Bars & Pubs

Hotel bars | Spirits & cocktails | Real ale & good beer | Historic pubs | Good mixers | Wow factor | Gastropubs

The Rake (© Britta Jaschinski)

Real ale & good beer

Carpenter's Arms
This pub, a short wander from the top of Brick Lane, was once owned by the Krays, but was transformed a few months ago. It's now a lovely little boozer, with a serious commitment to proper ales. Tap talent includes four Dorothy Goodbody ales from Hereford's wonderful Wye Valley Brewery and a pair of Adnams bitters on draught. They pour alongside Germany's Licher Weizen and Früli fruit beer. Fridge-dwelling gems include Schneider Weiss, Paulaner, Duvel, a trio of Chimays and stout from the Brooklyn Brewery in New York. There's also an intimate back room and a heated back garden. The kitchen will be open 'by June'.
When to go As respite from Brick Lane's hordes.
What to have Any of the seasonal draught ales.
Carpenter's Arms, 73 Cheshire St, E2 6EG (020 7739 6342) Liverpool St tube/rail/Bethnal Green tube tube/bus 8.

Florence
Now here’s a genuine free house, with interesting beers and tasting notes with each pump – we recommend Meantime’s Kölner lager. Its proximity to Brockwell Park and Brixton Beach – the Lido – means that the Florence has been colonised by families, but there’s enough space amid its cowhide banquettes, conservatory and seemingly endless beer terrace for everyone to enjoy a visit. And those copper vats aren’t for show: they pump out an above-average bitter called Weasel, brewed on the premises.
When to go Just when you assumed Herne Hill hadn’t much to say for itself.
What to have Whet your whistle with a Weasel.
Florence, 133 Dulwich Rd, SE24 0NG (020 7326 4987) Herne Hill rail or Brixton tube then 37 bus. Feature continues

Harringay Arms
In these times of modern, super-slick-with-all-the-trimmings pubs and bars, the Harringay Arms can seem alarmingly minimalistic – no music, no ‘design’ and no food beyond a few sarnies or a bag of pork scratchings. But it doesn’t matter because there’s simply bloody good beer – with Adnams, Bombardier, Courage Best among the offerings – as well as friendly Irish landlords (so you know the Guinness will be good). Come here to sit philosophically over a drink, read the paper and, above all, enjoy a conversation.
When to go Whenever you’re near.
What to have Chase the ale with fatty bits of fried pork – one of life’s great guilty pleasures.
Harringay Arms, 153 Crouch Hill, N8 9QH (020 8340 4243) Finsbury Park tube/rail then W3, W7 bus, or Crouch Hill rail.

Lamb
Founded in 1729, this Young’s pub is the sort of place that makes you misty-eyed for a vanishing era. The Lamb found fame as a theatrical haunt when the A-list included Sir Henry Irving and stars of music hall; they’re commemorated in vintage photos, surrounded by well-worn seats, much polished wood and a few vintage knick-knacks. Food is of the soak-it-up variety – try the 1729 Celebration Pie – and in summer there’s a patio at the back. Punters range from discerning students to Gray’s Inn barristers, though on our last visit we chatted to a pair of fur-coated old dears three sheets to the wind and happy as Larry (Olivier, perhaps).
When to go When you yearn for the joys of yesteryear.
What to have Young’s Special London Ale is, umm, pretty special.
Lamb, 94 Lamb’s Conduit St, WC1N 3LZ (020 7405 0713) Holborn or Russell Square tube.

Rake
Beer importer and Borough Market stall Utobeer runs this incongruously modest bar, a tiny wooden shed of a room with a big range of beers that would put a Belgian bar to shame. The half-dozen taps are changed every week – you can usually count on Veltins and Sierra Nevada – while in the fridge are beers made from seaweed, mango or heather. Friendly staff will dispense their knowledge, and there are also ciders, perrys, jenevers and schnapps; pork pies and crisps make up the uncomplicated snack list.
When to go After a food forage in Borough Market.
What to have The sublime, citrus-hopped Sierra Nevada Pale Ale from California.
Rake, 14 Winchester Walk, SE1 9AG (020 7407 0557) London Bridge tube/rail.

Royal Oak
This old-fashioned Borough pub is one for the luvvies and lovers of Lewes brewery Harveys, as it’s currently their only London outpost. Its ales from the Sussex stable – Mild, Pale, Old, Best and Armada – all cost under £3. Keg cider includes Thatcher’s Heritage and Weston’s Stowford Press. A felt-tipped menu boasts classics such as game pie, rabbit casserole, Lancashire hotpot and braised lamb shank, all keenly priced. Music hall stars Harry Ray and Flanagan & Allen, here celebrated in framed, hand-bill form, would have tucked into the same decades ago. These days there’s wine too, much to the delight of the eclectic mix of happy punters.
When to go For a pint, a pie and peace and quiet.
What to have Harveys Best – a glorious pint.
Royal Oak, 44 Tabard St, SE1 4JU (020 7357 7173) Borough tube.

Wenlock Arms
From the outside, the Wenlock doesn’t look like much of a pub at all. And to be honest, it doesn’t look like much from the inside either: it’s just a boxy room that hasn’t been much modified in years. The key is the unique mix of people it attracts, and the excellent and ever-changing array of speciality beers served across eight handpumps. This is, first and foremost, a local pub for local people, and you’ll probably end up talking to a table of strangers. It’s at its best on Thursdays when it stages a popular quiz and for its music on Fridays and Saturdays, when veteran jazzers set up in the corner and start a session that almost invariably dissolves into a singalong. A perfect pub, more or less.
When to go When seeing yet another Hoxton fin puts you in a spin.
What to have The seasonal guest ale.
Wenlock Arms, 26 Wenlock Rd, N1 7TA (020 7608 3406/www.wenlock-arms.co.uk) Old St tube/rail then 55 bus.

The White Horse
When the previous landlord dismounted from the White Horse last year, many feared its reputation as one of (if not) the finest beer venues in London would wane. These naysayers needn’t have worried as things have got even better with improved cellar-to-tap technology and a broadening of the beer range. Beer boffins come from far and wide to tuck into a remarkable selection of ales and lagers, with 80 bottled beauties on offer and more than a dozen-strong draught selection – pulled through lines cleaner than a nun’s conscience. In addition to the best of Belgium and some awesome American microbrews, the White Horse showcases the best of British, with eight rotating cask ales including a mild, a porter or stout, and beers seldom seen elsewhere in the capital. Amid grandiose, gin-palace surroundings, the food dishes are each matched with an appropriate brew and – if the sun’s got his hat on – you can reconvene in the beer garden and watch pink-shirted posh Fulham folk do whatever posh folk do. See that? A White Horse review that didn’t refer to its ‘Sloaney Pony’ nickname! Eh? Oh.
When to go Beer o’clock on a summer’s day.
What to have Meantime London Porter. Or a recommended beer and food pairing.
The White Horse, 1-3 Parsons Green, SW6 4UL (020 7736 2115) Parsons Green tube.

Hotel bars | Spirits & cocktails | Real ale & good beer | Historic pubs | Good mixers | Wow factor | Gastropubs