Reviews The Pilot Inn

We have been staying at the Pilot for Hillsong conferences for the past few years. It's a quaint hotel with themed rooms - ideally situated for the O2 - a few minutes walk away. The food is excellent, quality complimentary coffees/teas/biscuits/water in our rooms, shower room always has ample complimentary extras (and power shower too). Standard room is compact, captains cabin is a bit on the 'cosy' side and top of range room has a little more space. All are well equipped. Staff polite and helpful. Food excellent. Recommended for convenience and comfort close to O2

I really like this. Great beers, good food and helpful staff. There were a few too many children yesterday but that’s not really the pub’s fault

Had a great meal before our O2 experience. Good food, friendly staff, couldn’t have asked for anything better !

Popped in before the O2 on Saturday.. Great food and drink and we had a lovely friendly waitress... Didn't catch her name but she had blonde /green hair.. Definitely be back asap ���

I’ve Been to the Pilot a few times now, and always had Good service, Good food and all in very nice relaxed surroundings and there always is a great atmosphere . We have been just adults and with A group of Mums and children all were welcomed and catered for . Well done The Pilot 👍👍👍

My boyfriend surprised me on my birthday by booking us in to dine here and an overnight stay, I was very impressed with the quirky retro decor as it's right up my street, he couldn't of picked a more perfect place for us to stay, the food was also very good, I would highly recommend it�

The pilot thk jgh h... Dosto k saath aao.... Kabhi Ksi ko party Deni h to... Sai jgh h.. Mast. Ghr vaalo k saath b Aa Skte Ho... Khaana tasty h yaha ka.. Faad Ek dm

TIt was once a place where the bodies of pirates were dangled in cages to deter river piracy on the Thames but in today's rapidly sprouting Greenwich peninsula it's hard to find much evidence of the area's maritime history.

One of the few remaining historic buildings left is The Pilot, a 200-year-old pub on the end of a row of heritage-listed workers cottages.

It is conspicuously antique amongst a myriad of shiny, colourful apartment blocks that have sprung up around it, the result of a major regeneration of the once largely industrial neighbourhood.

The pub is within walking distance of London's O2 Dome, the Emirates Air Line cable car and North Greenwich Station, yet is still very much 'out of the way'.

Despite this it has benefited from significant backing from Fuller's Inns who have completely refitted it and refurbished the workers cottages, which are now boutique-style hotel rooms.

In addition much care has been given to the pub's menu and a good deal of latitude to head chef Sara Gibson's vision of The Pilot as a quality restaurant.

Sara, 27, is keen to start accruing rosettes and the pub, which is popular with locals, is beginning to get a word of mouth buzz beyond the Blackwall Tunnel.

I dined there recently with my wife to sample their new menu of modern British cuisine, and take in the peninsula's atmosphere.

We started with entrées of New Forest venison loin carpaccio with braised shoulder croquette and a hazelnut and ginger dressing and tiger prawn ceviche, with Dorset crab and avocado mousse, dressed with pink peppercorn and blood orange.

As you can see that's quite a mouthful, even before you've taken a bite.

It's also fairly ambitious and could have failed for being overly complicated, but deftly seemed to tread that line of complimenting flavours - even with the addition of cayenne dusted popcorn garnish on the ceviche.

The blood orange was perfect with the freshness and bite of the cured crustaceans and the croquette popsicle had a great crunch and rich savoury flavour to it.

For the mains we had wild mushroom ragu with ribbon pasta and grated truffle, while I tucked into a whole baked Dorset plaice with clams, brown shrimp and samphire in a shellfish butter.

With these we ordered a side of triple cooked chips and a dandelion and slow roast cherry tomato mixed leaf salad with a walnut and shallot dressing.

Washing it down was a revelatory, just off dry, Opawa Pinot Gris. The 2011 New Zealand drop was subtly fruity with a slight chalky nose - and an excellent accompaniment to fish and pasta.

All these dishes looked immaculate in their design, while also being large enough to keep most pub-goers happy.

My Dorset plaice was so soft it scraped off the bone like butter or finely mashed potato and tasted fantastic in its fishy, buttery sauce, giving off a real aroma of the sea - probably from the samphire.

The pasta was just right, neither under-cooked nor over-cooked, and with a moreish woodland mushroom aroma that got right up my nose. The chips too were good, although we could have a had a few more.

Moving on to desserts we selected the Bramley apple, hazelnut and oat crumble with vanilla ice cream and the brûlée coffee and Kahlua parfait with honeycomb biscuits and a shot of espresso.

Again, the brûlée serving, which arrived in its own copper pan, was very generous and would leave most pub customers feeling they had got their money's worth, but proved a little bit too much for me after the earlier decent portions. It was, however, an interesting dish - the hard candied brûlée top having to be cracked open to reveal the parfait ice cream.

The apple crumble seemed another honest British staple that will go down well with diners.

And the pub itself is a cosy one with a bar area and slightly more modern downstairs restaurant that can be opened out in warmer weather, and serving a good selection of cask ales.

Coming to about £45 a head (including a bottle of wine £21) the bill was a bit higher than you'd pay for your average pub grub but that's because the food was on a different level.

Worth coming to the Greenwich Peninsula for the day to check it out.