Finding London's best pub
Time Out have published their shortlist for best bar and best gastropub in London. You can view them here. The nomination of The Rake in the bars category shows a rare and welcome recognition that quality beer counts for something. Plain old pubs don't get a look in, sadly. Strange, considering these are supposed to be Time Out's Eating and Drinking awards. They're willing to give an award out to coffee bars, but not too the humble boozer.
I'd like to come up with a shortlist of the five best places to drink beer in London, with a view to making an award. I don't care whether they're pubs, bars, clubs, or gastrowhatevers. No discrimination here.
Ideas, anyone? Tell me your top five, and I'll tell you mine. Very Nick Hornby.
50 comments:
hmm if that was the UK it'd be much easier, but I'll give it a shot..
1. Jerusalem Tavern, Britton Street
Handsome staff, fine beers and a crazed Georgdie regular.
2. Betsey Trotwood, Farringdon Road
May not have the best beer in the world but since it got the new owners they've made a great atmosphere and it's always a bit of a party. Also one of the few places that do have a jolly pub setting while also having a late license.
3. The French House, Soho
The only place I go to just to drink their cider. Put on a tweed jacket and pretend you've been shortlisted for the Booker.
4 . Ye Old Mitre, Hatton Gardens
Like the nearby Cheshire Cheese, this places oozes old London without becoming touristry. Hidden, friendly, ramshackle and warm.
5. Lamb and Flag, Covent Garden
Can get way too busy, but lovely to go upstairs and watch the old jazz acts.
Harp
Wenlock Arms
Oakdale Arms
Pembury Tavern
Market Porter
Those are the best for beer
In no particular order:
The Market Porter (actually, that comes first for sure).
The Alma/Ship in Wandsworth (the Alma's a better pub but I love the Ship. Plus since the smoking ban I can actually see the back wall in the Alma and I'm not sure that's right).
The Jerusalem Tavern up by Farringdon.
The Bedford in Balham (but only when it's not full of consultants)
And... because it's mad and pirate themed... the Montague Arms in New Cross. Weird and brilliant.
Right, off the top of my head (as if I started thinking about the question in detail I would sit here contemplatively for weeks and get nothing else done) and in no particular order (but deliberately consisting of 5 pubs in different areas of London):
1. The Bricklayer's Arms, Putney;
2. The Pembury Tavern, Hackney;
3. The Charles Lamb, Islington;
4. The Royal Oak, London Bridge; and
5. The Jerusalem Tavern, Clerkenwell.
1. Pembury Tavern
2. Wenlock Arms
3. Oakdale Arms
4. Jerusalem Tavern, but only if I get there early enough to have a seat.
5. Charles Lamb.
Definitely geographically biased but I am a lazy person.
The Wenlock Arms, Hoxton
The Market Porter
The Trafalgar, Wimbledon
The Jerusalem Tavern, Clerkenwell
The Lion, Teddington
This is embarrassing. My own local is racing ahead. It looks fixed, like when a teacher's ticket gets pulled out of a jumble sale raffle.
Keeping it zone 1 to narrow things down a bit:
1. Jerusalem Tavern, especially if you get that little table on the raised platform
2. Nags Head, Kinnerton St, Knightsbridge
3. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Fleet St (the only zone 1 pub with a real fire, apart from the 'brazer' in the Cittie of York ?)
4. Kings Arms, Ruppell St, Waterloo
5. Angel, St Giles High St, Centre Point (left hand bar)
What about the five worst?!
Five of my favourite London pubs are:
The Red Lion, Duke of York Street (marvellous interior, unexciting beer).
The Cittie of Yorke (fine interior, unexciting beer)
The Blackfriar (marvellous interior (and exterior), unexciting beer).
The Dog and Duck (fine interior, unexciting beer).
The Pembury Tavern (charmless interior, exciting beer).
For me a fine interior can sometimes more than make up for unexciting beer.
1. Jerusalem Tavern
2. Jerusalem Tavern
3. Jerusalem Tavern
4. Jerusalem Tavern
5. Jerusalem Tavern
Wheeeeeyyyy!!!!
Good to see a nomination for the Montague Arms, the weirdest pub in the world. I remember spending a night there listening to a blind Hammond organist accompany a Swedish coach party as they sang karaoke versions of Queen songs. I was sitting next to a sculpture made out of cigarette ends.
1. Market Porter, London Bridge
2. Wenlock Arms, Hoxton
3. Oakdale Arms, Harringay
4. Royal Oak, Borough
5. Harp, Covent Garden
I like this! Without thinking about it too hard;
(1) Quinn's (too much of a hassle to get there else I'd be there all the time)
(2) the Pembury
(3) the Rake
(4) Pride of Spitalfields (although haven't been there for a year or so)
(5)Dare I risk the wrath of Stonch and nominate the Greenwich Union, caveating that it has good days and bad days?
There are many other also rans. Some great suggestions above.
Interestingly in Time Out the Rake is not just nominated for the awards, but it also forms part of the "Food and Drink 50", the listing of the capital's best restaurants and bars, updated every week. Given this listing focuses on food, this is a real achievement for the Rake.
In no particular order...
The Wenlock Arms
The Harp
The Seven Stars
The Rake
The Bricklayers Arms
Of course, that list might change next week...
Pur-lease, there is life beyond Zone 1.
Market Porter
Priory Arms, Stockwell
Wenlock Arms
White Horse, Parsons Green
Royal Oak, Borough
Jemmy, nonetheless only two of your choices are outside of Zone 1!
It's difficult for a pub in a suburb to attract massive attention or popularlity because relatively few people will get a chance to go there.
For example, no-one has mentioned the Red Lion in Isleworth, a great pub for cask ale and Belgian beers. It's got a traditional two bar layout, a beer garden and a friendly welcome. Sadly, it's stuck in the middle of nowhere and most Londoners will never visit.
the indisputable top 3
rake
wenlock
pembury
then,
the fitzroy on charlotte street (nicest of the sam smiths)
and to get outside zone 1 and 2
the birkbeck tavern, leyton
this may be heresy, but imho the jerusalem is only a good pub, not a great one.
Yeah, that "anonymous" fella posts a lot on here doesn't he?
Not heresy at all to doubt whether the Jerusalem is a great pub. Since my list above I have been thinking about it and would on reflection put the Market Porter in there instead of the Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem has a great interior (and I agree with whoever said above that that can make up for a great deal), but at the end of the day the beers generally in as great a nick as they probably should be for the place to qualify as one of the top five places to drink beer.
I'm surprised the Bricklayers in Putney hasn't had more votes - well worth a trip to Putney to try it if you've made it so far.
Anonymous posts are fine, as long as they aren't from members of cack bands from Chipping Norton threatening violence...
the Dog and Bell Deptford, the Union in Greenwich, or Richard 1st, The Railway in Carshalton for Pride, The Rake is good , I like any pub with lamb in the title.
1: The Harp
2: The Olde Mitre
3: Market Porter (when the beer's on form)
4: Blue Posts, Berwick Street
5: Cross Keys or Coach And Horses or Angel, Covent Garden
yeah, that's technically seven. Sue me.
So many
The Trafalgar (S.Wimbledon)
Royal Oak (Borough)
Market Porter
Nell Gwynne (boring beer but for a quiet one in an proper pub in covent garden) http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SavetheNell/?ref=savethenell#detail
Spread Eagle Wandsworth
I've missed out so many!!
Couldn't you make this a top 10?
Jerusalem Tavern
White Horse
Royal Oak
The Rake
Bank of England - Fleet St
This changes constantly.
Nice to see someone mentioning the Birkbeck in Leyton! We (that is, me and Boak) used to go there all the time.
Jerusalem Tavern
The Old Mitre
The Market Porter
The Britannia in Kensington used to be my favourite Young's pub, but that was two refurbishments ago. I'll pick the Brook Green Hotel instead.
And the Roe Buck in Richmond for a fine range of beers with an amazing view.
Bored at work this morning and, being the Hornby type, I fixed these up into a little table....
Pub Name Votes
Jerusalem Tavern 8
Market Porter 8
Wenlock Arms 6
Royal Oak 5
The Rake 5
Pembury Tavern 4
Oakdale Arms 3
The Harp 2
The Trafalgar 2
White Horse 2
The Bricklayers Arms 2
Cheers James, much appreciated.
Some clear - and unsurprising - preferences there, then.
My intial stab would be:
1. Pembury Tavern
2. Palm Tree
3. Royal Oak
4. Dog & Bell
5. Pride of Spitalfields
Certainly a east and south-east bias to my choices.
Sadly Rosie's in Woolwich has bit the dust - good beers, great jukebox and minimal wankerage meant this was a great place to spend an afternoon.
Someone mentioned the Birkbeck - I understand that the quality is not what it was as it's supposely under new-ish management which is a great shame as this was our pre-match boozer and there's bugger all else in Leyton.
I've been to the Jerusalem Tavern a few times and just find interesting but cramped - the beer has been OK but never great when I've been there (and I like St Peters brews).
My (short) list of overrated pubs in London:
1. Bricklayers Arms
2. The Rake
Both are OK and interesting but don't quite deserve the plaudits they've been getting.
The Market Porter, London Bridge
Was there last night and the beers were on fine form
The Royal Oak, Borough
Love Harveys beers
The Mayflower, Rotherhithe
Characterful
The Captain Kidd, Wapping
Really oughtn't have a SS pub on this list, and it isn't even one of the historic ones. But I love it being next to the river and having decent grub.
The Herne Tavern, East Dulwich
Best pub seats in the land. Beers not too shabby either.
Depressingly I struggled with this list as so many of the pubs I loved and grew up drinking in have either closed or been brutally fucked up inside and turned into perfumed ponce-houses. Still, RIP.
Checked out the Rake last night btw. Good, but all gets a bit hazy after a couple of halves of Hardy ale...
Ricolas, a lot of people have a soft spot for the odd Sam Smith's pub (odd in both sense of the word).
I'd be interested to know which of the c. 36 in London are people's favourites?
Despite being the most impressive in terms of setting, in terms of atmosphere I think the Princess Louise, Cittie of Yorke and Cheshire Cheese are all bettered by the Fitzrovia and Soho crop.
Sam Smith Pubs lack decent ale and generally the staff are a bit pants but you can't help liking some of them for their interiors.
Used to quite like one called Yorkshire Grey on a weekday afternoon. The three you mentioned all have fine interiors and the John Snow was ok in Soho.
I was in the Yorkshire Grey recently. It's on Foley Street in Fitzrovia. A lovely pub with a lovely snug at the back with it's own fire. It's actually one of the few places I've enjoyed a pint of OBB. The landlord at the moment seems to take pride in the one cask ale he's able to serve.
The Princess Louise is a shadow of the place it was back in the late 80s/early 90s when it had a good range of beer (Darley Thorne, Wards and Vaux) - plus a good atmosphere and the landlord had a well-drilled gaggle of gorgeous barmaids - not sure that's the correct collective noun.
In those days it was to me what the JT is to Stonch.
I went in about 6 months ago - still a beautiful interior obviously - but the toilets were disgusting...
We may hanker for the time when Sam Smith's pubs had cask beer but it was often badly kept - the old doesn't travel well debate - and I can't remember having a good pint of Museum Ale anywhere although the OBB was normally OK. The main advantage then was that I'd just started work and it was (a) a reminder of home and (b) cheap!
The only plce that kept good Museum was The Cock. And indeed, the Cock is still one of my favourites, for mainly sentimental reasons I suspect. Cold winter nights, drying myself in front of the fire drinking OBB. Magic.
I also used to like the Champion, and the Cheshire Cheese. Whilst the other chains seem to want to make pubs shiny and groovy, at least SS are trying to keep tradition going.
But the beer. Hmm. I quite often drink Old Brewery Pale from bottle rather than risk tap/cask.
It's brilliant how everyone has their own favourite amongst the London Sam Smith's pubs. Most of them seem to have their fans.
It's also brilliant how despite almost universal grumbling about the beers, we all still drink them.
That a fairly small Yorkshire brewery with perhaps the poorest grasp of public relations imaginable could become such an enduring London icon is truly heartwarming.
Long may it continue to be so.
And they can maintain London pubs charging only £1.70ish for a pint of their main bitter.
So why do other chains need to charge so much?
Can't claim to have visited every 'quality' boozer in London, but here's my t'uppence worth anyway, in order:
1. Wenlock Arms, Hoxton
2. Lord Clyde, Borough
3. The Royal Oak, Borough
4. Ship & Shovell, Strand
5. Market Porter, London Bridge
You're the first to name a Hall & Woodhouse (Badger) pub, of which there are only a few in London.
I've never been too enamoured of their beers, but if in good nick they do the trick. What I have noticed as that their pub estate here in the capital seems to be fairly plush and well run. The Mason's Arms near Marble Arch is a lovely little boozer, while the Old Nick just off High Holborn is very grand. The Ship & Shovell, one of the last poster's choices, is split in half by a narrow alleyway - it's like two completely separate pubs. I'm not even sure they share a cellar.
I love almost all of Sam Smiths' pubs in London. Of them, I'd say my favourite five are:
1) The Cheshire Cheese
2) The Princess Louise
3) The Cittie of York
4) The Champion (Fitzrovia)
5) The Red Lion (Soho)
For the general list, I'd say:
1) The Market Porter (Borough)
2) The Crown Tavern (Clerkenwell)
3) The Salisbury (Covent Garden)
4) The Edinboro Castle (Camden)
5) Ye Olde Mitre (Hatton Garden)
My top 5 are:
1) Market Porter
2) Priory Arms
3) The Speaker, Westminster
4) The Harp
5) Florence, Herne Hill (a new entry, obviously)
If you drop the quality of the beer, honorary mentions for the Nell Gwynne (Stonch - you could do worse than use your blog to publicise their petition), Ye Olde Mitre & Cheshire Cheese.
I love The Rake - its almost unique as a modern, stylish beer-geek bar.
I'm afraid the Jerusalem fails to get my top 5 in because the beer is flat - and its fake.
Steve D -
The beer in the JT isn't "fake". I've been in the cellar countless times - the beer is cask-conditioned, and they don't use any form of top pressure. If this wasn't the case, do you think CAMRA would list the pub in the Good Beer Guide? What may be confusing you is the method of dispense they use - an air pressure system. The leading Scottish real ale pubs use them, but it's very rare elsewhere. The lack of agitation via a handpump does mean you usually get a smaller head, agreed. The beer is as "real" as it gets.
Come down for a pint, the cellar was refitted over the weeked with a new aircon system, and the beer is better than ever.
Cheers
Woodies Freehouse, New Malden
http://www.woodiesfreehouse.co.uk/Home.html
The Willoughby, Kingston-upon-Thames, KT2 6LN
http://www.thewilloughbyarms.com/
The Pride of Spitalfields, E1
The Royal Oak, Borough
The Trafalgar, Wimbledon
The Sultan, South Wimbledon
Stonch - sorry I didn't mean to imply the beer was fake. Its the olde worlde pub look which is fake - at least compared to the Cheshire Cheese or the Olde Mitre.
agree, the beer is real as it gets - but it is flat, especially for an exiled northerner like me. I was in Monday night as it happens. Pint of Lemon & Ginger and a pint of Organic Best. OK - but not good enough to get into my top 5.
Stonch - one more point.
The Bow Bar Edinburgh uses pressure to dispense beer and it's not flat at all there - so it can be done!
Aha ok. I've heard people query whether the ale is in fact cask conditioned due to the lack of hand pumps - that throws some people off.
The interior was apparently styled on a contemporary engraving of the coffee house that once occupied the premises. The pub doesn't pretend to be anything other than a very good recreation of its 18th century predecessor.
Using the same logic, the Cittie of Yorke is completely fake too!
1. Wenlock
2. Quinns
3. Charles Lamb
4. Seven Stars
5. The Rake
My top five pubs in London would be
1. Black Friar- great setting for a pint and a very good selection with eight handpumps on.
2. Harp- excellent well kept ales.
3. Royal Oak- nice interior and a full range of Harvey's ales.
4. Round Table- near the beaten path but a haven for my wife and I when at the theater or book hunting. They have a great atmosphere and Old Peculier.
5.Ship and Shovell- tucked away in an alley with Badger beers.
The pub that would have been #1 on my list was Crocker's Folly. My wife and I really miss it. London is not the same without it.
Some favorite London pubs (no particular order):
-Seven Stars, Carey Street
-Golden Eagle, Marylebone
-Royal Oak, Borough
-Ship and Shovell, Charing Cross
-Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, Fleet Street
...and, of course, the Jerusalem Tavern
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