Bars & Pubs

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

The Seven Stars pub in Aldwych (© Britta Jaschinski)

Good mixers

Camino
Whether King’s Cross will be transformed into the epicurean utopia that many are predicting remains to be seen, but more of this kind of thing and, well, you never know… This Iberian bar-restaurant stylishly sidesteps Spanish stereotypes. Straw donkeys and cheap sangria don’t get a look in amid the urban Iberian aesthetic. The spacious bar area breaks out into an outdoor courtyard while the restaurant, around the other side, offers an expanded menu including fish and steaks from the parrilla (charcoal grill). Ingredients and cooking are top-notch. The drinks list alone distinguishes Camino: a short cocktail list that doesn’t over-stretch itself is allied with some wonderful wines (all served by the glass), there’s a trio of sherries drier than a pensioner’s elbow and some choice Cavas too. Lesser-spotted Spanish beers, served in chilled and chunky half-pint glasses, include the magnificent Ambar from Zaragoza, Cruzcampo and the excellent Alhambra. And there’s a duo of delicious Spanish ciders too. Olé, etc.
When to go When you’re in King’s Cross wondering where this alleged regeneration is.
What to have Zythos Cidra, poured Spanish style, is ideal with tapas.
Camino, 3 Varnisher’s Yard, Regents Quarter, N1 9AF (020 7841 7331/www.barcamino.com) King’s Cross tube/rail. Feature continues

Charles Lamb
This local free house is the sort that makes the neighbourhood come alive – from the amicable staff (who seem to know most of the punters) to well chosen wines and ales – Fuller’s Honeydew, Timothy Taylor Landlord and Chiswick Bitter among the ales – and the loveable resident mutt, Mascha, this is a pub for the people. The highbrow, high-spirited clientele tends to arrive in small groups to enjoy the excellent, reasonably priced grub (from exemplary bar snacks to mains such as fish pie). The lovely mint-green central bar – with coffee machine and continuously refilled plate of sausage rolls (£2 each) – is manned by a young and cheerful team. The traditional vibe and the decor (cream walls, wood floors, blackboards, black lacquer tables) evoke a country-in-the-city vibe that’s appealingly fresh in summer and cosy in winter.
When to go If you find Upper Street’s pubs too plebian.
What to have A guest ale.
Charles Lamb, 16 Elia St, N1 8DE (020 7837 5040/www.thecharleslambpub.com) Angel tube.

Duke of Cambridge
The Duke of Cambridge may take itself rather seriously – but it is, after all, Britain’s first certified organic gastropub. Everything from the wines, real ales (some from St Peter’s Brewery), spirits and soft drinks to the produce used in the food is sourced with sustainability as the guide, and additional features include green electricity and an exemplary recycling system. This is a civilised space in which to enjoy top-quality food and drink – although the experience isn’t cheap: £3.40 for a small glass of house white, £13 for a Sunday roast. The glossy blue ceiling, pendant lights, wooden tables, huge windows and retro radiators create an elegant, fresh and relaxed space in which to sip your Freedom organic lager.
When to go After you’ve finished recycling and reducing your carbon footprint.
What to have Shoreditch Stout is a greener Guinness. It’s not green though, it’s black.
Duke of Cambridge, 30 St Peter’s St, N1 8JT (020 7359 3066/www.dukeorganic.co.uk) Angel tube.

Jerusalem Tavern
So faithful are the devotees regularly massing for the Jerusalem’s yeasty brews that some of them seem to think this may well be the promised land itself. In fact, it’s not a historic pub from the Crusades era, but a cunning reproduction dating from the 1990s. Tilting, creaking and uneven, the cosily tatty JT now brims with a rag-tag and decidedly loyal crowd. Behind the bar, seemingly hidden amid the timber divides and occasional raised seating, is a row of barrels, above which a board lists the St Peter’s beers and their ABVs: Suffolk Gold, Grapefruit, Cinnamon & Apple, Organic – the whole range.
When to go When you feel the need ot retreat from the twenty-first century.
What to have St Peter’s Organic Ale.
Jerusalem Tavern, 55 Britton St, EC1M 5UQ (020 7490 4281/www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk) Farringdon tube/rail.

Seven Stars
People pile down to this Aldwych watering hole on weekday evenings, knowing full well they’ll probably be forced to drink on the pavement outside – but they don’t care. It’s a fantastic social hub for London characters, from eccentric lawyers to burlesque babes. The decor is equally eclectic – archive film posters, checked tablecloths and an antique dumb waiter taking food down from the tiny kitchen upstairs. The grub is unpretentious; there are no extensive menus to browse, just a few words chalked on the blackboard. It’s one of the few London pubs where you’re happy to pay £6 for a large glass of burgundy because you know you aren’t being ripped off; the beers are also wonderfully kept, and the house martini is good. It’s higgledy, it’s piggledy, and if you want to go to the toilet you’ll have a nail-biting clamber up some rickety stairs – but at the weekend, when it’s less hectic, this is one of the most perfect pubs in town.
When to go On a weekend. An ideal pre-theatre option.
What to have More than you probably should.
Seven Stars, 53 Carey St, WC2A 2JB (020 7242 8521) Chancery Lane/Holborn/Temple tube.

Vinoteca
Inspired in name and approach by the Italian enoteca (a blend of off-licence and wine bar, with bar snacks thrown in for good measure), Vinoteca is actually more of a gastropub in spirit. It places much greater emphasis on the robust and strictly seasonal food than its European counterparts might. But even if you’re not in the mood for anything more than a plate of bread and olive oil, this place is worth heading to for its impressive 200-bottle wine list, of which a changing range of 19 are available by the glass. All are modestly marked up, making this a fine place to swot up on grape varieties and regions.
When to go After work to share a bottle with a friend.
What to have Wine. Even the loftiest grape expectations will be met.
Vinoteca, 7 St John St (020 7253 8786/www.vinoteca.co.uk) Farringdon tube/rail.

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