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London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London : Clerkenwell & Smithfield
Contemporary pub
82 Leather Lane EC1N 7TR
email info@thecraftbeerco.com Web http://thecraftbeerco.com f thecraftbeerco tw thecraftbeerco
Open 1100 (12o0 Sun)-2300 (2230 Sun)
Cask beers 15 (Kent, unusual guests), Other beers 21 keg, 300 bottles, Also malts, bourbons, other specialist spirits
Food Pork pies, Scotch eggs, snacks only
 Craft Beer Co, London EC1 While it’s delightful to see many ordinary pubs and bars modestly but significantly revamping their beer offer in response to growing consumer interest in fine beer, the multiplying number of serious specialist places where even beer geeks will be dazzled by the range is also impressive. The Craft Beer Co is the latest and arguably the most ambitious of these, and, based on what I saw at the launch party at the end of June 2011, stands a good chance of being the most successful.
Its beer range is extensive, unusual and notably well chosen – as a relatively well travelled beer writer in my home city I was impressed that I’d only previously tried four of the 36 draught beers on offer. But unlike other places with a comparable range, it’s in a lovely old Victorian pub that would be a pleasant place to visit even if it just had a couple of handpumps with Doom Bar and Landlord. It’s big enough to be spacious but small enough to be intimate, with a main bar area preserving heavy wood fittings, a spectacular mirrored ceiling and chandelier, and upstairs a contrasting, more contemporary space with designer radiators.
 The view from the pumps -- Craft Beer Co, London EC1 There’s not a wasted choice on the beer selection. The battery of handpumps dispenses British microbrews in a range of styles. Besides the usual “craft” suspects like Bristol, Dark Star and Otley are little seen names like Five Towns, Fyne, Green Daemon, Ilkley and Magic Rock, with the house pale ale supplied by Kent. The house lager, meanwhile, is brewed by cult favourite Mikkeller at Proef in Flanders, with Camden Town Hells and Rothaus Märzen also regular; other keg selections included rare unfiltered lambic, kriek and faro from Girardin, Kernel Black IPA, Struise Black Albert, saisons from Stillwater, four more from Mikkeller and extreme beers from Southern Tier. The beautifully presented bottled list is big on US imports with many exclusives, Cigar City, Dark Horse, Duck-Rabbit, Maine, Sly Fox, Stillwater and Weyerbacher among them. Scandinavia also has strong representation in the form of Beer Here, Evil Twin, To Øl and XBeeriment besides more familiar names. Bierwerk from South Africa is another exclusive, and Westvleteren is stocked at an undeclared price. Mainstream industrial beer is conspicuous by its absence. The pub’s own customised glasses are generously lined for full measure and aroma space.
Under the same ownership as Cask in Pimlico and like its sister pub another previously decaying boozer leased free of tie from Greene King, Craft Beer Co nonetheless has its own separate identity and brand. It also has the advantage of location on a historic market street in an interesting area of central London just west of the river Fleet, where legal overspill from Holborn meets the residential southeastern reaches of the London Borough of Camden. Owner Martin Hayes is confident he can use the pub’s inherent attractions to draw a broad audience into enjoying such a seriously impressive lineup, and he may well be right. For anyone with an interest in great beer, it’s an instant must-visit choice.
Insider tip. Ask about bottled specials and have a good look in the fridges — there’s more than shown on the printed list.
National Rail Farringdon Underground Chancery Lane, Farringdon Cycling LCN+ 0, 7, 39
London’s Beer Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Southwest London: Other locations — Balham
Bar
7 Ramsden Road SW12 8QX
T (020) 8673 4700 W www.balhambowlsclub.com f balhambowlsclub tw balhambowls
Open 1600 (1200 Sat-Sun)-2300 (2400 Thu, 0100 Fri-Sat). Children very welcome until 2100.
Cask beers 3 (Adnams, Purity, 1 often local guest) Cask marque, Other beers 2 keg, 10 bottles
Food Gastroish menu, Outdoor Front terrace, garden. Disabled toilet
Mon chess club, Tue quiz, Wed knitting club, ukelele society, poetry, comedy, snooker, board games, table football, summer barbecues
 Balham Bowls Club, gateway to good beer, London SW12 Those of a certain age and/or taste in British comedy may well find the words “Bal-Ham, Gateway to the South” springing to mind as the tube pulls in, as declaimed in mock-American travelogue style by Peter Sellers in a celebrated 1958 radio sketch poking fun at what was then buttoned-up South London suburbia. North American visitors are well advised to remember the local pronunciation is the more modest ‘Ballum’. A settlement since Saxon times, it’s now a typical mixed inner city area, though well placed for access to several historic commons – open green spaces – including Clapham, Tooting and Wandsworth, reminders of its rural past.
Thankfully refreshment choices are no longer limited to Sellers’ tea room where everything was off, as the area is home to one of London’s most extraordinary drinking places. The Balham Bowls Club is, as its name suggests, a genuine former private bowls club. A refurbishment in 2006 by the enterprising Antic pubco preserved much of the 1950s retro decor – wood panelling decorated with pennants, trophies and even original scoring cards – to create a unique contemporary bar. There are several intriguing rooms, one of which is mainly restaurant space, and a pleasant garden, though the bowling green itself wasn’t included in the deal and is currently languishing unused behind fences while Wandsworth council decides what to do with it.
Roasted wood pigeon, harissa chicken salad and aubergine and spinach tortelloni should tempt the hungry, while the handpumps dispense Pure Gold, a rotating Adnams brand and a local from the likes of Sambrook’s or Truman, supplemented by Blue Moon and Früli on keg and several bottles including Budvar, Hobgoblin and Kenyan Tusker lager. The range isn’t as extensive as some Antic venues but the surroundings compliment the well-kept liquid offerings perfectly. Table reservations are accepted in both bar and restaurant.
Insider tip. There’s still more space upstairs, including two full size snooker tables.
National Rail, Underground Balham Cycling CS7, LCN+3, 5 Walking Link to Capital Ring
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Southeast London: Other locations — Crystal Palace
Contemporary pub
79 Westow Hill SE19 1TX
T (020) 8670 0654 Web http://www.westowhouse.com/ f Westow House tw westow_house
Open 1200-2300 (Thu 2400, Fri-Sat 0200). Children very welcome until 2100.
Cask beers 5 (Adnams, Purity, 3 sometimes unusual guests) Cask marque, Other beers 3 keg, 15+ bottles
Food Gastroish menu, Outdoor Front terrace. Disabled toilet
Mon table football league, Tue table tennis league, Wed poker, Thu (fortnightly) live music, Fri-Sat DJs, Sun films, summer Sun monthly hog roast, mothers’ group, occasional craft fairs, occasional big screen sport
 Unusual arrangements of antlers, frames and retro lights at Westow House, London SE19 The South London-based Antic Pub Collective is one remarkable new small pubco that might perhaps have been better represented in the Guide. Founded in 1999 by Anthony Thomas, it has very successfully overhauled several important pubs over the past few years, mainly on town centre sites south of the river but with an increasing few elsewhere, a mix of free houses and leased pubs. Each has its own identity – which is why they prefer the term ‘collective’ to ‘company’ – but in my experience most have several things in common – a relaxed contemporary feel, quirky decor, friendly staff, a sense that there’s always something going on, and a notable effort with the beer offer, even when restricted due to ties or lack of cellar facilities. The estate currently stands at 24, several of which are Cask Marque accredited. A fine example for beer is the Antelope in Tooting (p218) but several others now approach or exceed this standard.
Big, chunky and looking slightly dark and forbidding on the diagonally opposite corner of the main Crystal Palace junction from the Grape and Grain (see the London guide p187), Westow House turns out to have a playful and curiously embellished interior fashioned out of a Victorian pub shell, using the extensive space well with mixed furniture and a rear area equipped with table football and table tennis. Current manager Justin has revamped the beer offer, rotating five pumps through a range of 40 cask beers – Adnams Lighthouse, Pure Gold and Sharp’s Doom Bar are favourites of the group but choices from King in Horsham are often seen and very popular. Kegs include two Meantime choices and a real Czech lager; bottles change but might include Australia’s Little Creatures (nodding to Justin’s homeland), Odell Cutthroat Porter, Maisels Weisse and all three Chimays.
Food includes several veggie choices (macaroni cheese and gratinated gnocchi with mushrooms when I looked) alongside the likes of beer battered coley and roast guinea fowl. An extensive front terrace and a packed activity programme complete the picture.
National Rail, Overground Crystal Palace Cycling LCN+23, Deptford, Beckenham Walking Capital Ring, Green Chain Walk
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars
Southeast London: Camberwell, Dulwich & Peckham
Contemporary pub
18 Camberwell Green SE5 7AA
T (020) 7703 5246 Web http://thetigerpub.com f The-Tiger tw camberwelltiger
Hours 1600 (1200 Sat-Sun)-2300 (2400 Thu, 0100 Fri-Sat). Children welcome until 2100.
Cask beers 5 (Caledonian, Sharp’s, 3 guests) Cask marque, Other beers 2 bottles
Food Short gastroish menu, Outdoor Side terrace. Disabled toilet
Quizzes planned
 The Tiger, London SE5 Most locals who remember this big pub right by Camberwell Green from a decades-long previous life as a rather dodgy boozer called the Silver Buckle will surely appreciate its latest incarnation, launched early in 2010. Current leaseholders the Antic pubco (see Westow House) have revived its original name, the Tiger, recalling the circuses once regularly held on the Green. Inside it’s been revealed as a spacious place, with big windows illuminating a main drinking area, a more secluded space to the left and a side alley turned into a beer garden. The beer makes the best of a Heineken tie, with Caledonian 80/- a welcome visitor, Doom Bar regularly available, and guests from Brains and Theakston, all very well kept. Budvar livens up the fridges. Food might be pan fried squid or asparagus risotto in both tapa and main sizes, supplemented by grazing plates of cheese and charcuterie, burgers and steaks.
Insider tip. Go through the raised side area to find a delightfully half-hidden front parlour-like space with a fine view of the busy street.
National Rail Denmark Hill Underground Oval, Elephant & Castle Bus Camberwell Green (various Oval, Elephant & Castle) Cycling LCN+23
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
East London: Other locations — Dalston
Bar
18-22 Ashwin Street E8 3DL
email info@cafeoto.co.uk web http://cafeoto.co.uk tw Cafeoto
Open 0930 (1030 Sat-Sun)-1730 (1630 if no evening event; also most evenings from 2000 with admission charge). Children welcome.
Cask beers None, Other beers 3 keg, 10 bottles (Kernel, Pitfield’s), Also Japanese drinks, malts
Food Breakfasts, wrap/salad lunches, cakes and pastries, Outdoor Tables on street. Disabled toilet
Experimental, jazz, folk, rock music most evenings
 Café Oto, London E8 Developing in the 19th century along the main Cambridge Road, Roman Ermine Street, from what were once two small villages, Dalston became an outlier of the poor East End in the 20th century. Its traditional character is still much in evidence on celebrated Ridley Road market, but a longstanding arty and alternative edge has recently developed into more obvious gentrification, spurred by regeneration projects like Gillett Square with its ‘culture house’ and jazz club and major improvements in transport brought by the London Overground extensions. Another aspect of the area’s changing face, only a few steps from Dalston Junction Overground, is the Print Works complex, originally built for the Hackney Gazette but renovated in the late 2000s by the Bootstrap Company, a local regeneration and development charity dating back to the 1970s. Besides solar powered workspaces for creative enterprises, a roof garden and a gallery, the buildings house Café Oto, one of London’s more unusual music venues, with a programme of experimental, avant garde and more left field rock, folk and acoustic music – and a surprisingly nifty range of craft beer.
Four choices come from the Kernel brewery include one brewed specially for the venue, and the rest is made up of interesting stuff from Pitfield’s, including their historic recreations. Cristal Alken and Palm amber ale from Belgium grace the keg taps, and a supplementary lineup of sake, shochu, plum wine and Yamazaki malt whisky reflects a notable Japanese influence. During the day this attractive post-industrial space is open as a chilled out café, dishing up simple breakfasts and lunches on weekdays and snacks and pastries at weekends, before reopening most evenings for bands. Midori, one of the managers, tells me the jazzier the music, the more popular the better craft beers.
Visitor note. Nearby Fassett Square was the original model for Albert Square in long running BBC soap EastEnders.
Overground Dalston Junction, Dalston Kingsland Cycling LCN+10
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London — Hampstead
Contemporary pub
14 South End Road NW3 2QE
T (020) 8874 8460 W http://thegardengatehampstead.co.uk
Open 1200 (1100 Sat-Sun)-2300 (2400 Fri-Sat, 2230 Sun). Children welcome until 1900.
Cask beer 6 (Sharp’s, Timothy Taylor, M&B guests), Other beer 8 keg, 6 bottles, Also wines
Food Gastroish menu, Outdoor Large beer garden
Fri monthly hog roast & live band, summer Sat barbecue, board games
 Garden Gate, London NW3 “This is the nicest pub I’ve ever been in,” said the customer to the assistant manager as he took his leave. “And I’m a 48-year-old Scotsman so that’s saying something.” While I wouldn’t go quite that far, there’s certainly something very charming and attractive about this Brewer’s Tudor place in Hampstead’s southern reaches, on recently restored South End Green with its historic fountain, just down from Hampstead Heath Overground station and within easy reach of the Heath itself.
The pub’s most notable feature is a very large and well looked after beer garden, decked out with greenery and with a cloister-like wooden terrace around the side, its walls decorated with an impressive collection of flower pictures. The floral theme continues indoors with some big murals as well as real flowers enlivening a good mix of seating. Stained glass and painted pillars enhance the colourful aspect, complemented by the cheerfulness of the staff.
This is a Mitchells and Butlers Castle pub: Doom Bar and Landlord are regular cask ales while three other handpumps dispense guest beers on rapid rotation. BrewDog (strongish Alice Porter), Fuller’s and Red Rat were in evidence when I called and more unusual styles aren’t uncommon. Camden Lager, Duvel-Moortgat Vedett White and Sierra Nevada pale are among the kegs while it’s always good to spot classics like Duvel and Worthington White Shield in the fridges. Food is a cut above too. Given the area, don’t expect rock bottom prices, but a weekday prix fixe deal will get you two courses for £10, which might include smoked trout, roasted butternut squash and fennel salad, asparagus risotto or chargrilled gammon amongst the mains.
Overground Hampstead Heath Underground Hampstead Cycling Hampstead Heath paths Walking Hampstead Heath paths, links to Belsize Walk
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London — Hampstead
Traditional pub, Regional heritage pub
14 Flask Walk NW3 1HG
T (020) 7435 4580 W www.theflaskhampstead.co.uk
Open 1100-2330 (0030 Fri-Sat, 2300 Sun). Children welcome until 2000.
Cask beer 5 (Wells & Young’s, Sambrook’s, occasional guest), Other beer 3 keg, 3 bottles (Wells & Young’s), Also wines
Food Upmarket pub grub menu, Outdoor Tables at front, small rear terrace
Tue quiz
 The Flask, London NW3 This famous Hampstead pub, a Young’s house down a characteristically picturesque alley lined with second hand bookshops round the corner from the Tube, has offered an expanded beer range since a sympathetic refurbishment in 2007. Besides Young’s Bitter, Special and London Gold, Sambrook’s Wandle is regularly available alongside a guest that might be a Wells & Young’s seasonal or even another Sambrook’s beer. Pilsner Urquell and Erdinger on keg and bottled Young’s Special London are also worthy of consideration. Manager Claudia McCarthy-Milcher notes delightedly that this is in response to growing demand, with the cask beers now appealing to a discriminating younger audience. They compliment a classic British pub menu that includes pies, lamb shank, goats cheese and beetroot salad, crispy duck and Cockney-style shellfish, though at prices you’d expect for the area.
While you’re there there take a good look at the pub itself, the history of which can be traced at least to Hampstead’s first flourishing as a spa resort in the early 18th century when a thatched building stood on the site. The name recalls the flasks in which spa waters were packaged, and there were originally three pubs in the village with the same name, of which this is the Lower Flask. An old pub sign in the conservatory interprets the name differently as a flask of gunpowder, featuring a grenadier. The current building dates from 1874, and the front retains its public and saloon bars, divided by an impressive panelled screen that displays the pubs own art treasures: five original chromolithographs of sentimental paintings by Flemish artist Jan van Beers (1852-1927). Famous regulars have included comedy duo Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.
Insider tip. Arrive early on quieter evenings and there may be delicious complimentary roast potatoes on the bar.
Underground Hampstead Cycling Links to Hampstead Heath paths Walking Links to Hampstead Heath paths, Belsize Walk
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
North London — Hampstead
Traditional pub
23-25 New End NW3 1JD
T (020) 7794 0258 W http://thedukeofhamilton.com tw dukeofhamilton
Open 1100-2330 (2300 Sun). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beer 4-5 (Brodies, Fuller’s, unusual/local guests), Other beer 2 keg, 6 bottles
Food Rolls and jacket potatoes, Outdoor Front terrace, rear beer garden
Fri occasional live music, Sat in summer barbeque, poker & quizzes planned, darts, occasional big screen sport, functions
 Duke of Hamilton, London NW3 A veteran real ale stalwart and regular Good Beer Guide listing with a lengthy roll call of arty celebrity regulars, including Oliver Reed who often overindulged here, the Duke would have been an obvious choice for the Guide. But when I paid a research visit early in 2011, the place was being run down prior to longstanding landlord Woody moving on, its future beer policy uncertain. Happily it’s ended up in the hands of the same people who’ve recently made the Barnsbury in Islington (see Canonbury & Barnsbury) into a great beer destination. The main drinking area around the island bar has been spruced up but the slightly eccentric decor is essentially unchanged – traditional furnishings, liberal use of red paint, unusual stained glass above the bar and tiles bearing advertisements for long obsolete cleaning products below it.
The pub is curiously sited on a raised platform which, given its popularity with actors and the presence of the New End Theatre, one of London’s most respected fringe drama venues, next door, might remind you of a stage. The new owners have refurbished and reopened the cellar below, creating an attractive additional space for music, functions and overspill at busy times.
Longstanding favourite London Pride is now supplemented by a changing Brodie’s beer. Adnams and O’Hanlon’s are popular choices on the other pumps and they aim for a variety of flavours. Keg German black lager Köstritzer Schwarzbier is an unusual sight and Schneider Weisse, Achouffe McChouffe and Jever Pils might be spotted in a small but intriguing range of bottled beers. Food is restricted to rolls and snacks – the Scotch eggs are particularly popular. A commanding performance.
Overground Hampstead Heath Underground Hampstead Cycling Walking Links to Hampstead Heath paths
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London — Soho and Leicester Square
Traditional pub
34 Kingly Street W1B 5QH
T (020) 7494 0834 W www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theclachankinglystreetlondon/
Open 1000-2300 (2330 Fri, 2230 Sat-Sun). Children welcome until mid-evening.
Cask beer 8-12 (Fuller’s, Sharp’s, St Austell, Nicholson’s guests) Cask marque, Other beer 1 keg, 3 bottles
Food Nicholson’s pub grub menu
Occasional meet the brewer events, functions
 Clachan, London W1 The first boutique opened in Carnaby Street, on the western edge of Soho, in 1958. Eight years later the street, now crammed with “gear” shops and underground music clubs, was identified as the epicentre of Swinging London by Time magazine. An early beneficiary of pedestrianisation in 1973, the area has been through some tawdry phases since, but is still welcoming the world thanks to the enduring interest in the fashion, music and youth culture of its heyday, remaining a London must-see.
Pubgoing round here can be rather hit-and-miss, so it’s good to know about the Clachan near the top end of parallel Kingly Street, a pleasant Nicholson’s pub that boasts a particularly well-used range of handpumps. The regular trio of London Pride, Doom Bar and Tribute is supplemented by up to nine others from the chain’s changing seasonal range – Thornbridge is often spotted alongside Cropton, Harviestoun, Nethergate and White Horse. Duvel, Leffe and Vedett might be found in the fridges. Pub grub is the usual Nicholson’s menu, starting with breakfast. A decently sized main drinking area under a deep red ceiling surrounds an island bar with a big fancy bar back, and mosaic tiling featuring the pub name survives on the Little Marlborough Street side but has been sadly partly obscured by some more recent remodelling. Upstairs is an elegant room with a table service restaurant.
Visitor note. A clachan is a small settlement or hamlet once common in Ireland and Scotland – an image that contrasts sharply with the pub’s actual setting in the busy West End. For more conventional shopping than Carnaby Street offers, you’re right by Liberty’s department store and a few steps from Regent Street and the celebrated Hamley’s toy shop.
Underground Oxford Circus Cycling LCN+39, links to 6A, 50
London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars update
Central London — Soho and Leicester Square
Restaurant
11 Haymarket SW1Y 4BP
T (020) 7925 0276 W www.byronhamburgers.com f Byron-Hamburgers tw byronhamburgers
Open 1200-2300 (2330 Fri-Sat, 2230 Sun). Children welcome.
Cask beer None, Other beers 12 bottles, Also grown-up soft drinks
Food Gourmet burgers
 Byron Hamburgers promoting craft beer at Haymarket, London SW1 Founded by Tom Byng in 2007 to replicate the quality hamburger experience he’d enjoyed while living in the USA, Byron now has 16 branches across London. In a further nod to US practice and another indicator of how the market for quality beer is evolving, in summer 2011 Byron worked with award winning beer blogger Mark Dredge to add a short but very well chosen craft bottled beer list to its menu, available across the chain. 10 beers are listed, half from the USA (obvious choices like Brooklyn Lager and Goose Island Honker’s but also Odell Cutthroat Porter), three from London’s Camden Town and Kernel, and one each from Scotland and Australia, significantly expanding on a couple of passable listings on the regular drinks menu (Modelo and London Pride). This is an extremely welcome initiative – let’s hope it’s well supported and endures beyond its summer trial.
My one gripe was my Kernel IPA was served too cold, and even in an iced glass – not the best way to flatter such a complex beer. I’m sure they’ll bring a room temperature glass if you ask but it would be good to see the choice offered especially considering they take pains to do things your way with the food menu. This is simple and traditional but quality and well cooked burger bar fare, including veggie options and main course salads, served by very friendly staff in a stylish venue, with an elaborate 19th century ceiling, a curious contemporary chandelier and a kitschy collection of Royal Wedding plates down the stairs to the toilets. Note drinks are available only with meals – the first exception to the general rule in these listings but a well deserved one.
Branches. Currently 15 across London, with another due to open shortly. The nearest alternative in Soho is at 97 Wardour Street W1F 0UD, formerly the Intrepid Fox pub, with additional branches in Charing Cross Road and Covent Garden – see website for full details.
National Rail Charing Cross Underground Piccadilly Circus Cycling LCN+ 6A, 50 Walking Jubilee Walkway
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