Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Category: Central London

  • London – Brewdog Tower Hill (Scramm’s Mead)

    London – Brewdog Tower Hill (Scramm’s Mead)

    My friend Richard was on another of his decadent trips to London at the weekend, which was handy as he was dropping my tent off for my week of camping. We popped into Tower Hill Brewdog and I wasn’t going to write about this, as I’ve written before about this bar which is near to the Tower of London (I’ve taken my main photo for this post from an earlier visit as well). We were slightly surprised to get a table as it two hours before the football started, but, fortunately, the fans weren’t much interested in Brewdog until the football was about to start.

    Two things of note though. Firstly, Richard wasn’t impressed at his avocado and feta bowl (I don’t know why he ordered this, but I didn’t say anything) as it was mostly leaves with only limited sprinklings of anything else. I didn’t bother taking a photo of the meal but would have done if I had known how disappointed he was with it. He was about to tell the staff his thoughts about it, but there was no check back and the staff member who collected the mostly left plate of leaves didn’t say anything either. I was a little disappointed by this, I would have been interested in what they had to say. Probably “why didn’t you order a burger?” or something….

    Anyway, of more relevance was the very decadent Marionberry from Schramm’s Mead which Richard spent a small fortune on. I was fortunate enough to pinch a little of it, because I noticed that this is one of the best rated breweries in the world. Schramm’s Mead are located in Ferndale, Missouri and I’ve decided that I need to have a visit to their taproom at some point in the future. Untappd note that this brewery averages at 4.52 from their 111,386 ratings, a quite phenomenal score. I accept that not everyone gets excited by very high scores on Untappd, but I’m easily excited by this.

    As for the Marionberry, which is a fruit mead (or melomel), this was absurdly good. Made with Marion Blackberries it had the taste of a rich jam and it was moving towards being a red wine in my eyes. Smooth for its 14%, but packed with flavour and a very different drinking experience. Not the cheapest, but I’d absolutely order from this brewery again if I see anything of theirs in the UK. And if not, I’ll just have to wait until I go and see them in the United States. A very lovely drink indeed and full credit to Brewdog for making this available.

  • London – City of London – The Walrus and Carpenter

    London – City of London – The Walrus and Carpenter

    For the first time in a long while that I’ve been in London, I haven’t needed to go anywhere by public transport today, such is the advantage of staying in the centre of the city (I haven’t got wealthy and decadent, just that the nearby Ibis Budget was cheap). That meant I thought I’d visit a few pubs that I’ve never managed to get to in the area of the Tower of London, on the grounds that they’ll be reasonably empty of business-people and tourists so I’ll be able to see inside properly.

    This is another Nicholson’s pub (although until 2006, this pub was operated by Young’s) and they’ve made their usual effort of not overly engaging about the history of the building, although their web-site does talk about the nearby Monument. They do explain that the pub name comes from a verse in a poem by Lewis Carroll, although they don’t give a reason why they changed the name from what it was called, which was the Cock. Although perhaps they don’t really need to.

    The interior was bright but empty, although the pub had a bustling area to the front where people could sit outside overlooking the busy road. There was a polite welcome from a staff member at the door and, before I could get my app order in, I was asked what I wanted to drink. The staff member at first seemed to prefer to just take my order rather than me faff about via the app, but then I explained that I wanted the 25p discount from the app, so he gave up and let me get on with it. I should go when it’s a little bit busier, then they don’t get chance to try and take my order before I’ve made it. I make many things awkward with trying to save 25p….. The staff seemed to be from a number of different countries, they did add positively to the whole atmosphere of the pub.

    Anyway, the beer choice was limited to London Pride and Nicholson’s Pale Ale, which was hardly thrilling. I went for the latter and it was satisfactory. I’ve gone back a bit on Untappd to see if the choice ever gets more exciting and the short answer from the last three years is rarely, this is really a lager and spirits led pub (although that doesn’t seem to have been the case a few years ago, when the real choice was quite extensive).

    As is usual with Nicholson’s, they have a theme to their food, and here it’s pies. It’s a clever gimmick and one that I think is quite successful for them, although the food seems to still be brought in en masse so there’s still a lack of individuality here. Pricing for food and drink is around average for the area and it’s not a bad choice for tourists to the Tower of London as it does have the feel of a traditional British pub.

    Although it’s always interesting to see another pub, it’s not really one for me because of the lack of beer choice, although it seems competently managed judging from the consistently good reviews. The pub is though large, with an upstairs and downstairs that can be opened up, so there’s some flexibility here and those wanting food are likely to be rarely disappointed that they can’t be seated.

  • London – City of London – Seething Lane Tap (Brewdog)

    London – City of London – Seething Lane Tap (Brewdog)

    My aim of visiting all the Brewdog bars in London is nearly complete, but they also have a few pubs which are remnants of the Draft House chain which they took over a few years ago. This is one of them which is located very near to Brewdog Tower Hill and the Tower of the London. I think this one is quite sports orientated, although I visited on a Wednesday afternoon, so I’m not sure that there’s much to show which was handy.

    It was quite busy on the tables outside, but it’s fair to say that it wasn’t entirely packed inside. There was a friendly staff member who welcomed me near to the entrance and noted that I could sit anywhere. A lot of the tables had power points located by them, which is always a handy facility to have. The ordering process is the same as with Brewdog, so I ordered via the app and went for half a pint of Amygdala from the Solvay Society brewery in London. The food menu also looks the same and I noted that they offered Wings Wednesday, although I decided against going for that today.

    What arrived was a pint and I did own up to having only ordered a half, not as a complaint, but in case they had brought the wrong drink over. The staff member said it was fine to keep it, and I did, as I’m very accommodating and helpful like that. It’s a saison, not a beer style that I’m particularly used to drinking, but I do know that I like the flavours. As I haven’t had many of these, it’s a little hard to compare with others, but I liked the aftertaste, a very drinkable beer.

    There seems something slightly disappointing that Brewdog have nearly entirely incorporated these pubs into their chain without keeping them distinct in some way. Much as I like being familiar with the ordering system, they could perhaps have kept some of the original Draft House character. They do seem to have a larger food menu than Brewdog bars though at least, including fish & chips and some more starters. But, no complaints about my visit here, five different guests and the standard Brewdog options, all in a clean environment and friendly staff. And definitely no complaints about the free half a pint, much appreciated.

  • London – City of London – The Ship Pub

    London – City of London – The Ship Pub

    This is the Nicholsons operated pub in the city of London, a short walk from Greggs and Monument station. As an aside, and not that I’m one to moan (but yet here we are as someone used to say…..) but it’d be nice if Nicholsons didn’t just say on their web-site that their pubs were historic, but actually said why. Fortunately, CAMRA have something to add on this, namely “on the site of the Talbot which was destroyed in the Great Fire of London”. The former name of the pub, and the current name of the court, is named after the breed of hunting dog, known as the Talbot.

    Also, if anyone has a Good Beer Guide book from the last couple of years (but not last years), let me know, as I think that this pub was listed, but it seems to have been removed from the latest edition. As I have the app, I can only see currently listed pubs and not ones that are no longer listed. There’s another pub called the Ship nearby as well, to add some extra confusion to arrangements.

    I was welcomed by a friendly member of staff who was standing near to the door to meet the Covid requirements. It was quiet inside, but there are some tables outside (apparently something that they’ve only recently been allowed to do) which I studiously ignored on the way in as I was quite happy to sit inside in the cold. The staff member offered to take my order, but I mentioned I’d use the app, as then I can automatically get the 25p off my half pint without having to ask for it and look stingy. Anyway, although it was agreed it’d probably be easier for the staff member to take the order (and I’ve discovered they can apply the 25p themselves now), they also wanted to test the app as they’ve had problems. So I ordered via the app. Fortunately, it went through, although the staff member had already brought my drink over before I’d finished paying using the app.

    There are five real ales available here, perhaps none exceptional, but the Timothy Taylor’s Landlord was well kept and tasted fine, and indeed better than I remember it. I do like the element of history in this pub, although there’s a touch of the generic in what is a very distinctive building. That’s not the fault of the very capable staff, just the whole Nicholson’s vibe doesn’t really offer anything particularly unique for individuals to rush there. It’s a decent pub through, a comfortable evening and they serve traditional pub food. For tourists to the nearby Tower of London, this isn’t a bad location to walk to for a British pub experience.

  • London – City of London – Blackfriar Pub

    London – City of London – Blackfriar Pub

    I’ve never bothered trying to get in this Nicholson’s pub before, located near to Blackfriars Station, as it always looks heaving with people (the pub, not the station, although that’s just as bad). It was a little busy outside, but I ventured in and discovered that it was very quiet inside. As I mentioned when visiting the Old Bank of England pub last week, this is an ideal time to visit pubs that are usually too busy to get in, although I accept it’s hardly the ideal situation for the hospitality trade in London.

    Not that it much matters, but there’s a difference in opinion in whether this pub is the “Black Friar” or the “Blackfriar”. CAMRA and Wikipedia go with the former, but since the pub goes with the latter, I’m going with that.

    The pub has been here since 1875 and the flatiron style building was designed by the architect H. Fuller-Clark and artist Henry Poole, with John Betjeman being involved in a campaign to prevent its demolition in the 1960s. The pub is in a slightly strange position and I can imagine that a much bigger building would have made more money, but I’m glad that this piece of Victorian history has survived. The pub, as well as the area and the railway station, takes its name from the monastery that was here until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the sixteenth century.

    I was welcomed promptly and informally, so it all seemed a comfortable environment. I had no end of problems with the Nicholson’s app and with the menus not loading, but I persisted and got my drink ordered. There wasn’t a great deal of choice, three relatively standard ales, but at least there was that so I had a little bit of a selection.

    Some of the decoration in the pub, which I suspect has more character and atmosphere when there are more customers in it. There were quite a few staff, so I wondered whether perhaps it wasn’t as quiet as they’d anticipated. It’s difficult to walk around during these Covid times, otherwise I would have liked to have explored the interior a little more. I see that the listed building record notes:

    “Small, windowless extra rear vaulted room, known as the Grotto, excavated from a railway vault, designed by Clark in 1913 but not executed until 1917-21 owing to the war.”

    For anyone who is interested, CAMRA have a page on the pub’s heritage.

    I didn’t want to repeat the same drink I’d had earlier in the day in another Nicholson’s pub, so I just went with a Doom Bar. I know a beer that this is modelled on, but I won’t comment on that here…… The beer was fine, at the appropriate temperature and all that (someone will be glad to hear that I know). The pricing in the pub was a little expensive, although this is central London, but the app gave me 25p off as a little reward, so that was handy.

    The reviews for the pub are pretty favourable, there don’t seem to be any real issues here and I felt welcome. There wasn’t a huge amount of engagement from the staff members, but since orders needed to be placed via the app, that does restrict things a little. The pub has made its way into the Good Beer Guide, I suspect more from its heritage and character than necessarily the slightly limited beer range (although CAMRA suggest that there’s normally much more choice, and I understand that these are difficult times). Either way, I’d come back here again, and it’ll be positive to see it much more packed once again as that might just mean things in London are nearly back to normal.

  • London – City of London – Old Bank of England Pub

    London – City of London – Old Bank of England Pub

    London is a strange place at the moment to establish when and where it will get busy. Usually when I’m walking down Fleet Street and this part of the city, pubs would be pretty packed out in the evening. I walked by this pub and thought it looked interesting, but also thought it might be one of those decadent food pubs who hardly wanted someone in there for a quick pint before their train home. But, whilst merrily walking by and already having pre-judged it, I checked CAMRA’s Whatpub and discovered that it was in the Good Beer Guide. So I walked back again, trying to not look like a confused tourist.

    I had guessed the bit about decadent correctly. However, it wasn’t a gastropub at all as I had thought it might be, although their pies are apparently pretty decent. The building was from 1888 until 1975 used by the Bank of England as their Law Courts and then it was for a while used by a building society, before it was used for a much better purpose, as a pub. The building once had gold bullion in its cellars and the Wikipedia page for the building notes that it might have held the Crown Jewels for a time.

    Going back to the pies that I just made reference to, the pub themselves mention that it’s located between where Sweeney Todd and Mrs Lovett operated (or allegedly operated since it’s likely entirely made up), noting:

    “It was in the tunnels and vaults below the present building that his victims were butchered before being cooked and sold in the pies to Mrs Lovett’s unsuspecting customers”.

    What a lovely selling point for the pies today…..

    The service was professional and efficient, although it seemed slightly over-staffed, so maybe they had been expecting more customers. It got a little bit busier during my visit, but nothing that was going to be a challenge for the staff to cope with in terms of the numbers.

    It’s a pub run by McMullen brewery, so it had their beers in, which is fair enough for their perspective, but gives less incentive for me to return to try something new.

    Slightly mispoured, but by no great margin as I think this was a lined glass, but the beer range was slightly less riveting. I had half a pint of the AK and half a pint of the Country, which were both well kept and tasted fine, but they were perhaps just a bit routine. The Country had some interesting flavours, not least being biscuity as promised, and I like that clean taste. The prices were actually quite moderate (and looking through the food menu, they were reasonable too given the location), fortunately not matching the decadent surroundings.

    One unfortunate omission is a photograph of the double decker bus that they’ve managed to move into their beer garden. I was going to take a photo from the beer garden after leaving the pub, but it transpired you now need to go through the pub, and I decided against meandering around the building again looking for it. But it’s worth Googling this double decker bus they’ve managed to position into their central London location.

    All in all, I’m pleased I popped into here before my train back to sunny Norwich, certainly a memorable interior and the staff were friendly. Maybe I’ll come back for one of their pies at some point…..

  • London – City of London – The Pelt Trader

    London – City of London – The Pelt Trader

    This bar is listed in the Good Beer Guide and I’m not sure how I’ve missed it in the past, given that it sells craft beer and pizzas. It’s located under a railway arch at Cannon Street railway street and it opened here in 2013. I was fortunate with my timing, as I hadn’t realised just how small this venue is. I asked if there was space for me and the helpful team member said that they were giving up with a table booking for six people that hadn’t bothered to turn up or let them know. That table had been left empty for half an hour, a really unhelpful thing for such a small venue. Anyway, the team member asked if I was happy with that table, which I most certainly was.

    There’s a canoe hanging from the ceiling which all adds some atmosphere to the proceedings I suppose. Ordering could be done via a web-site, but it was just as easy to order from the staff member. There were beers from a number of decent breweries, with a balance of different beer types which met my approval.

    The beer list is chalked up on the back bar, but it was somewhat easier to read it using the bar’s on-line menu system. This is one advantage that has come out of the blasted pandemic, pubs have been forced to be more innovative in their ordering systems. The food could also be ordered on-line, including 12 and 18 inch pizzas, not unreasonably charged at around £12 and £18 each. My knowledge of maths is sufficiently good enough to know that this makes the larger pizza considerably better value for money. Anyway, I digress.

    The branding on the glass isn’t relevant to the drink that I ordered, with this one being Orange Crush from Brick Brewery and I also went for the Tropical Deluxe from Howling Hops. Both very agreeable beers, well kept and those are both excellent breweries.

    I was a little unsure what to expect from this bar and I was entirely pleased with its offering, which remains on-trend although was perhaps ahead of its time when it opened. Friendly service, comfortable environment and a quirky feeling all bode well, especially with that mix of decent craft beer and pizza. Nice.

  • London – City of London – First London Coffee House

    London – City of London – First London Coffee House

    From where it all began for coffee shops in London, what is now the Jamaica Wine House on St  Michael’s Alley in the Cornhill area. This first coffee house was opened in 1652 by Pasqua Rosée who had connections with the Turkish and Greek communities. He built himself a little shop, although I can imagine that it wasn’t exactly Pret (it was probably more akin to something that I’d create with a few bits of wood and a civil engineer friend to do some sawing and construction), and this new drink of coffee seemed to catch on. He put a sign up out the front with his own image on it, similar to what Tim Martin did with his now closed pub on Whitehall. He had some important customers (Rosée I mean, not Tim Martin), not least Samuel Pepys who wrote about his visit in 1660.

    It had quite a nice little location by St. Michael’s Cornhill Church, but this whole area was badly affected (by badly affected, I mean it burned down) by the 1666 Great Fire of London. The church is still in situ, although it was heavily rebuilt following the Great Fire, with the shop also being rebuilt on pretty much the same site it had been standing on. Rosée wasn’t a freeman of the city and I can imagine the problems that this caused him, so apparently there was some partnership arrangement created to get around this problem to ensure that he could trade. No-one is entirely sure what the premises were called, but it’s thought that for a while they were known as the Turk’s Head. Rosée did well from his enterprise, but he decided to go an innovate in Paris instead, opening up that city’s first coffee shop in 1672.

    The building on the site today is the Jamaica Wine House, a Victorian building which was completed in 1869. The pub might have switched from coffee to beer and then more to wine (next step craft beer…..), but there’s still a nineteenth century cooker in place from where the coffee beans were roasted.

    I still like how exotic this coffee shop must have been when it opened, probably as exciting as an innovative craft beer bar being announced. It was a place to be seen and also to discuss financial arrangements, which is how the large insurance, banks and financial institutions evolved. They were good places for traders to meet to discuss their purchase and sales, usually also quite energetic (loud) environments. Usually there was no alcohol served in these coffee shops in the early days and women were excluded from attending such decadent places.

    I can only imagine the sort of gossip that was discussed at this coffee shop from 1652, but I think that I’d like to have listened to it. King Charles I had been executed just three years before the coffee shop opened, so political talk would have been inevitable, and I’m sure care was taken to avoid upsetting the wrong people. Coffee shops and pubs later often welcomed one political group over another, which would be an interesting set-up for Pret, they could have shops for Starmer supporters and maybe the odd one or two for supporters of Grant Shapps or something. Anyway, I digress.

  • London – City of London – Gilt of Cain (Slave Trade Monument)

    London – City of London – Gilt of Cain (Slave Trade Monument)

    This was on the wonderful walk around London led by Des yesterday evening, focusing on the issue of slavery and the links that London has to that (and there’s no shortage of such links). It’s a monument that was unveiled by Desmond Tutu on 4 September 2008 and I’m not sure that I’d have ever noticed it if it wasn’t for Des pointing it out. Not that it’s entirely hidden away, it’s next to 74 Fenchurch Street in what was once the churchyard of St Gabriel Fenchurch which was destroyed during the Great Fire of London and wasn’t rebuilt.

    I like this monument, as the messaging behind it is clear without requiring a 62-page guidebook to explain its meaning and purpose. I initially thought that the pulpit was one where anti-slavery campaigners would preach their message and although this is the case, another meaning is apparently also that it is symbolic of how slave auctions might take place. The columns represent sugar cane and show people listening to the message at the pulpit, or, alternatively waiting to be sold to their new owner.

    The sculpture is located near to where John Newton of St. Mary Woolnoth parish was the vicar between 1780 and 1807 and he was buried here, although he was later moved. This is important as Newton was a slave trader who changed his views and decided to campaign to end the trade and he’s perhaps best known today for writing the words to the hymn Amazing Grace.

    Anyway, this sculpture is thoughtfully located, has a depth of meaning and is creatively intriguing. This is perhaps an ideal which similar projects should try and match in the future. The spelling of the word ‘Gilt’ in the name is also deliberate, it’s a play on the financial term and a nod towards how important that was to London at the time of the slave-trade, and still is today.

    There’s a poem written by Lemn Sissay (who later became the official poet of the London Olympics in 2012) and some of the text of that is incorporated onto the monument.

  • London – City of London – St. Dunstan’s Court

    London – City of London – St. Dunstan’s Court

    Like the yards of Norwich, I rather expected the series of courts off Fleet Street to have some kind of long heritage.

    But, at first this didn’t seem to be the case. The red cursor on the above map from 1920 shows where the court goes through the building today. Indeed, on late nineteenth century maps, it shows that this was the site of a pub rather than a court. The court takes its name from the nearby medieval church of St Dunstan in the West (this makes sense as there’s another one in the East, albeit mostly destroyed during the Second World War, which isn’t too far from the Tower of London).

    However, the 1886 Insurance Plan of London shows that the court was there and this tallies up with 160 Fleet Street being the Hole in the Wall pub. The court doesn’t really go anywhere, it just reaches what was a playground in 1886 and then joins onto Bolt Court, which is as it is today (although the playground has gone). Also visible in this map is an electrotype facility, a useful and quite modern publishing device at the time. There’s a photo on Wikipedia of a set-up in 1902 that was used at the New York Herald, and I imagine that it was equally cramped.

    Each of the courts off Fleet Street on the north side of the road has tablets which show the heritage of the newspaper industry, which is what this area was once known for. This one shows the 1980s computerised printing technology that was introduced, that brought about the demise of the traditional printed processes. The usage of the Space Invaders as an example of something from the 1980s is perhaps a little obscure, but it stands out on the pavement.

    There was a court case heard at the Mansion House in September 1896 when a Mr Charles Pensotti was accused of stealing letters from a post box on St. Dunstan’s Court. He had been interfering with letters placed there by Dean & Son, a publisher of some note, who wondered why cheques and postal orders had been going missing. When arrested, Pensotti was found to have a number of blank cheque books and six picklock keys, but he said to the police that it was a big mistake.