The Railway Telegraph in Lewisham

Been a while since I had food here but the scampi and chips was yum! Great value at £12 too.

Very sociable place. Friendly barstaff

🚇 Forest Hill 🍺 £5.40 Fosters This imposing Victorian pub is located just a short stroll from the heart of Forest Hill in Southeast London. The nearest station is Forest Hill. In 1853 the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway began installing a railway telegraph system along its line from London Bridge through Forest Hill. The Railway Telegraph pub was built in 1853 as part of the development of the area. This a sizeable, high ceilinged, one bar pub that is traditionally decorated with a contemporary touch. The servery is centrally located, painted a bold blue and has a tall back bar. The decor consists of white walls with blue panelling, some framed prints, mirrors and conventional seating and booths. Other features include, a DJ booth, a pool table, an air hockey table and a dartboard. At the rear of the pub is a large decked balcony with a beer garden below. The beer line up was a mix of mainstream beers and some from @shepherdneame who own the pub. I decided on a Fosters, my pint was decent, price point was reasonable at just over a fiver. The food menu offers a range of burgers and classic pub grub, Fish & Chips costs £13, roasts are available on a Sunday. I arrived just after 5pm on a pleasant Saturday afternoon in May. The pub had an upbeat atmosphere and was gearing up for a party night. I had a nice chat with the Landlady who was friendly and welcoming, she gave up working in the city to run this pub and has done so for the past seven years. This pub has plenty on to keep you entertained and hosts karaoke, open mic nights, DJ nights, poker and quiz evenings and also has a Darts and Pool team. It is very rare these days to see a behemoth standalone pub like this in London, most pubs like this have been lost to developers. Overall, I enjoyed my visit to the @railwaytelegraphse23 , I loved the imposing Victorian architecture, the vibrant nature of the pub, that pub traditions that were being upheld and the reasonably priced beer. 📅 4th May 2024 More London Pub info @londonpubmap 🍻

Me and my friends went to this pub couple weeks ago to celebrate my friend 28th birthday and it was amazing, There was a live DJ playing amazing reggae tunes, in which I was really happy to see, I was surprised that they sell Dragon Stout it's one of my favourites. The staff were lovely and amazing great customer service I will defintley be coming back again

Impressive large pub nestled between Honor Oak Park and Forest Hill. Shepherd Neame on the taps. Worth stopping by.

Just popped into break the day up. Great service, didn't have much just a pint of Guinness.

very nice place has upstairs and downstairs plus car park and good parking

Local pub. Nice grub and good selection of drinks. Very pleasant.

A friendly local venue catering for a mixed crowd. Live entertainment with efficient bar service.

Bought two rounds of drinks...large red wine and one diet coke...two different prices...

Great pub for drinks and entertainment 21st June 2024 Saxon Sound Ram jam, best night out in a long time . Jerk Shack

Great pub for drinks and entertainment 21st June 2024 Saxon Sound Ram jam, best night out in a long time . Jerk Shack

Food really good. Nice staff but one of those pubs where everyone stares at you. A bit off putting making you feel very unwelcome

Food really good. Nice staff but one of those pubs where everyone stares at you. A bit off putting making you feel very unwelcome

Lunchtime Sunday: A lovely pub with friendly staff. No draft bitter just bottled (chilled!) Sunday roast was a good portion size but the meat was not good enough. Our group could not eat the pork or beef. The veggie Wellington was just fine. Everything came soaked in gravy. No gravy boat.

Ended up here accidentally, it was easily the best roast I've ever had and the people were lovely. Dog friendly too!

Always a good night out especially the old school events. Great location too. Didn’t get a 5 due to no air conditioning and fans are never on. Staff are hard working but disappointed to hear when tipped they only get to keep £20, the rest is kept by the establishment unless you tip in cash which I think is very unfair!

Really nice atmosphere and very friendly staff with good price drinks menu! The ambience is really special, genuinely nice and welcoming with PLENTY games to play keeping one occupied! From Darts to Dominoes and Poker To Pool - the overall Pub has a unique boutique and bespoke feeling when you enter! Tara is an expectational bar Manager and very professional, really welcomes all customers treating everyone like family!!!! Sunday Roast is an extra special and looks very tasty indeed! I recommend this place as it is local, friendly and I had my first EVER larger and lime….. I will update later as I am still in the establishment!!!!!

CONSIDERED going in for coffee and maybe sone breakfast, but the way it looks from the outside put me off. Maybe if they clear, clean and paint the outside and take away the silly banner then I would reconsider. It may be a lovely place but it doesn’t look like that from the outside.

Friendly drinks are a bit expensive

I've been a few times now to this venue for different events... staff are lovely full of fun & great service. I've always had a great night when I've been here.

Pleasant environment and staff service efficiency good and friendly. Went on a weekend, music enjoyable,

Had a delicious Sunday Roast. Really flavourful. Really friendly staff. Will definitely be back.

Sunday roasts were the tops. Excellent value for money Large portions. Lovely conservatory setting. Will definitely return and soon !

Celebrated my Wife's birthday there a few days ago. And they went above and beyond to make it a truly wonderful day. Had a private area for our party guests which was very nicely put together so friends could really catch up. Food ordered was fast and very tasty the chunky chips and spicy wings were addictive. Service was really good, polite and very fast so drinks were constantly flowing throughout the night. I think the maximum wait time was about 3mins and was even then the place was packed. Atmosphere was very good and chilled. With the resident Djs picking up the temp & sound from about 9:30pm giving it a type of nightclub/ bar feel till 1:30am which was pure vibes till the end. I would highly recommend this venue for a place to celebrate birthdays etc it really is an undercover GEM of a place :-)

I pop into this place to do a quizz from.time to time. The quizz is brilliant. I ve not had food as of yet, but service good.

Attended a 50th birthday party last Saturday and it was excellent. The place was able to accommodate us all and the vibes were welcoming and the other people using the pub were cool The staff and the landlady were second to none in their help and making sure we were all ok. Really a good venue for lots of events, you wont be disappointed

Went there to celebrate my birthday. Good food, friendly and helpful staff and a gracious landlady. Good vibes, great atmosphere a night to remember.

Nice food..there using a pop up menu

Very friendly environment music playing all night

Brilliant place to drink and dine in all staff I've met there was very pleasant

We enjoyed a drink here. No food served.

The new management made the opening nite one to remember!

For the place it's located the drinks is very overpricey

Nice pub with a few options available. Food, drink, pool, and sports on screens. Friendly staff

Wicked night, it was someone's birthday tho, staff were quick and very friendly. Bbq outside was way overpriced tho 7.4.23

Disability aware, need to automate back entrance for access.

Only been here once. Loved it. Bar staff was great 🤩

Hired the conservatory for my daughters 21st , had a great time ! , good DJ, pleasant and helpful staff and thanks to Pam the booking process was smooth , thanks to all at Railway Telegraph !

Reasonable price drinks..clean lavatory and drinking area. A spot in London thst is ethnically tolerant and showing awareness and talented to other cultures. I would recommend for events the venue had ample space for medium size functions during all weather conditions. Definitely family oriented pub.

Great atmosphere, very friendly security, great music

Great pub and great atmosphere. Quiz nights, darts and pool table plus great live music late nights. Dog friendly. Currently no kitchen but takeaway welcomed inside and often pop up kitchens. The bar manager Tara is absolutely fantastic. Functions also welcomed.

Quaint pub .....full of vibes!!

03.12 First visit to this pub. We came over for few pints and couple of pool games to this pub. The furious unwelcome lady with purple hair ran to us saying “ You had your last game seeing we had a pound on the table”. She acted like she owns the place without caring for new customers. We said that you can see we are about to finish our game anyway but she anxiously has put all the balls in herself saying “the last pound will go to the charity! “. We we shocked with this customer service being removed from pub even our drinks were still unfinished. Unbelievable! Never again! The lady was serving at the bar-,elderly looking woman with purple hair. I hope she feels happy of her unwelcoming behaviour.

Bar woman with purple hair, took the balls out of the pool table when we were playing without returning money. Rude, unpolite service. Never again.

Great value local pun with decent rear of beers and booze on tap

Friday night vibes with great music, friendly staff and nicely priced drinks. What more do you need.

Good vibes, reasonably priced drinks 🍸

Nice pub but went on wrong nite dj was playing a lot of rugga music it was for a younger crowd

Good music and vibe, drinks were affordable and the rum punch cocktail was delicious.

This was my first time there. I really enjoyed the music and the atmosphere. Mixed crowd, you can dance if you want to or just hang out with friends. There is security at the door. I have not given 5 stars as have not tasted the food.

Great pub. DJ's and live music. It's the place to be especially on a Friday and Saturday

The shows this evening starts too late. 6he shows ought to start at 9 or 10 pm, & NOT 11.30p.m. We pay good cash to watch teo performance tonight which is the cool notes & loose Ends, & I had to get my cab at 00.15 a.m & miss the performance. NOT GOOD ENOUGH, UNACCEPTABLE!!! From Julie Brickley

Went for afternoon tea with the girls, it was the hosts first time delivering Afternoon tea, it was a pleasant experience, it was more than worth it plenty of cakes and sweet treats....fantastic company and jokes all round, would defo go again. Thanks Akeeya-Gala

Ok but nothing like the pictures has a pool table which is rare in London now

Disgusting service!!! -only came in for a quick drink on my 30th birthday. Was so rude to me and my partner. Returned after kaydeen reached out to me, I was pleasantly surprised and felt very welcome. The different staff were very friendly.

I have had so many fun times at the railway I’m so glad the lockdown has come to an end 💃🏽

Rustic pub that has super friendly staff, good atmosphere, DJ on a Saturday night who had the place rocking.

Excellent music in this multicultural pub. Same for atmosphere and ambience.

Has friendly staff, lacks in atmosphere. Not my local anymore.

I used to like this place when it was a gastro pub. Now they have painted all the walls black, gone all goth, and down sized the tables, taste and depth of the menu. They only seem to have burgers (one or two, with cheese or bacon and pickles) or haloumi in a bun on the menu, little else on offer. The chips are £4 a throw on top for chips from a frozen bad (NOT real hand-made chips). The wine was (horrors) the most I have EVER paid in my life, £12 for a glass of mediocre wine. Could not go back. Snack cost £54 for 2 bun burgers, a couple of wines and a beer. I have put below that vegetarians cannot get a GOOD meal here. They can, however, get a meal of sorts here.

Was invited by a friend. He was charged £5 to get in I was charged £8? The drinks were more expensive than other local establishments. Dancefloor was small, music was good. If I felt I could trust the owners I'd go back but it just seems a bit too dodgy for my liking.

Lovely Pub with friendly staff too.

Reasonable place to have a quiet drink. Good DJ's at least once a month.

Good night out with great prices!!

Had a great time, security was polite but professional, clean glasses and polite bar staff.

Once in the place nice Customer service smiles with entertainment too with live artist

Music is on point, friendly atmosphere and staff always wearing a smile 😃👍🏽👊🏽

Great atmosphere and great food!

It was my first visiting the venue. Although I went for a meeting, there's quite a spacious function room, I managed to have a couple of games pool. It's quite a welcoming pub which frequntly has live music/DJs. Its decor is warm and traditional, and the vast space is well laid out. There's a patio area which adds a nice touch. The bar is reasonably priced so all in all, worth a visit.

Disco pool darts and disco great drinks in forest hill

Was a busy sat night good crowd , vibes/ music good

Great darts pratice with Monday night Telegraph A team against Telegraph B team with a little mix up players. Pub is clean, tidy and welcoming as per usual. Great atmosphere too.

Wicked night out with family, the Jerk was slow to come and they never had my change or brought it to me as promised but hey the food was worth it. Next time speed up the service and have the correct change for people and that the reason for 4 stars and not 5....

Out out for the first time in over a year good time had by all will definitely be back real soon 👍😁💃💃💃💃💃

A lovely pub, not too far from Forest Hill station. Great open space, high ceilings together with a lovely conservatory and deck. Good beer from Shepherd Neame. Lovely staff and lovely weather. A good place to visit.

Nice pub, great service and good value

Jerk chicken was great ! Service at the bar was quick and easy. A real old school pub. Friendly and warm .

Friendly staff and great customer service

Nice family run pub. Venue is spacious and well presented. Definitely has the 'friendly local feel'.

great food friendly service relaxed atmosphere great garden at the back

Comida increíble llena de sabor, porciones de gran tamaño y 100% vale la pena. Definitivamente volveremos por más.

Nice, clean and well maintained pub. Cheerful and friendly staff.

Great local night out! Grown folk business

Good for night life and entertainment good lively crowd friendly too

The dogz bollo$%s excellent management great atmosphere best Caribbean food fresh and delicious. Will defo go again.....

A great please for a lively weekend with different DJs and various activities like murder mystery. It a great place to meet up with friends or even for a quiet drink. Its a short walk from Forest Hill train station so ideal for a quick stop off before going home. There a wheelchair ramp and disabled toilet. They take both cash and debit cards. Theres a Sunday roast and Caribbean food on Friday nights I can say it is well worth a visit. Well flavoured and reasonably priced.

Very friendly and helpful staff

Love it now that Pam is back...lovely atmosphere all welcome and I don't really like pubs!!

Went to a private 60th Birthday Party. Nice, clean pub & friendly staff. Would definitely recommend

Good atmosphere good music nice environment 👍👍

Lovely venue,staff and people, but way too hot in there. It really should have some Air conditioning and somewhere to hang your coat up, cause it gets in the way of your dancing pleasure if there's nowhere to put it down.

Great events here at the weekends

Stiff meat, very faded food. But deco is nice and cosy

Great night out with friends. The Dj played good soul/reggae music which got people up and dancing. I will visit again.

It's quite a large place but never seems that busy, partly because quite a large proportion of it is taken up by a pool table. It's good for other games as well. The last time I went in there was a poker game with chips and everything. It's well maintained and the beer is not typical. They have whitstable bay blonde on tap. It's real strength is that its small band of loyal regulars are easy going and entertaining and you'll find yourself in conversation quickly if you want to.

I personally didn't like the layout, of this place, but it's alright, and I enjoyed the live show

Decent music depending on the DJ ,pool table added bonus , Jerk BBQ bangs just need a visible price list and rice with the meal 27 July 2019 * update update update update The people dem selling the yard food need seriously fix up ! got a 2 meals yesterday waited about 10 mins thinking mmmm they cooking up a fresh batch big up ... got the food start eating it I kid you not the meat pork&chicken was hard like a rock, the rice taste like plastic and mad old and just stale really took this piss , I’m telling you it’s going take more then a fake smile to make this food taste good . What a joke the previous time I must be extra drunk cos I thought it taste good The Pub owners need to try the food before it’s sold to their customers I hope they read this review and take note, not happy with woman who severing the food ! Fix up tah rasss Lucky I’m trying be more positive in life otherwise I would of kick up a fuss right there !!

Good Jamaican food on sale good price good vibes

The Best pub I ever been too. They have shisha food and Alcohol three one and food and shisha is Amazing. Also the Staff and the owner are so friendly every time I go I feel welcome highly recommended best pub ever!