If there were any pub that illustrates what I’m trying to do with this book, this would be it. The White Hart Brew Pub in east London is a fascinating place that displays the qualities I’d seek in a pub without ever being one I’d recommend people drink in. It has everything and nothing. A … More The White Hart, Whitechapel, E1
A difficult one, this. A bit like supporting Man United against some other team you really dislike. I’d like it to be good, yet so much work has gone in to make it anathema to decent taste that I’m finding it heavy going. And that’s with a particularly strong beer list at my disposal standing … More Mother Kelly’s, Bethnal Green, E2
That the landlord spotted immediately my beer was the last from the barrel and didn’t even allow me to try it speaks volumes. I am in a pub. One that knows its chops. Sure, the décor of a hundred copycat establishments is out and proud. Farrow & Ball shareholders will doubtless delight. But something about … More The Carpenters Arms, Bethnal Green, E2
No pump clips. I get it; I really do. It says exclusive and begs an au fait drinker. Or one who doesn’t care. More dark green paint, more tiles, more stripped wooden flooring, more uneven chairs and tables that rock. Whoever the interior designer is who has cornered this market, I salute them and their … More The King’s Arms, Bethnal Green, E2
If any of the new so-called ‘craft’ pubs can be said to have found their spiritual home, then it’s the Birdcage; standing proud and able to survey all around it from its spot beside the mini roundabout halfway along London’s achingly de rigueur Columbia Road. It follows suit as if playing a particularly obvious bridge … More The Birdcage, Columbia Road, E2
A pub that boasts 21 keg taps and 18 hand-pumps is perhaps not one for the drinker plagued by indecision. So if that’s you, I wouldn’t bother. Even if it’s not you, this is a stupidly confusing proposition and one that isn’t helped by a menu that details a further 50-odd bottles of beer for sale as well. … More Craft Beer Co., Clerkenwell, EC1
