Anspach & Hobday
The Pigeon - 41 Camberwell Church St, Camberwell, London SE5 8TR
Open: Wed-Fri 4pm-11pm. Sat 12pm-11pm. Sun 1pm-10pm.
Blog: The Pigeon
Here at Anspach & Hobday, opening a bar has always been one of our ambitions. Since opening in 2014, The Taproom has been at the heart of our business and over the years we have welcomed thousands of customers through our doors.
Being able able to oversee our beers’ journey right from the mash up until the point of service means we are able to ensure quality at every step of the way. It also allowed us to engage directly with our drinkers from day one, and the feedback and understanding we have gained from these interactions has been priceless. When the opportunity came up for us to take on the site at Camberwell we jumped at it.
Some of you may be familiar with the site as that of Cycle PS, a bike repair shop that had built up quite a following over its 6 years of operation. As soon as we saw the space we fell in love with. With its exposed brickwork, clean white walls and bike-wheel like fittings, it was very easy for us to see how we could turn it into a bar. Of fundamental importance to us was to have the site where people could sit and drink at the bar, and fortunately, the site already had a very long bar, perfect for propping up. After two weeks of intense clearing out, redecoration, cellar building and flat-pack-building, we had transformed the place into our first bar; The Pigeon.
Opening a bar outside of the taproom gives us the opportunity to work with other brewers that we know and respect. Our aim at The Pigeon is to offer a diverse, interesting and unique range of beers, often not seen in UK bars. To date, we have had beers from breweries such as Cantillon, L’Ermitage, De la Senne, ‘T Verzet and De Krommer Haring. A large number of beers we have had have never been poured in the UK before, so it’s been a real honour to be able to introduce these breweries to our customers. As well as beer, we have also put together a small, but considered wine list, Gin and Tonics and Negronis with gin from our neighbours at the London Distillery Company, Bitters from Victory London and the truly fantastic Scarpa Vermouth.
Events will also play a major role a the Pigeon, and so far we have had tap takeovers/meet the brewers, guest bar takeovers and in-depth bottle tastings. Putting on these events will give customers a better insight into the beers and the brewers behind them.
Camberwell itself is thriving, and whilst it’s been home to the famous Stormbird for many years, it’s also host to a clutch of younger businesses such as The Good Neighbour and Theos Pizza. We are extremely pleased to be able to contribute to this fantastic area.
As it stands, The Pigeon is a pop-up bar, and are expecting to be running it until early next year. However, there is a good chance that we will remain there permanently, and we are of course very excited by this possibility. Pop-up or not, The Pigeon is a place where beer knowledge and service comes first, and we hope to welcome you through its doors soon!
