As a Councillor, people often entirely forget to ask for advice on where to eat, how to dress, what to do. So I’ve written a list of what to do in Lewisham Centre & Hither Green (this is all strictly within my ward) regardless of demand:-

Pubs in Lewisham / Eating in Lewisham / Entertainment in Lewisham / Shopping in Lewisham Centre / Things for young people to do in Lewisham

Pubs in Lewisham

• The Jolly Farmer’s
  354, Lewisham High St, London, SE13 6LE
  Top pub. Great selection of ales. Friendly. Opposite The Ravensbourne Arms (pub crawl?)
• The Ravensbourne Arms
  323 Lewisham High Street, Lewisham, SE13 6NR
  Once had a “vote Lib Dem” poster outside – then it shut. Luckily, it changed management and re-opened as Lewisham’s very own gastropub. Lovely selection of wines and real ales, excellent food, and seating outside for smokers.
• The Hansburys
  117 Courthill Road, Lewisham, SE13 6DW
  A proper local pub. Sport on TV, friendly atmosphere, small patio at back – very comfy.
• The Watch House
  198 High Street, Lewisham, SE13 6JP
  A large JD Wetherspoons, a little dark inside, but nice coffee and reasonably priced food (mediocre toilets) which is a popular locally.
• The Fox and Firkin
  316 High St, Lewisham, SE13 6JZ
  Young crowd – open till 2am later in the week – with pizzas, lagers, and live music. Not for a quiet pint of real ale.

Eating in Lewisham

• Levante Pide
  187 High Street, Lewisham, SE13 6AA
  Preferable, in my eyes, to its sister restaurant “Levante” on Lewis Grove. Once an Aberdeen Steak House, it now has a warm decor with delicious food. Try the lentil soup, with a touch of lemon, followed by the İskender. I’d rate this as one of the best Turkish restaurants in London – but I am slightly biased…
• Cafe of Good Hope
  218 Hither Green Lane, Hither Green, SE13 6
  The Café of Good Hope is a community coffee shop owned and managed by the Jimmy Mizen foundation. It’s now a community hub in Hither Green, with excellent coffee, sandwiches and cakes. Better still, the profits go to the Jimmy Mizen foundation and it employs local young people. A local gem.
• Maggie’s Cafe
  322 Lewisham Road, Lewisham, SE13 7NH
  A Lewisham institution. £4.95 for the biggest breakfast you have ever seen. Refillable tea / coffee with every meal with Maggie roaming the tables topping you (and the cup) to the brim with liquid.
• Cafe Panorama
  7-9 Belmont Hill, Lewisham, SE13 5AU
  Often overlooked, Panorama does a very fine breakfast indeed with wonderful lunch variations including a delightful Turkish variant of Spaghetti Bolognese. Builders tea, with plenty of newspapers. I used to spend a lot of time there.
• The Sausage Man
  98 High Street, Lewisham, SE13 5JH
  The Sausage Man may hail from Germany, live in Lee, but his heart is in Lewisham Town Centre. A truly terrific range and quality of sausages, the tea is good to match. You won’t find this in lesser boroughs.
• Wimpy’s
  183 High Street, Lewisham, SE13 6AA
  There is no reason whatsoever to eat at the McDonald’s across the street, and may I venture whilst Wimpy’s is open, few true Lewisham folk do. A staggering range of burgers – egg on top, sausage on top, even hash browns on top. Also does a good breakfast. Milkshakes a treat.

Entertainment in Lewisham

• Hither Green Hall Cinema
  Lewisham is allegedly the only London borough without a cinema. However, we do have the wonderful Hither Green Hall folks who run a pop-up cinema at St. Swinthun’s Church off Hither Green Lane.
• Hither Green Week
  Amongst other events organised by the high-energy Hither Green Community Association, Hither Green Week stands out as the biggest community event on the calendar, except perhaps Lewisham People’s Day.
• Dirty South
  162 Lee High Road, Lewisham, SE13 5PR
  Breaking my own rules, this is technically not in Lewisham Central, but it is according to legend owned by the Alabama 3 who most famously wrote the theme tune to The Sopranos. Being who they are, they can tempt a lot of bands to grace their venue. Lots of shabby sofas too.
• The Rivoli
  350 Brockley Road, Crofton Park, SE4 2BY
  Err, again not in Central, but if you get the chance to go to the Rivoli – you simply must. In fact, sit in front of your computer 24/7/365 in till you see an event at the Rivoli you want to go to, and go. It’s unbelievable.

Shopping in Lewisham Centre

• Lewisham Shopping Centre
  Molesworth Street Lewisham, SE13 7HB
  Good car parking and directly opposite Lewisham station, Lewisham Shopping Centre is Westfield Stratford – for the sane. I particularly like “Tiger”. It’s a lot of fun for a shop, and nothing exceeds £30. Fact.
• Gennaro’s
  23 Lewis Grove, Lewisham, SE13 6BG
  An Aladdin’s den of Italian food. Gennaro’s does the most delicious hot Italian flat bread with cheese. The lunch of kings.
• Records – Collections
  70 Lee high Road, Lewisham, SE13
  Records – Collections describes itself as an “old-school shop specialising in singles, albums and rare vinyl.” By old school, they mean Eton. If this shop doesn’t have the record you are after, in any format you choose, then you are Stuart Maconie. That is who you are.

  Very good indeed.

Things for young people to do in Lewisham

• Lewisham Council’s summer activities across the borough
  To get a weekly highlight of summer holiday activities, sign up to Lewisham’s new SMS service by texting ‘alive’ to 63333. You can also keep up to date with what’s happening for young people by following @summersalive on Twitter.

  The full list of summer activities available for young people in Lewisham is available here.

• The Albany Theatre
  Douglas Way, London SE8 4AG
  The fantastic Albany Theatre in Deptford has a huge range of activities on for young people across the year.