Tuesday, 29 September 2015
Where's Good and New in London?
Right Folks. I'm off to London later today and will have a day to myself on Wednesday. Oh. Tomorrow - doesn't time fly. Where's reasonably new that I likely haven't been to and, importantly what's also good around it? I get itchy feet and I don't want to spend valuable drinking time on the tube more than I have to. Starting point is E1, as that's where I live in London.
Of course it must have cask beer as at least part of its offering. I don't mind what kind of pub or bar it is otherwise.
Weather is going to be good too. Yippee!
Actually it doesn't have to be new but that would be nice, but places with two or three other pubs handy would be best for this drinker. Must pack my thermometer!
At the moment I really like drinking in the Three Johns in Angel - I'm usually on the keg in there but the cask is decent. Also handy for plenty of other pubs - The revamped Taproom on Upper St has upped its game although the cask they serve on Gravity is poor compared to the stuff on handpull.
ReplyDeleteOn Wednesday night I'll be at The Kings Arms in Bethnal Green - a relatively young brewery from New York City called Other Half will be showcasing their beer in the UK for the very first time. I'm pretty excited about it. It'll be full of us Crafterati though, rolled up jeans and all, paying £3.50 per third and having a real good time.
I should also remind you that you haven't been up to the Duke's Head in Highgate yet.
The Three Johns in Clerkenwell* is indeed a nice big airy place (particularly because it's empty a significant amount of the time. The staff are as hit and miss as many other Barworks pubs (a bit too cool for school, most of them - you know the type). The cask beer will be pale and hoppy, as a chain they don't seem to do bitter.
ReplyDeleteWhile we're talking Barworks sites, you should look at are Singer Tavern on the City Road and Harrild & Sons on Farringdon Road. Both do cask, have good beer selections and just as importantly professional staff who don't seem to resent their position behind the ramp.
* Yes, believe it or not White Lion Street - and indeed Chapel Market and Angel itself - is in Clerkenwell. Right at the northern extreme of the parish, but definitely within the boundary.
Other Half are very good - we went to their tap room in Red Hook and had some difficulty leaving. I quite like the fact that they basically just do pale and hoppy and do it very well.
ReplyDeleteTand: not really a practical suggestion for Wednesday, but out of interest do you know the Salisbury on Green Lanes?
The only thing with the Three Johns is if you're planning to stay there for a few, you might need to take out a second mortgage beforehand.
ReplyDeleteOn the other side of town, have you been to Oaka, Oakham's London tap, yet? Great cask beer in great shape when I was there. And next door is the Old Red Lion, a trad local which has upped its game to compete, with mostly good London micros on cask.
Thanks Folks. Bryan: Where is it?
ReplyDeleteJeff: Been to Harrild and Sons an few times. Pretty poor cask beer sadly.
Dave: Er. No
Matt: Been to and written about the Kings Arms. I have no intention of paying £3.50 a third but I mustn't forget the Dukes Head
Oops, sorry! Very near Kennington tube.
ReplyDeletePedro, Oaka has good beer (it's Oakham, after all) but unless you perhaps combine it with a look at Lord Arsecraft's VC collection at the Imperial War Museum it's a trip down to a pretty nothing area (albeit one with lots of surprisingly pretty houses).
ReplyDeleteIf you weren't so set on cask only I'd suggest you go to Howling Hops tank bar as it's definitely interesting, even if some of the beer's ill conceived.
The Salisbury on Green Lanes is a massive pub in the Remarkable Restaurants group and the beer is, by the standards of today, unremarkable. I like Litovel lager so am always pretty well served in their joints however.
Hmm. Might do Oaka and IWM. Not against a visit to H H either.
ReplyDeleteDid you try the Red Lion next door to Oaka, Jeff? I know it's a bit hipster an' all, but the beer seemed good when I was in there.
ReplyDeleteGet yourself down to Columbia market in E2 on a Sunday, a true floral gem in London!
ReplyDeleteThe Craft beer co Covent garden branch has some of the best conditioned beer in London.Thats what you are looking for so check it out.cheers john
ReplyDeleteJust got an invitation in from a place I don't know - Hop & Berry on Liverpool Road, N1. It used to be The Barnsbury, so I guess it's very new. Anyway, they're having Anspach & Hobday over tomorrow evening with six new beers, if that floats your boat.
ReplyDeletehttp://hopandberry.uk/
I wouldn't set the Salisbury up as an A-list beer destination although it was a nice place to have around the corner.
ReplyDeleteBut I always found that while the cask range was hardly adventurous, it was kept pretty immaculately, so I wondered whether T had been there and if so how whether it was an exception to his general lament about cask beer in London.
Bryan, the only time I've been to Oaka was after going to last day of Ashes two years ago and I was in company having dinner. The Thai food in Oaka was really good, by the way. Place is a weird mix of pub and restaurant but the individual components - the food and the beer - are at least done well and work together.
ReplyDeleteBetter late than never; try the Chesham Arms on Mehetabel Road Hackney. We used to drink there in the 80s and it has recently re-opened. Lovely little pub with a beer garden.
ReplyDeleteLandlord is from Devon and really into his beer. Usually has something on from Salopian (on my list of top breweries) and some interesting stuff from Southern breweries. Largely avoids overpriced London murky. Only flaw is an unaccountable fondness for Windsor and Eton stuff - a brewery which always leaves me cold - but hey you can't have everything.
You can get the 254 to Hackney from Aldgate - it's a 5 minute walk from Hackney Town Hall.