Acceptable or even GOOD pubs in London city centre?

Rising Sun by Smithfields is a good Sam Smiths pub round the Farringdon area.

Oooh this looks like a good one.

The Gate is a horrible pub.

sam smiths pubs = good
sam smiths beer = piss and vinegar

can't believe we have gone over 100 posts without me mentioning this very important fact.

The Intrepid Fox was WAY better when it used to be a grotty but very friendly lesbian bar.

Your discerning metallers go to Crobar these days. We almost got The Lex in there once, happy times.

Argh, is the Crobar that awful place off Charing Cross Road where all the Terrorizer staff drink? Lex is totally right not to go in there!

This thread is knowledge.

WORD

Oddly i was just about to revive a pub thread to find a boozer near the Shaftesbury Theatre (Hairspray's on) that serves food and is up-from-Surrey parent-friendly.

But on this showing, I think The Cross Keys might just fit the bill! Any more ideas?

sam smiths pubs = good
sam smiths beer = piss and vinegar

Agree re. bitter, but the lager and wheatbeer are both very good. Haven't tried the stout.

Cider not great. But beggars can't be etc.

Their stout is not as good as Guinness but compares favourably to Caffrey's and Beamish.

I think you get more than you pay for. Which is pished for less than a tenner.

^ word

You don't get a fat jolly German man in a box any more so the shark has been jumped as far as I'm concerned.

I'm sure the Fitzroy still has a fat jolly German man in a box

the lord hood in soho is best. just down the street from phonica. it's a sammy smiths pub, so drinks are cheap

He's getting increasingly less jolly the longer they keep him there, though.

xpost

what is the smallest pub (NOT bar) in zone 1?

I'd like to say the mitre but I'm not sure how far it goes.

My vote would be for the Jerusalem, as mentioned upthread. The Mitre has a fairly extensive upstairs area IIRC.

The Seven Stars is pretty tiny. The Nag's Head is miniscule as well.

I have been to too many pubs.

Coach & Horses in Mayfair looks fiendishly titchy: http://www.fancyapint.com/pubs/pub401.html

I have been to too many pubs.

Not humanly possible.

the lord hood is only coming up as a pub in greenwich, is it definitely called that? that'd suit as I know my friend knows where Phonica is!

the answer may well be somewhere in the bad lands west of regent's street, lots of one room pubs over there.

I'm going to the Shakespeare in Stoke Newington this evening :-) my favourite pub in everyone's favourite wanky middle class Hackney enclave!

Fucking expensive these days

Borne and Hollingsworth is pretty darn small.

Lots of those "small pubs" (e.g. the Mitre) have upstairs areas which are bigger.

The Mayfair Coach & Horses isn't actually that small when you get in there.

I have been to the Lord Hood in Greenwich. It's like Phoenix Nights. They have a middle-aged peroxide female DJ called Barbara, and above the decks the word 'Barbara' scrolls across in red lighting with hearts on either side.

the one up the road from phonica would be the star and garter or the john snow?

I think Rio means the John Snow, not the Lord Hood. It's as good a place to meet as any. Lots of room, food, cheap beer. No music though.

They have a middle-aged peroxide female DJ called Barbara, and above the decks the word 'Barbara' scrolls across in red lighting with hearts on either side.

shit...do you know if she's single?

I can't think of one smaller than the King Charles IV.

i guess the C&H looks smaller from the outside because it's quite detached and distinct

otoh The Ship in Fitzrovia (if it's the one i'm thinking of) seems smaller inside than out. did like that one the one time i went there tho.

i like the lord john russell, in russell square

That benches set up in the LJR always annoyed me tho

isn't the tottenham (ONLY PUB ON OXFORD STREET) very small too? (or does it just seem small because 9892382 people are there?)

i had a really good time once at the pub that's just up from lord john russell. mabel's tavern?

very friendly people. and very warm around xmas time

The Tottenham isn't small (I wandered in there recently before wandering out), but the football team is knackers

Mabel's table! yes! Love.

the tottenham's not huge but not really tiny either, and has an extensive downstairs.

You don't get a fat jolly German man in a box any more so the shark has been jumped as far as I'm concerned.

― Matt DC, Thursday, 2 October 2008 14:57

i thought this until i discovered their Nut Brown Ale (in bottles) and now my commitment is restored. plus, their Pure Brewed Lager's veh nahce.

nut brown ale, while nice, negates the whole point of going to sam smiths in the first place with its price tag of like £3.60 or whatever headfuck price it is at.

Can never read the phrase "nut brown ale" without thinking of Tommy Vance. Pour one out:

yes, nbr (as i like to call it) is hella pricey, tis true. but it's either that or their LAME "draught" bitter...

what is the smallest pub (NOT bar) in zone 1?

The Rugby Tavern on Rugby Street is pretty small, if you don't count the upstairs (which is usually used for private functions anyway).

Dublin pwns London for small pubs.

There is NO WAY the Rugby Tavern is the smallest in zone 1, it's pretty much standard pub size.

Anyway, several places on the Internet confirm it's The Feathers. Maybe we should FAP there and actually take over an entire pub for once.

everything in Dublin is smaller than in London tho.