The Jerusalem Tavern

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3/5  rDev -25%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | $$$

Visited for the first and probably the last time on a damp Monday lunchtime in July 2008. Maybe the weather, day and time was all wrong, but this bar didn't 'float my boat' at all.

Only two other customers on our arrival, two more couples arrived as I drank a warm pint of bitter.

The barman didn't want to talk or listen, even though the place was clearly not busy. He poured the beer OK, but wasn't interested in the pleasantries of the day.

Grubby fake walls, pretend aged wood and floors don't do it for me. I prefer the real thing. My wife even questioned why we had made the effort to find the place. She loves St Peters beers and we have visited the brewery and Old Hall many times, this place however didn't live up to its billing.

07-09-2008 16:40:04 | More by BlackHaddock

GreenCard

Oregon

3.45/5  rDev -13.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | $$

This pub is near where I currently work, but I haven't tried it until recently, a pub-outing with some of my coworkers after work. We had planned to stay there all evening, so three of us headed over at 4:45 in the afternoon so we could secure a table. As others have mentioned, the place gets really crowded after about 5:30, even on a Wednesday. Got ourselves the big table in the back and a pint each of the scrumptious cask Organic Best Bitter. Two more of our coworkers arrived. Things were looking good. Then one of the bar staff came over to tell us "Sorry this table has just been reserved for 5:30". This was after we had given up a smaller table at the front so that we could have the bigger one. So, apparently a table can be reserved out from under you by someone calling in. Why they permit people to book a table that is already occupied, I don't know, but it was not cool. We called the remaining two coworkers to let them know we were changing the "venue", finished our beers, and got up to leave. As we were leaving, the people who had reserved the table told us we could keep it because they had ended up getting a table at the front that they liked. A little late for that. We didn't feel like handing over our money to a pub that had ousted us like that. It's a shame because they have great beer, which they serve at the perfect temperature and freshness. The ambience is cozy and the music not loud (if there is any). I imagine I'll probably go back at some point, despite the above experience, but I'll definitely ask them about the table reservation policy because why make the effort to go early to secure a table when you can just as easily call in to reserve it?

04-09-2006 11:15:25 | More by GreenCard

John_Henry

Japan

3.73/5  rDev -6.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

The Jerusalem Tavern posses as a historic London pub. Whilst it pulls this image and atmosphere off fairly well, it is actually only fairly recently been converted. Basically If you like St Peters then drop in, you'll love it. Also worth popping by if your in the area, as I often do. But if your not a St Peters fan then give it a miss.

05-03-2013 19:47:11 | More by John_Henry

BeerHonky

New York

3.79/5  rDev -5.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | $$

This is a great little pub. Extremely cozy and warm environment on the inside. Lots of small groups having calm quiet conversations over a few pints. The staff was extremely helpful and happy to serve my girlfriend and I, even though we walked in aout a half hour before last call. And as mentioned earlier, the only beer you will find here is St. Peter's. They do also have a small selection of liquor if necessary. Its not necessarily a bad thing that the only beer they serve is St. Peter's, because usually they have a wide selection of the brewery's offerings, I'd say 10-15 different brews which are all usually pretty different in style. If I lived in the area of this pub it would certainly become a favorite weekday spot.

11-24-2006 08:28:25 | More by BeerHonky

TheLongBeachBum

California

3.86/5  rDev -3.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | $$

The 4th stop on a superb Friday evening pub crawl of the City of London. After stops at two previous historic taverns with local BA’s LondonPorter and RichLightWeight, recently bolstered by the addition of another local BA wI0307 at the third stop, we were soon on our way to the Jerusalem Tavern, the home of St. Peter’s Brewery and their fine Suffolk Ales in London.

Staid and rather down beat frontage which has a Georgian feel. Large full size leaded paned windows sit either side of the centrally located entranceway. A pair of wooden Doric columns straddles the exterior frontage, these are painted dark brown, as indeed is the wooden façade they support which spans across the windows and doors. Has the words; ‘The Jerusalem Tavern Anno. 1720’ across the front in gold lettering.

Now I have to say here, that I find the exterior sign to be rather tenuous at best, misleading at worst, and I am sure that is purely intentional. The building itself may date from 1720, but it has only been a Pub since the mid 1990’s; previously it was a dwelling and even had time (pardon the pun) as a watchmakers. There have been other Jerusalem Taverns in the area since the 14th Century, and this establishment carries that torch, but this has not been a Tavern since 1720 as the sign may indirectly promote, though I can understand why some may think that.

That said, once past the small seated area outside and inside, the interior certainly lends a strong feel of times past. Lots of dark unstained woods fill and decorate the cramped interior. Uneven floors and wonky fittings blend well with the diffused lighting and pale pastel walls to lend a feeling of history. The overall décor is almost minimalist in its simplicity. The single main long rectangular room is cleverly divided into a front and back area, with individual booths and annexed areas left to right. The bar is incredibly small, set mid distance as you walk down the interior and to your right; it sits opposite a raised area so standing room is very limited when getting served and it be an elbow fest at times.

Beer range is all St. Peter’s, and includes a mixture of their traditional interpretations of familiar styles interspersed with many of their famously fruity concoctions that would not be amiss in a Body Shop. Five draft beers are served from pseudo storage tanks that do not actually contain any beer it seems, moreover they are dispensed by electric pumps from the cellars via those nifty keg-like flip taps, but it’s all real beer. Sadly during my visit the range was very limited, only a couple of draft beers and even the bottled beers were depleted it seemed. Nevertheless, I managed a Pint of the grapefruit beer and it was a subtle brew that charmed and certainly quenched the thirst as we stood outside along with a thronging mass of fellow imbibers. In fact the beer was so good RichLightWeight got all excited and decided to throw his empty glass on the floor in celebration.

Service seemed actually quite good and very attentive, especially given the time of our visit on a very busy Friday evening. The quality of the beer was also very good. Food is talked up but I never partook of any, being far too busy pub crawling it seems, not that there was any space to sit down anyways.

Overall, this is a lovely Pub, sympathetically created from a seemingly previously unspoilt building that would be a pleasure to return to, at least during quieter times before the Offices kick out the local workers. Clearly this place is a victim of its own success and it can be a squeeze to get in here at times, never mind get served it seems. But it is worth the hassle at busier times just to get to sample the St Peter’s beers.

Last Visit: Friday 23rd June, 2006.

07-02-2006 04:55:51 | More by TheLongBeachBum

jvdineen

Massachusetts

3.93/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

"The St. Peter's" pub in London. They have the whole line of St. Peter's on cask as well as the whole line of Plymouth gin as well.

This is a little bit of a walk from the Farringdon stop on the tube.The Circle, Hammersmith, and Central lines get you there. The Jerusalem is situatued halfway down a non-residential street in a very non-residential neighborhood.

Extremely small but I guess people were a lot smaller back in 1721.

Sept (2005) their lager/pilsner of choice was Radeberger.

Worth the little bit of a jaunt out there. I wished they were serving dinner. They're a lunch only place.

02-06-2006 18:29:59 | More by jvdineen

Clembo1957

United Kingdom (England)

4/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5

Tucked away in a side street not far from Farringdon Station The Jerusalem is well worth a visit. The pub is tiny and it's difficult to find somewhere to stand let alone a table to sit during busy evenings. The pub carries the range of St Peter's Beers with up to 6 being served via gravity dispense. The clientele varies depending on the time of day you visit with lunchtimes and late afternoon being popular with business men (and business women). The pub has a good range of bottled beers. Beer quality is normally good but can be variable at times.

04-26-2004 20:53:48 | More by Clembo1957

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

4.16/5  rDev +4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | $$

The visit took place on a quiet afternoon, so it wasn't crowded as it could get during the lunchtime or after 5:30pm. Pushing open the semi-dysfunctional front door of the pub, the view is more like a chic tea-room to me. The bright front room has primitive/simplistic wall-paints and some old wooden tables+wooden benches attached to the walls. A genuine, old fireplace works well to warm the customers, literally and metaphorically.

The inner room, where the bar is, is dimmer, and has several semi-detached sitting areas plus a small and interesting "indoor balcony" facing the bar. The bar serves St. Peter's usual range, all five of them, on draught, but not from the handpumps~~ Instead, several intriguing barrel-shaped containers fitted horizontally in the wall behind the bar serve the beers on tap, making one feel the beers are freshly poured by gravity on stillage as in some countryside pubs~~ But actually, after enquiry, they're merely decorations, and the casks downstairs in the cellar pump out the beer through a special pressure system~~ Yet the special design gives the pub a smart feature as well as larger space by the bar. BTW, all the beers are on form, fresh and nice, and you don't get St. Peter's beers on draught that often, mind you...

The clientele is basically local office-workers and some tourists like me, but the service is indiscriminately friendly and efficient. The barman knows his house beers, and offers good recommendations as well as generous tasting to curious punters. All in all, I like this pub, it's got characters and quality, but you can't enjoy yourself fully during the rush hours--it gets horribly smoky and crowded...

04-06-2006 15:33:51 | More by wl0307

willgro

Texas

4.2/5  rDev +5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

this place is really cool. I would definitely go back. aside from the typical brits that can be a bit rude, i had a great time. it is in the middle of noowhere and can be a bit hard to find, but is well worth it. the people inside are warm and the beers here are great examples of british and european brews. my friend jeremy and i drank here and had a blast. they have MGD on tap, which is usually a bad sign, but in this case, ignore it. the beers in the bottle are great and so are the people. A must visit

12-26-2005 02:43:16 | More by willgro

rbowser

New Hampshire

4.29/5  rDev +7.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

There are only two places I have visited in London that just will not get out of my head and this is one of them. I am not sure entriely why. It is a great friendly pub, it is housed in a old space and no one seems to care the decor is not updated, it is friendly and feels local, they do have one of my favorite English Breweries products (St. Peters) on tap exclusively, and it also is in my favorite neighborhood - Clerkenwell. All that helps, but like all good bars, this has some blend of positive energy and vibe that is hard to describe and makes you really just want to stay a little longer and have another great St. Peter's beer.

They usually have 2-3 bitters, and a Porter, and a Stout, and a couple of others. I belive it is one of the few places in London to sample St. Peter's beers and certainlyh the only one I found. The service was good given that the place was crowded as it was just after all the office workers hit the pubs.

Take the tube to Farringdon and walk up to the pub. If it very close, maybe 1/2 mile from the tube. If it is nice weather, stand outside, and have a pint. Talk to some locals. In fact, try out the whole St. Peters line. I don't think you will regret it.

11-05-2007 05:31:49 | More by rbowser