Outskirts of the City (of London)

I recently had some free time on a weekday around Holborn and Cannon Street. This gave me the oppotunity to visit some pubs that I'd been meaning to visit but never had the chance because they're either closed on weekends or it would involve going on a weeknight when the pubs are filled with suited, loud City men barking at each other and into iPhones while the three women unfortunate to be there look bored beyond tears. I got to visit some lovely pubs but the downside is that I became the "single bloke sipping halves while checking in to Untappd" guy, a stereotype which seems to be getting more and more hated on the interwebs. Well screw it, I enjoyed myself anyway.

A happy punter at the
Seven Stars

First up was the Seven Stars, a small boozer on a side street off Chancery Lane. Located among the courts and barristers chambers, this pub has a legal theme inside. Even the pub cat joins in the fun, wearing a rather fetching ruff while enjoying a fuss from the doting landlady. I enjoyed a half of Topaz Gold from Adnams, which was a refreshing golden ale with a good dry finish, and was in decent form. I perched on a stool and the cat joined me on the bar for a few minutes, enjoying some treats from the cat bowls placed there. On a Tuesday afternoon the pub was quiet and peaceful, but I imagine this small place can get quite packed on a Friday night. Overall I thought it was a lovely little boozer and I'd be happy to go back.

Next up was the Devereux, a Taylor Walker pub down a side alley off Fleet Street. Deceptively spacious inside, there were around five ales on offer. I tried the house ale, Taylor Walker 1730 brewed by the Westerham Brewery, who seem to be doing rather well for themselves. There's the chance it's a rebadged beer, but it was a tasty, well hopped and very suppable session bitter. I sat in one of the booths were my seat had a weird constant vibration - a little bit exciting at the start but it got unneverving after a while. Generally this was a rather nondescript pub, fine for a pint after work if you're nearby but not worth making a special trip for.

Just around the corner from the Deveraux is the Edgar Wallace. Walking in there were a small collection of besuited customers enjoying sandwiches. Notices on the tables asks customers not to use the pub as a meeting room or to use their mobiles - which tells you all about the potential clientèle in this part of London. I ended up having a small taster of around four beers courtesy of the friendly barman, and settled on the Raspberry Blone from Saltaire Brewery. I'm not usually a fan of fruit beers but this was rather good, with the sweet raspberry notes making way to more traditional bitter flavours. I was going to order a half but a pint was poured for me before I could say anything, and not wanting to appear rude I drank it all. Good job it was a pretty tasty beer. I had a quick look upstairs which was more airy than the traditional, wood boarded downstairs, and sporting a large collection of Edgar Wallace novels on bookshelves at the back. A nice little pub and definitely the pub I would choose to have a drink in if I was in the area.

A quick jaunt on the District Line and I was in Leadenhall Market, to visit a pub I'd been meaning to go to for a long time, but as it's only open weekdays and I don't fancy being crammed in with the City's finest on a weekday evening. Old Tom's Bar is a basement bar, and despite the traditional look from outside it was surprisingly modern inside. There were a fair few beers on keg and in bottles, but sadly the cask selection was limited to Youngs Special or Bitter. I went for the Bitter which was below par. No fault of the pub, it's just not a very exciting beer. There was a funky vibe to the place, and the mix of traditional tiling with more modern fixtures worked quite well. It was the busiest of the pubs I'd visited by far, with a lot of punters enjoying lunch. I quite liked the pub - just a shame that the (cask) beer selection was a bit boring on my visit.

Last up is a place that couldn't possibly be criticised for having a boring beer selection, the Pelt Trader which is down the side of Cannon Street station. Owned by the same guys as the Euston Tap and Holborn Whippet, the bar is similarly set up with a "wall of beer," with taps protruding from the large back wall behind the bar dispensing a wide range of ales. I went for a half of Moor Envy and found a table in the round alcoves to the side of the room. I've walked past this place plenty of times in the rush hour and it always looks horrifically crammed, which has put me off visiting before. But as the place doesn't serve much in the way of food with only pizza on offer, it was nice and quiet in here at lunchtime.

I boarded the train from Cannon Street back home tipsy and quite satisfied - I'd be happy having a pint in any of these pubs but the Seven Stars won out for me, although I'd be interested to see just how busy and potentially uncomfortable it gets in the evenings. Until next time!

Liverpool Street

I first visited the Williams Ale & Cider House near Liverpool Street station a few months ago, but sadly the visit was short lived as they weren't serving food on a Saturday lunch time and I was absolutely starving. At the time I couldn't understand why they would open at 12pm and not serve food. I'd heard good things about the place though and wanted to try it out, so a few weeks later I visited again on a Saturday lunchtime to pop in for a drink. They must have listened to my griping as the pub was now closed until 4pm, so again I missed out on a having a drink there. It was third time lucky though as yesterday I popped in at 4pm, the place was open, and I enjoyed a fine half of Spitalfields Bitter, served by a friendly barman who was more than happy to help me out with what beer to have by offering a few samples. Even though they had just opened there was a buzzy but relaxed atmosphere about the place, and it was a very pleasant visit all round.

There are other boozers around Liverpool Street that are worth popping in to. First up is the Woodin Shades, yer standard Nicholson's boozer across the road from the station. On my last visit I enjoyed a half of By The Horns The Saint, a very suppable stout. A smattering of customers, mainly tourists were in the pub enjoying a drink - there didn't seem to be much food being served, even though it was approaching 12pm. Service was functional. It's not a pub to make a special trip to but for commuters waiting for their train it makes a nice change to the Wetherspoons next door to the station. More on that later.

Next up is another Nicholson's, The Lord Aberconway, tucked down a side street near the front entrance of the station. This is a very pleasant pub inside, split over two levels with charming wooden booths down one side. Last time I was there I had a half of Trumans Runner and unfortunately the pub let itself down a little.  The ale was watery and insipid, and having had decent pints of it before I knew this was the fault of the pub and not the brewery. It need a little more time and conditioning and unfortunately tasted like it had been served too early. Still I quite like the pub and the service overall, although it is quite a small and I imagine it gets very busy on weekend evenings.

The useful Craft Beer London mobile app also recommends a pub in nearby Shoreditch, and I had a wander down there. I don't really like visiting the Shoreditch area as I always see something that throws me into an irrational rage - usually a ridiculous hipster beard or someone wearing cardboard shoes. This time it was a Bitcoin ATM which funnily enough I didn't see anybody using, because Bitcoin is an absolute waste of everybody's time. If you've never heard of Bitcoin, it's a virtual currency adored by idiots, who think they're sticking it to the man but who are actually wasting real life money on junk. The "value" of Bitcoins fluctuates widely and it's nearly impossible to actually spend the things - unless you live in a fad bubble like Shoreditch. They're useless as an investment as well, you may as well visit a casino, go to the roulette table and dump your money on red or black - you probably have a much better chance to make some money back.

The Crown and Shuttle is a former brothel turned into a craft beer establishment across the road from Shoreditch High Street station. It looks small from the outside but is surprisingly large inside. I could make a lazy Doctor Who reference here but I'm going to refrain. A very long bar down the right hand side has handpumps and keg dispensaries with all the latest and greatest craft beer offerings. Halfway down is a massive drum offering "brewery fresh" Meantime Pale Ale - I didn't get the chance to try it. My half pints of London Fields Hackney Hopster and Late Knights The Great Exhibition were both in great form and went down a treat. There is a lovely beer garden as well, with a mobile unit dishing out food being eaten by happy punters sitting on bric and brac furniture. This place is a bit hipstery but on a Saturday afternoon it was pretty nice, and well worth a visit if you're in the area.

The final pub in the Liverpool Street area worth popping into is the Hamilton Hall, a Wetherspoons inside the station that offers a little taste of Essex in Central London. Bronzed punters can choose from the decent selection of ales, and my Eton Boatman from Windsor & Eton was in fine shape when I last paid a visit. The interior is rather grand, with a sweeping staircase leading up to a balcony which overlooks the regal decor. All very posh for a Spoons and it's worth venturing in for the interior alone.

Well hopefully this long ramble will help somebody looking for a drink in Liverpool Street. I'm giving to leave you with one piece of advice: don't venture into Dirty Dicks, no matter how humorous you find the name. This tourist pack den of mediocre beer isn't worth the effort.