London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
Central London: Clerkenwell and Smithfield
St John, London EC1
Bar, restaurant (St John)
26 St John Street EC1M 4AY
T (020) 3301 8069 W stjohnrestaurant.com
Open 1100 (1200 Sun)-2300 (1700 Sun). Children welcome.
Cask beers 3 (Black Sheep, Wadworth, guest), Other beers 4 keg (Meantime), 3 bottles, Also Wines, a few malts, cocktails, real bottled ciders.
Food Well-rated British cooking, bread & tapas. Disabled toilet.
Occasional tastings, functions.
This converted former smokehouse, which once hosted the offices of Marxism Today, will need no introduction to London foodies — since it was opened by Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver in 1994, it’s become one of the most influential eateries in Britain, and has even appeared in international Top 20s. It was in the vanguard of the 1990s movement that rejected French-influenced haute cuisine in favour of a reworked version of British traditional cooking, and traces of its impact are detectable on the vast majority of food conscious pubs in this guide. Just round the corner from Smithfield Market, it makes a big deal of meat, and famously champions eating the parts more squeamish diners avoid, like hearts, tails and offal. Less visceral is its espousal of great bread, with an on site bakery that also offers a takeaway service.
What you might not realise is that St John is also quite a decent place to enjoy a beer. As a traditional British drink closely related to bread, beer fits the profile well and it’s pleasing that Gulliver and Henderson have not neglected it. A reasonably sized bar area sits beside the restaurant, more than just a waiting room for diners where drinkers are welcomed, with its own bar snacks menu including quite substantial items in the house style but at more affordable prices. It’s a whitewashed, stone floored space with a glass roof that reveals its industrial past, but it’s comfortable enough — you’ll find the bakery counter here too, and crisply dressed staff are friendly and informative. The beer selection isn’t huge but it’s well chosen — Black Sheep Bitter, Wadworth 6X and a guest ale, often from Redemption, on cask, Meantime Helles, London Lager, London Pale Ale and a seasonal on keg, and a few bottles from the always admirable Kernel in the fridge, alongside Budvar, the only non-British interloper. Prices are in line with the more expensive pubs.
National Rail Farringdon Underground Farringdon, Barbican Cycling LCN+ 0, 7, 39 Walking Clerkenwell Historic Trail
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