Take a Wetherspoons pub, put it in a purpose-built 1960s headquarters of the Department of Health and Social Security and stick it in Elephant and Castle. What do you get? One of the worst pubs in the whole of London.

The Venue
The Rockingham Arms is housed in such a bleak, ugly and depressing building that it really didn’t stand much of a chance to begin with. Remember, this used to be the place where people would pick up their social security cheques, so it’s not exactly built for fun. And inside it’s ugly. Yellow and blue walls look outdated, mosaic-covered huge pillars fall short of the mark and the tiled and carpeted floor is horrendous. The tables are sticky, the chairs are falling apart and it’s just a miserable pub with absolutely nothing going for it décor-wise.

The Atmosphere
You’ll find a mix of poor old men boozing their afternoons away and students who can’t afford to drink anywhere else. The atmosphere is lacklustre and depressing and even with the cheap drinks you’ll find it hard to raise a smile. And the staff look like they feel the same way.

The Food
Stodge, stodge or stodge? No wonder Britain is in the midst of an obesity epidemic when cheap food looks like this. Lasagnes, steaks, burgers, curries – all served with greasy chips. Nice.

The Drink
This is the only saving grace of the Rockingham Arms. As with any other Wetherspoons pub, they do offer a good choice of real ale and you can buy a pint in here for little over £2 a pop. And the choice is strong and varied, changing regularly but offering choices like Old Speckled Hen, Adnams Broadside, Hobgoblin and Greene King IPA.

The Last Word
This is one of the worst examples of a Wetherspoons pub you’ll ever find. Run, run away now.

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