Richard Brass lists ten pubs that have found innovative ways to keep the customers coming

Sun & Doves

61-63 Coldharbour Lane, Camberwell, London SE5

(020-7733 1525) Entertainment has long been seen as the answer for pubs seeking custom, but there’s only so much football and lapdancing the punters can take. At the Sun & Doves, the entertainment offering has been taken to a new and ambitious level by weekly film screenings. Every Tuesday evening, the screen goes up, the lights go down, and this cool pub is transformed into a mini cinema, showing films at the artier end of the scale.

The Rake

Winchester Walk, London SE1 (020-7407 0557)

There’s a decent chance that one reason fewer people are drinking in pubs is their widespread reputation for forgettable beer and overpriced wine. The Rake in Borough Market, London, has addressed this issue head on by making its huge variety of rare and interesting beers its selling point. It’s a bold step for a tiny pub right around the corner from the Market Porter, one of the capital’s best beer pubs, but it appears to be working. An ever-changing range of excellent draught beers, 100 bottled versions and the chance to taste before you commit are simple devices any pub could learn from.

Brixton Bar & Grill

15 Atlantic Road, Brixton, London SW9 (020-7737 6777)

Let’s face it, real sport is a tiresome business requiring special clothing and going out of the house. The arrival of the Nintendo Wii has brought the thrill of slightly physical competition without the need to stray from your drink. Its arrival in pubs was only a matter of time. Among the pioneers is the Brixton Bar & Grill, where the giant-screen Wii is encouraging the punters to linger a little longer and proving rather more popular than either shove-ha’penny or bar skittles.

The King’s Head

Letheringsett, Norfolk (01263 712691)

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