Acceptable or even GOOD pubs in London city centre?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Bell on Middlesex St. is sometimes good.

yeah i forgot this one! just around the corner from me.

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.

Thanks for all the recommendations. Ended up in Mason & Taylor and it was spot on.

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.

yeah, the selection is insane - I was a bit overwhelmed tbh, but for the enthusiasts I was with it was long night in heaven.

Luckily I'm going again next weekend for a wedding reception, so I'll be able to plug the gaps...

the queen's head, kinda king's cross area, anyone been here?

http://www.timeout.com/london/bars/venue/2%3A29845/queens-head

best new discovery of the year for me i reckon. massive beer selection with mikkeller and stuff on tap, genuinely friendly in a normal neghbourhood pub way, and it's a nicely divey old room.

maybe this is old news to ilx, not sure if i've seen it mentioned.

I have, a couple of times - agree! A great pub.

Passed on it on the bus many's the time, never been in it, will check it out! Many thanks!

https://mobile.twitter.com/thegunmakers/status/288804634531856384/photo/1

hmmm....

saw that, this morning. i seldom go to brewdog these days, in part cos i find it a bit over-branded, and in part cos the cock tavern is better. that area is brimming with amazing pubs, but i'd still be curious about checking it out.

I haven't been to either of the Brewdog pubs in London, believe it or not; I feel like they're for the young people, which is all well and good. Mikkeler's beer is more interesting, and their brand is aimed more at me, I think. I am interested to see how this thing turns out.

Vaguely discussed this before, but I am very happy with Brewdog as a standard and supermarket friendly beer, if it was in place of like Carlsberg or whatever in places that show sport that'd be a godsend. But the pubs seem to attract a slightly diff crowd, not total wankers or whatever, just like, there's a noticeable shift since they took over M&T, and it's designed for standing, it seems to me.

I've had a few really good Mikkeler beers on tap recently after initially seeming to get fairly average bottles of it.

Yeah I know you like their beer, I'm less of a fan but agree that they're a cut above yer supermarket swill (though oddly I've always thought Carlsberg the best of that bunch); I think you're right, they like their bars loud and their drinking vertical. Which fair enough but not my preference these days. Never was. come to think of it.

Mikkeller's beers are a lottery - it'd be a miracle if they weren't - but usually interesting I think. Their bar in Copenhagen is very basic and stripped-down, no loud music, just a bunch of their beer, really. Would be interested in one of those in London, especially if they can find a way to make the cost a bit more reasonable than the £4 - £5 a half you tend to pay for their stuff.

Oh yeah I'm fine with Carlsberg if pushed, just picked it as a random example. It is better than some.

Don't suppose you've tried the new Sainsbury's beers? I note they have some brewer in NY making them a Taste The Difference range. Saw it in there last week but given it was Jan 2nd wasn't exactly stocking up.

The various Draft Houses are a much better example of how to roll this sort of thing out while still making them feel like pleasant places to actually drink.

The Tower Bridge Draft House has gone downhill fairly swiftly, in terms of food and general atmos, imo. It's pricey too. Starting to notice major price variations even among newer or imported beers, from place to place.

Oh hang on, the Gunmakers? That building is not really going to suit typical Brewdog vertical drinking however they do it so this could be interesting.

Haven't seen any new new ones; was pleased to see St Peter's making something for them (though that seems to be sold out permanently in SE22 which may say something about the stocking policy or may say something sbout SE22). Think they were using Shephernd Neame for another, and I still haven't forgiven Shepherd Neame for (a) the Spitfire ad campaign or (b) the taste of their beers, which live down to the drubbing Eli was giving Boring Brown British Beer on here the other month.

xpost I've failed to warm to the Draft House in East Dulwich also...

It's not taking over the Gunmakers, just that guy posted that he'd seen it. It's some disused restaurant nearby.

Gunmakers is nice, I have to say. If all pump ale was as good as theirs it'd be a lot more popular.

Ah right, I get it.

I basically never eat pub fish and chips but I make an exception for the Gunmakers, it's excellent there.

Where's good in Soho or Covent Garden for a drink? Don't mind a pub if it's actually nice and not rote central London style place, and don't mind a bar if it actually had a bit of class, cocktail bar even would be a possibility.

Eating at Opera Tavern later but want to go somewhere after. Or maybe I should just stay there?

If you like gin: http://www.thestaratnight.com/

Cocktails - bar at the Hawksmoor Seven Dials. They're amazing. Or the bar at Hix Soho, which is probably better.

Pubs - The Cross Keys on Endell Street is fantastic and atmospheric but if you go there immediately after work it tends to be a bit on the full side.

Oh actually if like both cocktails and fannydangle then the Experimental Cocktail Club on Gerrard Street is fantastic, although you might need to book for it. Depends what sort of evening you're looking for really.

MDCOTM.

Other thoughts, depending on what you want: the bars underneath Polpo and 32 Great Quees Street. Or, on a totally different tip, take your date to Paramount: http://www.paramount.uk.net/level-32/ It has to be booked n advance; you can't wear trainers; it's probably £1-£2 overpriced for the (pretty good) covktails, but it's unique and surprisingly pleasant.

I'm going to be in the Kings Cross / St Pancras area quite a few evenings over the next few months, what's better than painfully settling for O'Neills?

http://www.thegilbertscott.co.uk/bar/

ooer, not sure what my JSA-receiving friends will think of those prices.

Queen's Head, then: http://queensheadlondon.com/

ooer, not sure what my JSA-receiving friends will think of those prices.

You mean they spend their JSA on alcohol?

Not too far to the Bree Louise?
http://www.thebreelouise.com/

Yeah the drinks at Paramount are expensive but it can't really be beaten for wow factor. And you have to pay for that kind of view in most places.

Queen's Head is the best pub around Kings Cross. ah xpost

You mean they spend their JSA on alcohol?

i know, lowest of the low or what?

queen's head looks nice, thanks.

oh wait, i've been to the queen's head! it is nice! i guess i should develop a memory.

love the queen's head

Cocktails - bar at the Hawksmoor Seven Dials. They're amazing. Or the bar at Hix Soho, which is probably better.

both good calls. i'd ruled out hawksmoor as my friend is vegan, but for cocktails it of course makes sense.

the bars underneath Polpo and 32 Great Quees Street

not been to the one beneath polpo but i was at 32gqs bar once, had forgotten. really good spot too.

another query. i was planning to have a party for my... 29th... birthday at the queen's head, but the date i wanted has fallen through.

i know the pubs i like fairly well and i have some ideas, but curious if anyone has any experience of a good place for a party? i want somewhere with good food and probably good beer, sort of considering one of the many islington options but afraid they might be a bit sterile.

that time i saw you in the whippet was a party i'd organized. we didn't have a reservation (they don't do them after 5pm i think) or a table, it was kind of a standing around reunion thing. about 20 of us. was worried about space but it was totally fine after the post-work rush. good beer as you know, but v limited food options and seating.

yeah it feels a bit small to me, i really want somewhere big and welcoming, a sort of 6pm on a saturday sort of pub. it is my 30th actually if my ... didn't make that clear!

i have a good few ideas but the queen's head was perfect, my other ideas are a bit more obvious and easy, not that they'd be a disaster.

yeah it doesn't really fit the bill. i know some great options in munich and sheffield if your plans change.

happy 30! nearly finished!

it's not for another six weeks or so but i'm trying to get it sorted early obviously.

love sheffield, i bet it has tons of good options alright.

East Londoners! And knowers of East London! I have to go from Peckham to Barking on Saturday lunchtime. If you were making that journey and wanted to stop off for an excellent beer or two on the way, where would you stop? (My final destination will be Dagenham, fwiw, but that part of the journey is taken care of).

Like, anything worth stopping off at within easy striking distance of Stepney Green, Mile End, Bow Road, Bromley-by-Bow, West Ham, Plaistow, Upton Park, East Ham? These are mythic lands to me.