The Rye Hotel, London > Reviews (1)

London is a funny old place. One minute an area is considered terribly C2DE (or downmarket for non marketers!) the next a starbucks and organic bakery moves in and before you know it you can add a couple of noughts to the most average home in the area. Peckham is one such area currently being gentrified. The butt of a million jokes at the expense of the hit BBC comedy 'Only Fools and Horses' the residents of Peckham are now having the last laugh.
Peckham is located about 5 miles south of central London, and is the shabbier neighbour to upmarket East Dulwich. I have to be honest there are still probably only about 3 really decent places to eat at the moment in Peckham, but with planned developments for a tram link into central London, and the various 2012 backed initiates for the area its all looking pretty rosy for the future.

The Rye Hotel is in my humble opinion the best place to eat in the Peckham area at the moment. To clear this up from the start, it's not a hotel but a pub/gastro pub that has managed to pull off the rather delicate balancing act of doing both things very well indeed.
I've eaten at The Rye so many times now I could probably tell you everything that regularly appears on the menu as well as a good many of the guest dishes. It's just such a great place to go for any number of occasions, and in almost 2 and a half years of regular visits I've only once had a bad evening.

First Impressions
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Located at the top of Rye Lane the Rye Hotel overlooks part of one of the most beautiful, and surprisingly not that well known about, parks in South London. A large old building with several floors; however just the ground floor is open to guests. From the outside on a fine day you'll see the doors open and several tables and chairs set out for customers. There is also a decked area to the left of the main doors which also has several permanent benches. When you enter from the road the first thing you'll probably think is, 'wow this place is really nice'. You walk first into a bar area that has lots of tables with mismatched chairs of all sizes. The floor is exposed wood, and the walls are white with lots of local modern art displayed. If its winter you'll see a wonderful big open fire roaring in the grate with comfy sofas surrounding it just begging you to buy a drink and sink back and enjoy them. The bar itself is also worth a mention in my opinion. It's really beautiful, and has a large wooden clock set into the top of it. The combination of the old fashioned wood and the modern high end spirit bottles looks great. Up at the bar are 4 or 5 trendy looking high silver stools with black swivelling seats that are also comfy to while away a few hours on.
Drinks
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The Rye offers several beers on tap including, Youngs, Hoegarden, Guinness, Fosters and Stella Artois. They also serve the now popular Magners Cider by the iced glass.
They also have a wide range of bottled lagers, including Sol and Rolling Rock, classic cocktails and a great wine and champagne list.

Glasses of house wine start around the £3.50 mark for large generous helpings, and bottles of wine from around £12-£14 ranging up to over £100 for Dom Perignon.

Layout
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The other thing worth mentioning about The Rye is its enormous. You have the original building which houses the main bar, fire place and seating for around 100. If you wander through to the back of the pub you'll find a large permanent marquee which is great in summer and winter. This area usually features standing gas heaters in the winter as well as an area with sofas and tables for diners. You'll find more of the unusual art work in this area such as a butterfly themed area and fairy lights twisted about the place giving the place a mellow magical feel.
The bathrooms can be found between the main bar and the marquee, these are up a small flight of 3 steps, which are fine, but may be a little difficult for a disabled diner to negotiate.
There is also an enormous beer garden which must be around 200 metres long, with loads of tables and still loads of space for kids to run around or dogs to wander in.

They do private hire at The Rye and I know the place has featured on a high profile TV show on design, and has been hired out by film crews.

Staff
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There seems to be a growing trend in my area for table service in bars and pubs, which is fine with me. There is nothing more of a turn off than having your evening out punctuated with gaps of 30 minutes while who ever the poor person trying to get a round in struggles to get the attention of a bar person. The Rye seemed to set this trend over 2 years ago. The staff are all really nice people, normally quite young and trendy types. They really do look after you, and maybe it's a marketing ploy, maybe not, but I really cant complain about people wanting to get me more drinks as they pass by. Top marks to the Rye on this note.

Food
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The thing that really keeps me coming back for more is the food at The Rye. The menu has around 6-8 choices for mains, 3-4 for dessert and a whole load of bar nibbles. Options include:

Nibbles
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Pitta and Hummus - £3
Thai prawn crackers with chilli dip £2.50
Mixed charcuterie platters with salami, chorizo, olives, taramasalata, hummus and pitta- £6.50
Mixed vegetarian platters with prawn crackers, filo prawns, dolma, olives, feta cheese, grilled Mediterranean veg - £6.50
Chunky chips £3

Main courses
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Guinness and steak deep filled pie with potatoes and vegetables - £10
Rye burger - served with rocket, caramelised onions, chips and black pepper mayo - £9
Chicken and Asparagus Risotto - £8
Sirloin steak with chips or potatoes, salad or vegetables £12.50
Roast corn fed chicken breast with lemon and herb stuffing, roast potatoes, courgettes and carrots with red wine sauce - £12
Green Thai curry with rice - £8
Crispy Duck with noodles - £8
Thick pork sausages with mashed potato and gravy - £8

Desserts
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Warm treacle tart with vanilla pod ice cream - £5
Chocolate brownie - £4
Platter of local cheeses with crackers or bread selection, grapes, celery and olives - £6

Why The Rye?

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In a nutshell if you are looking for a pub or laid back casual restaurant for a spot of lunch or dinner then the Rye is for you. I've enjoyed pub dinners in the gardens in the summer, have taken my family there when they've visited, my husband's family, friends. We even had our Valentines Day meal there this year, and had a really amazing 3 course set meal with bottle of fizz for £15 a head. Its laid back, has an old fashioned charm with a whole lot of modern style thrown in, and I am hooked. So if the snobs want to stay out of Peckham, that's fine by me, the longer the Rye stays a local gem the better.