[Cold Iron]

What's your favourite London pub and why?

[Adjutant Stormy~]

Going on an adventure are we?

[Thelomen Toblerone]

One of my favourites is Bradley's Spanish Bar just off Oxford St. It is by no means either spanish, or a bar, but is in fact a grotty pub with an awesome jukebox that stinks of piss. That, my friends, is character. I love it in there, we make the trek across town after work at least once a month to play the jukebox game before a night out.

I also like the Butler's Head near my work, but that's more because they know me and the main barman shouts my name every time he sees me walk in and serves me first, no matter how many people are in there.

But, if you are looking for general good pubs with lots of characters and not my specific preferences - as I suspect is the case, you heartless bastard - the Cheshire Cheese off Fleet St is a must visit if you're in London, also the Cittie of York up by Gray's Inn Fields, the Jamaica Wine House is quality, as is the
Hand and Shears by Smithfield Market.

Any specific area/type of pub in mind?

[Macros]

you know its a good pub when you can piss in the corner

[Cold Iron]

Looking for history and character mostly. I've heard there's a pub where they test if the ale's been fermented properly by pooring it on the seats and sitting on it in a leather apron. If the leather sticks to the seat then there's unfermented sugars in the ale and it's no good. Anyone know this one?

An impressive building, or an impressive story or history like the above. Remember I'm from a country where the oldest pub was built in 1815 so anything older than that makes me swoon with the wild imaginings of a lost colonial child. Anything touristy really but it's gotta be high class tourism, as even though I'm looking at doing a pub crawl, it'll be a honeymoon pub crawl with my recently wedded wife, so i don't want hawt half-naked backpackers or dirty half naked chav's pissing on juke boxes.

[The Tyrant Lizard]

Jack Straw's Castle in Hemstead Heath is an ancient big old pub worth a visit. It's got historical value but the main reason I mention it is because it's where Van Helsing and co plot the downfall of Dracula in Bram Stoker's original.

Near Embankment station there's a little pub called Bennetts. Its built into the ground itself and has a back room carved into a cave - the walls and ceiling are hewn rock - and the whole room is lit only by candles. Behind the bar they have stacks of port barrels. It's like going back in time.

[Shinrei]

I recommend you go to all of them. And report back.


What I loved about pubs in Britain was each one had a beer I'd never seen before. Trying a new beer in every place was a treat that never got old.

[Menandore]

Waxy O'Connors on Rupert St, just off Leicester Sq. A bit touristy but it's a beutiful pub with lots of little nooks and crannies and a very churchy feel. Definitely worth a visit.

If you want history you can go to the pub where jack the ripper's victims are thought to have gone drinking. It still has its victorian era tiles on the walls and the front looks like it hasn't been repainted since then either. It's a bit scabby and the beer isn't very good but it's definitely got some interesting history. It's called the ten bells and it's on commercial street, just across from spitalfields market.

[Macros]

Waxys is a chain with little history, they're all done up to look like old places with loads of stairs and nooks and crannies everywhere. Probably give you a decent guiness though

[Use Of Weapons]

My favourite London pubs:

The George on Borough High St
The Barrowboy and Banker on London Bridge (just up the road from The George)
The Lyceum Tavern, by the Lyceum Theatre on the Strand
The Chandos, St. Martin's Lane (Trafalgar Square)
The Jeremy Bentham, University St, Bloomsbury

[Thelomen Toblerone]

jitsukerr, on 21 October 2010 - 12:47 PM, said:

The Chandos, St. Martin's Lane (Trafalgar Square)

This is a good pub.

If you want something older than 1815, try any single pub in the country. You sound like you might like a pub near the Old Bailey (can't remember the name will find out) which used to be part of Newgate prison or somesuch - the downstairs is still prison cells.

The cheshire cheese is the oldest pub I know of in London, loads of crazy spiral staircases, doorways where there shouldnt be, 4 foot doorframes, looks like 50 different parts of different old pubs cobbled together, it's great. And people like Mark Twain, Samuel Johnson, Ben Jonson etc used to drink there. Plus it appears in a Dickens book.

[RodeoRanch]

Cold Iron, on 20 October 2010 - 11:22 PM, said:

i don't want hawt half-naked backpackers or dirty half naked chav's pissing on juke boxes.

That's discrimination against me and Toby!

[Macros]

dont kid yourself rodeo.

[RodeoRanch]

Scrub the hawt part and it's close.

[Anomander]

Thelomen Toblerone, on 21 October 2010 - 08:47 PM, said:

The cheshire cheese is the oldest pub I know of in London, loads of crazy spiral staircases, doorways where there shouldnt be, 4 foot doorframes, looks like 50 different parts of different old pubs cobbled together, it's great. And people like Mark Twain, Samuel Johnson, Ben Jonson etc used to drink there. Plus it appears in a Dickens book.

I will attest to this being an awesome pub, however those 4 foot ceilings become somewhat of a problem after a few drinks.

[Messremb]

The Holly Bush and the Duke of Hamilton in Hampstead? Not been out that way for a few years but both were excellent.

Anomander, on 22 October 2010 - 09:44 PM, said:

I will attest to this [the Cheshire Cheese] being an awesome pub, however those 4 foot ceilings become somewhat of a problem after a few drinks.

You need to get a few more drinks in, the bumps will seem a lot less painful then.

Anyone in Swindon 4-7 November? We've got our beer fest on and yours truly is behind the bar pretty much solid from launch - Saturday midnight. Only ~100 beers and 20-odd cider & perry!

[Cold Iron]

The Tyrant Lizard, on 21 October 2010 - 07:00 AM, said:

Jack Straw's Castle in Hemstead Heath is an ancient big old pub worth a visit. It's got historical value but the main reason I mention it is because it's where Van Helsing and co plot the downfall of Dracula in Bram Stoker's original.

This is now apartments apparently.

[Cold Iron]

The Tyrant Lizard, on 21 October 2010 - 07:00 AM, said:

Near Embankment station there's a little pub called Bennetts. Its built into the ground itself and has a back room carved into a cave - the walls and ceiling are hewn rock - and the whole room is lit only by candles. Behind the bar they have stacks of port barrels. It's like going back in time.

Can't find any mention of this one on google. Does anyone know more info about this pub? Sounds cool.

[Use Of Weapons]

Also near Embankment station is a wine bar called Gordon's, which must be visited if you're into wine.

[Thelomen Toblerone]

I enjoyed Vinopolis next to Borough market. If you know nothing about wine, it's a great place to taste about 100 types from aroudn the world for about £20 entry and get taught how to drink and sniff wine or whatever.