The Peckham Pelican

The Peckham Pelican — Art School Energy Meets Pub Comfort If you’ve ever wanted to sip a pint while surrounded by mismatched furniture, student sketches, and the hum of half-written essays, The Peckham Pelican is your spot. It’s not polished—it’s purposefully scruffy, and that’s half the charm. Atmosphere Located opposite the South London Gallery, the Pelican feels like a communal living room for Camberwell’s creative crowd. Think concrete floors, worn sofas, and rotating art on the walls. It’s spacious, laptop-friendly, and often buzzing with low-key conversation. The vibe is relaxed, occasionally chaotic, but rarely dull. Food & Drink The menu is minimal but functional—pizza, toasted sandwiches, chips, and a few vegan-friendly options. Highlights include: Chorizo pizza with a satisfying crisp Devilled cheese toast that’s indulgent and oddly addictive Filter coffee and cafetières, not barista-level but decent and unfussy Drinks are affordable, with a solid selection of beers and wines. It’s more about the setting than the culinary finesse.

For a bar, they make some STELLAR pizza and cake. Seriously, the food here is comparable to specialised pizza restaurants and bakeries. Drinks are made fast and efficiently with a relaxed atmosphere. Great hangout spot for friends. I recommend getting an English Garden as a drink here.

I agree with the "artsy" comments, and I am a bit undecided on whether the place is purposely like that or just neglected, but either way, it did the job. Prices are definitely not neglected, fyi, but not more expensive than any other pub in the area either. There are some food options which I did not get to try but those seem to be priced all right. The outside area is a nice touch for those rare summer days when you actually can actually sit outside but at 22:00 you will be asked to move inside.

Just got kicked out of the pub while I was working on my laptop. The manager told me, “This is a pub, not a library,” and said I had to buy a drink. I don’t actually drink, so that was a bit awkward. It used to be my favourite spot, but now I’ll think twice before going back. If you just want to quietly get your work done, you might want to avoid that venue.

There's a floating, loose energy here. You can drift, stakes are low, no-one's keeping score or playing status games. Not prissy like Gail's. Not a dive like Starbucks. No noisy phones or tables littered with half empty mugs. It's the Kinks, lazing on a sunny afternoon. Or Morcheeba, ashtray spilling over, a warm, grimy, London haze. I just had an apple juice so can't say much about the food. Other reviews say they only do filter or instant coffee, and I believe them. Staff were a bit dismissive with me too. Not, like, rude rude. But not there for your benefit. I worked a job like this, during my degree. Friends would come by the bar, we told some jokes. Made vague plans and moved too slowly on them. Slacking had its own draw. It was a good year. A place to dream.

lovely bar food prices great atmosphere music is not my taste but great spot :)

This place does the biggest and juiciest temales in London. I just wish it did more tapas. The manager is always up for a chat (he's the one with grey hair), and loves to hear people's stories. Come for the beer, stay for the foot rubs.

A great little pub with a good selection of reasonably priced drinks, always something interesting happening and a warm friendly vibe.

From the outside the Peckham Pelican doesn't look anything special but if you make the effort to visit you won't fail to be impressed. With drinks the Peckham Pelican offers both a wide selection of coffees and also some craft beer mostly in bottles but with a weekly special served from a keg which on my recent visit was from the newly opened (also based in Peckham) Brick Brewery. On the food front there are a couple of good value daily specials, during the day the menu also includes toasted bagels I'd recommend trying the goats cheese which was delicious. In the evening pizzas are served which I look forward to trying in the near future. There was a notice stating food served until 10:30pm which is a bonus. Finally not forgetting the friendly service, the chilled out atmosphere the Peckham Pelican also offers free Wifi.

The perfect place to come along with a computer and an extra ling to-do list. And in just the right location! It is a beautiful space with cheap bagels and wine, and tasty pizza. A great selection of boardgames and staff who have the same taste in music as me completes the mood. Only downside is that staff are not always the most attentive, but hey it's a pretty downbeat joint, so I don't mind.

Really nice setting, I like the layout and the general feel of the place. Open, but cosy. I've heard the staff are a bit grumpy but I haven't noticed it in the few times I've been there. Just a bit out of the way of anything, but if you are passing through it's worth a drink. Three stars just cause I couldn't think of any compelling reason to go there if I wasn't passing through.