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London – Camden (Borough of) – Euston Tap

Continuing my mission to visit all the Good Beer Guide pubs in London, I haven’t been to the Euston Tap for many years. There are two parts of this, the opposite lodge is separated by a bus lane, and the other half now has the same name, although I remember that as the Cider Tap or something similar. The two lodges are both listed buildings (under the same listing) and they were built as detached structures to the railway station in 1870. They were built with Portland Stone and were designed by JB Stansby who was working for the London & North Western Railway. As is noted on the listed building record, this is all that remains from the 1870 railway station, given the destruction of the Euston Arch (and indeed, everything else).

I won’t stray onto the matter of the Euston Arch, which stood here until Ernest Marples, one of the most incompetent, morally bankrupt, corrupt and deceitful of British politicians, ordered it to be taken down. I feel I’ve said enough about the odious, fraudulent and disgrace that was Ernest Marples, as it’s important to be balanced about individuals and not just see the bad in them. Anyway, I’ve digressed onto one of my favourite subjects, so back to beer, another one of my favourite subjects.

The beer selection was chalked up on a board and I haven’t seen this in a while, with on-line ordering systems rather taking over during the last year. An interesting selection of different styles, although lacking in darker beers. Prices are reasonable given the quality available and also the central London location of being just outside a major railway station.

It wasn’t very busy inside, although it was considerably busier outside. There’s a screen showing football to those seated outside, which isn’t visible to those who are located inside. This, speaking just for me, is the ideal compromise. Put smokers and football watchers outside to deal with either the cold or the wasps when it’s hot, leaving craft beer “connoisseurs” inside. Well, something like that anyway…..

I opted for the Fruju pale ale from the Big Smoke Brew Co, which was OK, but I wasn’t getting the depth of flavours that I anticipated. There was a rich mouthfeel, and I note that the brewery mention they put added oats in to achieve this, a process that I hadn’t realised. There were some stoned fruit flavours, but the aftertaste was all a little weak, so I’d say this was just an average beer for me. But, interesting to try it.

Overall, this is a bit of a local tradition in terms of pubs and absolutely recommended, not least as there’s a bit of heritage and quirkiness to the arrangements. The staff member was knowledgeable and helpful, it was a comfortable and clean environment, and although it’s small inside, at least there’s plenty of space outside and ideal for those who like bus spotting (I don’t, but I don’t judge, I knew someone who spent hours faffing about with Pokemon, and I rarely commented on that….).

June 20, 2021
London – Camden (Borough of) – Craft Beer Co. Covent Garden

I’ve got myself a bit muddled up (again) as I didn’t realise that The Craft Beer Co. had this bar, which they call Covent Garden, but I associate with being in Holborn (it’s actually between the two, so they’re completely right). This is relevant, as I muddled it up with the outlet on Leather Lane, which is also near to Holborn, and thought for some reason it was the same place. That boring little story aside, it means that I had to go and visit this bar I hadn’t realised existed to ensure that I didn’t miss out on anything. As an aside, it’s also in the Good Beer Guide, so that’s another one visited.

Staffing engagement was excellent, with the team members being friendly, knowledgeable and keen to help. The bar was busy, but they found me a decent seat by the window, with table service being offered. There were plenty of team members around to assist customers, with the atmosphere feeling laid-back and vibrant.

Another outlet in the chain earlier in the week didn’t have an up-to-date beer list, but they did here. I’m happy with this beer selection, a nice mixture of different beer styles.

As an aside, that’s the bar’s licence taped to the window on the right of the photo. At least ten people came to have a look at it when I seated there, I assume thinking that it was a menu. I liked that the bar remained busy throughout my visit, as although it’s a central London location, these are tough times.

I only had one drink here today, as I was on a mission to get food elsewhere, but I went for the Atomic Crush from Amundsen Brewery. It’s a raspberry, peach and vanilla pastry sour, which is becoming one of my favourite styles of beer now. I’ve been well advised I think to have got a taste for this beer style, with Amundsen being a well regarded brewery from Oslo in Norway. As a beer, it was excellent, with a strong raspberry hit, then the sourness bites before the more subtle flavours of vanilla and stoned fruit become evident.

I noticed a negative review from three years from an angry person who said they looked forwards to the demise of this chain (they might have a long wait) which had some drivel about watering down beer. I like how the bar replied:

“The above could not possibly be referring to our pub where we sell the finest and largest range of quality beers in the whole of the UK at very reasonable prices.”

Nice 🙂

I remain a fan of this chain of bars, all on-trend, well reviewed, exciting and offering something new every time. I’ve checked (more carefully this time) how many more bars I have left to visit in this chain, and it’s just the Brixton one. I’ll fix that omission this week. Definitely recommended, and I’m very pleased that it’s in the Good Beer Guide, and this is a different sort of bar to the usual ones listed.

June 19, 2021
London – Camden (Borough of) – The Swan

On my continuing journey of Good Beer Guide pubs in London, this is the Greene King operated (yes, I know) Swan near Holborn. It all looks welcoming from the exterior, well, other than it’s got a Greene King sign on it. I’m not sure how old the building is, but unlike its neighbour, it’s not listed.

An interesting pub interior and a very friendly staff member came over to welcome me at the door, so it was all efficient and inviting. The France and Hungary football match was showing and I was asked if I’d like to watch it, which I thought was nice to check. It wasn’t that busy in the pub, although it was a little busier with customers sitting out the front. I liked that the football was showing for those who wanted it, but without the volume being so loud that it meant everyone in the pub had to listen to it. Life is a careful balance as they say (well, they might do, I don’t know).

The app told me that Greene King IPA was available, but I was hoping for an alcoholic drink and I’m glad that I checked, as the staff member told me that there were a couple more options to choose from. I don’t want to moan (but, yet here we are….) but Greene King are meant to be a brewer of beer (and Greene King IPA) and they have hundreds of products listed on their app, but they don’t bother listing the ales (other pub companies seem to manage….). They hamper their staff unnecessarily, but I was pleased to note that they had the N1 from Hammerton Brewery. That’s a perfectly decent beer and a nod towards sourcing from local suppliers, so this pleased me. It was well kept, at the appropriate temperature and was nicely refreshing, as well as being reasonably priced.

Some of the interesting decoration in the pub, which was clean and organised throughout. Given the friendly welcome, a choice of ales and a quirky environment, it probably justifies being in the Good Beer Guide. There’s also traditional pub food available, and that seems to be well reviewed, so this is a safe choice for those wanting food and drink in this part of central London. In terms of service though, that was excellent here, so how lovely….

June 19, 2021
London – Westminster (Borough of) – Theodore Bullfrog

The Theodore Bullfrog is a Youngs pub located near to Charing Cross station and I have no idea why it has this name. CAMRA note that there has been a pub on this site since 1690, originally known as St. Martin’s Tavern, but that the current building dates (which does look a little out of place given the neighbouring buildings) from 1959. I understand from reviews that it’s usually a busy location, but, yet again, pub numbers are suppressed at the moment given the lack of tourists and commuters in the city.

The staff member mentioned that I could watch the football if I wanted, although, as might be expected, I didn’t want to. I was given a nice table well away from the action, just as I like it. As I write this, from nearby Trafalgar Square, there are huge numbers of Scottish fans around, I’m not sure I understand the excitement of coming without a ticket to watch the actual match, but I don’t think I really understand football and the atmosphere behind it. I do have some tentative visits to football matches in Spain and Poland later this year, which fall into my “we’ll see how this goes and I’ll likely dislike it” category, but who knows…..

Anyway, moving on from football, this is a large pub, with the ground floor being on slightly different levels, and there’s also an upstairs dining area as well. A few customers were dining at the pub and the menu is traditional pub fare, at quite high prices even for London. The price for half a pint of real ale (how decadent of me….) was reasonable and in keeping with their local neighbours (I mean the local pubs, not random people living nearby). The reviews are a little mixed, I think with the food pricing causing some issues at times, but I noticed this review:

“The barmaid upstairs was awful, I had a guest list of 20 people under the name of James and she was rude to everyone. She was argumentative, conflicting and unaccommodating, I won’t be coming back.”

Perhaps the pub’s response tells the whole story here…

“Hi James, i’m very sorry but we don’t allow our customers to consume alcohol brought in from outside the pub.”

It’s evident that the beer selection is usually somewhat more exciting, with five different real ale options and some craft beer choices sometimes available at least. I was left with the only option of Youngs London Original, which was fine and entirely well-kept, but, unfortunately unexceptional. I mentioned in my Brewdog post the other day how that chain might have difficulties in some areas, but it’s a country mile ahead in others. It’s evident from my visits to Youngs and Nicholsons pubs over the last few days that both chains are struggling on a wider level and I do wonder whether they’ll be forced into closing more locations over future years.

Anyway, I liked the environment of this pub and the staff members were friendly and the pub seemed spotlessly clean. They were using their own log-in system rather than the NHS track and trace, but at least they were checking details to comply with the rules. It was all fine, but there was nothing overly exciting to tempt me back…..

June 18, 2021
London – Westminster (Borough of) – Princess of Wales

The Princess of Wales, a Nicholson’s pub located between Embankment and Charing Cross underground stations. It’s a new entry to the Good Beer Guide this year and CAMRA claim that the pub is named after the wife of Edward VII rather than Princess Diana. The pub disagrees, noting on its web-site:

“This historic pub is named in memory of George IV’s secret first wife. When still Prince Regent, he secretly married Catholic widow Maria Fitzherbert in 1785. The marriage was declared illegal at his father’s behest, because George would have been ineligible to reign with a Catholic wife.”

Anyway, I have little concern over who the pub is actually named after, and both individuals can perhaps share the honour. When I entered, the welcome was prompt and friendly enough, with the pub being moderately busy. Football is on tonight and so pubs are perhaps busier than they might otherwise be.

The real ale selection is usually more substantial, but today they just had London Pride and Nicholson’s Pale Ale on, neither of which makes my heart beat faster. As far as London Pride goes, it was fine and I got my 25p off a half pint as now seems to be the norm on the Nicholson’s app. On that point, the staff member seemed just slightly confused that I wanted to order via the app, but that was because I wanted my 25p off. Every penny counts…..

Incidentally, with the photo above, I didn’t crouch down below the bar to avoid detection or something, it’s just that the pub has in these Covid times put tables below the bar and that’s where I was sitting. There’s quite a food menu available and I think that there’s a separate dining area upstairs, although this remains a relatively small pub.

OK, this is a pretty terrible photo, but the environment was a little dark and it’s the best that I have. It was all clean and organised, with a variety of customers, from football fans to people waiting for a train. There was some trouble with Scottish fans trying to cause issues outside, although that hadn’t spilled over into the pub. Staff members weren’t thanking customers as they left, despite it being a small pub and they could have done. It doesn’t much matter, but it’s a nice touch when staff do offer some sort of farewell.

As it stands and based on this visit, I don’t really see anything to justify this pub being in the Good Beer Guide, the beer selection, the environment and the welcome weren’t anything particularly notable. However, these are difficult times, so perhaps it can be much better.

June 18, 2021
LDWA 100 – Andrew Gordon (Stampeding Cattle)

Along with other tales from the LDWA 100, this encounter came in from Andrew Gordon who along with two friends was walking multiple loops of the Canterbury Outer Ring as part of his 100 effort.

I would add here that I hate cows in fields. Well, I don’t mind them in fields so much, just not ideally in the same fields as me. I will walk miles around a field full of cows rather than have to confront the damn things, I’ve heard too many stories of how they’ve hassled and scared walkers. And, let’s be honest, I’m not the bravest walker….

However, enough about me, I will let Andrew tell the story in his words 🙂 (and I love the Jurassic Park parallel!)

Imagine the scene, it’s dark, the three of us (Barbara, Andy and Dawn) are pretty tired at about the 90-mile mark on the final of four loops of the Canterbury Outer Ring on our 100 mile epic walk. We are hoping to meet family (including grandchildren) for a motivational boost at St Cosmus & St Damian Church on the Crab and Winkle Way. Just three small fields to cross on a public footpath to get to the church, the first with cattle in it. We’d been through there three times already with absolutely no problems…

Our support party had decided to walk towards us and had in fact entered the field with the cattle in it before us. We could see their head torches in the distance as we entered the field. Suddenly there was commotion as a 30-40 strong herd of calves, cows and two bulls started stampeding at great speed up and down the field at 90 degrees to our path across it! Our head torches caught the bright eyes, flaring noses, and flicking tails in all their terrifying glory.

If you’ve seen the stampede scene in Jurassic Park, you’ll be on the same page as us with what was happening. Our loved ones had the common sense to retreat thankfully to safety. Bravely, Andy refused to give in and continued forward in the hope of a parting of the waves, so to speak. However, the herd had a different idea and continued to stampede up and down. At the point they looked like turning and running at us, Barbara and Dawn did a complete U turn and started running back to the safety of the fence line (hearing Andy’s voice fading in the background saying ‘it’s not a good idea to run’). Andy retreated with more dignity than the girls that’s for sure.

We don’t know what had caused the cattle’s distress; maybe it was our head torches or perhaps we looked and smelt like cattle rustlers!

Much studying of OS Maps on a phone and we found a work around via a permissive way and footpath back onto the Crab and Winkle Way, eventually to meet up with our relieved supporters.

It was very scary at the time and, whilst none of us would describe it as a highlight, it will be a lasting memory for all of us. Perhaps our risk assessment skills need a bit of brushing up?

June 18, 2021
London Beatles Themed Walk

Des, the man of many walk leading talents, had a walk in London which was themed on Rock n Roll and the Beatles. I’d struggle to say that I was a music expert, but this was a handy introduction to the main sites in central London which are related to the Beatles, so I decided to honour Des with my presence. I thought it was a six mile walk, but it was actually five miles, but either way, it was an interesting little urban adventure. I can’t say that I can bring Beatles stories to life in this post, but I’d recommend instead waiting until Des leads this walk again to get the professional edge.

We started off, during the only slightly wet part of the walk, going by the BBC’s Maida Vale studios. The building was opened in 1909 as the Maida Vale Roller Skating Palace and Club, but was gutted inside in 1934 when it was repurposed for the BBC. The BBC Symphony Orchestra have been based here since 1934 and, importantly for this walk, the Beatles recorded here in 1963. The BBC was hoping to flog the building off for development, but this plan has gone a little awry as Historic England have just gone and listed the building. The frontage of the building is original and quite intriguing, but the roof is hardly noted for its architectural merit.

Des in full flow.

Next was the Abbey Road Studios, where the Beatles recorded numerous albums. There are signs up noting that the public aren’t allowed into the car park, as I can imagine how many people would have otherwise flooded in to investigate the area.

Along with the Beatles claim to fame, the building was also where Edward Elgar conducted the London Symphony Orchestra.

And outside Abbey Road Studios is the famous zebra crossing used on a Beatles album cover. I’ve meant to come here for many years, given it’s a London tourist destination, but this is the first time that I’ve actually managed to get here. It’s not immediately obvious that it’s the right crossing and Des mentioned normally it would have been much busier with tourists wanting their photo taken. At least drivers at the moment are saved the inconvenience of people walking onto the road and then faffing about with photos. As with many things at the moment, this was a good time to visit such a tourist hotspot.

I decided that I should take a suitable photo….. As an aside, there were some wonderful people on the walk, such a variety of different backgrounds and stories. One lovely Italian lady is a tour guide and she mentioned a free walk she’s leading next week, that I shall be going to.

The walk then looped into Regent’s Park, always a beautiful area to walk by.

After a quick sit down in a mini lunch break, the tour started again.

After walking by Baker Street station, we arrive at this building which I’ve walked by many times, but never known the significance. The plaque notes that John Lennon and George Harrison worked here, but there was more to it than that.

Today, the building is used by Marsh & Parsons, but it was once the Apple Boutique. This story was entirely new to me, so much praise again to Des for pointing this out (although I assume every Beatles fan already knew about it, and indeed, probably nearly everyone, but these things pass me by). The shop opened on 7 December 1967 and there was a plan to launch a national chain of these Apple Stores. Things didn’t quite go to plan and the enterprise wasn’t the highly profitable venture that was hoped for and in the end, it was just decided to give the entire stock of the shop away. That caused some rather heated scenes and some big financial losses.

We moved to our next location on Savile Row, where everyone along the street was impeccably well dressed. Well, I wasn’t obviously, but I mean the locals were. All a bit decadent and fancy for my liking. The relevance here is that the Beatles final live performance took place on the roof of this building.

The plaque on the building, noting that the unannounced performance that took place on 30 January 1969. The band was able to play for 42 minutes before the Metropolitan Police came along and told them to quieten things down.

The tour miastro continues.

Our final stop worried me slightly, I thought Des had taken us to a gym. This definitely wouldn’t have been in the joining instructions, but it was an opportunity for our highly esteemed walk leader to tell us about his youth and musical experiences. This was another rather lovely walk and I’m pleased to have had my knowledge improved substantially, so now I’ve done mini tours of Beatles related locations in Liverpool and London. And I can now say finally that I’ve walked across Abbey Road zebra crossing.

June 18, 2021
London – Westminster (Borough of) – Cross Keys

This cornucopia of foliage outside this Covent Garden pub makes for quite a memorable welcome for customers (and no doubt an Instagram opportunity for many), and it proves to be just as quirky inside. A Good Beer Guide listed pub, it’s an independently operated venue (I think) which is a little unusual for the area, which seems dominated by chains such as Nicholsons and Fullers. The pub dates to 1848, when this whole Endell Street area was modernised, so there’s some Victorian heritage here as well.

The welcome from the staff members was immediate and genuine, although I got the impression that the staff were just keen to get more customers in. This was yet another quiet pub in Covent Garden, but I understand that in more normal times it would usually be difficult to get to the bar, let alone get a seat. The decoration is quirky, indeed somewhat quirky, but I liked that, and there was plenty to look at around the pub. Perhaps some people might think that it’s slightly dingy and needs a little bit of a clear out, but I’d hate for a pub such as this to be modernised and made to be all barren and sterile. The downstairs toilets were also an exciting expedition down some quite steep stairs, but it all adds to the character of the arrangement.

The staff member apologised that the pub doesn’t have any real ales on at the moment, but he mentioned some other options, which included the Reliance Pale Ale from Brixton Brewery. I hadn’t had that before and it was an acceptable alternative, not unreasonably priced. The pub had a comfortable feel, although I suspect the staff were just struggling with how to be trying to run a pub with so few customers in it, but that the service was attentive for everyone who did come in. I think that they serve food at lunchtimes, although I didn’t particularly look for menus, but reviews suggest that it’s sandwiches and pies which are all entirely acceptable. There’s also an outside area which gives the pub a little bit more space, but this isn’t one of the largest venues.

For anyone with a limited amount of time in Covent Garden who has the ability to visit just the one pub, I think that I’d recommend this one. Something very British and authentic about this, and it’s quirky enough to feel really quite different to the pubs in the surrounding area. Friendly service, a comfortable environment and a reasonable beer selection, all rather lovely.

June 17, 2021
London – Ealing (Borough of) – Brewdog Ealing

I am continuing on my little project to visit all the Brewdogs in London (and indeed, further afield, but that will take me a little longer) and this one is in Ealing and only opened a few weeks ago. The reviews so far are nearly all very positive, although I’m genuinely amused by the review which noted:

“The beer is sad – need better flavours.”

I assume that this is from someone who loves their Fosters or something. Anyway, that sounds sneery and isn’t really relevant (although I won’t let that stop me). As for why I keep visiting Brewdog bars, it’s because there is always something new to drink, the service is friendly and the locations have a bit of excitement to them. I also like their vibrancy and energy, it’s not something that a lot of pubs and bars can get right.. And, they also have a policy of showing football, but only showing it in a limited part of the bar to avoid annoying those of us who want to concentrate on the beer. A win-win compromise as far as I’m concerned, especially as they are doing deals to get football fans in, so they aren’t neglected.

There’s a large interior and it’s all nice and shiny, as it should be since it only recently opened. I had reserved my Wings Wednesday extravaganza in advance as usual and I’m not entirely sure that they found my reservation judging by the confused looks, but it didn’t matter, they had lots of space. They offered me a choice of tables inside and outside (unlike the Roebuck and their shove him in the corner approach – although I note they’ve been picking up more bad reviews over the last few days and I suspect it’s the same staff member I experienced. But I digress….) before I announced that I liked inside and I could do with a power point if they had one. I’m a little surprised that a new Brewdog bar doesn’t have more tables with power points, but the staff member found one and that sufficed me perfectly.

I’d add that the bar staff seemed quite young. That annoyed me because that made me realise I’m not 14 any more, but I don’t think I can really blame the bar for that. The staff were all well trained, engaging, knowledgeable and keen to help, so there were no issues in that regard. The service remained very impressive throughout, always attentive and polite, I was suitably impressed.

My unlimited chicken wings and although it’s exactly the same dish as the other bars, the sauce seemed a little less harsh, with the chicken wings having that more crispy edge to them. As much as anyone can have a favourite Brewdog for their chicken wings, this is my preferred bar so far.

Onto the drinks, of which I went for three. The Frog Gone Rouge from Elusive Brewing (on the left in the above photo) is defined as an “Hibiscus & Rhubarb Kölsch-style Lager”. A certain person, who I will begrudgingly admit slightly knows more about craft beer than me, would probably have been able to pull out the hibiscus flavour and tell me what beer he’s had that was similar (I struggle to remember what I had yesterday, which is one of the reasons that I have this blog to remind me). Unfortunately, I have no idea what a bloody hibiscus tastes like, so I’m going to define this as more of a fruit juice with a rhubarb kick. I’m not sure that this is the delicate phrasing that this beer deserves, but that’s about my limit of wording to it. I liked it though, refreshing and with an edge of tartness.

My second beer (on the right of the above photo) is the 42|DDH Pale Ale – Citra & Sabro from Brew by Numbers. I like BBN beers (and thanks for the toast on Untappd, I’m easily pleased by such things) and it’s defined as “this double dry hopped pale ale delivers tooty fruity intense bursts of flavour, tropical fruit, grapefruit, coconut, melon and freshly cut spring grass”. Another refreshing beer with a tropical taste, certainly with the grapefruit and I think the coconut, but I’m a little less convinced by the grass. I liked the clean flavours and the lingering aftertaste, a decidedly lovely beer.

My third beer (that I didn’t take a photograph of) was more complex, the Arcade City by Overworks (effectively Brewdog) and it’s noted that:

“Black as a Ninja’s robe, an Origami of flavours unfold. Floral jasmine and sweet cranberries are layered over the indulgent big sour stout beneath. Poached prunes, deep notes of raisin and roasty chocolate flavours compete with the seismic sourness. Finishes with the complex malt and alcohol warmth expected of Tokyo. Jasmine creeps back again as mouth-watering acidity plays out.”

These sour stouts do confuse me, it doesn’t provide me with the rich and decadent taste of chocolate, Bounty bars, coffee or liquorice, but it does offer, as they say themselves, poached prunes….. The beer is thick (is that proper beer describing language?) and I did wonder at first if I had ordered sump oil. But, after the sour hit of what is a 10% ABV and that strength is obvious from the taste, there was a richness of flavour that meant I really did like this beer. Very much a beer that can be sipped, there were a few different flavours there and I wouldn’t have picked out cranberries, but after I read they were there, I could get that fruitiness. I don’t know about the poached prunes and I’m not sure that it was actually that chocolately, but it was rich and felt like it was a beer for grown-ups. Although it feels its 10%, it was still smooth and these initially what seemed conflicting tastes and flavours blended nicely. I think I’m starting to write drivel now, so I’ll stop on the beer description….

More chicken wings and these kept on coming nice and quickly. There were no delays with the payment process, but I had to confess to the bar staff that they had forgotten one of the three drinks that I’d had. The staff member told me that they couldn’t find that drink on the till, therefore they considered it didn’t exist. I’m happy with that decision, although if I had realised it didn’t exist, I might have had two thirds of it.

I know that Brewdog have faced some criticism nationally this week, but their bars are being run with some considerable ability and management skill. The staff are knowledgeable, the locations are on-trend, the beers are excellent and I can see the juggernaut of Brewdog openings likely to continue around the world. It’s becoming apparent just how far behind some pub chains are getting as well and I wonder whether there might be some major crashes in the years to come as the beer market all realigns.

As for this bar, I couldn’t fault it and I’m really rather impressed by the whole arrangement. Very lovely.

June 16, 2021
London – Westminster (Borough of) – White Swan

I’m having a rather lovely time meandering around Covent Garden this afternoon, an area that normally annoys me (and indeed a chugger has managed to annoy me by jumping in front of me and nearly causing a pedestrian traffic accident by trying to impede my progress – I have complained to the charity involved because I’m post-annoyed about it). Anyway, other than that, the atmosphere here is relaxed and, most importantly (for me), not too busy.

This is the Good Beer Guide listed White Swan pub on New Row, operated by Nicholson’s. CAMRA note that this was once one of the many early morning pubs at Covent Garden when it was a market and had a special licence for the porters who worked there so they could get a drink. The building dates from the seventeenth century and it was at one stage a coaching house for visitors to London, so yet another pub with some considerable heritage. For several years, until 2012, it was an Irish themed bar operated by O’Neils and, to be honest, I’m not sure that this was an ideal usage for such an old building.

I love a pub with a history sign outside, it suggest that some quite exciting things might lie within! OK, I accept that I might need to get out more…. Anyway, as this signage states, the pub was used in a novel written by Dorothy L Sayers.

The interior of the pub and as can be seen, this is another pub not exactly heaving at lunch-time. It was a little busier outside, but it’s fair to say, this was a heavily under-used pub for the time that I was in it.

The bar area which all feels quite traditional. I had a little bit of a wait to get in as the pub felt slightly understaffed, but the barman was friendly and helpful when I called out to check that I could just go in. It was a very comfortable environment, and also considerably cooler than the previous pub that I had just sat outside, so that was reassuring to me.

There was a choice of four real ales available, which are seemingly the the same ones that are offered in nearly every other Nicholson’s pub, it’s not really very creative. But perhaps times are hard to get the appropriate supplies of beers flowing throughout the pub chain. This is half a pint of Wainwrights, a beer that was perhaps a little past its best, but I think it’s quite a bland beer anyway, so it’s hard for me to judge when that best was. The service though remained attentive and helpful throughout, although there were only two customers (including me) sitting inside the pub, so that likely made managing things a little easier. I purchased using the app, which gave me 25p off my half pint again, so the pricing was entirely reasonable and I didn’t encounter any issues with it today.

Apparently the pub is showing the Euro football matches, but is leaving the volume low or not on at all, something which seems to me to be a perfect compromise. I understand that football fans might not entirely agree with that though, but there we go. The pub was serving food, and has a restaurant area upstairs, but I’m not sure they had many customers for that when I was there. A decent pub though, aided by helpful service, although I would ideally like a more decadent beer selection to keep me amused and to want to come back. For the heritage alone, I can see why it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide.

June 16, 2021