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London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Clerkenwell and Smithfield
 Exmouth Arms, London EC1 Contemporary pub (Barworks)
23 Exmouth Market EC1R 4QL
T 020 3551 4772 w www.exmoutharms.com f ExmouthArms tw exmoutharms
Open 1000 (1200 Sat-Sun)-2400 (0130 Fri-Sat, 2230 Sun). Children welcome until 2100.
Cask beer 4 (unusual often local guests), Other beer 10+ keg, 70 bottles, Also Specialist whiskies.
Food Imaginative tapas-style “sliders”, breakfasts, Outdoor Tables on street, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Mon quiz, comedy, functions.
The Exmouth Arms presides over semi-pedestrianised Exmouth Market, now one of London’s trendiest shopping streets offering designer clothes, jewellery, fine food and arty books. In fact the street took its name from the pub, which was already established when the street market started in the 1890s. The market itself vanished for a while until being reinstituted in 2006. The pub’s prosperity lagged behind the street’s, until 2011 when it was thoroughly refurbished by the Barworks group, known for venues aimed at more youthful, clubby audience. Barworks has, however, slowly been building an interest in specialist beer, and the reopened Exmouth is now its beer showcase, retaining more of a traditional pub vibe than some of its sister venues, and catering to a truly mixed crowd.
The exterior has been splendidly refurbished, with black cladding stripped away to reveal striking green Courage tiling and stained glass leaded windows. Inside little heritage has survived save an (unused) fireplace, but the dark green and maroon decor, simple wooden furniture, areas of bare brick and diner-style booths create a pleasant ambience, enlivened by some truly bizarre surrealist ‘man-beast’ art that was especially commissioned for the pub. An additional upstairs bar and a generous sun-catching outdoor terrace extend the seating options.
Four handpumps rotate a changing array of interesting cask beers from the likes of Brewsters, Harviestoun, Redemption, Roosters, Thornbridge or Titanic. Keg options also change but likely include several Camden Town beers plus BrewDog, Thornbridge, several German imports, Brooklyn Lager and a US guest tap that might dispense Great Divide, Left Hand or Odell beers. The excellent international bottle selection has no dead weight, with plenty of British stuff from Dark Star, Fyne, Kernel, St Austell, Thornbridge and Williams Brothers alongside European classics (Orval, Schneider Weisse) and some unusual Americans like Bear Republic. Food comes tapas style on “sliders” with good deals on mixed plates including for breakfast, and some unusual choices (quail eggs, teriyaki salmon). A well conceived and very welcome addition to London’s growing number of beer specialists.
National Rail Farringdon Underground Angel, Farringdon Cycling LCN+ 0, 7, 8 Walking Link to New River Path
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Kensington, Chelsea and Earls Court
 Antelope, London SW1 Traditional pub (Fuller’s)
22 Eaton Terrace SW1W 8EZ
T 020 7824 8512 w www.fullers.co.uk
Open 1200 (1100 Sun)-2300 (2330 Fri, 1700 Sun). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 5 (4 Fuller’s, 1 guest) Cask Marque, Other beer 4 bottles, 1 keg, Also 30+ wines.
Food Upmarket pub grub/gastro menu, Wifi Yes.
Occasional big screen sport, chess, cricket club, functions.
This determinedly old fashioned boozer a short hop from Sloane Square and the Royal Court Theatre must be one of the loveliest Fuller’s pubs in London. The smallish space around a square bar is simply and traditionally furnished and almost studious, with lots of wood, a real fire and a few armchairs and books towards the back. Upstairs there’s more space in the Eaton Room. The simplicity honours the pub’s origins in 1827 as a facility for servants and workers employed in the big houses of Belgravia, which was then being redeveloped by Thomas Cubitt. Today most customers are rather better off, and the pub boasts a cricket club, founded in 1991, rather than a darts team, but it’s an easy going place and you don’t have to arrive in a Chelsea tractor to be made welcome.
Exquisitely kept cask ales include Discovery, ESB, London Pride and – more unusually – Bengal Lancer, with a guest that might come from the likes of Castle Rock or Brain’s. Bottled beers should include 1845 and examples from the Past Masters series, while Honey Dew is on keg. Food befits the surroundings – game and wild mushroom pie, maple glazed gammon or maybe a vegetarian curry or pasta. The only off note is the recorded music which, though quiet, is superfluous in a place like this.
Insider tip. Try to grab a seat in the lovely small room to the left, a particularly homely environment.
Underground Sloane Square Cycling LCN+ 5, link to LCN+ 38 Walking Link to Jubilee Greenway
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Kensington, Chelsea and Earls Court
 Sporting Page, London SW10 Contemporary pub (Food & Fuel)
6 Camera Place SW10 0BH
T 020 7349 0455 w www.thesportingpagechelsea.co.uk
Open 1100-2300 (2230 Sun). Children welcome until 1900.
Cask beer 5 (Sharp’s, 4 guests) Cask marque, Other beer 2 keg, 6 bottles, Also 2 real ciders, 40 wines.
Food Upmarket pub grub, Outdoor Front terrace, Wifi.
Mon quiz, big screen sport, seasonal events, regular promotions.
This local institution, commanding a fine corner site on a quietish back street between the Kings and Fulham Roads, is a smart but egalitarian place, as likely to attract staff from the numerous nearby hospitals as from the Chelsea Arts Club down the road. The sunny terrace is perfect for people watching, while indoors is dominated by shiny dark wood, mirrors, sporting prints and sparkling glassware. Doom Bar is the regular ask ale while the other handpumps might offer beers from Adnams, Cottage, Loddon, Sambrook’s, Twickenham, Weltons or Westerham. Meantime and Leffe are on keg, and there’s a few classic bottled choices like Anchor Steam, Goose Island Pale and Duvel. Food is hearty fare like home made pies (including a veggie option), haddock and chips and steak. Prices are highish, but offset by numerous deals, including a good value lunch option. If you’re looking for a quiet drink, this particular page might turn out to be a bit sporting on occasions – it lives up to its name when there are major sporting events on.
Insider tip. Sign up through the website to the pub’s “offer club” and you’ll be sent regular vouchers for money-off deals and freebies.
Overground West Brompton Underground Gloucester Road, South Kensington Bus Chelsea & Westminster Hospital (Various Fulham Broadway, South Kensington) Cycling LCN+ 45, link to NCN 4, CS 5 8 Walking Link to Thames Path
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Bloomsbury
 Royal Mile Whiskies, London WC1 Shop (Royal Mile Whiskies)
3 Bloomsbury Street WC1B 3QE
T 020 7436 4763 w www.royalmilewhiskies.com f Royal Mile Whiskies tw RMWEdinburgh
Open 1000 (1200 Sun)-1800 (1700 Sun).
Cask beer None, Other beer 100+ bottles (mainly Scottish & London), Also Outstanding range of single malts and international whiskies, specialist spirits, cigars.
In yet another sign of the growing interest in fine beer, the London branch of this Edinburgh-based whisky specialist now boasts a notably expanded and well chosen range of bottled beers to compliment its expansive selection of rare malts. Appropriately, small and independent brewers from north of the border feature heavily, with names otherwise unseen in London like Colonsay, Islay, Knops, Stewart, Tempest and Tryst alongside more familiar producers like Harviestoun and Williams Brothers, and barrel aged specials like Orkney Dark Island Reserve and Fraoch anniversary editions. London brewers like Kernel, Meantime, Redchurch and Sambrook’s make up the remainder, with one or two craft imports. Only a short step from the British Museum, this small, friendly shop does well from the tourist trade, but prices remain reasonable for an independent retailer and London drinkers should appreciate the chance to explore a national brewing culture that currently offers much of interest.
Underground Tottenham Court Road Cycling LCN+ 6 6A 39 Walking Jubilee Walkway
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Bloomsbury, Euston and St Pancras
 Adnams Cellar and Kitchen Bloomsbury, London WC1 Shop (Adnams)
30 Store Street WC1E 7QE
T 020 7580 2443 w http://cellarandkitchen.adnams.co.uk/page/bloomsbury-adnams-cellar-and-kitchen-store f AdnamsBloomsbury tw AdnamsBloomsbry
Open 1000 (1200 Sun)-2000 (1800 Sun).
Cask beer None, Other beer 15 bottles (mainly Adnams), mini casks, Also Fine wines, Adnams and other specialist spirits.
Food Confectionery, condiments.
Monthly tastings, corporate events.
Suffolk brewer Adnams opened this and a smaller sister shop in Spitalfields (73 Brushfield Street E1 6AA) in 2011 as part of an impressive programme of expansion and diversification. The brewery is also long established as a wine importer and these and a number of similar stores across the country are primarily a shop window for the wines, alongside kitchenware and miscellaneous foodie treats. But the bottled beers are also comprehensively featured, including special stuff like Sole Bay champagne beer, bottle conditioned barley wine Tally-Ho and new hoppy pale ale Innovation. Gift packs, mini casks and a small handful of standard German beers are available too. It’s a roomy, expansive space with helpful staff, and an atmospheric cellar used for public and private tastings. With its vaulted brick wine cage and Regency chairs, it could almost be the set of a Hammer horror film.
Visitor note. The shop is in attractive Store Street, just along from the Building Centre with its architectural exhibitions.
Underground Goodge Street Cycling LCN+ 0 6 6A Walking Jubilee Walkway
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Covent Garden
 The Beer House, London WC2 Bar (SSP)
Charing Cross Station (by platform 1) WC2N 5HS
T 020 7839 7397
Open 1000 (1200 Sun)-2300 (1930 Sun). Children welcome until 2100.
Cask beer None, Other beer 11 keg, 40 bottles (British & international).
Food Pies and cheese plates. Disabled toilet on station.
The Beer House may be London’s first cash-in beer bar. This tiny windowless cabin is owned by international transport catering specialist Select Services Partners, the company behind familiar names like Upper Crust and Costa Coffee. In previous incarnations it was arguably one of the most unloved bars in London but late in 2011 it got a sombre cream and battleship grey makeover, a beer bottle window display and a new identity as a “craft beer bar”. The friendly staff have had special training, including familiarising themselves with the stock, but they don’t get involved in the ordering, which appears to have been done by people who don’t actually know very much about craft beer and/or have been limited to drawing on favourable supply deals.
While there are some decent beers on the list – the Koningshoeven La Trappe brands, Goose Island, Schneider Weisse – they seem to have ended up there by accident, alongside far too many undistinguished exotic lagers like Hue, Lucky Beer and Moosehead. The old handpumps are gone – probably a good thing given the likely challenge of cellaring cask beer successfully in this cramped space – to be replaced by an array of keg taps dispensing some reasonable but not particularly unusual brews at captive audience prices, including two Meantime beers, Brooklyn Lager, Krombacher Dark and draught Innis & Gunn. Taster trays of three thirds sell at £5.
The space is more comfortable than before but it’s certainly not a place to settle down for an evening and of course that’s not really what it’s intended for – most customers are keeping an eye on the live departure screens. The beer list is set to evolve but decisions are likely to be taken on the basis of sales which, as little effort is made to engage drinkers with more unusual choices aside from some “tasting notes” largely comprising marketing guff, I expect it will get less rather than more adventurous. When I called, pints of Heineken seemed the most popular choice. Yet the Beer House is planned as a template for a potential chain of such places, with a bigger venue, the Merchant, already planned for Liverpool Street. While it’s gratifying to know big commercial players are catching on to the resurgence of interest in speciality beer, this really isn’t the way to go about it.
Insider tip. The Beer House doesn’t have its own toilet so you’ll have to use the station one – but ask for a token at the bar first or you’ll end up paying for the privilege.
National Rail Underground Charing Cross River Embankment Cycling LCN+ 6 6A, links to NCN4 Walking Thames Path, Jubilee Greenway, Jubilee Walkway
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Borough
Contemporary pub (Independent, small group)
231 Long Lane SE1 4PR
T 020 7357 8740 w www.simonthetanner.co.uk f simonthetannerlondon tw Simon_theTanner
Open 1200-2300 (2230 Sun). Children welcome until 1900.
Cask beer 3 (Adnams, 2 unusual often local guests), Other beer 6 keg (UK & international), 15 bottles, Also Real cider, 10 wines.
Food Imaginative gastro/pub grub, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Tue quiz, Wed live piano.
 Simon the Tanner, London SE1. Pic: Simon the Tanner This corner of Bermondsey is a typically curious London mix: arty gentrification along Bermondsey Street which has been hailed by Vogue as the coolest street in south London; an old established antiques market formerly notorious for trading stolen goods now housed in a regenerated square overlooked by a boutique hotel; and remaining patches of 1930s and 1960s social housing once populated by dockers or workers in local industries such as the leather trade. That now vanished occupation is recalled in the unusual name of this recently made-over pub which now provides the area with a much needed outlet for great beer.
A pub for over 200 years, Simon the Tanner lay derelict for six years before being reopened in 2011 by the same group that runs the lovely Queens Head near Kings Cross. Like that pub, it’s a friendly community venue with a great beer choice – a little less varied than its sister pub but still much better than average. There’s a changing Adnams cask beer, plus two others that might come from the likes of Buntingford, Castle Rock, Cottage, Mighty Oak, Redemption, Tring or Windsor & Eton. Interesting keg beers include organic Black Isle Porter from Scotland, BrewDog 77 Lager, Duvel Green and a changing guest US beer, while among the bottles are examples from London brewers London Fields and Redchurch as well as several Brooklyn beers and Schlenkerla smoked beer.
A shortish food menu has reasonably priced pies, charcuterie boards, vegetable risotto, ploughmans with speciality cheese and tempting home made desserts like apple, pear and walnut crumble. It’s a smallish place, tastefully decorated in greys and pale greens with Andy Warhol prints, a mixed crowd and an especially relaxed and welcoming atmosphere that makes it something of a hidden gem.
National Rail River London Bridge Underground Borough Cycling LCN 22, link to NCN 4, LCN+ 183 Walking Link to Jubilee Greenway, Jubilee Walkway, Thames Path
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Borough
Restaurant (bar) (Wright Brothers)
11 Stoney Street SE1 9AB
T 020 7403 9554 w thewrightbrothers.co.uk f WrightBrothersOysters
Open 1200 (1100 Sat)-2300 (2100 Sun).
Cask beer None, Other beer 3 keg, 10 bottles (mainly stouts and porters), Also 40+ wines including sparkling and sherry.
Food Oysters, seafood, fish, Outdoor Stools and barrels on street.
 Wright Brothers Oyster and Porter House, London SE1 Pleasingly, this Borough Market shopfront for Cornish oyster fishery Wright Brothers honours its beer friendly surroundings by foregrounding porters and stouts as the ideal accompaniment to the company’s principle product. The drinks lists goes considerably beyond the obvious Draught Guinness in offering an impressive choice of the dark stuff, appropriately enough for an outlet a stone’s throw from the site of what was once one of the greatest porter brewers in the world, Barclay Perkins. Suppliers include local brewers Kernel and Redchurch as well as Anchor, Harviestoun, Palmers (the oyster stout commissioned by celebrity chef Mark Hix), Meantime, Pitfield, St Peter’s and Whitstable. Decent lager and Kernel IPA are on sale for the roasted malt-shy, and then there’s the more expensive but equally traditional matching option of champagne.
Five varieties of oysters are served, as well as mussels, shrimps, crab, various fish and beef, Guinness and oyster pie: vegetarians will find themselves rather at sea, and prices nudge into posh restaurant territory. Non-diners might be able to squeeze themselves a stool at the bar at quiet times, but this is a small, intimate place with the limited table space reserved for diners, perhaps taking advantage of the seductive bivalve’s reputed aphrodisiac properties, and pre-booking is advised.
National Rail Underground River London Bridge Cycling Links to NCN4, CS7, LCN+ 22 23 183 Walking Link to Jubilee Greenway, Jubilee Walkway, Thames Path
Traditional pub (Interpub/Beds & Bars)
121 Borough High Street SE1 1NP
T 020 7407 2392 w www.stchristopherspub.co.uk
Open 1000-0100 (0200 Fri-Sat). Children welcome until 1900.
Cask beer 5 (Rebellion, St Austell, 3 often unusual guests), Other beer 5 keg, 20+ bottles (mainly Belgian).
Food Shortish pub grub menu, Outdoor Benches in side alley, Wifi. Disabled toilet.
Thu-Sat live music, occasional big screen sport (not football), functions.
 St Chrisophers Inn, London SE1. Pic: Interpub This old pub on the corner of one of Borough High Street’s historic coaching yards is owned by an international backpackers’ hostel group, which offers accommodation both above the pub and at other addresses in the High Street (central reception is at number 161). It was previously run as a hostel bar, aimed squarely at a youthful, studenty crowd. The company began as a pub operator, though, and a couple of years back returned to its roots by restoring a traditional feel that now attracts a higher proportion of Londoners than young travellers. The long, narrow space is done out in dark wood, with bare floorboards and drinking shelves. There’s extra space towards the back with more loungey seating, and a function room in the cellar.
The international connection is preserved in a wide range of beers, though perhaps not quite as much as the 100 varieties promised by advertising. Rebellion IPA and Tribute are regulars on the handpumps, with guests coming from brewers like Aylesbury, Bath, Purity or Vale. Paulaner Hacker-Pschorr Pils, Meantime London Stout and Huyghe Delirium Tremens are on keg, while the bottled range has a Belgian slant: Chimay, Duvel, Lefèbvre Barbãr and Palm Steenbrugge Tripel are highlights, while some good choices from Meantime and American standards like Anchor Steam increase the choice. A shortish menu of fresh cooked comfort food with ingredients sourced from nearby Borough Market – gammon and chips, Pieminster pies and mash, grazing platters – has moderate prices for the area.
Insider tip. The inscription in Dutch over the bar, presumably inspired by sister venues in Amsterdam, reads “In de hemel is geen bier, daarom drinkt wij het hier” (There’s no beer in heaven, so we drink it here).
National Rail River London Bridge Underground Borough, London Bridge Cycling Links to NCN4, CS7, LCN+ 22 23 183 Walking Link to Jubilee Greenway, Jubilee Walkway, Thames Path
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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