Acceptable or even GOOD pubs in London city centre?

4.50 for some cans in the young vic theatre bar. that's equivalent to 7.75 a pint!

#worldisgoingtohell #lovingit

it's about 10 mins walk away (by google maps measure, so prob 7 for a human) but the harp on chandos place is prob my favourite pub in london

It wins all sorts of awards as well - I've never quite understood its exalted status but for the area it's certainly a very good one.

The cat with the ruff was called Tom Paine, I think. TBH it did used to freak me out slightly that his catfood was put out on the bar and Roxy the landlady would brush him while he ate it.

It was indeed called Tom Paine. Still, you don't get that in the Draft House.

with the harp it's prob a case of so few good pubs in the area - the service is brilliant too which also puts it way ahead of most london pubs.

Tom Paine one of the stars of

http://www.pubcats.com/

there have been several other beruffed cats at the 7* since Tom Paine. Can't remember what the last one was called. this was about a year ago tho:

http://diasyrmus.tumblr.com/image/100086316322

http://diasyrmus.tumblr.com/image/100086316322

any pubs around holborn that do good food, are informal, and good to hang out in for an hour? i prob take a proper lunchbreak once a week but i would like to be able to read when i do. basically a place to escape being in a chain lunch spot.

i have gone to the lowlander now and again which does a job like this in a kind of weird way, but it's not the cosiest.

If you can get a table, the food at the Seven Stars just off Lincoln's Inn Fields is good, or used to be; haven't been for years.

will investigate, thanks. the volume of people around is crazy but the good places are less busy sometimes. i marvel at people queuing for burger king on kingsway, not because i can't fathom craving some fast food for lunch, i mean if you're hungover or something, but that these people are proudly waiting on the street announcing to the world that they're going to burger king for lunch, rather than finding a spot at the back, shovelling it in, then binning it tray and all and going to confession.

The White Horse on the LSE campus does standard pub grub and is v cosy at lunchtime, it gets heaving after work with thirsty university types though.

The Seven Stars is unique and wonderful but gets insanely crowded due to its size. The food was great last time I went.

The Lady Ottoline up past Theobald's Road has excellent food and never gets especially full, although if you want to be sure of getting a table at lunchtime it's best to book. Might be a bit of a trek from your part of Holborn though.

Otherwise it's not a great part of town for pub food, although the upstairs at the Princess Louise is good for reading in.

I like the Polish bar behind Holborn station too, depends on whether you feel like bison grass vodka and pierogi for lunch I suppose. The Ship is there also, perfectly decent boozer but I have never eaten there.

The Ship is not exactly a good reading pub though, you might get lucky upstairs but downstairs is a really awkward shape. It's so narrow that it tends to feel really crowded even if there aren't many people there, and unbearable if there are. The Seven Stars is a lot smaller but better laid out, especially if you're on your own.

yeah true, quite dark in there also, although I think they did a refurbishment recently which might have improved matters

I'd say you'd be able to get a beer at the Polish bar. Plus, the food is perfect for winter.

oh yes absolutely, a fine range of Polish lagers, Zwiec on tap I believe!

Also I thiiink the Bountiful Cow between Red Lion Square and High Holborn does burgers at lunch. Nearer me, the Queen's Larder in Queen Square is by no means a gastropub, but does have what looks like a nice menu. The Scouser landlady is great (I know her because she is a neighbour who owns a dog) and she pays her staff London Living Wage, so even though I've never been, I'd recommend.

Anywhere nice near Hampstead?

you're really going for the tough assignments this week eh

had a nice drink in the southampton arms down towards tufnell park last week, narrow old-timey place with a good selection on tap and a garden

The Southampton is nice, as are a lot of TP/Kentish boozers, but only an estate agent would describe it as being in Hampstead.

Haven't had a drink in actual Hampstead for years, but I remember the Holly Bush being OK.

The Southampton Arms has a pleasingly rigorous policy on personal comfort, expressed in their refusal to countenance cushions or anything else that might moderate the pain of sitting on their rough-hewn bench seating. It's perfect for the artisanal beardos who go in there dressed as Eric Gill.

I should probably note that I've typed that without any idea of it being true or not. I last went in there about five years ago and enjoyed it. They serve good beer. But I was left with a lingering impression of affected austerity.

Yeah that's their aesthetic. Also has an aunthentic aroma of stale beer and farts on occasion. Still good though.

haven't been for a while but the bull and last, if not too gastroish

joy in austerity is not entirely what i associate with eric gill

xpost Their being cash-only sits well with this.

...has an aunthentic aroma of stale beer and farts...

Should get someone to chalk this up on a board outside the pub.

The Flask is probably a safe Hampstead bet.

Now distracted by the list of pubs in London category on Wikipedia in which some boroughs (all outer ones) have only one pub listed.

tx all for this enlightening discussion. Got a few choices to go with.

xp "Joy" has nothing to do with it.

It's an overgeneralization, but my instinctive response whenever this thread title bobs back up to the top is lmao, no

There are some good ones, but wander into a random pub in zone 1 and chances are it's going to be really really shit.

I really like the Spaniard's Inn, it's a bit of a trek, right up at the top of Hampstead Heath mind. But good for an after-heath pint.

The Hollybush is marvellous. The Flask is also very pleasant on a sunny day but likely to be mobbed with pushchairs as often as not. The real Hampstead gem is the Duke of Hamilton, nice old boozer, snug and characterful and very comfortable. It had a theatre upstairs although that ominously appears to have reopened as the 'Hampstead Lounge & Jazz Club', but hopefully they haven't fucked with the pub itself too much.

I think I actually hate the Southampton Arms, excellent beer selection obviously but it's too narrow for the kind of crowd it draws, generally uncomfortable and the management always give the impression of being complete pricks.

You're right about the size, but I've never had a problem with the staff. Crowd generally friendly too IME. I've not drunk there in the 2 years since I moved to Hackney, though.

Me neither? When I lived in Hampstead I liked The Well at the residential end of Flask Walk/corner of Well Walk. Bull and Last is probably my favourite pub bordering any part of the Heath.

It's an overgeneralization, but my instinctive response whenever this thread title bobs back up to the top is lmao, no

there are loads actually, you just need to know them which takes a bit of time/effort. weirdly the kings cross/bloomsbury area is particularly good - i have a lecture each wednesday night on grays inn road, if i'm early i go into the queen's head, after class we go to the harrison. the norfolk arms is also nice.

This is always useful: http://london.randomness.org.uk/wiki.cgi?action=index;format=map;cat=good%20beer%20guide

i have a lecture each wednesday night on grays inn road, if i'm early i go into the queen's head, after class we go to the harrison. the norfolk arms is also nice.

The Calthorpe Arms is worth adding to that list, still feels like a proper local even now.

this is probably a long shot, especially at this time of year if the weather is good, but are there any pubs nearish Liverpool St that will be:

a) fairly quiet on a Friday night (!) - i.e. not packed and music not booming loud
b) dog-friendly

I'm supposed to be meeting up with one of my best friends who I haven't seen for 6 months and we live on opposite sides of London, so London is the best place for us to meet up without one of us having a long train journey, but my friend's husband is out of town this weekend and their dog gets anxious if she's left at home alone. we might just reschedule but both of us are busy at the moment and this Friday was the only day we could both do for several weeks

Maybe try the dear old Artillery Arms? I don't think you'll find anywhere particularly quiet around there, not that I know of, anyway. If I were you I'd be hoping the weather's good because that will draw a bunch of people out onto the street to complement their Friday night beer with the fine bouquet of taxi fumes.

I was about to recommend The Water Poet because I know I've seen dogs there (the front might be quiet enough) but it's closed permanently. Boooo!

Pride of Spitalfields

I was wondering if they let dogs in Pride since they have cat(s). And it's pretty small inside.

I would also say meet at Bedales Wine in Spitalfields Market. The have seating outside the main store in the part that should allow dogs.

The Artillery Arms is really close to where I work, so that would be a plus, except I'm working from home that day and coming into London after work, but I know where it is so that is an advantage for me at least

thanks all

You probably know better than I do about how rammed it gets on a Friday night, in that case; whatpub says the Artillery's dog friendly for whatever that's worth. I haven't been to Spitalfields on a Friday in ages, and that's partly because my perception is that everywhere gets unpleasantly busy unnecessarily early.)

not really, I never go there, and I usually work from home on Fridays! but there is another pub closer to my office that I have been to on Fridays that is usually not that busy so we can always go there if the Artillery is no good

Any nice pubs around Blackfriars?