pub for the locals and we love it! The Timothy Taylor's Landlord is about as well kept a pint you'll find inside the M25. No music and no Sky Sports enable those meaningful conversations over a pint with friends and family that we all treasure.

This American loved it....friendly everybody! Get a great proper beer here... and relax. Look for my $5.00 bill pinned up on the bar!

Nice pub, warm county pub feel. Beer selection is ok. Only thing to really let it down was the miserable bloke behind the bar.

A great place to spend time with friends. Polite staff.

Always very friendly and a great atmosphere. Great selection of beers and good wine too. Such a lovely afternoon.

This pub is a bit of a hidden gem. Fine array of drinks and a lovely garden . Well worth a visit

Delightful country style pub, with no fruit machines, stinking food or blaring music and in a lovely quiet spot. In my two visits I have been disappointed with the ale and feel more training of the very young (but cheerfully willing) bar staff is required. They do not seem to understand the cellar and clearly have no knowledge of the condition of ales. The faffing over barrell changes and pull through was clearly due to inexperience. My Tim Taylor's was flat and lacking condition and I watched a pint of very soupy Harvey's, clearly dredged from the barrell bottom, blithely handed to a customer. I'm assuming the actual recipient sent it back. Hophead was fine but freezing cold. I will persist with the pub as it's friendly and civilised but, at present, I can see why the Guinness is popular.

Lovely pub, staff, and regulars

This is a small and very friendly pub in Chancery Lane, Beckenham. Good range of beers and wine. Definitely worth a visit.

Lovely old fashion pub you think you are in the country

Quiet and traditional pub. The location and ambiance is truly relaxing.

Unpretentious, traditional boozer with friendly staff

Best local pub in Beckenham, or surrounding area.

Does not strictly keep to advertised closing time hours shown on its website (Facebook) . Faced with a closed shop on my visit and a blackboard outside saying against each day of the week the closing time was "Until close". What is up to cause such unnecessary uncertainly? So beware if travelling late from afar, in fact probably not worth trying.

Was my local, now I travel specifically because its a great pub. This place will always be the local I wanted no matter where life takes me, cheers Joe.

A great evening Morris dancing followed by a good singing session in the pub. A fantastic atmosphere and a good start to the Morris dancing season. Thank you Jolly Woodman and see you later this year.

I loved this pub,yesterday it was the first time I've been there. I live in London for 7 years but I will bring family and friends here when coming to visit us or to see the city as tourists. The pub gives you that lovely taste of local and cosy which I really enjoy. Will definitely come back

Nice place to have a pint. Easy to chain up cycle, and sit outside.

Nice quiet pub thought more of it as a country pub relaxing friendly atmosphere.

Great atmosphere. Staff friendly. Felt really relaxed.

Always enjoy a visit to this no nonsense boozer tucked down just out of the way. A convivial atmosphere to absorb and a cheeky beer garden to chill in.

Great local pub, really focused on nice beer in comfortable surroundings. Great place for a quiet pint and a catch up.

Not been for a few years. But it's a quite nice local little pub. I actually really enjoyed it.

May just have taken the award for my favourite pub in the borough of Bromley. Outstanding traditional pub. No jukebox or fuss. Good quality beer at a fair price.

Proper old fashioned local, with friendly atmosphere and traditional beers. Everyone seems welcome

Beer in tip top condition. A very quirky constructed pub, quite unique for this part of London.

Friendly staff, quaint atmosphere, nice selection of ales

This place has a one hygiene rating. Avoid!

The place is beautiful and very atmospheric. The service was very slow and below average. The food was average and arrived a bit cold after a long wait. Warmed up potatoes, the promised crusty bread was a slice of white bread.

Good service. Good safe procedures

Nice fresh pints of Harvey's and Black Sheep. Plenty of space to sit.

Quality ales in a hospitable and majestic environment

Small local traditional pub. Always different beers to try on offer almost every week.

Great traditional pub. Love it.

Timothy taylor in great nick 3 pints down before the rugby

Great well kept ales. Quite busy on weekends. Reasonably priced. There is a dartboard & plenty of outdoor seating.

Splendid range of real ale! Lovely bar area! Set in a quiet location but with easy access to public transport by tram,rail and bus. A clean environment in beautiful Beckenham! Outside toilet, secret garden, proper furniture,no fancy food to attract annoying diners and fussy 'kids' with attendant tantrums! Why London Drinker has ignored this establishment from putting it as Greater London Pub of The Year, (and awarding it to a vastly inferior destination)is something I cannot fathom,but it is perhaps as it should be that the lovely local clientele should keep this gem to themselves and keep the sandal wearing, bearded beer testers in the general direction of away! Six stars!

It's a great place to meet people and the drink is always good 10 out of 10

Only proper pub in beckenham....

Always love the warm atmosphere at the Jolly Woodman- first visited in 1986- hubby even proposed to me there so fond memories. Will make a point of popping in if in the area

it's a proper pub not many left

A pub-pub doesn't get any better than this.

Friendly and good beer. Trad pub, no noise!!

Don't expect any frills, proper pub, right down to the old man in the corner.

Nice traditional pub with seating front and back

Great traditional pub, good selection of beers, friendly bar staff.

Good beers on tap... notably Harveys

Great beer. But food is very limited. They also own the Chancery nextdoor. Woodman is a drinkers pub.

Quirky little pub Great Beer and good people

A real pub!!! No frills, no nonsense but great beer and old school charm. And exceptional service.

I've been an occasional visitor here for more years than I want to own up to - OK, about forty years - and the place hasn't changed in all that time. The staff have obviously changed over the years but it's still the same friendly and efficient service serving up great condition pints of real ale. The selection changes but Harvey's Best and Taylor's Landlord are both generally on. Landlord generally doesn't travel well IMO but their pint here is about as close to as it is Yorkshire as it's possible to get. I hope this place never changes when so many other London pubs have been wrecked by ill-thought out facelifts disguising the mediocre food and beer on offer, is they have been lucky to survive at all.

Lovely little pub. Far better feel than any chain pub

Grear atmosphere, very pleasant for an old skool experience.

Lovely little pub with really nice happy staff

Excellent service and staff are very friendly.

Friendly local boozer in a quiet street. Great beer. Very cosy. Sandwiches on request

The most traditional feeling pub I have had the pleasure of visiting. Small, welcoming and the perfect place for a pint of bitter, Guinness and the Wine's good too, All simply served, with a friendly clientele around you. Ideal for a pint or two with the paper and a bag of twiglets.

This is a proper back street boozer catering for folk who like real ale. The championship bitter Timothy Taylor Landlord and Sussex Harvey's are always on hand with another three or four in rotation of visiting ales. There is no music, a television only shows rugby occasionally,. no gaming machines and just good conversation. There is nowhere like it this side of Greater London!

Great traditional local unspoilt pub. Nice range of beers. Friendly staff. No music. Excellent

We went on Sat 12 Jan about 7pm after seeing the praise in the Telegraph. The place is great - and a real find in a part of Beckenham left over from the 18th century - there's an old forge sign just down the road. We drank Sussex which did not disappoint.

Proper pub!! No frills. No music. No gaming fruit machines. No TV except when live International Rugby matches are broadcast. Just good beer, spirits or wine and quality products, and great atmosphere with conversation.

Just an excellent tradional boozer.

A lovely local pub. Friendly staff. Small and buzzing.

A pub with no music and where kids and phones are prohibited at the bar area? Absolutely amazing!!!! Decent priced drinks, friendly staff and a nice beer garden if we come with the baby. I love the fact that they don't ban kids and phones as such, just at the front where people like to have chat. Keep going like this :)

Tucked around the corner of this busy outer London suburb is this little oasis of a pub. Harveys on tap is a win, win.