Then and now - Farringdon and Covent Garden pubs

It's always fun revisiting a pub I haven't been to in a while because most pubs go through plenty of changes in their lifetime and at some places the experience can change every few months. This past Friday I had the pleasure of revisiting some pubs in London on a mini pub crawl with some good friends of mine. As I hadn't been to these pubs in a while I thought it would be fun to revisit my original thoughts and see if much has changed.

Craft Beer Co Leather Lane

Then: A well known mecca for ale lovers with a absolutely ridiculous price for pork pies.

Now: Every time I walk past the Craft on a Friday evening it's just so ridiculously busy. This is not just a mecca for ale lovers, it now appears to be a mecca for every office worker in the Farringdon area. This small pub gets uncomfortably busy as the large bar and bench seating down the side take up a fair amount of space, leaving not much room for customers. There is an upstairs but tables up there can be reserved so it's pretty much impossible to get a seat. Walking in the crowd were three or four deep waiting at the bar. It felt very claustrophobic.

But with such a fine selection of ales on offer I'll put up with the small space and risk of having a panic attack. Ales from stalwarts Dark Star, Thornbridge and Marble were on offer, and plenty other breweries were represented on cask and keg. A Thornbridge Christmas Ale was a solid take on the rather hoary Christmas Ale formula, a tasty red ale with a subtle spicy undertone. Marble Lagonda was a excellent example of a pale ale. The Marble guys know how to create a good brew. The pork pies remain stupidly expensive.

Verdict: Still awesome but visit during the week and eat food beforehand.

Ye Olde Mitre

Then: A charming little pub although the pint I had tasted a bit like coal. 

Now: I have been to this pub a couple of times since that blog post and I can't really say it's charming any more. Mainly because how much of a sausage fest this place is. Sure you get the occasional confused lady who has been dragged along by their beer loving partner, or the nervous looking secretary who has been forced to visit with their sweaty "hands on" boss, but mainly this place is filled with blokes. The beer was in good condition, my pint of Dark Star Original being a comforting, if workmanlike brown bitter. However with the pub over run with braying men the atmosphere is a little bland. We didn't stay long before moving on.

Verdict: Lovely beer but atmosphere is a bit sweaty

Holborn Whippet

Then: Beers are served from a wall that bleeds ale and a sterile atmosphere where I couldn't get comfortable.

Now: I wasn't too impressed by the Whippet last time but a revisit made me warm to the place. I still find the wall in the middle that bleeds beer a bit odd. I opted for a half of Arbor Oyster Stout which was in excellent form. My friends went for a Lagunitas IPA which sadly wasn't in the best of form and seemed to be end of the barrel. Maybe that's why it was a fiver a pint which is actually pretty cheap for a pint of this trendy American IPA. Like the Craft Beer Co the Whippet seems to be incredibly busy every time I walk past it and this Friday night was no exception. The staff were friendly and on the ball, and the atmosphere was jovial. A pleasant place for a drink and I'd be happy to go back.

Verdict: Liked it a whole lot more this time.

The Cross Keys

Then: Likeable, slightly sleazy pub with plenty of tat hanging from the ceiling. Boisterous atmosphere.

Now: This Brodies pub continues to amuse me. It just seems so jarringly out of place in trendy Covent Garden. It feels like a locals pub from the 80's with the copper pans and other assorted antique tat hanging from the ceiling and the deep red lighting. It's shabby and doesn't even pretend to be modern or relevant. The beer was good and I enjoyed a pint of Brodie's malty, comforting Mild. This place continues to attract a "boisterous" (e.g. pissed) crowd, and we eventually left after a group of gents clad in lederhosen got a bit too loud for their own good.

Verdict: Great beer, nice room, dodgy customers

The Harp

Then: "An ale oasis in a area filled with expensive, soulless bars packed to the rafters with confused tourists and twats"

The Harp remains a text book example of how to run an excellent boozer in Central London. Its location next to the very busy Charing Cross station means this pub is always packed but the superb staff make sure you get served as quickly as possible. I've got served here quicker when it's rammed than at other sleepy pubs where the staff are so dozy you end up waiting 10 minutes for a drink when there's only two patrons at the bar, and one of them is the pub dog.

This visit to The Harp didn't disappoint and I was supping a Dark Star American Pale Ale within seconds of arriving. The beer was a top notch hoppy treat. The Harp was a fine place to end this very pleasurable pub crawl.

The Pembury Tavern and Holborn Whippet

It was risky business a couple of weeks ago as I took a trip to Hackney for a few pints at The Pembury Tavern. To be honest I have taken many risks in my life, which is why I've been banned from many good board game stockists. The Pembury Tavern is a large, open bar with bare white walls and plenty of handpumps. With the large plain room and big wooden tables scattered around the place felt like a school dining hall but the ale was plentiful and in good nick. The crowd was suitably varied for Hackney, with a mixture of old and young folks and, always a danger in Hackney, the occasional hipster. I visited during their beer festival which supposedly had a London theme. I immediately got in the spirit of things by ordering a Cornish ale, the ever realiable Betty Stoggs from the Skinners brewery. This was in good nick and the warm, hoppy and bitter taste came through wonderfully. I did try a couple of ales from local breweries which were sadly umemorable. I can't even tell you the name of the brewer or the ale! What a sorry excuse for a blog writer I am. Although not tied with the Milton brewery pub they appear to be the regular beer, so I opted for a pint of Milton Cyclops, a rather pleasant fruity ale which goes down well.

I did enjoy my time at the Pembury but I wouldn't be rushing back. Well actually if I was to return I would be rushing so I can avoid getting shot at and/or stabbed in Hackney. But it was a pleasent evening and I managed to beat three people in a row on the pool table so I can't really complain. I wasn't actually smacking their faces into a pool table- Hackney hadn't affected me that much.

Normally I would blur out faces in my photos but that is some top class gurning going on there.

The Holborn Whippet is a new venture from the guys who run the excellent Euston Tap and apparently is not named after the Devo song. This is a small pub with cosy indoor seating and a small outside seating area. I had high hopes for the Whippet as the Euston Tap is one of my favourite pubs for craft ale, with a jolly atmosphere and keen staff. Would the Whippet replicate its success?

I must admit the first time I went to the Whippet I didn't even stay for a pint as it was absolutely packed, and the high ceiling and bare walls meant the noise level was terrifically high. However returning early evening on a Saturday the place was pretty quiet. There are around 15 keg and 6 cask ales availabe. Like the Tap these are served from a wall which presumably bleeds ale.

The lone barmaid was serving drinks pretty quickly and I enjoyed a half of Arbor Old Knobbley. This unusual ale, marketed as an old ale, tasted like a mild but was bordering into stout territory. It was pleasant with an interesting chocolate and malt taste, but to be honest a half was enough for me. I also sampled the Adnams Flamerunner, a solid pale ale with a good citrus taste. It wasn't anything spectacular but it was a good pint for a rather stuffy day. I also ordered a burger and chips from their small menu. Everything was great except the burger meat itself which was gray and tasteless, which is a bit of a setback in a burger. A shame.

Although the Whippet had a lot going for it, in particular the enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff, I just never got comfortable in the place. The atmosphere was a little sterile, even as it started to fill up as the evening went on, and the plain decoration and white walls actually got a little depressing after a while. After a couple of hours I was itching to leave and we eventually decamped to the Cross Keys in Covent Garden just so I could see some good old fashioned tat hanging from the walls of a pub. There's potential at the Whippet and I no doubt will return once things have settled in a bit. I'm sure they can't wait for my return!

The Fellow and The Bull.

If you asked my friend(s) to describe me one word they wouldn't use is “trendy.” Although I am stunningly handsome, have a wonderful sense of humour and am incredibly modest, I'm not really a man of trendy tastes. By trendy I mean, of course, a bit wanky. So whenever I find myself in a trendy pub, or even worse, a “bar” I tend to get a bit scared and sweaty. I also tend to end up babbling in a confused manner, saying things such as “HOW MUCH WAS THAT PINT?!” and “SERIOUSLY HOW MUCH?!” Luckily I don't usually end up anywhere “cool” or “hip,” I'm happy to dwell in comfortable cosy pubs supping a pint while idly watching a old codger lose countless pounds on the Deal or No Deal quiz machine. Before losing countless pound coins myself in that bastard machine.

Plenty of gastro but where's the pub?

Sometimes however sacrifices must be made and on Friday I ended going out with some work mates to The Fellow in Kings Cross. I don't think this place can really call itself a pub. The ground floor is pretty much given entirely to diners. There's a small corner in the back for anybody who wants to entertain the ridiculous notion of actually having a pint and a chat in a pub. Upstairs is a hot and dank bar complete with DJ and a pleasant roof terrace which is sadly rather small and packed full of smokers.

Things got to a bad start when I ordered a Sharp's “Doom Bar” and was charged £3.70. An utterly bonkers price for a fairly average 4% pint. The ale was OK although not spectacular and certainly not worth what they were charging. As a Londoner I made a point to complain about the price to everybody except the bar staff and manager. There was also Hook Norton “Old Hooky” but I was afraid to order that in case it required a credit check and two character references before a pint would be poured and payment made. After two pints I'd had enough of the hot room and overpriced beer and made a swift exit for the Euston Tap where I enjoyed a fabulous pint of Arbor “Inferiority Complex” mild at a more reasonable £3.10. This was a top notch pint with the wonderful coffee/chocolatey flavours you get from a good mild. The taste may have been heightened by the fact that I was just happy to get out of The Fellow.

Saturday I was out in Islington with The Lovely Jemma and friends and paid a visit to The Bull, which I hadn't been to before. From the outside I was worried it would be another The Fellow as the place looked far to cool for school, had a DJ and appeared to be full of your typical Islington customer (wankers.) Incidentally as I type this Spotify has decided to play the Beach Boys “I Just Wasn't Made For These Times.” I think it's trying to tell me something.

A good pint and AMAZING NAILS. Look at them. 

How did they get  that way. 

It's amazing what science can do these days

Despite my initial fears that there would be no ales The Bull had four handpumps on. I had a rather well kept Brakspeare “Oxford Gold” in a proper ale glass and everything. This lightly hopped beer had a pleasant fruity taste and a healthy citrus aroma. Very suppable and it helped to distract me from the awfulness of the DJ and the clientèle. Overall The Bull confounded my expectations and wasn't too bad at all. Maybe I shouldn't tar all trendy bars with the same brush. But I probably will because I never seem to learn.