Bars & Pubs

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

Gastropubs
See the winner of 'Best New Gastropub' in the Time Out Eating & Drinking Awards 2008

Brown Dog
There's much to cherish about this gastropub tucked among the cute backstreet cottages on the border between Barnes and East Sheen. A handsome space by day, with its cream wood panelling and retro metal signs, it positively twinkles by night thanks to the warm wooden furniture, polished red ceiling and copper globe lamps above the central bar. The bar divides the smallish space into drinking and dining areas, and there's a back garden for summer lounging. It's upmarket but not stuffy, and the food can be very good (it was runner-up for Best Gastropub in the 2007 Time Out Eating & Drinking Awards). Expect seasonal ingredients and unfussy combinations, whether it's top-notch seafood, a lavish Sunday roast or comforting puds. Dogs (of any colour) are welcome, and there are tables outside.
When to go When eating is as likely as drinking
What to have Adnams Bitter, London Pride or Harveys Sussex Ale
Brown Dog, 28 Cross St, SW13 0AP (020 8392 2200/www.thebrowndog.co.uk) Barnes Bridge rail/bus 11, 19, 22 Feature continues

Cow
The chairs and tables lining the walls of Tom Conran’s small ground-floor pub (with restaurant upstairs) are highly coveted, but priority in the larger rear section is given to diners, who come for the excellent Irish oysters and other scrumptious-looking fruits de mer displayed on crushed ice in a glass cabinet on the bar. Still, a confidently stylish crowd of drinkers, happy to stand, gather close by the bar to enjoy pints of ESB, London Pride and the weekly rotated guest ale. Around ten wines are available by the glass and though the list is international, France is the clear favourite. Novelties such as the little-known French aperitif Byrrh, based on red wine and quinine, also make an appearance.
When to go When you can get a seat.
What to have Something French.
Cow, 89 Westbourne Park Rd (W2 5QH (020 7221 0021/www.thecowlondon.co.uk) Royal Oak or Westbourne Park tube.

Gun
Nelson (Lord Admiral, not Mandela) once drank here; these days, it’s mostly new-school Docklanders with expensive haircuts and perfect table manners, who are happy to pay for quality dishes such as braised shin of beef with parsnip purée or pan-fried lemon sole with new potatoes. There are cocktails (espresso martini, £6.50) and endless wines, as well as Abbot Ale, Adnams Broadside, Young’s, Guinness, Hoegaarden and more on tap. Best of all is the fantastic decked terrace (heated in winter) with views of the O2 and sporadic river traffic. A fine example of gastro as it should be done, but with a good balance between bar and kitchen.
When to go For hair of the dog on the Isle of Dogs.
What to have A fine pint, with a view of the river.
Gun, 27 Coldharbour, E14 9NS, (020 7515 5222/www.thegundocklands.com) Canary Wharf tube/DLR.

Marquess Tavern
It’s rare to find a gastropub that pleases diehard pub enthusiasts and fine dining connoisseurs – but this is it. For each dish, there are imaginative drink recommendations from the extensive list of wines and beers (try black pudding with German lager Köstritzer Schwarzbier, or chocolate pudding with fruit beer Kriek). Cheery, clued-up staff man the horseshoe bar, dispensing 40 beers (with a regularly updated guest beer). There are also 50 whiskies, Weston’s perry on tap, and lovely Bramley and Gage gins and liqueurs.
When to go Sundays. A roast that would make a professional footballer proud.
What to have Celebrate the happy marriage between beer and food with a recommended pairing.
Marquess Tavern, 32 Canonbury St, N1 2TB (020 7354 2975/www.themarquesstavern.co.uk) Angel tube/Highbury & Islington tube/rail.

The Narrow
Gordon Ramsay’s first (and possibly most succeesful) forays into gastropub territory remains well received by Limehouse’s more moneyed residents. There’s plenty of space for actual drinking – the spacious bar, decked out in stylish stripes and greys, makes a fine place to indulge in quality ales (Deuchars IPA, Meantime wheat beer, London Pride) and wines (a Sancerre la Vigne Blanche at £20 a bottle perhaps?). Bottled beers include St Peter’s Organic and Wells’ Banana Bread. There are quality bar snacks (pint of prawns, Scotch egg with HP, traditional ploughman’s) with not a pack of Nobby’s Nuts in sight. The excellent restaurant boasts superb Thames views, as does the sunny beer terrace.
When to go When in Limehouse.
What to have A fine pint while basking in the river views.
The Narrow, 44 Narrow St, E14 8DQ (020 7592 7950/www.gordonramsay.com) Limehouse DLR.

Prince Arthur
Outside this imposing three-storey building large coaching lamps preside over four trestle tables; within, the pub is compact and cosy, beautifully restored in its original Victorian dark wood and green Anaglypta wallpaper. Wrapped round the bows of a sensationally handsome bar, the single room makes no distinction between diners and boozers – take a Pride or Deuchars IPA under the stuffed pheasants, or speculate about the aristo in tights and stuffed jaguar over a saddle of rabbit cassoulet or deep-fried triple jam sandwich with Carnation milk ice-cream. Even the lighting is perfectly pitched: low enough for atmosphere, easily bright enough to read a book. The clientele is a healthy mix of old men, fashionable young Chinese women and middle-aged architects poring over drawings.
When to go When in London Fields.
What to have A pint of draught.
Prince Arthur, 95 Forest Rd, E8 3BH (020 7249 9996/www.theprincearthurlondonfields.com) Hackney Central or London Fields rail.

See the winner of 'Best New Gastropub' in the Time Out Eating & Drinking Awards 2008

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