A trio of Gastros, amongst flat hunting in Herne Hill

Our main reason for wanting to move is to basically save money. Living in Highbury is fantastic, but it sure weighs down heavy on the wallet.

We had heard a wicked rumour that south of the river was a whole lot cheaper, well in some areas it does turns out that way.

We’d been looking at places in and around Brixton, which is not quite as cheap as it used to be, well apart those really dodgy areas. We’d looked at a few places in Stockwell as well. Some lovely flats, really crap area though.

We were slowly making our way towards Herne Hill which we’d been before on a few occasions for parties, drinks, throwing up at the bus stop opposite the train station etc etc.

Herne Hill may be a little out of the way, but it is a lovely area, and we saw some great flats, although all the agents neglected to tell us they were all available now now, not at the end of March as we’d told them we wanted to move in by. Wasted days yet again.

Except we found The Prince Regent, The Florence and visited yet again the Commercial. 3 great pubs all within spitting distance of each other and would make living in Herne Hill so much easier.

The Prince Regent had the look of a real local boozer of old. It has been slightly renovated, but all the old fittings are still there, which gives it a real feel to the place. I especially love the original bar fittings, something you are seeing less and less of these days. It’s a shame really, but with so many boozers closing at a furious rate, I guess this is the only way they can stay open. To be Gastrofied.

We only had a few drinks here, but looking at the chalkboard menu and the food that was leaving the kitchen to the tables around us, all looked good. Very good indeed. I just wished we’d not had that meal in Brixton Market, as I wanted to try their food. Oh well another time.

Next on the list of possible local boozers was the Florence. This pub I could see myself getting very acquainted with, mainly because of the impressive list of beer on tap including a few made by the pub itself. Impressive, most impressive.

I also like the seating around the edge of the large bar, although they are a little bit too close. I really didn’t want to know about the problems that one of the girls on the table next door was having with her boyfriend. Me personally I would forgive him, and try to be a bit more understanding to his needs. But that’s just me, I’m not a bitch like her. The things we men have to put up with.

We weren’t particularly hungry, but we needed something to soak up the beer we were drinking, so we decided to share a burger and fries. It’s a tad annoying, as you cannot order at the bar, you have to wait for one of the girls to come around to take your order. But it was nice to get table service in a pub.

We ordered the 21 day aged steak burger and a portion of fries. It had been a while since I last had a burger and I needed my fix. Although I am not an addict like some other bloggers I could mention.

The burger took longer to come than it took us to eat it. We were hungrier than we thought. There is a point when I have drunk too much and my taste buds go to shit. Thankfully I was one beer before that stage, if I’d have waited another pint then I would not have been able to taste diddly.

But I wasn’t and I could still taste a tad, just. Nah, only joking. The burger was pretty damn tasty. The meat was well seasoned and even though I couldn’t fully taste the 21 day of aged steak, but it was a damn fine burger. Shame there was not enough of the mature cheddar to go around, or maybe Lina swagged it all when I went to get some more drinks. I wouldn’t put it passed her. You have to watch her sometimes.

For some reason we both felt this pub was more suited to a night time visit rather than an afternoon jaunt. But I want to return, not only for another burger, but to drink my way through their beer list. Love it.

The third boozer we visited for a swift pint in between flat visits was the Commercial.  We’ve been before and liked it back then, and always wanted to return and sample some of their offerings. We couldn’t eat anything on this occasion, which was a shame as the pub has a nice feel to it.

There are some nice comfy sofas and chairs and I could imagine sitting in them and quaffing on a few real ales, and munching on their Sunday Roast.

If we moved down this way then I reckon I’ll be sampling their grub on a regular basis. All we need to do now is find somewhere to live around here. Now that’s the challenge.