Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Westminster

  • Admiral Duncan Public House in Westminster

    Admiral Duncan Public House in Westminster

    Admiral Duncan Public House

    Address: 54 Old Compton Street, London

    Local Council: Westminster

    I haven’t yet visited this pub, but maybe sometime soon….. When I do, this text will disappear and my ‘fascinating’ comments about the pub will appear instead.

    For the moment, here’s my list of Good Beer Guide pubs visited. And for anyone interested, which I accept isn’t likely to be many people, my favourite pub so far is the Hop and Vine in Hull. Untappd is a handy place to see where I’ve been recently (and feel free to add me, the more the merrier).

    I also don’t have an interview with anyone from this pub, but if they want to take part then please do contact me. It’ll also be an effort to update this database with pub closures and updates, but I’ll change the details of anywhere that I’m contacted about. I’m updating on a regular basis new pubs and also removing venues which are clearly more restaurants than pubs. And the pub that I’m saddest about closing is Goose Island in London which shut its doors in late 2022…..

    This project is I accept entirely unachievable, namely trying to visit not only every Good Beer Guide pub in the country but having a fair crack of trying to visit as many pubs as I can. But, I have to start somewhere and here is where we’re starting. The image in the photo is from the Phantom Brewery Tap in Reading.

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – Only Fools and Horses The Musical at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – Only Fools and Horses The Musical at the Theatre Royal Haymarket

    I’m not normally a theatre goer, but my friend Nathan, who likes his culture and opera, mentioned a company called TodayTix who offer discounted theatre tickets. I noticed a ticket for the Friday night performance of ‘Only Fools and Horses – the Musical’ was available for £10 plus a £3 booking fee, but I also had a £5 discount voucher for having just signed up, so that meant I got a ticket for £8. It’s fair to say they’re normally more expensive than that, but this price suited me best.

    I arrived at 18:45, the earliest they allowed entry, as it said they were doing checks of Covid passes and the like. It transpired they didn’t do any of that, which is odd given their commitment to the process on their web-site. I didn’t mind them not doing the checks, but they might as well remove the instructions that say they’re a requirement if they’re not.

    The theatre holds 888 people, some down below in the more expensive seats, but there are also some above as well. When I purchased the ticket there were some seats available which had a restricted view, but mine was unrestricted, albeit quite a way away.

    I liked my seat of H1 (and I never knew that there was a site such as https://seatplan.com/ where seats are reviewed, a bit like the ones for aircraft), which was at the rear of this section with a lot of legroom as it was on the curve, which also meant space for my backpack which I decided to take out for the evening (I didn’t deliberately bring it out for a treat, I still had it from never going back to the hotel in the day). There were two people seated next to me on the left and I had the wall to my right-hand side. There was one boorish theatre-goer that the staff were struggling with at the beginning, and had to go back to warn later on, but he was more harmless and drunk than a serious problem, but I was glad that he wasn’t seated anywhere near me.

    The Royal Box, where my wealthy friend Gordon would sit. He will never read this, so that’s fine for me to note here.

    This photo is from the curtain call, as they asked for no photos during the performance as it disturbed other audience members. Since there was no-one behind me and I noticed others took photos at this point at the end of the performance, here’s my little effort to give an example of the stage.

    I’m not a theatre critic, so my observations aren’t going to be overly deep and meaningful. This though was a performance that I lost track of time of, so that’s a good sign, I’m normally hoping the end comes soon when watching films at the cinema, my attention span already snapped.

    For nearly all of the characters, it was easy to forget they weren’t the real actors playing the parts, so was the quality of the impersonations. Tom Bennett played Del Boy and Ryan Hutton played Rodney, both convincing and capturing the appropriate joie de vivre. Jeff Nicholson as Boycie was a clear favourite of the audience, an impeccable performance and indeed laugh. Unfortunately, John Challis died a few weeks ago, but Jeff Nicholson mentioned that he had been a helpful guide throughout to his performance.

    Paul Whitehouse played Granddad and Uncle Albert, and had particularly caught the mannerisms of the latter, in a suitably exaggerated style. Although a musical, there were long sections of dialogue and the balance seemed entirely appropriate, with old jokes from the series blended in along with new ones crafted in. They managed to get Waterloo Clock into the performance, as well as the three-wheel van, with no end of complex stage changes. The complexity of these and knowing where to stand is impressive in itself, I’m not sure how individuals can remember so many lines of dialogue, dance and be in the right place throughout.

    There were some obvious moments recreated, such as when Del fell through the bar, although no recreation of the falling chandelier, just a reference to it. The performance was fast-paced and the quality of the script was high, although some of the songs felt rather more worthy than others and almost felt included because they’d called this a musical. Maybe the story-line also jumped about a bit, but it remained coherent and it was always faithful in its intent to the original television programme. A chunk of the scripting had been done by Jim Sullivan, the son of the original author of the series, John Sullivan.  Anyway, I was very pleased with my £8 ticket, entirely recommended.

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – The Ship & Shovell

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – The Ship & Shovell

    A quiet London gave me chance last year to visit a lot of Good Beer Guide pubs in the city which always looked too crowded to get in before. I’m not sure that’s ideal for the hospitality industry, but it certainly allowed me to see some historic interiors and venues packed with atmosphere. The Ship & Shovell is a new addition to the Good Beer Guide that was only added in the new 2022 edition of the book a couple of months ago.

    Unusually for a pub, it’s split in two opposite parts each side of the lane (the pub notes that this is unique in London), although it’s also apparently connected by the cellars which also contain the pub’s kitchen. This side was closed off when I visited, but it’s a handy way of having additional capacity. It’s located on Craven Passage, which is located underneath Charing Cross railway station.

    Here’s the site in the 1890s, with the PH in the middle of the map marking the main part of the pub today, but there’s nothing marked on the extension bit. The building was listed in 1970, with the listed building record noting:

    “Former pair of terrace houses, as one public house. c.1731-32, refaced late C.18 and with late C.19 public house front. Yellow stock brick, slate roof. 3 storeys and dormered mansard. 5 windows wide (3 windows to No. 2 and 2 to No. 3). Ground floor has wooden public house frontage with panelled and glazed doors and bar windows articulated by Corinthian pilasters carrying entablature-fascia. Upper floors have recessed glazing bar sashes under flat arches with stucco voussoirs. Parapet with coping. Pub interior retains good late C.19 mahogany bar fittings and some engraved glass. As originally built part of the Craven family’s C.18 development of their Brewhouse property; c.f. Craven Street.”

    The bar area, all nicely presented and there was a friendly team member who welcomed me as soon as I arrived at the bar. Indeed, the service was always personable and engaging. The pub is only taking cards at the moment for payment, and they take Amex (although I only saw that sign after I had paid with a different card).

    The ship element of the pub’s name is reflected here in the fireplace.

    The pub is operated by Hall and Woodhouse Brewery, so their beers dominate here. There are plenty of draught (or draft if you prefer) options as well as bottles. There were no dark beers available on draught, but there is an interesting looking milk stout Milk Made which is rated 3.84 on Untappd, so I might ask for that next time I’m in one of the brewery’s venues, of which there are six in the city centre.

    I rather liked the food menu, which I think is more substantial at lunchtime, but this caters for most snack tastes (well, no Wotsits I accept, but they do have Mini Cheddars) and there’s a 3 for £5 offer on. The prices for the drinks seem to be around £5 to £6 a pint, which is realistic given the central London location. I can imagine that when London is back to some form of normality that venues like this will be crowded once again, especially at 15:45 on a Friday evening which is when I visited.

    The on-line reviews for the pub are broadly very positive and they’ve clearly pleased CAMRA for their members to list it in the Good Beer Guide. Looking for the negative comments that are sometimes exciting, there’s a complaint and 1/5 star review which notes:

    “No preseco or sparkling wine, bar man just wanted to sell pints and bottles !!”

    Good.

    And another 1/5 complaint about a cold Scotch Egg that wasn’t reheated in a microwave. Personally, I’d rather have a cold Scotch egg and I can’t recall being given one that the pub has microwaved. And a 2/5 star rating from a customer that wasn’t allowed to use the tunnel.

    Anyway, welcoming staff, a clean venue and a laid-back and comfortable atmosphere, so it seems to me like an appropriate and sensible addition to the Good Beer Guide. One of the better options for anyone waiting for a train to depart Charing Cross railway station.

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – The Cambridge Pub

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – The Cambridge Pub

    I got an e-mail from Nicholson’s pubs last week that said they had half-price main courses available on most weekdays over the next couple of weeks. That seemed like a very reasonable deal, so I thought that I’d pop to some of their London establishments that I haven’t been to before.

    This is the Cambridge pub in Charing Cross, which is in the area of Soho. Nicely decorated ceiling and it’s also got an upstairs dining area. The pub says about its history:

    “Deep in London’s theatre district, The Cambridge is popular with audiences and actors alike. Built in 1887 on the site of The King’s Arms, it is next to the Palace Theatre, formerly the Royal English Opera House. The Cambridge lies in the heart of Soho, a royal hunting ground in the days of Henry VIII. We bet you didn’t know that Soho takes its name from a hunting call.”

    The pub’s location (the PH just above the CAM of Cambridge Circus) on a map from the early twentieth century, an arrangement named after the Duke of Cambridge.

    The beer choice is quite limited here, or at least for my decadent needs, so I sufficed with half a pint of London Pride. It was well-kept, at the appropriate temperature and tasted as it should, that’s about all I can say.

    The fish and chips, which looked a smaller portion that it actually was, I think because of their plate of choice. Anyway, this was actually very good, the fish flaked away and was of a decent quality, with the batter having some flavour to it. The batter wasn’t greasy, the chips were fluffy inside and the mushy peas had an air of sophistication to them although they were a tad cold. And lots of tartare sauce, I liked that.

    Service in the pub was friendly and engaging, with the member of bar staff being warm and conversational. The pub was clean and comfortable, as well as being surprisingly busy. I can imagine how busy this pub must get when things are a little more normal in the country and the nearby theatres are packed. The reviews are generally very positive and the management responses on TripAdvisor to the negative ones are some of the longest and most comprehensive that I’ve seen. They’re actually very professional responses, it made me like the venue even more as I imagine they’d resolve any actual problems if they occurred.

    The whole cost of this decadent lunch was £10, which I thought was reasonable as it’s the same as the nearest Wetherspoons and it’s good to visit somewhere different. I’d rather Nicholson’s work on its beer options, but the venue seemed very well managed and so I haven’t got any complaints beyond the lack of decent and perhaps even innovative beers. Certainly not a bad lunch option, although the pricing is a little rich for me when there aren’t offers on.

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – West End Comedy Club

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – West End Comedy Club

    There was a Time Out offer on last week to get a comedy club ticket for £5, instead of the usual £12, and as I haven’t been to one before, I thought this seemed like a good idea. Live comedy has been rather decimated over the last two years, so there are big efforts being made to try and bring people back in. The West End Comedy Club is a new set-up upstairs at the Covent Garden Social Club, at Great Newport Street. It was easy to find and the signage was clear.

    I read that it was good to get there at opening to get a seat as it wasn’t a large venue, with an absolute limit of 70 people. It certainly wasn’t a big space, just one quite large room with a bar in it, so it felt quite an intimate performance area.

    There was a friendly welcome from the organiser, who mentioned to me that it was sold out and to find a space that wouldn’t take up a larger space give that there were groups coming.

    Given what I was told, I decided to opt for a seat by the bar, this is always a comforting place for me to be. Only two people had got there earlier than me, so I didn’t have to fight for space.

    I had also read about the decadent drinks prices, although £5 for Staropramen isn’t entirely unreasonable given the location. Since this was a night of comedy I won’t comment on the lack of beer options, humorous as the limited selection was. Incidentally, the bar mostly served cocktails and there was one poor barman on his own making these drinks and causing quite a queue to develop although not because he wasn’t actually a decent barman, but because those drinks take so long to serve. And the bar is also brave as any customers wanting a tab had to leave their card behind the bar, which will likely haunt them at some random point in the future. Anyway, bar commentary aside, onto the main event.

    Photos from the venue itself, with Michael Odewale (top-left) being particularly good and I hadn’t realised that he had been on BBC’s Mock the Week before. There was one performer who wasn’t named before the event, and was just listed as a celebrity, and that transpired to be Simon Brodkin (bottom left) who I’ve never really paid much attention to in the past other than reading about some of his stunts, the best known to me being Brodkin’s great work in annoying the disgrace that is Sepp Blatter and also his handing Theresa May a P45 at a party conference.

    Inevitably some material was stronger than others and one comedian had a more muted reaction from the audience as his content was a bit strained. Some of the material is new and the comedians are trying it out with a live audience, with Tom Ward (top-right) having the most surreal of the content, but he integrated music well into his act. Brodkin seemed the smoothest performer out of them all, but he’s had the chance to have more experience and opportunities so I guess that’s inevitable. Incidentally, I hadn’t realised that Brodkin was a trained doctor (I say that not to suggest that some doctors are untrained, just to show he had completed training) before starting a stand-up career, which made his Covid health jokes seem even more appropriate.

    There was a smattering of political humour through the performances and inevitably Boris Johnson and Priti Patel didn’t come out too well from that. Covid humour was also in there quite regularly, but not to excess as that would have likely grated after a while given that people want to get away from it. It was a decent balance of different styles of humour and content, all nicely done.

    Fortunately, my seating location meant I avoided any of the audience participation, although I think the comedians were most interested in those sitting just in front of them on the sofas. Anyone sitting there would deliberately want attention, so that seems fair enough. And a Scottish man who kept shouting, but the comedians had him sussed quite early on. It all went quite quickly, which must have meant that it was an enjoyable enough experience and I thought rather good for a total cost of £10 for the entry and the drink. Something different at least.

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – Marble Arch Mound

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – Marble Arch Mound

    I’m a bit behind with my blog efforts at the moment, but I’m now in London after a successful few days in York at the LDWA NEC meeting. But more about all that in other posts.

    It’s fair to say that this project at Marble Arch on Oxford Street in London has been causing some controversy recently. It’ll an artificial construct which is there for just a few months until January 2022 and it’s effectively lots of scaffolding with some earth dumped on top. It’s quite unpopular judging by the local press, but I really like it, I think it’s quirky. And, I’m an expert in hills as everyone knows as I’ve summited Beeston Bump in Norfolk.

    The opening was a bit of a disaster and everyone was refunded their admission fee money. Given that, the nice thing about this is that the mound has been made free of charge for everyone in August, so I took advantage of that little deal. I had to pre-book on-line yesterday for a visit today, but there was lots of availability.

    The ticket checking process was all a bit informal, with two young team members jostling over who could get my QR code to scan first. I quite liked the informal approach, although I suspect they’ll get some complaints if they’re not careful from some grumpier people. The security process was also informal and the team members conversational, although this a project that is heavily overdone with staff at the moment.

    I started my ascent and it was raining, which wasn’t ideal if I’m being honest. I wouldn’t say that the steps were slippery, but the entire scaffolding structure is visible through the gaps and I didn’t like that as I’m scared of heights. But, I remained very brave as everyone who knows me would imagine….

    The trek up the scaffolding continues and it’s 25 metres to the top (so, that’s nearly a mountain).

    The views now start to become apparent. There have been some complaints that the views aren’t very exciting, but to slightly misquote one of my favourite BBC comedies:

    “Well, may I ask what you expected to see from Marble Arch? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically?”

    More views from the top. There was a sheer drop on just one side, and I didn’t dare poke my phone through the fencing at that point in case I dropped it and it smacked onto someone’s head (likely breaking their head and my phone). Otherwise I thought that it was a different perspective of this part of London.

    There is going to be an exhibition reached by going down those stairs, but it’s closed at the moment. The popularity of the summit is visible here, with two team members sheltering in the rain.

    Stuart Love, the Chief Executive of Westminster City Council, said:

    “Now is the time to bring the buzz back to central London and to see people visiting the West End again. We are working hard to resolve the outstanding issues and create an attraction worthy of our fantastic city. It’s going to look great and be an amazing experience once we’ve got it ready!”

    And time for the descent. My biggest complaint about this arrangement is that it’s not there long enough, it’s being taken down in a few months. So that’s a lot of resources to build a big fake hill and then take it down again, without any real meaning. It was meant to increase the number of people visiting the area, although I’m really not entirely sure that Oxford Street has many problems with that. I’m not negative about what they’ve done though, I like it as it’s quirky, it’s a talking point and I can imagine that kids will like it. I’m quite pleased to have experienced it and hope that it increases a bit in popularity over the next few months.

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – St. Stephen’s Tavern

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – St. Stephen’s Tavern

    In a similar vein to our visit to the Red Lion down the road, we visited St. Stephen’s Tavern to take advantage of the reality that we could actually get in to see it without it being full. The team member at the entrance offered us a seat outside, but fortunately Richard is in agreement with me that inside is a better place to be. No dangerous wasps or nasty car fumes outside….. It would have had a good view though, it’s located opposite the Houses of Parliament, so visitors could look at Big Ben (well, they can normally, it’s covered in scaffolding at the moment).

    The rear of the pub, which has apparently been visited by Prime Ministers including Stanley Baldwin, Winston Churchill and Harold Macmillan. I suspect it has been visited by many more Prime Ministers and, no doubt, also by thousands of other politicians and hacks over the decades.

    The building was constructed in 1875 and has operated as a pub since then other than for a period between 1988 and 2003 when it shut and looked like it wouldn’t reopen. There was an expensive restoration funded by the owners Hall & Woodhouse, with English Heritage providing advice on how to retain its historic integrity, which they deserve credit for. Fortunately, the pub fittings had been kept, so there’s still an authenticity to the place and something of a Victorian feel.

    As another interesting fact (well, I think it’s interesting), CAMRA note that:

    “Very close to this spot the world’s first traffic light was installed in 1868. It was a splendid gas-lit contraption showing red and green lights and with semaphore arms, and was designed in Gothic style to match the then-recent Parliament building opposite.”

    The team member said we could sit anywhere we liked and by chance I sat at a table which had a photo of this politician above it. How rather lovely.

    There were three different real ales, nothing overly exciting, this was the Tanglefoot from Badger Beers. Nothing wrong with it and it was well-kept, but it’s not something that I’d rush to order again. The beer is brewed by Hall & Woodhouse, who also run the entire pub as part of their estate. There is food served here, although not during our visit, with the menu being small and not unreasonably priced given its location. I liked the venture down to the toilets in the cellar (although the toilets could have been cleaner, but that’s not really of much relevance here), imagining which politicians had walked down those circular stairs. The magic of political history…..

    All told, I liked the environment and the political heritage, although the beer was uninspiring and that would perhaps explain why the pub isn’t in the Good Beer Guide. The team members were all friendly and engaging, so the environment was comfortable and relaxed. Richard ordered another of his ridiculously decadent gins, so I think the team members thought that he was really quite wealthy. I doubt they thought I was with my half pint of Tanglefoot.

    The reviews are a little mixed in places, although are broadly positive. Anyway, this is an ideal time to visit this pub given it’s a peaceful and quiet place at the moment. This isn’t an ideal situation though for the pub owners, but I suspect that some sort of normality will return here next year.

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – Red Lion

    London – Westminster (Borough of) – Red Lion

    Not a very good photo I accept, but it was dark (obviously) when we visited the Red Lion pub on Parliament Street in Westminster. This is one of those pubs that I haven’t visited in a long time as it’s always so busy, being just a short walk from the Houses of Parliament. It’s often frequented by MPs and there’s even a division bell inside the pub to alert them that a vote is about to take place.

    The staff member was clearing the external tables away when we arrived, so I thought they were closing just before 22:00. He welcomed us in though (I was with Richard, who is in London for more of his decadent purposes) The pub wasn’t busy, there were a grand total of three people in it.

    The decor is interesting and the pub has a nice and welcoming feel to it, with it being hard not to find the political element quite fascinating (unless you hate politics, in which case I imagine it would be quite easy). I wonder what deals, gossip and underhand tactics have taken place here over the years. That remains the magic of this pub to me.

    The pub is now run by Fuller’s and there’s a history on the wall, something I always think is a nice extra touch. This pub mentions that Charles Dickens visited the building, although it doesn’t note that it was a different building as the current structure dates to 1890 (although it does retain some of those Victorian features). It does have some heritage though, it’s known that Edward Heath, Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee have all visited it, along with hundreds of other politicians over the years.

    The photo includes Richard’s ridiculously decadent gin which cost the same as a house in Sheffield. I went for a rather more moderately priced ESB from Fuller’s, which is a beer that I think is better than the reviews on Untappd suggest. A perfectly drinkable beer in a comfortable environment, with the football being shown (Switzerland vs France) not really being distracting and actually being mildly interesting. I’m not going to call myself a football fan, but I quite like a match with some drama.

    They usually serve food during lunch and the evening, although I can’t imagine that there are many takers for that at the moment given how quiet central London seems to be. There’s a cellar and a first floor area though, so they can seat a fair number of people in more normal times. The reviews of the pub are generally really quite positive, it’s clearly a well-run pub. One of the difficulties they have with having a common pub name is that a great chunk of the reviews seem to be for different pubs, which isn’t really an ideal situation.

    Anyway, really pleased to have visited here and for anyone interested, Richard said that his decadent gin was delicious. It’s not listed in the Good Beer Guide (there were three real ales, but nothing exceptional), but it’s worth visiting for its political heritage for anyone who is vaguely engaged in that.

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – Theodore Bullfrog

    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…..

  • London – Westminster (Borough of) – White Swan

    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.