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The Canton Arms is the Manchester United of pubs in South London. So easy to love and yet so easy to hate.

Why should you love the Canton Arms?

- Excellent service at the bar and in dining area. I remember eating in the restaurant for the first time and being completely taken aback by the attentive, warm service. By the end of the night we were practically best pals with out waiter.

- Great real ale rotation. The take their ale seriously in here and there are always interesting and daring new beers on the pumps as well as favourites like Timothy Taylor and Summer Lightening.

- Toasties. I never thought i could get this excited about something made in a brevelle, but the Canton toasted sandwiches are exceptional in every way. Cheese & Chutney or Cheese & Beans for a light snack or the Fois Gras if you're feeling particularly decadent.

- Great location and excellent setup at the front of the pub. Plenty of big tables and a great place to watch the world go by.

Why should you hate the Canton Arms?

One word - Snobbery. While the food is fantastic, there are pungent wafts of snobbery pouring out of the kitchen area. I don't know whether it's the chef or the management, but there are some fatal flaws in the Canton operation. Let me give you an example:

Last night, i met some friends here for dinner. It was a warm night and we managed to bag ourselves a table outside. As the evening went on and the ales were sunk, we grew peckish and decided to order some food. Upon placing our order we were told that we had to eat in the dining area and couldn't eat outside (even though others were). Despite protestations from us (and others) the chef refused to serve us outside but said that he would serve us in the dining room (5 metres away). The reason was odd and flimsy and had something to do with new staff and consistency of service. Hmmmm. This all seemed a bit odd and it reeked of gastro snobbery and a "my way or the high way" attitude from the chef. I'm really not surprised to see the comments below from others not being able to get steaks cooked to their liking and menus which may as well be in Hebrew.

My message to the landlord - This is a problem and it's holding the pub back from greatness. My advice would be keep 99% of what you are doing the same. You've created a near perfect pub here but some of your most loyal customers (and i'm one of them) are beginning to question whether to continue calling this "the local". Be flexible, listen to your customers and don't be afraid to adapt (in other words - let your customers eat outside if they want to, give them a medium well steak if that's how they would like it cooked etc). This pub has gone from strength to strength in the last 6 months and, i'm sure, with a little bit of a nip & a tuck this summer, that trajectory will continue on the up.