Acceptable or even GOOD pubs in London city centre?

Any ok pubs around near Kings College bit of the strand?

First one I thought of that was reasonable is the Irish pub but that is a bit too further on.

edgar wallace is your best bet. one of those places where it feels like there's a fug of cigarette smoke still lingering after all these years. probably aided by all the vintage cigarette and tobacco ads over the walls (definitely not in a wanky hipster 'retro' style though). or on the same street there's the temple brew house (wanky hipster modern craft beer in a basement) or the devereux (standard taylor-walker chain place).

Sadly I think the friend I am going out with will like wanky hipster blah.

Thanks!

Edgar Wallace seconded, it's lovely in there.

I like* the Seven Stars, tucked in behind the Royal Courts of Justice, though it does fill up with lawyers.

*Liked is probably more accurate, haven't been there for years.

wanky hipster place is not that wanky hipster tbh, although i was only there on a sunday afternoon when it was notably devoid of wanky hipsters. ok enough of the wanky hipster.

seven stars very good too. cat with a ruff, toilet up some rickety stairs with spooky music playing in the room next door.

I was in the Seven Stars about a month ago and it is my sad duty to report that the cat with the ruff is no longer of this world. As a pub it is fantastic but it's very pokey. On an evening like the lawyers will all spill outside anyway so you might be in luck.

If they haven't stuffed or mummified that cat they've missed a trick.

it's about 10 mins walk away (by google maps measure, so prob 7 for a human) but the harp on chandos place is prob my favourite pub in london, or certainly in the top five. wide selection of ale and a craft beer or two, quick and friendly bar staff, and a nice dark interior.

The George opposite the RCJ is a reliable post-work staple for me & my colleagues, a good range of real ales. The White Horse, on LSE campus, is also good. Thirded on Seven Stars, very good on a nice day like today to stand outside.

yeah came here to post ^the george. They've recently done it up so will prob satisfy yr wanky hipster mate - as well as good ales it's a sierra nevada on tap sort of place now.

(o wait I'm a day behind, sorry!)

Thanks for temple brew house recommend ledge - just the kind of place the friend I went with loves. I was more like jesus @ > 4.50 for certain of beer.

4.50 for some cans in the young vic theatre bar. that's equivalent to 7.75 a pint!

#worldisgoingtohell #lovingit

it's about 10 mins walk away (by google maps measure, so prob 7 for a human) but the harp on chandos place is prob my favourite pub in london

It wins all sorts of awards as well - I've never quite understood its exalted status but for the area it's certainly a very good one.

The cat with the ruff was called Tom Paine, I think. TBH it did used to freak me out slightly that his catfood was put out on the bar and Roxy the landlady would brush him while he ate it.

It was indeed called Tom Paine. Still, you don't get that in the Draft House.

with the harp it's prob a case of so few good pubs in the area - the service is brilliant too which also puts it way ahead of most london pubs.

Tom Paine one of the stars of

http://www.pubcats.com/

there have been several other beruffed cats at the 7* since Tom Paine. Can't remember what the last one was called. this was about a year ago tho:

http://diasyrmus.tumblr.com/image/100086316322

http://diasyrmus.tumblr.com/image/100086316322

any pubs around holborn that do good food, are informal, and good to hang out in for an hour? i prob take a proper lunchbreak once a week but i would like to be able to read when i do. basically a place to escape being in a chain lunch spot.

i have gone to the lowlander now and again which does a job like this in a kind of weird way, but it's not the cosiest.

If you can get a table, the food at the Seven Stars just off Lincoln's Inn Fields is good, or used to be; haven't been for years.

will investigate, thanks. the volume of people around is crazy but the good places are less busy sometimes. i marvel at people queuing for burger king on kingsway, not because i can't fathom craving some fast food for lunch, i mean if you're hungover or something, but that these people are proudly waiting on the street announcing to the world that they're going to burger king for lunch, rather than finding a spot at the back, shovelling it in, then binning it tray and all and going to confession.

The White Horse on the LSE campus does standard pub grub and is v cosy at lunchtime, it gets heaving after work with thirsty university types though.

The Seven Stars is unique and wonderful but gets insanely crowded due to its size. The food was great last time I went.

The Lady Ottoline up past Theobald's Road has excellent food and never gets especially full, although if you want to be sure of getting a table at lunchtime it's best to book. Might be a bit of a trek from your part of Holborn though.

Otherwise it's not a great part of town for pub food, although the upstairs at the Princess Louise is good for reading in.

I like the Polish bar behind Holborn station too, depends on whether you feel like bison grass vodka and pierogi for lunch I suppose. The Ship is there also, perfectly decent boozer but I have never eaten there.

The Ship is not exactly a good reading pub though, you might get lucky upstairs but downstairs is a really awkward shape. It's so narrow that it tends to feel really crowded even if there aren't many people there, and unbearable if there are. The Seven Stars is a lot smaller but better laid out, especially if you're on your own.

yeah true, quite dark in there also, although I think they did a refurbishment recently which might have improved matters

I'd say you'd be able to get a beer at the Polish bar. Plus, the food is perfect for winter.

oh yes absolutely, a fine range of Polish lagers, Zwiec on tap I believe!

Also I thiiink the Bountiful Cow between Red Lion Square and High Holborn does burgers at lunch. Nearer me, the Queen's Larder in Queen Square is by no means a gastropub, but does have what looks like a nice menu. The Scouser landlady is great (I know her because she is a neighbour who owns a dog) and she pays her staff London Living Wage, so even though I've never been, I'd recommend.

Anywhere nice near Hampstead?

you're really going for the tough assignments this week eh

had a nice drink in the southampton arms down towards tufnell park last week, narrow old-timey place with a good selection on tap and a garden

The Southampton is nice, as are a lot of TP/Kentish boozers, but only an estate agent would describe it as being in Hampstead.

Haven't had a drink in actual Hampstead for years, but I remember the Holly Bush being OK.

The Southampton Arms has a pleasingly rigorous policy on personal comfort, expressed in their refusal to countenance cushions or anything else that might moderate the pain of sitting on their rough-hewn bench seating. It's perfect for the artisanal beardos who go in there dressed as Eric Gill.

I should probably note that I've typed that without any idea of it being true or not. I last went in there about five years ago and enjoyed it. They serve good beer. But I was left with a lingering impression of affected austerity.

Yeah that's their aesthetic. Also has an aunthentic aroma of stale beer and farts on occasion. Still good though.

haven't been for a while but the bull and last, if not too gastroish

joy in austerity is not entirely what i associate with eric gill

xpost Their being cash-only sits well with this.

...has an aunthentic aroma of stale beer and farts...

Should get someone to chalk this up on a board outside the pub.

The Flask is probably a safe Hampstead bet.

Now distracted by the list of pubs in London category on Wikipedia in which some boroughs (all outer ones) have only one pub listed.

tx all for this enlightening discussion. Got a few choices to go with.

xp "Joy" has nothing to do with it.

It's an overgeneralization, but my instinctive response whenever this thread title bobs back up to the top is lmao, no

There are some good ones, but wander into a random pub in zone 1 and chances are it's going to be really really shit.

I really like the Spaniard's Inn, it's a bit of a trek, right up at the top of Hampstead Heath mind. But good for an after-heath pint.

The Hollybush is marvellous. The Flask is also very pleasant on a sunny day but likely to be mobbed with pushchairs as often as not. The real Hampstead gem is the Duke of Hamilton, nice old boozer, snug and characterful and very comfortable. It had a theatre upstairs although that ominously appears to have reopened as the 'Hampstead Lounge & Jazz Club', but hopefully they haven't fucked with the pub itself too much.

I think I actually hate the Southampton Arms, excellent beer selection obviously but it's too narrow for the kind of crowd it draws, generally uncomfortable and the management always give the impression of being complete pricks.

You're right about the size, but I've never had a problem with the staff. Crowd generally friendly too IME. I've not drunk there in the 2 years since I moved to Hackney, though.