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The Capitol (Wetherspoon)
We believe this pub is CLOSED
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| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| Reunion - Single Double Hop UK Cascade vs. US Cascade |  | 1 |
| Orkney (Sinclair) - Blizzard (Atlas range) | | 1 |
| Hop Stuff - Vanilla Chocolate Stout | | 1 |
| Marston's - Early Doors | | 1 |
| Bath Ales - Cobblestone | | 1 |
| G2 - Sail | | 1 |
| Titanic - Wit Stout | | 2 |
| Wychwood - Zululand Pale Ale | | 1 |
| Brains - A Pocket Full of Rye | | 1 |
| Wickwar - Sundowner |  | 1 |
| Hook Norton - Haymaker | | 1 |
| Enfield (branded as Enefeld) - Liberty Pre-Prohibition Cream Ale | | 1 |
| Butcombe - Chris Moose | | 1 |
| Naylor's - Black & Tan | | 1 |
| Shepherd Neame - Bishops Finger |  | 1 |
| Weltons - Broadwood Wassail | | 1 |
| Banks & Taylor's (B&T) - Santa's Slayer |  | 1 |
| Stonehenge - Danish Dynamite | Not Tried | 0 |
| Dorking - Pilcrow Pale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Weltons - Hurricane | Not Tried | 0 |
| Southwark - Bermondsey Best | Not Tried | 0 |
| Dorking - Pacific Gold | Not Tried | 0 |
| Theakston - Pink Grapefuit Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Shepherd Neame - St Eriks Midnight Sun | Not Tried | 0 |
| Sambrook's - Wandle | Not Tried | 0 |
| Greene King - Abbot | Not Tried | 0 |
| Rooster's - Pistol River | Not Tried | 0 |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best | Not Tried | 0 |
| Big Penny (formerly Truman's) as of late 2022 contract brewed - Bow Bells | Not Tried | 0 |
| Caledonian - Merman XXX | Not Tried | 0 |
| Westerham - Spirit of Kent XXX Pale Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Ilkley - Ruby Jane | Not Tried | 0 |
| Adnams - Golden Road California Breakfast Ale | Not Tried | 0 |
| Marston's - Barley Brown's ESA | Not Tried | 0 |
| Hook Norton - Old Hooky | Not Tried | 0 |
| Sharp's - Doom Bar | Not Tried | 0 |
Visits Details
26 Nov 2018 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until midnight close. Normally a chilled air-conned place, was cosy warm tonight.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orkney (Sinclair) - Blizzard (Atlas range) | 4.70 | | Tummy warming, a proper winter spiced ale |
| Butcombe - Chris Moose | 4.10 | | Good but no more a Xmas / winter ale than I am. Just a normal bitter |
| Banks & Taylor's (B&T) - Santa's Slayer | 4.00 | | Hazy, lacklustre, tired. Never really find a good B&T but this was dire and ordering only a half had been wise |
| Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best | 3.70 | Not Tried |
17 Apr 2018 (Stephen Harris)
My first ever visit to this huge pub and indeed, I think, the first time I have ever set foot in Forest Hill – very remiss of me (although my companion tells me that he saw his first ever film here, aged around 6). At 9pm on a Tuesday the atmosphere is one of lone men aged 60-plus staring at their pints. From where I sit I can see at least three that are possibly asleep, in fact make that probably asleep.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naylor's - Black & Tan | 4.40 | | A half & half Bitter/Porter. Comes across as a good, dark Bitter. |
| Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Sharp's - Doom Bar | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Westerham - Spirit of Kent XXX Pale Ale | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Big Penny (formerly Truman's) as of late 2022 contract brewed - Bow Bells | 4.20 | Not Tried |
13 Mar 2018 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until midnight close. Cold with the air con on full blast. The JDW festival ales (starts tomorrow) will be £2.05pp here!!
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| G2 - Sail | 4.20 | | |
| Weltons - Broadwood Wassail | 6.10 | | I rarely dare to try Weltons. After some sips this seemed to have a background metallic taste |
| Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Sharp's - Doom Bar | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best | 3.70 | Not Tried |
29 Jan 2018 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening until midnight close for JDW's London Beer Festival offerings. Sparsely attended even for a Monday night I thought.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reunion - Single Double Hop UK Cascade vs. US Cascade | 4.50 | | |
| Hop Stuff - Vanilla Chocolate Stout | 5.40 | | |
| Enfield (branded as Enefeld) - Liberty Pre-Prohibition Cream Ale | 5.50 | | |
| Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Sharp's - Doom Bar | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Big Penny (formerly Truman's) as of late 2022 contract brewed - Bow Bells | 4.20 | Not Tried |
24 Oct 2017 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening until midnight closed. At this time of the night the numbers drinking were dwarfed by the venue.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wychwood - Zululand Pale Ale | 4.20 | | So Wychwood CAN brew a decent ale, albeit with South African assistance |
| Shepherd Neame - Bishops Finger | 5.00 | | Initial pleasures soon ran out of steam |
| Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Sharp's - Doom Bar | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Sambrook's - Wandle | 3.80 | Not Tried | |
| Rooster's - Pistol River | 4.00 | Not Tried |
18 Oct 2017 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening until midnight close. An airy grand place to drink in and architecture to feast the eyes on.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marston's - Early Doors | 6.00 | | Superb easy drinking strong bitter |
| Hook Norton - Haymaker | 5.00 | | |
| Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Sharp's - Doom Bar | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Theakston - Pink Grapefuit Ale | 3.90 | Not Tried | |
| Shepherd Neame - St Eriks Midnight Sun | 4.50 | Not Tried |
23 Aug 2017 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening until midnight close. Chaos behind the bar with just one barmaid, ended up with, untypically, a British queue for service forming.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wickwar - Sundowner | 3.80 | | |
| Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Sharp's - Doom Bar | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Weltons - Hurricane | 4.10 | Not Tried | Now calls itself "artisan brewers" on pumpclip |
| Southwark - Bermondsey Best | 4.40 | Not Tried | |
| Dorking - Pacific Gold | 3.80 | Not Tried |
27 Jul 2017 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening visit until midnight close. JDW festival cider was lacklustre - perhaps getting too old now the festival is over.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Hook Norton - Old Hooky | 4.60 | Not Tried | |
| Sharp's - Doom Bar | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Stonehenge - Danish Dynamite | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Dorking - Pilcrow Pale | 4.00 | Not Tried |
21 Mar 2015 (Philip Pirrip)
After midnight early morning visit. Pub has a no admission after midnight policy but I was allowed in "just this once".
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brains - A Pocket Full of Rye | 4.30 | | |
| Titanic - Wit Stout | 5.00 | | |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Caledonian - Merman XXX | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Ilkley - Ruby Jane | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Adnams - Golden Road California Breakfast Ale | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Marston's - Barley Brown's ESA | 5.10 | Not Tried | Ran out |
19 Mar 2015 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening until midnight close. All bar staff in chatty, helpful, friendly mode. All festival ales a giveaway at £1.99 pp.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bath Ales - Cobblestone | 3.80 | | A good quaffing beer |
| Titanic - Wit Stout | 5.00 | | Good enough to have a second |
| Greene King - Abbot | 5.00 | Not Tried | |
| Greene King - Ruddles Best | 3.70 | Not Tried | |
| Caledonian - Merman XXX | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Ilkley - Ruby Jane | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Adnams - Golden Road California Breakfast Ale | 4.80 | Not Tried | |
| Marston's - Barley Brown's ESA | 5.10 | Not Tried |
About The Capitol
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
 | - |
| 23 |
| 32 |
| 20 |
| 4 |
The pub is found in Forest Hill, Greater London, SE23 3TW.
Located in London Road in Forest Hill not far from the railway station and excellent bus links. The long bar (at what would once have been front of house) is equipped with 2 banks each of 5 handpumps. The Capitol opened its doors to the cinema-going public in 1929. Later renamed and converted into a bingo hall, the building now bears its original name. A rare survival of a 1920s cinema, The Capitol, on London Road, first opened its doors to the cinema-going public in 1929, with a screening of Man, Woman and Sin. Renamed the ABC in 1968, the cinema gave its last picture show in October 1973. There were plans to convert and even demolish the building. However, The Capitol opened as a bingo hall in February 1978, closing in the first week of December 1996. It has been a Wetherspoon pub since May 2001. Simply huge and beautifully ornate inside - a feast to the eyes. Placed up for sale by Wetherspoon September 2022 with 31 others. Closed by Wetherspoon on Sunday 15th October 2023 with future uncertain.
We have visited this pub 43 times, seen 156 different beers and tried 61 of them.
Postcode: SE23 3TW