Recommendations for top London pubs?

Discussion in 'British Isles' started by ghostwalker, Aug 10, 2012.

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  1. ghostwalker

    ghostwalker Pundit (949) Sep 3, 2005 Illinois

    I'm just getting ready to visit London for a week of post-Olympic tourism. I'm very interested in visiting more than a couple of traditional pubs for some real ale and top notch pub grub.

    Here are a few questions for the London BAs:

    Any suggestions for pubs in the Tower Bridge area? Looking for my local with this one.

    Sounds like the Old Thameside is pretty close by, any personal recommendations there?

    Can I bring my kids (10, 12 years old) in with me for food (for all) and a few brews (for me)? I hear differing reports on this one, hence the question.

    Best Fuller's pub?
    Best Young's pub?
    Best stop for Taylor's Landlord?
    Number one don't miss pub for all of London?

    I know I can always use BeerFly for this, (and I already have), but I am interested in responses from locals here. Also, BeerFly reviews can be old info, sometimes...

    One more side question: Best Curry Restaurant close to the Tower?

    Thanks for any info that you care to pass on. If you ever visit Boston, Beermail me and I'll be happy to return the favor.

    Cheers!
     
  2. Darwin553

    Darwin553 Initiate (0) Jan 5, 2009 Australia

    Most pubs will say no and for good reason...too much of a disturbance to patrons, nothing on the food menu etc...you can always bring them to a wetherspoons (generic name but trades under different names) as they are basically everwhere just look for the pub that has the prices out front.


    No 1 pub that you can't miss? Well I am biased as it was my local: The Cask: Pub and Kitchen in Pimlico. And it isn't too far away from Tower Bridge, if you catch the tube that is :wink:
     
  3. CwrwAmByth

    CwrwAmByth Initiate (0) Jan 24, 2011 England

    Find a pub next to a maccy d and shove the kids in there for a few hours.

    For Fullers i'd recommend the one next to the brewery, can't remember the name though, it has a solid range plus food, plus you can always nip next door for a brewery tour and the brewery shop. Just a short walk from Turnham Green station (District Line westbound from Tower Hill, turn left out of the station, walk down to the end of that road and take another left onto Chiswick High Road, walk down a bit more and go right onto Chiswick Lane and walk down that until you get to the big A road, then go under the road and you're there).
     
  4. deeblo

    deeblo Devotee (389) Dec 17, 2011 Antarctica
    Trader

    Either Cask Pub and Kitchen in Pimlico or its sister pub Craft Beer Co in Clerkenwell. Cask serves food, Craft just has bar snacks, but I've never seen kids in either.

    The Kernel brewery is pretty close to Tower Bridge. I'd recommend stopping by on a Saturday morning/afternoon if you can.
     
  5. ghostwalker

    ghostwalker Pundit (949) Sep 3, 2005 Illinois

    Excellent, the Cask and the Kernel Brewery are both going to be musts. How about the Rake? It seems to be rather new, for London, but what I'm reading online sounds pretty interesting.
     
  6. patto1ro

    patto1ro Pooh-Bah (1,998) Apr 26, 2004 Netherlands
    Pooh-Bah Society

    You shouldn't miss the Royal Oak (44 Tabard Street) which isn't that far from Kernel. It's a lovely Harvey's pub that sells a good range of their beers, including cask Mild.

    As for Taylor's Landlord, the Gunmakers at 13 Eyre Street Hill, Clerkenwell usually has in excellent condition. And close by you've got the Old Mitre, a lovely old pub now owned by Fullers but also selling other breweries' beers.

    The Fullers brewery tap, BTW, is called the Mawson Arms. The beer is usually in excellent ciondtion there. It would need to be, as the brewers regularly drink in there.

    If you're after beautiful pubs, there's the Black Friar (174 Queen Victoria Street) which has an amazing art deco interior. Also the Argyll Arms (18 Argyll Street, just around the back of Oxford Circus tube) it's one of the few pubs to retain all its wood and etched glass partitions. The bar is divided up into a series of little booths, each with their own little piece of bar. And, if you've got your kids in tow, they are allowed in the upstairs room ro eat.
     
  7. CwrwAmByth

    CwrwAmByth Initiate (0) Jan 24, 2011 England

    Fixed, based on what was going on when I was there.
     
  8. patto1ro

    patto1ro Pooh-Bah (1,998) Apr 26, 2004 Netherlands
    Pooh-Bah Society

    The brewers most definitely don't drink those. John Keeling drinks Chiswick. Derek Prentice drinks various different cask beers.
     
  9. Ruds

    Ruds Initiate (0) Sep 15, 2008 England

    Yeah - I pop by the Mawsons on a Friday afternoon once a few months

    You tend to find a 50/50 split in terms of workers drinking their own products vs Strongbow/Lager

    Usually the men in suits are on the real and the lads in overalls on the fizz ... with some variation of course!
     
  10. CwrwAmByth

    CwrwAmByth Initiate (0) Jan 24, 2011 England

    Must have been staff from a different fullers brewery then.
     
  11. patto1ro

    patto1ro Pooh-Bah (1,998) Apr 26, 2004 Netherlands
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I've drunk with the brewers many times in the Mawson's. Not a pint of Lager or cider amongst them.
     
  12. CwrwAmByth

    CwrwAmByth Initiate (0) Jan 24, 2011 England

    Like I said, must be staff from a different brewery named Fullers then.
     
  13. Kinsman

    Kinsman Maven (1,433) Aug 26, 2009 Nevada

    I'll +1 the Black Friars recommendation for it's unique/beautiful interior. Beer wasn't bad either. Started chatting with a Canadian fellow in the Olde Mitre while I was there and he brought me down there afterward to show me around. I'm glad he did as it turned into quite a fun evening. Still amazed with myself as a drunk American tourist I managed to find my way back to my friends flat at the end of the night.

    Another pub worth visiting thats not too far from Tower Bridge is the Market Porter, just across from Borough Market. It's a beautiful market to visit as well, and their is a bottle shop inside the market if you're interested.

    Since you're bringing your kids along, I would highly recommend taking a boat ride down the river to Greenwich for a day. Great place to walk around and to take the obligatory shot straddling the prime meridian and the museum there was pretty kid-friendly. Greenwich Union is a short walk away and is a good place to grab lunch and get fresh Meantime beers. I didn't have kids with me but I'm guessing they would be kid friendly, especially during the lunch hour.
     
  14. deeblo

    deeblo Devotee (389) Dec 17, 2011 Antarctica
    Trader

    The Rake is worth checking out. It's pretty small but has a good selection. They have a bunch of bottles and update their cask/keg list daily: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rake/147286531966639.
     
  15. surfadelic23

    surfadelic23 Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2005 Florida

    Check on the Harp on Chandos Place...Pommelers In Bermondsey is a few minutes from tower bridge, has a good beer selection, is a whetherspoons (check if they're having a festival...the whole chain that is)...Love the Rake, small but nice... LOve black friars... extrordinary interior and had TTLL+ 4 other ales when I was there last (YMMV)... Barrow Boy and Banker right off London Bridge is a converted bank that's a Fuller's House... Usually has the whole line on and saves a trip to Chiswick...For Fullers, I'm partial to the Churchill Arms (do good thai food) and The Victoria over by lancaster gate's nice...Killer Indian restaurant across from it too! Cask in Pimlico is awesome very modern feeling though...

    :-) Will be in Boston in September, what are your top 10 pubs/beer bars? Will be there two nights...
     
  16. patto1ro

    patto1ro Pooh-Bah (1,998) Apr 26, 2004 Netherlands
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Deep Ellum. Great place.
     
  17. surfadelic23

    surfadelic23 Initiate (0) Aug 25, 2005 Florida

    thanks. Will do...
     
  18. reprob8

    reprob8 Initiate (0) May 22, 2008 England

    but you said BREWERS, not staff. And I can confirm the Brewers always drink cask.
     
  19. CwrwAmByth

    CwrwAmByth Initiate (0) Jan 24, 2011 England

    Must be a different brewery named Fullers then.
     
  20. kelvarnsen

    kelvarnsen Pundit (944) Nov 30, 2011 Canada (ON)

    Local people might have more information, but when I was in London and we were near tower bridge we went to the anchor tap and I really liked it. It was a Samuel Smith pub and they had a really good range of their beers. The prices for everything (beer and food) were also probably the most reasonable we had when we were there. Plus it was cool because the pub was like a bunch of little connected rooms, and it also had an outside drinking area.
     
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