HOME | LAST 100 POSTS | CONTACT ME

Category: London

  • London – Masque Haunt

    London – Masque Haunt

    I’ve been to this JD Wetherspoon outlet many times, but I felt that a repeat visit was necessary since we were walking past it anyway. I’ve spent too many hours here faffing about whilst waiting for VISA applications, not a process I’ve had to endure recently. It’s located near to Old Street and it’s a relatively large Wetherspoons, with a raised area towards the back of the pub.

    The Market Porter from Portobello Brewing Co was unexceptional as it lacked a little richness, but it remained entirely drinkable.

    I like the below review on TripAdvisor, it seems to have escalated quickly…..

    “We came in as a group and the bar manager decided we were too loud and refused us service. No food, no napkins and [they] threatened to call the police”.

    Also, I’m not sure that this is how London pricing works….

    “I bought a nachos (normally What I get from my local Wetherspoons) they’ve given me a tiny teaspoon of each ? when I asked for more because I’ve paid extra because I was in London they were REALLY REALLY rude”

    Long ago, around the end of the eighteenth century, the site of this pub was the White Hart and it remained open until around 1910. The old buildings have now been demolished, but I like the continuity of the site once again being used as a pub, a Wetherspoons since 1994.

    The name of the pub is also intriguing, and Wetherspoons note:

    “In Elizabethan times, the nearby gatehouse of the former Priory of St John served as the office of the Master of the Revels, who was responsible for licensing plays, masques and other entertainment for the queen. A masque was a lavish drama with music and dancing, written by the leading poets and playwrights of the day. It was performed by masked figures and had an unusual name, like the masked haunt.”

    Anyway, a perfectly acceptable pub and the prices are towards the cheaper end of the scale given the location.

  • London – The Harp

    London – The Harp

     

    This pub in Covent Garden is sufficiently notable to have its own Wikipedia page, primarily as it is one of the few pubs which has won national CAMRA pub of the year. Formerly the Welsh Harp, the premises have been licensed since at least the late eighteenth century, but became particularly well known when Binnie Walsh owned the premises. Fuller’s purchased the pub in 2014, but have sensibly stayed out of the way to ensure that the premises can be run in the style of a freehouse.

    The beer choice was extensive and well balanced, with a range of beer styles available. The service was prompt, efficient and unusually friendly for such a central and busy location. The pub was busy, but this seems to be a common issue, although such a well run pub charging reasonable prices is inevitably going to be a crowded one in a city such as this.

    Pump clips showing the range of beers which have previously been sold here.

    The interior decoration, where it can be seen through the hub of people, is quirky and different.

    There are nearly no negative TripAdvisor reviews, other than the usual ridiculous ones. This is a favourite:

    “Does not allow even one small sleeping infant. Didn’t want to forfeit space to paying clients even though the place was empty. Disappointing”

    It’s almost as though a busy pub with highly limited amounts of space is an ideal place for a small sleeping infant…..

    Another review seems more justified when complaining about a manager, with the pub’s reply being:

    “I’m sorry to hear this news but very interested by your comments and I believe I might know of whom out of the management team you are referring to. If I’m correct in my assumption, then you will be pleased to know that he is moving on to pastures new at the end of this week.”

    Certainly honest.

    And just to show how bloody useless TripAdvisor is as any sort of useful resource, here’s another of the few negative reviews for the pub:

    “Went with the family stopping by the harp on our way to Niagara Falls. The idea was to experience some Irish foods since this is our heritage. We were very disappointed with the food. Our group ordered fish & chips (very very greasy), meatloaf, Shepard pie- both of which had a very bland yet strange taste to them, a cheeseburger( completely bland and dried out”

    This review was meant to be for the Irish Harp pub at 245 King Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada. Easy mistake to make…..

    All in all, absolutely lovely, something entirely unexpected in the heart of Covent Garden. It is still winning awards, not just from the CAMRA, winning the 2019 Evening Standard London pub of the year. Inevitably given all of this, the pub is deservedly in the Good Beer Guide.

  • London – Bear and Staff

    London – Bear and Staff

    I like Nicholson’s pubs, they have some intriguing historic buildings around the country and plenty of choices in London. I’m less impressed at their food, it’s often just average, but the beer is fine and I’ve signed up to their app. Which is why I visited if I’m being honest, I was given a free pint by Nicholson’s for my birthday and so I decided to use it here.

    Nicholson’s Pale Ale brewed by St. Austell brewery, it’s not what I usually order, but it was entirely acceptable and at the appropriate temperature.

    The service at the bar was way above average, engaging, polite and friendly. I couldn’t recognise the accent of the barman, perhaps Russian and perhaps Polish, but either way, he was welcoming and had sussed this customer service thing out.

    Bit of history from CAMRA:

    “First licensed in 1714 and called the Bear and Ragged Staff until 1835, this is a late Victorian (re-built in 1878) corner pub that was one of the smallest in the area until extended into an adjacent shop in 1997, giving it two distinct areas”

    The shop bit is at the rear of this photo and that extension must have been really appreciated by locals as there was otherwise very little seating available downstairs.

    Firstly, I don’t usually go around taking photos in toilets, that sort of thing is quite rightly frowned upon. But, I couldn’t help noting that this is a design flaw for anyone who comes out of one of the cubicles. A slightly generous push of the door will lead to an oblivious customer being shunted into the urinal, which I’d say isn’t an ideal situation for anyone involved in the proceedings.

    One TripAdvisor review interested me, which was:

    “We were not informed that our visit would have to be short when we asked if we could have a table in the beginning. The server kept making remarks that this is central London, and a lot of people would be waiting to go in for their dinner, but as far as I’m concerned, I’m as much of a customer as those people were”

    The pub has replied saying that table reservations are for one hour and this should have been explained. One hour? That is perhaps one of the tightest dining times that I’ve come across in a pub.

    And the review of overcooked beef amused me:

    “I went to the bar to ask for a replacment, i was told by a dour eastern european lady she would have the meat warmed. I assumed this was a joke as it was already overcooked.”

    Anyway, I liked this pub and apparently so did Charlie Chaplin, as he was a customer when performing in the nearby theatres. And, since my pint was free, I have nothing bad to say. Well, I do actually, the toilets really weren’t clean at all, to the point that they would have put me off ordering food. But the beer was fine, the service was engaging and the pub was historic, so all rather lovely. Other than the toilets.

  • London – Sutton Arms

    London – Sutton Arms

    This pub, chosen by Nathan on our meander to London Liverpool Street railway station, felt like what might be called a traditional London boozer, although that’s not a word that I frequently find the need to use. Carpeted, old-fashioned and entirely indifferent to modern design trends, it ensured that it maintained its authenticity. What the pub did offer was an excellent array of real ale, including a couple of dark beer options from Burnt Mill, a small brewery near to Stowmarket.

    Excuse my crude editing here, but the lady was sitting in front of the list of beers and I was keen to take a photo of them to remind me of what there was available. In terms of the welcome, this was authentic and unforced, with a warm atmosphere and an unhurried ambience which isn’t always achieved in London. The customers were varied in all manner of ways, primarily including what appeared to be a mix of locals and visitors which is often a positive sign.

    CAMRA helpfully have the background on this pub, noting that it’s a former Whitbread outlet which is now a freehouse, as well as mentioning that the name is from Thomas Sutton, who founded nearby Charterhouse many centuries ago. The pub is closed on weekends and although I’m sure there’s a good reason for this, I’m not sure what it is. Anyway, I can see why this is a CAMRA favourite, although not so much that it has reached the Good Beer Guide. All I can say to that is the standards in this area must be particularly high for a pub like this not to be included.

    The pub serves food, which seems to be of a decent quality from the reviews, but it hasn’t gone done the road of being a gastropub, a route which has been so heavily overdone. This meant that drinkers knew that they were welcome, the Sutton Arms remains as a pub which is all about the beer, which makes it all rather lovely.

  • London – Boris Johnson Cartoon

    London – Boris Johnson Cartoon

    Located on Hatton Wall in London, quite an interesting cartoon painted onto an otherwise uninteresting wall….

  • London – Moon Under Water (Leicester Square)

    London – Moon Under Water (Leicester Square)

    We had several hours to kill before getting a train back to Norwich, so it seemed a sensible idea to get unhealthy amounts of coffee to ensure a wide awake approach to the rest of the day. There were, after all, several more pubs to get to.

    The Moon Under Water, which is what George Orwell described a perfect pub as being, has been in this central West End location on Leicester Square since 1992. CAMRA mention that it was formerly a steak club and it’s also the first Wetherspoons which opened in the West End, so it’s done really well to last for thirty years. It’s a long and narrow pub and when we visited it wasn’t easy to find a seat, we got rather fortunate to get a table right near to the back.

    Wetherspoons themselves have some history of this pub, noting:

    “This famous square was laid out in 1670 by Lord Leicester. The first house on the site of this pub was occupied, in turn, by a Lord Chancellor, two princes and the famous Scottish surgeon John Hunter. ‘Hunter’s House’ was demolished in 1892 and replaced by the present building.”

    I found this particularly interesting, as John Hunter was heavily involved in body snatching, a surgeon who didn’t ask any questions about where his bodies came from. His house here on Leicester Square was once used as his personal museum and he had a connected property at the rear of this house which was used as a dissecting house. That property was located on Castle Street, which has since been renamed Charing Cross Road.

    A chicken wrap, chips and unlimited coffee was something like £6.59, which given the location really isn’t too bad. The chicken was a little light (I think they’d used one chicken strip instead of two, although I can’t say that I dwelled unnecessarily long over this), but it all tasted perfectly fine and was sufficient. The visit was more about the coffee than expecting any fine cuisine, although this is the first Wetherspoons I’ve seen with only one coffee machine, space is just very limited.

    The service was efficient and polite, plates collected promptly and the pub environment was all clean and tidy. I have visited here before on a few occasions, but they were several years ago and I had forgotten the theatre posters which line the corridors to the toilets.

    I had a little look at TripAdvisor to amuse myself, and there were some marvellous reviews, such as:

    “We ordered chips and they came literally after 2 secs completely cold!!!”

    I’d highly doubt it took “literally two seconds” if I’m being honest, but who knows….

    Anyway, for those visiting central London and wanting a cheap and affordable option, with real ale and craft beer, there are many worse….

  • London – Greggs Stratford

    London – Greggs Stratford

    After we’d got off the Megabus from Norwich to London, there was one cultural highlight of London to visit, the Greggs at Stratford Westfield…..

    Cakes.

    And beautifully presented pastries.

    Greggs are giving free Walkers crisps to lots of people who have the Greggs App, which complemented my hot sausage roll beautifully. Friendly service and top quality products, what a quite marvellous way to start a weekend away…..

  • Norwich – Megabus to London

    Norwich – Megabus to London

    We needed to get to Heathrow cheaply and easily, but doing this in the morning is a challenging exercise to do cheaply on the trains. So, Megabus were the perfect option, costing around £7 per ticket to get from Norwich to Stratford in London. I’ve caught this bus many times and it’s a stress-free experience usually, with no need to print the tickets out, just showing the driver the e-mail order.

    Boarded first, so had a choice of the seats. Since there was no Donovan (excuse the Inbetweeners reference), we decided to sit at the back like some rebels….. It was a very smooth journey and Nathan’s alcoholic drinks the night before didn’t give him any sickness issues. We arrived into London safely at just before 10:00, having set off at 07:30, so the timing of the journey was good and as expected.

    The driving was professional, the bus was clean, the driver was professional and it was just a short walk to the Central Line at London Stratford underground station. All very lovely.

  • Croydon – Ibis Styles

    Croydon – Ibis Styles

    I’ve stayed at this hotel before as it’s a useful accommodation option which is located between Gatwick Airport and London. It’s also quite a quirky hotel, a cross between somewhere where clearly money has been spent and where shortcuts have also been taken.

    A sink pedestal which is the wrong shape for the sink and the newly painted ceiling in the bathroom was also badly flaking.

    The room itself though was clean and well presented, with a modern feel to it. The television seemed slightly small, but since I never turn them on, it didn’t make any difference to me. The coffee here is dreadful though, I don’t know where they’ve got their sachets from. I made a cup of coffee and had to immediately pour it down the sink after trying it.

    The welcome drink is generous in terms of the options and this was provided without my needing to ask for it. There was no welcome gift, but these are often missing in Ibis Styles and Ibis Hotels. The check-in process also required me to present ID, which was fine as I had my passport as I was coming back from Spain, but I’m not sure why they were doing this and it concerned me that they’ve been having problems. It’s also the first Accor Hotel in the UK that has sought to check my ID before, a habit they could perhaps abandon or explain.

    There was a choice of Becks or Stella in terms of the beer, both options which are, well, not exactly to my palate. The staff member sat for 75 seconds (yeah, I timed it as I’m dull like that) staring at his phone before he noticed me at the bar.

    The hotel clearly doesn’t have any Becks glasses, as that’s what I ordered and was poured. That’s a mispour, way too much head and no attempt to correct it. But, to be honest, it was more than enough Becks.

    The breakfast was included in the room rate and was entirely adequate. There’s no cooked breakfast, which is fine by me, but there was ham and cheese, along with muffins, pastries, fruit salads and yoghurt. The fruit salads were quite bland, as were some of the pastries, but the ham and cheese was of a decent quality. The hotel staff did get a complaint when I was there that there was no hot option, but taking the price point of the hotel into account, this doesn’t feel unreasonable to me.

    My healthy choices….

    I had a little read of their TripAdvisor reviews as I like a bit of drama.

    “Just left the hotel and I’m so upset needed a nice hot breakfast this morning to come to the restaurant and have hard bread and a little piece of cheese and ham and cereal was not what I needed”

    Do people really get “so upset” about this? Although, actually, since I get grumpy when I’m given a cold chicken bake at Greggs instead of a lovely hot one, I take their point….

    “I didn’t realise the rooms where like a attic the Ceiling was very low. I felt costa-phobic. I asked the reception if I can be moved they said all rooms are booked now. I couldn’t really sleep much as I felt anxious.”

    Costa-phobic? I quite like attic rooms, adds a bit of character, as long I don’t hit my head.

    Overall, I don’t entirely get this hotel, there are some excellent intentions and some mixed service standards from the staff. But, bearing in mind the price point, it’s hard to really complain, especially as the room was clean and the bed was comfortable.

  • British Airways (Berlin to Heathrow T5)

    Every time I fly back from Berlin Tegel I wonder whether it’ll be the last time I visit the airport, with its replacement seemingly having been nearly ready for nearly ten years. Tegel has long since been unable to comfortably cope with the volume of passengers and it feels crowded and uncomfortable.

    The boarding process is unusual as the BA lounge is landside, so then there’s a long queue for the security and border checks. Above is a photo of the queue for the flight at the next gate, it’s one of the few airports I can think of where the queues to board are within a five second walk of the terminal entrance.

    The British Airways check-in desks. It took over 40 minutes of queueing to board the aircraft, with no seating for those who needed it. Interestingly, or at least I was interested, my battery pack was examined by the security personnel for compliance, which has never happened before. It is a large battery pack at 20000mAh and I was quite impressed that it was checked, since it is only just under the allowable level.

    The aircraft was G-EUPE, an Airbus A319 that British Airways have operated since it came into service in 2000. I had a window exit row seat, which was sufficiently spacious and clean. It was also a busy flight and was at near capacity, although fortunately there didn’t seem as much pressure on the overhead lockers as usual. Then flight left around ten minutes late, but the captain gave updates and it seemed to be because there was a slight delay with getting everyone through the security process.

    The crew were professional and the buy-on-board (BOB) seemed to be popular, with a new menu having come out at the beginning of October. I still don’t think it’s a very innovative on-board menu, although my views on this are a bit irrelevant since I never buy anything on board British Airways flights anyway.

    The DHL truck had appropriate branding for where I had just flown from.

    The flight arrived into London Heathrow T5 at the expected time and the disembarkation process was efficient and timely. It took around twelve minutes from the airport doors opening to my leaving the terminal, allowing me to leave Heathrow in good time.