The Rake

September 21, 2008
Small square whitewashed room that looks completely unlike any other pub I’ve been to. It’s sort of like a college games room with little of interest architecturally. The proprietors are very friendly though and were quite willing to chat amiably with a semi-intoxicated Canadian on a recent visit. Only four or five casks/taps but the largest selection of bottles I’ve seen in London. The outdoor patio is very nice though... sort of a dark wooden semi-enclosed structure that wouldn’t be out of place on a Cuban beach. Like I said... it’s strange, but it’s worth dropping in on a Southwark pub crawl.

August 10, 2008
Great place, although the interior looks a bit like a white and clean snackbar. Once we found a seat at the bar things became really nice. Friendly staff, amazing wide range of beers and at some point we get to chat with the owner, serving us sellar specials. Good time!!

July 14, 2008
Tiny place, almost half of it is the fridges! Fairly healthy selection of beers, including several oddities. Well worth a visit to Southwark, alongside the Market Porter. (The two are very close, just turn left out of the MP, hug the outside of the market, and look down the nearby side-streets.)

April 24, 2008
Great pub - wonderful selection. Nice service, even though the bartender looked as if she had a rough night the day before :o). Good selection of foreign brews - I had a Swedish retired one, even - two casks only, though. Light and lively even early on a Friday.

January 19, 2008
Recommended by the Utobeer guys. Apparently Time Out London’s bar of the year. The beer menu’s had all been stolen so it was hard to get a good picture of their offerings. Anyhow, I appreciated that the beers there are quite good but limited on tap selection and very tiny place in overall size. Overall, another excellent Southwark destination to enjoy if in the area.

January 18, 2008
Only two real ales but they constantly change. Bar staff were very helpful suggesting beers to try. Nice to be in a place where they care about what they are selling.

December 4, 2007
What a small bar with quite a selection, which you can enjoy on the nice patio in the summer. Somehow a nice combination of old and new. 6 beers on cask/draft and 100’s of bottles - of which there was an OK selection of new ones for me. Visited alone, so I didn’t get all of them -)

November 13, 2007
Must be one of the best bars in london. Best of the trip anyway. Quite small, but good atmosphere to the place, good outside seating area. The bars small, but service was good, only fault was we got a dirty glass for one of our beers. Ever changing cask and tap selection, even had soem brewdog beers on cask when we were down. I was hoping for soem lambic on draught but they were out, but still a good 300+ bottled beers and about 50 of which i hadnt had.

October 29, 2007
An obvious labor of love, with all the good and bad implied by that description. It’s very small, only three tables inside and a few more on the deck, and pretty mundane decor-wise. But the selection, the knowledge, and the service all make it a must-visit. Free samples of every beer I expressed curiosity about, detailed descriptions of others, and passion for beer culture that comes through every step of the way.

August 3, 2007
I guess the beer range is similar to Utobeer, but you will want to drop by this place if in Southwark, would it only be for its convenient location. it really is a rather cozy place as well which feels good to be in. The cask selection also seems to be better than the pubs close-by, so really, unless you’re really limited on time, there’s no reason not to visit this place.