xpost I was drinking premium lager. I normally drink Stella, yeah I know. What I've noticed in the last year or so is different, often obscure, European lager brands turning up. The pubs have these nice glasses and promotional bits but because you aren't familiar with them they can whack up the prices. It's like the crisps thing. You used to be able to get a standard packet of crisps in a pub now it's either olives and nuts from a jar or 'premium' crisps which they charge £1+ a packet for.
― mmmm, Sunday, 1 May 2011 10:11 (thirteen years ago) link
it's a v. small venue on stoke newington road
― the square root of minus one is i something uhh (tpp), Sunday, 1 May 2011 10:12 (thirteen years ago) link
The Blind Beggar sells pints of Peroni for £4.50. I mean, crap pub and fairly standard lager for £4.50 is a joke.
― mmmm, Sunday, 1 May 2011 10:14 (thirteen years ago) link
hahaha yeah i go to that place sometimes cos my mate lives round the corner. it's *almost* crap in an endearing way. oh god the toilets. oh god the toilets
― the square root of minus one is i something uhh (tpp), Sunday, 1 May 2011 10:15 (thirteen years ago) link
ugh..jesus. not a fan of peroni either.
mind you i was in spain/france for last 8 days and it's nice to come back and get some decent ale - not endless heinken/san miguel/mahau etc etc.
― Will.Have.Known (Local Garda), Sunday, 1 May 2011 10:17 (thirteen years ago) link
I hate this, it makes me grumpy out of all proportion and I end up having a big deliberately audible grouse to whoever I'm with and then I'll feel like such a disgusting human for letting it bother me
at one place I always seem to arrive at the bar behind one other party, then the current barman finishes shift immediately after that party and by the time more staff turn up 5 minutes later there's a massive queue and the new barman has no idea who was there first so serves me last
seems like if there is only 1 person waiting when you want to change shift you should do them anyway, but I guess if you do that another arrives, and another...
(not in London but somewhere else where you can easily find yourself paying over 9 quid for two drinks)
― russ conway's game of life (a passing spacecadet), Sunday, 1 May 2011 11:16 (thirteen years ago) link
Any good boozers nr Fleet Street? I work occasionally at New Street Square and have wondered where'd be good for a post-work bevvy that wouldn't be too awful.
― Craiger Lazer (Craigo Boingo), Sunday, 1 May 2011 11:31 (thirteen years ago) link
Old Bank is good (Fullers beer) but slightly overpriced, but the George is my favourite- fairly unassuming but well kept beers and good service.
― Neil S, Sunday, 1 May 2011 11:36 (thirteen years ago) link
The seven stars, just behind the royal courts (go up bell yard and it's on the left) is lovely. Good food, too.
― sktsh, Sunday, 1 May 2011 16:12 (thirteen years ago) link
have found the service at mason & taylor is good and pretty friendly altho not exactly a pub (where service can tend to be more 'casual' i guess)
― gainfully trˆᴥˆlled (blueski), Sunday, 1 May 2011 16:14 (thirteen years ago) link
it's nice to come back and get some decent ale - not endless heinken/san miguel
Mmmmmmmmm......endless Heineken/San Miguel....
― Que sera sera... (Nasty, Brutish & Short), Sunday, 1 May 2011 22:19 (thirteen years ago) link
nah you can't be serious...ugh. it's rotten.
― Will.Have.Known (Local Garda), Sunday, 1 May 2011 23:37 (thirteen years ago) link
new pub discovery - the captain kidd in wapping. sam smith's pub with beer garden right by the river! perfect spot for summer afternoon beers.
― shalmaneser (tpp), Monday, 30 May 2011 12:15 (thirteen years ago) link
Are we all not boycotting Sam Smiths while they're being so evil to the gays?
― delivers maximum wtf per cubic second (suzy), Monday, 30 May 2011 12:47 (thirteen years ago) link
anywhere decent near bond street? i normally use timeout but it is returning no search results...apparently it thinks there are no pubs near bond street.
doesn't have to be too near, just the same question as the title of this thread, somewhere nice, warm, relaxed for an afternoon meeting of minds which of course isn't a date.
― When a German communicates, you listen (LocalGarda), Thursday, 5 January 2012 09:32 (twelve years ago) link
It's a bit of a desert really, lots of big plastic off-Oxford Street type boozers.
Further south in Mayfair there are a few cosy little places but not especially atmospheric. Best bet is probably to go up about 10mins into Marylebone where there are some great places. If the Golden Eagle is the pub I'm thinking of it's probably the best. Nice, comfy, warm, doesn't feel like central London at all. Worth checking ahead to see if they're open first though.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 5 January 2012 09:56 (twelve years ago) link
Matt otm - I always get a bit stuck round there. Mayfair a bit uncomfortable (The Audley at a push?), so up to Marylebone a good idea. Angel in the Fields a nice Sam Smith's.
― you don't exist in the database (woof), Thursday, 5 January 2012 10:09 (twelve years ago) link
Matt's advice is good advice.
― Tim, Thursday, 5 January 2012 10:47 (twelve years ago) link
@meatliquor?
― Alan Shearer (ken c), Thursday, 5 January 2012 11:00 (twelve years ago) link
you have to eat though but i think some of that grog will help with the meeting of minds.
― Alan Shearer (ken c), Thursday, 5 January 2012 11:02 (twelve years ago) link
If you go into Mayfair then Ye Grapes on Shepherd's Market is pretty good as well but only if you go at off-peak times, otherwise it'll be full of braying property industry types. Marylebone still probably a better bet.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 5 January 2012 11:03 (twelve years ago) link
Anyone got any Old St / Hoxton / Shoreditch recommendations for a quiet catch up drink with an old friend?
Good ale / microbrew selection would be a welcome bonus.
― Super Receptor (Barnaby, Hardly), Thursday, 5 January 2012 12:46 (twelve years ago) link
before anyone else says them, the obvious choices would be mason and taylor on bethnal green road (sort of a bar, newer uk and american ales, huge selection, decent food), the wenlock arms (old fashioned, ales, v cheap for a good pint of something, old man pub) on i think, wenlock road, sort of beyond the old st roundabout. in shoreditch good pubs are a bit thin on the ground imo.
― When a German communicates, you listen (LocalGarda), Thursday, 5 January 2012 12:53 (twelve years ago) link
the old fountain, just off the city road by old st tube, is a nice put with a decent beer selection imo.
― vision creation newgod (c sharp major), Thursday, 5 January 2012 12:56 (twelve years ago) link
* a nice pub
The Reliance on Old Street itself is decent as well.
Otherwise, nowhere else that hasn't been mentioned. RIP the old Owl & Pussycat.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 5 January 2012 12:57 (twelve years ago) link
The Slaughtered Lamb?
― James Mitchell, Thursday, 5 January 2012 13:06 (twelve years ago) link
good mixer?
― Alan Shearer (ken c), Thursday, 5 January 2012 13:58 (twelve years ago) link
wait what? i meant the water poet
Slaughtered Lamb is Clerkenwell really, and that has loads of good pubs. The last few times I've been to the Water Poet it's been horrible, victim of its own success I think.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 5 January 2012 14:06 (twelve years ago) link
if options run out or you can't be bothered to walk too far electricity showroom is not so bad - you can get a seat usually at least, and has scampi fries. drinks were a little expensive though as i remember.
― Alan Shearer (ken c), Thursday, 5 January 2012 14:24 (twelve years ago) link
Thanks very much everyone.
― Super Receptor (Barnaby, Hardly), Thursday, 5 January 2012 14:58 (twelve years ago) link
The last few times I've been to the Water Poet it's been horrible, victim of its own success I think.
otm
― tpp, Thursday, 5 January 2012 15:00 (twelve years ago) link
that's sad to know actually - it has been a while... had some good times at the water poet.
― Alan Shearer (ken c), Thursday, 5 January 2012 15:01 (twelve years ago) link
although there was that time when ronan and louis and i (and nick?) were going to play pool there, and it was absolutely rammed
― Alan Shearer (ken c), Thursday, 5 January 2012 15:02 (twelve years ago) link
the only pubs i really fuck with in the area are
- the pride of spitalfields (just off brick lane)- the gun (the corner of brushfield st and bell lane)
the gun can be a bit city in the week but at the weekends is nice for an unpretentious catch up.
i need to check out mason & taylor actually.
― tpp, Thursday, 5 January 2012 15:03 (twelve years ago) link
oh i also like the red lion on hoxton st but haven't been for a while.
― tpp, Thursday, 5 January 2012 15:04 (twelve years ago) link
the carpenters arms on cheshire st also a good pub but gets rammed.
― tpp, Thursday, 5 January 2012 15:07 (twelve years ago) link
ilx should do its own fancyapint
― Alan Shearer (ken c), Thursday, 5 January 2012 15:07 (twelve years ago) link
Princess of Shoreditch just east of Old Street was quiet on the thurs before xmas when everywhere else was rammed, very pleasant spacious high-ceilinged place, some good beers on tap but not a massive selection.http://www.theprincessofshoreditch.com/
― Quoth the raven "Nevermind" (ledge), Thursday, 5 January 2012 15:07 (twelve years ago) link
Usu. end up in the Barley Mow when out carousing in this neighbourhood, but only because a former workmate swears by it as the only proper pub in the area
― Tom D (Tom D.), Thursday, 5 January 2012 15:21 (twelve years ago) link
The food upstairs at the Princess is terrific and it's a really nice room - they've opened another pub in what used to be the King's Arms in Bloomsbury. Downstairs was okay, felt a bit All Bar One though.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 5 January 2012 15:22 (twelve years ago) link
i quite like the george & vulture on pitfield st. it's fuller's and feels a bit more like a local than lots of the places around hoxditch. when even that feels too lively i have been known to drink in the prince arthur just north of old st, which really is a throwback and must be the least trendy pub in the area, apart from that place on old st near the roundabout that i've never dared go into.
otherwise, tpp otm re: pride of spitalfields, that place is great.
― jabba hands, Thursday, 5 January 2012 17:54 (twelve years ago) link
Re; Pride of Spitalfields, a few years back somebody told me that the landlord/bar staff aren't very accommodating to Asians. This maybe now untrue or a load of rubbish. I've been avoiding it due to this, probably completely unjustly.. The Bell on Middlesex St. is sometimes good.
― mmmm, Thursday, 5 January 2012 18:15 (twelve years ago) link
this place should be shit but of all the big brand shoreditch pubs it's actually pretty good imo, especially if it's a quieter time. always has a good pale ale on tap and a few good bottles in the fridge and it's a pretty nice room.
just avoid if any "events" or whatever are on, and prob don't even look at it on a friday or saturday.
i agree about carpenters arms too, great little pub, but yeah, fills up easily.
― When a German communicates, you listen (LocalGarda), Thursday, 5 January 2012 21:02 (twelve years ago) link
w/r/t Bond Street. Cross over the street and take the short walk to The Golden Eagle on Marylebone Lane. It's five minutes. If you insist on drinking in Mayfair, the only place I'll sometimes go into the Guinea Grill just off Berkley Square. It's full of c***s but the beer (and food apparently) is good.
― Fizzles, Thursday, 5 January 2012 21:30 (twelve years ago) link
The Bell on Middlesex St. is sometimes good.
yeah i forgot this one! just around the corner from me.
― tpp, Friday, 6 January 2012 09:16 (twelve years ago) link
when even that feels too lively i have been known to drink in the prince arthur just north of old st, which really is a throwback and must be the least trendy pub in the area, apart from that place on old st near the roundabout that i've never dared go into.
Wow yeah, this place really doesn't feel like it's changed since the 1970s.
― Matt DC, Friday, 6 January 2012 09:42 (twelve years ago) link
Thanks for all the recommendations. Ended up in Mason & Taylor and it was spot on.
― Super Receptor (Barnaby, Hardly), Monday, 9 January 2012 08:45 (twelve years ago) link
I went to the Craft Beer Company, Leather Lane, at the weekend. Excellent selection- one of the best I've ever seen, including a number of American IPAs and German and Danish lagers- and a nice plain bar with high seating banks and plenty of standing room. Not cheap though- the beer is priced by strength- with the cheapest pint costing £3.30. Compares badly with e.g. Southampton Arms.
― good luck in your pyramid (Neil S), Monday, 9 January 2012 11:23 (twelve years ago) link