London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Borough
Traditional pub (Nicholson’s/M&B)
26 Hays Galleria SE1 2HD
T 020 7407 1991 w nicholsonspubs.co.uk
Open 1000-0030 (2330 Mon-Tue, 2400 Wed, 2300 Sun). Children welcome if dining.
Cask beer 10 (Fuller’s, Sharp’s, St Austell, Thornbridge, 6 Nicholson’s guests) Cask Marque, Other beer 3 keg, 3 bottles, Also A few wines.
Food Nicholson’s pub grub menu, Outdoor Terrace on Thames Path, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
The Horniman at Hays, London SE1. Pic: M&B
On a prime site on the Thames Path right by HMS Belfast, overlooking a stretch of river that was once thick with shipping, the Horniman is also handy for City Hall and the More London development. It makes the best of its river views with a long frontage and an extensive terrace. Indoors is spacious, with a correspondingly long bar and a mezzanine-style balcony, though it’s often busy.
This is a Nicholson’s pub furnished in their traditional saloon bar style, and though its beer selection is not in the same league as some of the outstanding beer pubs in the area, it’s generous by the standards of this reliable chain, and the environment would suit a family outing. London Pride, Doom Bar, Tribute and (usually) Jaipur are the fixtures, while the remaining six pumps explore the pubco’s seasonal lists: Box Steam, Brains, Brentwood, Wold Top and one of the Project Venus collaboration beers were on when I called. You might also catch Brooklyn Lager or Shepherd Neame beers in bottle, and Hoegaarden on keg. Food is a slightly more expensive version of Nicholson’s standard ‘pub grub plus’ menu though this is one of the more affordable options in a generally upmarket area – look out for the early evening fixed price deal.
Visitor note. A former home of one of Southwark’s once plentiful breweries, this site became a dock and warehouse complex known as Hays Wharf in the 1840s. Shortly afterwards it was taken over by the tea trading Horniman family, and by 1891 it was the centre of the world’s biggest tea business. In the 1980s developers covered over the dock and added a high roof to create Hays Galleria, a spectacular public space surrounded by specialist shops and dominated by David Kemp’s fascinating kinetic sculpture The Navigators. The pub was opened in one of the adjoining warehouses in 1997.
National Rail Underground River London Bridge Cycling NCN 4, LCN+ 22 183 Walking Jubilee Greenway, Jubilee Walkway, Thames Path
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