The venue in itself is nothing special but it’s not horrible either. What is lacking in Pepperpot is some life.

The Venue
Dock Street is pretty much deserted at night, and unfortunately Pepperpot doesn't do much to liven it up. The pub is a long room with a dining area of sorts located at the back. This room is actually quite pretty - in a sort of grandmothery way: a fireplace, peach walls with matching upholstery and carpet, semi-circular booths of different sizes, skylights, fake flowers, and scarce prints on walls giving the place a proper dining room feel. The pub area is more standard, with typical furniture, one couch and a second fireplace.

The Atmosphere
The atmosphere of Pepperpot is quite ghastly and this feeling starts from the outdoor sign, where one letter is missing. It is actually quite easy to believe the place is shut with nobody smoking outside and no window looking directly inside. On weekdays, you can find just a few faces (at times less than five) scattered around, and you get the feeling there is some renovation work or a change of hands awaiting because of the many cardboard boxes you can find stacked inside.

Thankfully, it becomes livelier at weekends, where the pool table, dartboard and TV screen shudder into life.

The Food
Thai soups, curries, stir fries and noodles replace more familiar pub starters. It’s quite common in this part of East London, but if you are ailing from the more traditional West, it could be a real shock. The highlights are the panang curry (hot coconut with vegetables and lime leaves), med mamuang himmaparn stir fry (cashew nuts and dry chilies), and padsi-ew flat noodles with eggs and vegetables. The main ingredient is up to you: chicken, beef, pork or prawn. The prices are really good with Thai starters for only £1-£3, soups at £3 and all mains coming in at a fiver.

The Drink
The selection at Pepperpot is not exactly exciting but at least prices are low. Staropramen, Grolsch, Becks Vier and Boddingtons are your best bets and they will cost you only £2.45-£2.80 whilst bottles are a real steal at £2.30. Sadly though, there is nothing else worthy of note: spirits are regular and there is only a wine or so per type if you don’t feel like beer.

The Last Word
Pepperpot would work better if it was to stress its olde day dusty charm with a sarcastic note exploiting the 1940s fashion en vogue. For now, you can improvise yourself as Al Capone and discuss your secret plans: discretion is guaranteed since the place is often empty.

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