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 The Bull and Last, London NW5 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London: Kentish Town and Tufnell Park
Gastropub (Independent)
168 Highgate Road NW5 1QS
T 020 7267 3641 w www.thebullandlast.co.uk tw thebullandlast
Open 1200 (0900 Fri-Sun)-2300 (2400 Fri-Sat, 2230 Sun). Children welcome.
Cask beer 4 (changing usually local guests), Other beer 4 keg, 5 bottles, Also 35 wines.
Food Daily changing gastro menu, Outdoor Tables on street, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Sun quiz, wine and beer evenings.
“We’re proud of the care we put into our food and wine, and we realised our beer simply wasn’t standing up,” says Bull and Last staff member Adam, explaining why this renowned gastropub has evolved its beer range over the past few years from the handpumps of Doom Bar and Taylor Landlord sadly typical of the genre.
In truth there’s some way to go to match the impressive fine wine list, but it’s great to see a well chosen lineup of local beers from the likes of Camden Town, East London, London Fields, Hackney and Redemption on both handpump and keg, including darker options, and a slowly increasing bottled ranged that includes Dark Star and Kernel.
The pub sits beside the old North Road just before it begins its steep ascent of Highgate Hill, a shortish walk from Gospel Oak Overground and top beer pub the Southampton Arms (p157). Downstairs is a suitably rustic and very attractive small wood panelled single bar, dog friendly as befits a place handy for the east side of Hampstead Heath, and there’s an extra dining room upstairs.
You’re welcome to call in for a pint – seating at the bar and a couple of tables nearby is kept unreserved for non-dining drinkers – but food is the main focus, with dishes like roast venison, handmade pumpkin ravioli and aged côte de bœuf from sustainable sources. Much is home made, even the ice cream and oat cakes, and enjoyed by a generally well heeled clientele who often book in advance. Prices are good value for the quality on offer but certainly not cheap, while service can occasionally be a little trendier-than-thou.
National Rail Underground Kentish Town Overground Gospel Oak Bus William Ellis School (214 C2 Kentish Town) Cycling LCN+ 6A, Hampstead Heath paths Walking Hampstead Heath paths, Belsize Walk
 Cock Tavern, London E8 Hackney
Traditional pub (Southampton Arms)
315 Mare Street E8 1EJ
T 020 8533 6369 w www.thecocktavern.co.uk tw TheCockTavernE8
Open 1200-2300 (0100 Fri-Sat). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 8 (3+ Howling Hops, changing unusual often local guests), Other beer 8 keg, 12+ bottles, Also 8 real ciders/perries.
Food Baps, pies, charcuterie, Outdoor Tiny beer garden, Wifi.
Wed quiz, occasional beer themed events.
The reopening of this fine old pub in July 2012 brought a much needed source of great beer to Hackney town centre, a few steps from the famous Empire music hall and ‘cultural quarter’ around the Town Hall Square. Even more promisingly, it’s been created by the team behind the Southampton Arms NW5 (p157), one of the pioneers of the new wave of beer pubs in London and still one of the capital’s best pubs. But while the Southampton is often packed with drinkers, you’re much more likely to get a seat in the more capacious Cock, at least for the time being.
Even more interestingly, the Hackney venue is a brewpub, hosting Howling Hops brewery in its cellar and featuring at least three of HH’s contemporary styled ales on the bar. Other cask choices served by enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff come from local suppliers like Brodie’s, East London or Redemption, or quality brewers from elsewhere like Otley, Magic Rock, Redwillow, Titanic, Thornbridge or Willliams Brothers. Some of the same names are visible on the keg taps which are also devoted to beers from British small brewers – BrewDog, Harbour, Kernel and London Fields might be represented too. A small but well chosen bottled range continues the theme, including Kernel and Redchurch besides Bristol and Buxton.
The venue is a solid red brick corner pub that’s been beautifully scrubbed up, with a handsome panel of Truman’s relief signing still visible on one corner. Inside there’s an attractively old fashioned public bar feel with restored half height dark panelling, ceramic tiles and floorboards. As with the Southampton, food is limited to cheese and meat baps, pork pies, Scotch eggs, cold meat and bar snacks.
National Rail Hackney Downs Overground Hackney Central Cycling LCN+ 9, 2012 Hackney Parks route Walking 2012 Hackney Parks route, London Fields paths
 Crate Brewery and Pizzeria, London E9 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
East London: Olympic Park
Brewpub, bar, specialist (Independent)
Queens Yard, White Post Lane E9 5EN
T 07834 275687 w cratebrewery.com f CrateBrewery tw CrateBrewery
Open 1200-2230 (may be extended). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 4 (2+ Crate, local guests), Other beer 4 keg, 25+ bottles.
Food Gourmet pizzas, Outdoor Canalside terrace, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Occasional DJs, tastings, art events in adjoining building.
This far corner of Hackney wedged between the A12 and the River Lee Navigation was once the exclusive territory of light industry and dodgy looking car spraying yards. Over the past decade, however, an influx of artistic types has repurposed numerous buildings, and the Wick now supports a flourishing creative community, with several innovative galleries and a programme of art and performance events under the delightful name Hackney Wicked. It’s been boosted further recently by the London Overground upgrade and the arrival of the Olympic Park on the opposite side of the Lee. When the park opens to the public from August 2013, the White Post Lane bridge will become one of its main access points.
Launched in late July 2012 just days before the opening ceremony, the Crate brewpub and pizzeria is another sign of the area’s current vitality. It’s housed in a big white building that was once a printworks and sweet factory and makes the best of its postindustrial nature by decking out the generous interior space with furniture made from reclaimed pallets, offering a good view of the glass walled brewery from the bar. Outdoors there’s the further bonus of a lovely waterside terrace with a view of the Olympic stadium.
House brewed contemporary US-influenced beers are served from both cask and keg, joined by cask offerings from local connections like Hackney and Truman, or further afield from Oakham, Titanic or Williams Brothers, and a rotating guest keg (often Magic Rock) plus good German lager and wheat beer. Bottles include numerous US options – Bear Republic, Brooklyn, Left Hand, cult industrial lager Pabst Blue Ribbon – alongside a couple of Belgians (Duvel, Troubadour) , Kernel and Crate’s own, curated by bar manager Adrian, formerly of Mason & Taylor. The menu offers wood fired pizzas of considerable repute. This stylishly inviting place is so far quite unlike any other beer venue in London.
Pub trivia. A marshland inhabited only by grazing cows until it was industrialised in the mid-19th century, Hackney Wick was the place where the first ever synthetic plastic, Parkesine, was first commercially produced in 1866.
Overground Hackney Wick Cycling NCN 1, Lee Navigation and Hertford Union towpaths, link to 2012 Hackney Parks route Walking Capital Ring, Lea Valley Path, link to Jubilee Greenway, London 2012 Hackney Parks route and Victoria Park paths
 Belgique Wanstead, London E11 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
East London: Other locations – Wanstead
Restaurant, bar (Belgique)
29 Cambridge Park E11 2PU
T 020 8532 2255 w belgique.co.uk/locations/wanstead f BelgiqueUK tw BelgiqueLondon
Open 0800-2200 (1700 Sun). Children welcome.
Cask beer None, Other beer 30+ bottles (Belgian), Also Belgian spirits and liqueurs, tea and coffee.
Food Belgian menu, breakfasts, cheese, charcuterie, patisserie, Outdoor Large front terrace overlooking green. Disabled toilet.
Fri fortnightly jazz, functions.
Leafy Wanstead may be an unexpected place to discover a decent place to drink Belgian beer, but it’s worth venturing along the Central Line to find this little outpost of Low Countries culture. A good and growing range of bottled beer (if a little weak in the lambic department) doesn’t just stick to the well distibuted likes of Leffe and Hoegaarden but runs to Belgoo, Brugse Zot, Ellezelloise, Rodenbach Grand Cru, Troubador, Van Honsebrouck Kasteelbier, Verhaege Duchess de Bourgogne and Trappists from Orval, Rochefort and Westmalle.
Though you’re welcome to call in just for a beer or three, this is also a food venue with a slightly transient diner feel to its comfortable orange and slate interior and extensive outdoor terrace. The extensive menu ranges from breakfasts, brunches, lunches and afternoon tea and cakes to burgers, mussels (of course) and Limousin beef; Belgian cheese, chocolate, patisserie, beers and other specialities are sold to take away from the shop section at the front. A bigger range of beer can be ordered online. Belgique is part of a small chain owned by a Belgian bakery company with several branches in outer east London and surrounding counties, but the Wanstead operation is so far the only licensed outlet.
Pub trivia. The extensive rectangle of grass outside is, like most green spaces round here, officially part of Epping Forest. Only a muffled roar of traffic reveals that it’s also a green lid over the busy A12, which runs below in a trench.
Underground Wanstead Cycling London 2012 Epping Forest route, LCN+ 158, link to 55 and Roding Valley Greenway Walking Links to London 2012 Epping Forest Route, Epping Forest Centenary Walk, Roding Valley Greenway
 Clapton Hart, London E5 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
East London: Other locations – Clapton
Contemporary pub (Antic)
231 Lower Clapton Road E5 8EG
T 020 8985 8124 w www.claptonhart.com f claptonhart tw claptonhart
Open 1600 (1200 Sat-Sun)-2300 (2400 Fri-Sat). Children welcome until 2100.
Cask beer 7-8 (changing usually London and unusual guests), Other beer 2 keg, 25 bottles, Also Real cider, specialist spirits, own spirit mixes.
Food Shortish gastro-tinged menu, Outdoor Benches on street, beer garden, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Wed quiz, planned live music, table football, board games.
This vast old pub by Lea Bridge Road roundabout reopened in May 2012 as one of rapidly expanding pubco Antic’s most ambitious projects. Formerly the White Hart Hotel, it was clearly once a sumptuous affair on a prime site, but in the latter part of the 20th century earned a grim reputation as a landmark on ‘murder mile’ and spent the best part of a decade derelict and boarded.
Antic have been working on it since spring 2011 and have left it looking still distressed but appealingly atmospheric, its elaborate exterior mouldings eroded like old gravestones, with only pillar capitals, fireplaces and the old hotel sign displayed on one wall as reminders of former glories. Added to this is the usual seemingly random Antic collection – 16mm film cans, wrecked pianos, dolls and Dinky toys. The already huge spaces around the central bar on the ground floor are soon to be complemented by an upstairs area. The rear beer garden was very much a work in progress when I visited but shows major potential.
A changing but always well chosen selection of cask beers covers numerous styles including milds, stouts and contemporary pale ales, drawing on local brewers like East London, Hackney and London Fields, credible provincials like Arbor, Buxton, Ilkley, Tiny Rebel and Titanic and brewers rarely seen in London (Lymestone and Truefitt on my visit). A few keg beers of interest include Cotswold lager and a changing Kernel beer, and there’s more Kernel in the bottle fridge alongside Freedom lagers, BrewDog, Goose Island and Belgian gems like Rochefort and Saison Dupont. A welcome new addition in a previously unpromising part of town.
National Rail Clapton Bus Lea Bridge Roundabout (numerous Hackney Central Clapton, Leyton Bakers Arms) Cycling Links to NCN 1, LCN+ 9, London 2012 Hackney Parks route Walking Links to Capital Ring, Lee Valley Path, 2012 Hackney Parks route
 Edinboro Castle, London NW1 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London: Camden Town and Primrose Hill
Contemporary pub (Castle/M&B)
57 Mornington Terrace NW1 7RU
T 020 7255 9651 w www.edinborocastlepub.co.uk tw Edinborocastle
Open 1200-2300 (2230 Sun). Children welcome daytimes.
Cask beer 5 (Purity, Redemption, Sharp’s, 2 sometimes unusual guests) CM, Other beer 7 keg, 10+ bottles, Also 35+ wines, a few specialist spirits.
Food Enhanced pub grub menu, interesting bar snacks, Outdoor Large beer garden, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Beer festivals, occasional seasonal events, functions.
Relatively well placed for Camden Town, Primrose Hill, Regent’s Park and ZSL London Zoo, this big pub, recently made over as part of the unbranded Castle chain, is worth knowing about as a spacious local option with some decent beers. A major plus point is a large and luxuriant garden, a rarity in these valuable acres, and its laid back, comfortable vibe is well appreciated by a largely younger crowd, though it doesn’t quite hang together as a first rate pub.
Pure Ubu, Doom Bar and London-brewed Urban Dusk are the regular casks, while guests might come from Hopdaemon or Rooster’s. Also local are Camden Town Hells and Meantime Pale Ale on keg alongside beers from Bernard and BrewDog. Flying Dog, Goose Island and Worthington White Shield enliven the bottled choice, and occasional beer festivals may boost the range still further. Food is sub-gastro stuff – wild salmon fishcakes, free range sausage and mash, asparagus and mushroom tart – competently done, with a good value fixed price deal on selected dishes.
Overground Camden Road Underground Camden Town, Mornington Crescent Cycling LCN+ 6 6A, Regents Canal towpath Walking Jubilee Greenway
 Windmill, London W1 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Westminster, Victoria and Pimlico
Traditional pub (Young’s)
6 Mill Street W1S 2AZ
T 020 7491 8050 w www.windmillmayfair.co.uk f tweetiepieW1 tw tweetiepie_w1
Open 1100 (1200 Sat)-2300 (1700 Sat, closed Sun).
Cask beer 8 (Wells & Young’s, 5 often local guests), Other beer 3 keg, 10+ bottles, Also 40 wines, 28 whiskies, speciality soft drinks.
Food Home made pies and bar snacks, enhanced pub grub, Outdoor None, Wifi.
Monthly live music, beer tastings, pie club.
Just past the north end of Savile Row, famed for its exclusive bespoke tailor’s shops, stands one of central London’s most inviting Young’s pubs. With its wood panelling, deep crimson decor, padded benches and decorated glass, it offers a decidedly traditional, though friendly and welcoming, environment that feels like it’s been around for donkey’s years. In truth the pub was created in 1988 by knocking together a nightclub and an escort agency, and the distinction between the two formerly separate spaces is still apparent in the layout of the decently sized bar area.
The Windmill shares management with another well known Young’s pub, the Guinea, nearby, which is famous for its steaks, but at the Windmill the focus, or rather the obsession, is pies. The pub announces itself as “the Institute of the Pie”, labels its two additional dining spaces Pie Rooms, exhibits pie videos and operates a pie club which boasts several thousand members.
Good beer is promoted as an ideal accompaniment to these pastry topped delicacies, with matching suggestions on the menu, but thankfully also in its own right. The pub has long held special dispensation to stock a wider range of cask ales than is usual in Young’s pubs, and now that the pubco no longer has a financial interest in the beers that bear its name, this seems to be developing further.
Bitter, Special and Well’s Bombardier are present and correct, but they’re joined by local beers from Sambrook’s and Twickenham, and from generally better known brewers like Caledonian, Sharp’s and St Austell. There are several Meantime keg and bottled beers, keg Pilsner Urquell and decent Wells & Young’s bottles like Special London and Double Chocolate. Choice is promoted through selling beer in thirds and “tasting paddle” selections.
Insider tip. Evident care extends to the home made bar snacks, such as house Scotch eggs and delicious fresh cheese straws.
Underground Oxford Circus Cycling LCN+ 50, links to Hyde Park and Soho Walking Links to Jubilee Greenway, Jubilee Walkway and Green Park paths
 Wetherspoons Victoria, London SW1 London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Westminster, Victoria and Pimlico
Contemporary pub (Wetherspoon)
5 Main Concourse, Victoria Station SW1V 1JT
T 020 7931 0445 w www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/wetherspoons-victoria-station-concourse
Open 0700-2400 (2300 Sn). Children welcome if dining.
Cask beer 10 (Fuller’s, Greene King, Wells & Young’s, 5 often local guests) Cask Marque, Other beer Usual Wetherspoon kegs and bottles, Also 2 real ciders/perries
Food Shortened Wetherspoon menu, Outdoor None but indoor no smoking gallery overlooking station, Wifi. Disabled toilet on station.
Perched on a glass roofed mezzanine between the Southern and Southeastern sides of Victoria station, this brash, busy and decidedly unglamorous Wetherspoon bar has earned a Good Beer Guide listing for the range and quality of its cask beer. Guests from local brewers like By the Horns and Windsor & Eton, or other well respected suppliers like Adnams and Thornbridge, join regulars ESB, London Pride, Bombardier, Abbot and IPA on the row of handpumps. Otherwise, it has few other noteworthy assets besides its convenient location and gallery seating on both sides providing a bird’s eye view of the busy station. Indoor seating is packed tight, optimised for transient drinkers.
National Rail Underground Victoria Cycling LCN+ 5 38
 Sanctuary House Hotel, London SW1. Pic: Fuller’s. London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Westminster, Victoria and Pimlico
Traditional pub (Fuller’s)
33 Tothill Street SW1H 9LA
T 020 7799 4044 w www.sanctuaryhousehotel.co.uk f SanctuaryHouseHotel tw SancHouseHotel
Open 0800-2300 (2230 Sun). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 5 (Fuller’s) CM, Other beer 1 keg (Fuller’s), 15 bottles, Also 24 wines.
Food Pies and enhanced pub grub, Outdoor None, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Seasonal events.
Tucked away in a historic back street within easy reach of Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament and St James’s Park, this smart but comfortable if slightly corporate place is worth knowing about as a well located stockist of Fuller’s beers, served in good condition under the supervision of a manager that holds the brewery’s Master Cellarman accreditation.
Chiswick, Discovery, ESB, London Pride and a seasonal are all present and correct on cask, while bottles include 1845, Bengal Lancer, Golden Pride and Vintage Ale, as well as more imports than usual including Budvar, Duvel, Pilsner Urquell and Singha. Staff aren’t always well informed about the beer though.
As part of the brewery’s Ale and Pie House mini-chain, the Sanctuary dishes up substantial if slightly overpriced hearty fare, with horseradish and red wine spiking the house steak and kidney special, and is also open for breakfast. Decor in the long corner space is recent but in traditionally woody style, with a pleasant area at the back complete with monastically themed stained glass. There’s a highly rated and very well sited 36 bedroom hotel attached, often patronised by groups of North American beer travellers who will find that as a drinking venue it’s considerably more conducive than the average hotel bar.
Pub trivia. The name refers to the nearby sanctuary of Westminster Abbey and the public spaces named after it, though the building originated as an early 20th century office block that has previously housed insurance and publishing firms.
National Rail Victoria Underground St James’s Park River Westminster Cycling LCN+ 6A, link to NCN 4, CS 8 Walking Jubilee Greenway, Jubilee Walkway, Diana Princess of Wales walk
 Electricity Showrooms, London N1 Shoreditch and Hoxton
Bar (Barworks)
39A Hoxton Square N1 6NN
T 020 7739 3939 w www.electricityshowrooms.com f electricityshowrooms tw electricityshow
Open 1200-2400 (0100 Fri-Sat). Children welcome until 1900.
Cask beer 2 (changing often London guests), Other beer 11 keg, 12 bottles, Also A few cocktails and wines, specialist spirits, tea and coffee.
Food Shortish enhanced pub grub and small plates menu, Outdoor Standing room on street, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Fri-Sat DJs, ocasional live music and theatre, functions, bar biOnelliards, pub games.
This big bar commanding the entrance to Hoxton Square from Old Street is already a piece of London’s social drinking history. It was built in the early 20th century, indeed as an electricity showroom, but as its surroundings transformed from one of the remaining old working class districts of central London into a playground of New British Artists, fashionistas and .com entrepreneurs in the 1990s, it became one of the new residents’ favourite haunts.
Relaunched a few years back, it’s now a less forbidding and more relaxed place, more pub-like though still popular with a youthful, trendy crowd and busy at weekends. The ironically kitsch decor, including a big gaudy neon peacock that lures customers downstairs to a lightbox dancefloor, is well done enough not to be tiresome and there are some secluded, comfortable spots to hide away.
Owner Barworks has been quick to recognise the increasing demand for interesting beer among a new audience of young Londoners and has strengthened its offer to match. The enthusiastic beer buyers at the Showrooms support local brewers – East London, London Fields and Redemption are often on handpump while a range of Camden Town and London Fields keg beers is also offered, alongside Thornbridge Jaipur and imports like Brooklyn and Paulaner.
Thornbridge supplies bottles too, alongside BrewDog, Dark Star, Icelandic brewer Einstöck, Flying Dog and Mexican craft brewer Red Pig. Food is essentially pub grub – burgers, fish and chips, veggie options like spinach, ricotta and aubergine rolls. One of Hoxton’s brighter sparks.
National Rail Underground Old Street Overground Hoxton Cycling LCN+ 9 10, link to 0
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Cask  This pioneering new book explains what makes cask beer so special, and explores its past, present and future. Order now from CAMRA Books. Read more here.
London’s Best Beer  The fully updated 3rd edition of my essential award-winning guide to London’s vibrant beer scene is available now from CAMRA Books. Read more here.
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