I'm visiting London this summer, and intend to do some serious pubcrawling.
I need suggestions for the top 10 pubs of London (zone 1-6). Some are pretty
obvious, such as the Wenlock Arms/Royal Oak/Priory Arms, but are there any
hidden gems out there? The pubs mentioned are good examples of the sort of
pubs I'm after.

Are there still pubs in London with outside toilets, or are those days gone?

On 22 Apr 2005 13:19:41 +0100, Bard O Haland wrote:


> I'm visiting London this summer, and intend to do some serious pubcrawling.
> I need suggestions for the top 10 pubs of London (zone 1-6). Some are pretty
> obvious, such as the Wenlock Arms/Royal Oak/Priory Arms, but are there any
> hidden gems out there? The pubs mentioned are good examples of the sort of
> pubs I'm after.
> 
> Are there still pubs in London with outside toilets, or are those days gone?


Any list is going to be very subjective of course, but a good place to
start would be CAMRA's National Inventory of pubs of historic interest
http://www.camra.org.uk/SHWebClass.asp?WCI=ShowCat&CatId=317

Can't help you with the outside toilets though.  It's not a feature I go
loking for! :)
-- 
Cliff Laine, The Old Lard Factory, Lancaster  http://www.loobynet.com
* remove any trace of rudeness before you reply *

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using words well is a social virtue.  Use 'fortuitous' once more to
mean 'fortunate' and you move an English word another step towards
the dustbin.  If your mistake took hold, no one who valued clarity
would be able to use the word again.

   John Whale

In article , 
any.trace.of.rudeness.loobyloo@loobynet.com says...

> On 22 Apr 2005 13:19:41 +0100, Bard O Haland wrote:
> 
> > I'm visiting London this summer, and intend to do some serious pubcrawling.
> > I need suggestions for the top 10 pubs of London (zone 1-6). Some are pretty
> > obvious, such as the Wenlock Arms/Royal Oak/Priory Arms, but are there any
> > hidden gems out there? The pubs mentioned are good examples of the sort of
> > pubs I'm after.
> > 
> > Are there still pubs in London with outside toilets, or are those days gone?
> 
> Any list is going to be very subjective of course, but a good place to
> start would be CAMRA's National Inventory of pubs of historic interest
> http://www.camra.org.uk/SHWebClass.asp?WCI=ShowCat&CatId=317
> 

Unfortunately the National Inventory doesn't really take account of beer 
quality. The Kings Arms in Hanwell is in the Inventory, but I wouldn't 
drink there unless I was exceptionally thirsty.

While talking of West London I should mention the Red Lion in Ealing 
(historic links with Ealing Studios) and The Fox in Hanwell (classic 
canalside free house). Both have been voted pub of the year by the local 
CAMRA branch on several occasions.

Cheers,

Martin

On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 14:28:52 +0100, Martin wrote:


>> 
> Unfortunately the National Inventory doesn't really take account of beer 
> quality. The Kings Arms in Hanwell is in the Inventory, but I wouldn't 
> drink there unless I was exceptionally thirsty.


That's a good point, which reminds me of an awful pint I had in The
Tottenham at Oxford Circus once.  Wonderful unique C19th tiling and mirrors
it may be, but the beer - ugh!

Two I gravitate towards if I'm in London (with good beer, last time I
looked) are:

The Barley Mow, Dorset St (off Baker Street)
http://www.pubs.com/barlw1.htm
There are some very unusual late C18th private boxes adjoining the bar,
which were used for pawnbroking.} The pub's more or less unaltered since
the days when agricultural workers would come in from the surrounding
fields for a drink.  They've banned smoking in the main bar (which may or
may not be a good thing to you.)

Kings Arms, Roupell St. SE1 (behind Waterloo station)
http://www.pubs.com/kingse1.htm
It's in a gorgeous looking street of early C18th houses, and is a former
funeral parlour!  Lovely atmosphere.  Only Pedigree and Adnmans, but
well-kept.

-- 
Cliff Laine, The Old Lard Factory, Lancaster  http://www.loobynet.com
* remove any trace of rudeness before you reply *
------------------------------------------------------------------
They want only to look at nude pictures, go to football matches, 
have a few pints and go to sleep.

  Abu Hamza on the English

On 22 Apr 2005 13:19:41 +0100, "Bard O Haland" 
wrote:


>I'm visiting London this summer, and intend to do some serious pubcrawling.
>I need suggestions for the top 10 pubs of London (zone 1-6). Some are pretty
>obvious, such as the Wenlock Arms/Royal Oak/Priory Arms, but are there any
>hidden gems out there? The pubs mentioned are good examples of the sort of
>pubs I'm after.


Not exaclty hidden, but the Market Porter, Borough Market?


>Are there still pubs in London with outside toilets, or are those days gone?


The George near London Bridge has toilets across a yard from the pub.
Not open air, though.

-- 
Arthur Figgis                Surrey, UK

On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 20:47:56 +0100, Arthur Figgis wrote:


> 
> The George near London Bridge has toilets across a yard from the pub.
> Not open air, though.


Are you sure?  I stand to be corrected, but isn't that the large Tudor-ish
looking pub in a courtyard, with some sort of horrible plate glass offices
on one side and the galleried pub on the other?  If that's the one, then
it's definitely open air, or the square is in the middle anyway.

-- 
Cliff Laine, The Old Lard Factory, Lancaster  http://www.loobynet.com
* remove any trace of rudeness before you reply *
------------------------------------------------------------------
They want only to look at nude pictures, go to football matches, 
have a few pints and go to sleep.

  Abu Hamza on the English

The Dog and Duck on Frith Street and the Pillars of Hercules on Greek
Street, both in Soho near Tottenham Court Road tube station. They're
only a stone's throw apart and you've got an exceptionally strong
chance of an exceptional pint. D&D always serves Landlord.

In message , loobyloo 
 writes


>That's a good point, which reminds me of an awful pint I had in The
>Tottenham at Oxford Circus once.  Wonderful unique C19th tiling and mirrors
>it may be, but the beer - ugh!


The Tottenham is almost at the far end of Oxford Street (east) from 
Oxford Circus.

The OP could check out Beer in the Evening, though not many of its top 
40 are in London.
<http://www.beerintheevening.com/>

-- 
congokid
Good restaurants in London? Number one on Google
http://congokid.com

On Sat, 23 Apr 2005 20:38:41 +0100, congokid wrote:


> In message , loobyloo 
>  writes
> 
>>That's a good point, which reminds me of an awful pint I had in The
>>Tottenham at Oxford Circus once.  Wonderful unique C19th tiling and mirrors
>>it may be, but the beer - ugh!
> 
> The Tottenham is almost at the far end of Oxford Street (east) from 
> Oxford Circus.


Sorry - my mistake.  You're right, it's just near Centre Point.

-- 
Cliff Laine, The Old Lard Factory, Lancaster  http://www.loobynet.com
* remove any trace of rudeness before you reply *
------------------------------------------------------------------
They want only to look at nude pictures, go to football matches, 
have a few pints and go to sleep.

  Abu Hamza on the English

Well - we probably have something useful for you - developed for 
real-ale-pubcrawls in London:
http://home.online.no/~realale/Home.htm  Choose "Lists". Publist will give 
information where to (probably) find drinkable beer, and pubs of historic 
interest.

This is a Norwegian site under construction. The most under-developed right 
now is the language of the travelreports - but I think you will have no 
problem.

To your question: There are a lot of gems out there. Be sure to define what 
type of gems you are looking for.
English breakfast at 8AM with a well-kept Adnams Best Bitter in nice 
surroundings is a rare gem - in our eyes.

Happy crawling!

"Bard O Haland"  skrev i melding 
news:4268ddcd$1@news.wineasy.se...

> I'm visiting London this summer, and intend to do some serious 
> pubcrawling.
> I need suggestions for the top 10 pubs of London (zone 1-6). Some are 
> pretty
> obvious, such as the Wenlock Arms/Royal Oak/Priory Arms, but are there any
> hidden gems out there? The pubs mentioned are good examples of the sort of
> pubs I'm after.
>
> Are there still pubs in London with outside toilets, or are those days 
> gone?
>
> 

The Duke of Hamilton in Hampstead has toilets that you have to venture 3 
steps outside to get to.... Its also a pretty good pub serving some 
excellent Fullers (tho not one of their establishments) and a guest capped 
at 2.10 a pint. Hampstead has a number of other fine pubs to (notably the 
Holly Bush) and is a nice place to visit.
AJ

"Realale"  wrote in message 
news:lAQae.7945$SL4.178916@news4.e.nsc.no...

> Well - we probably have something useful for you - developed for 
> real-ale-pubcrawls in London:
> http://home.online.no/~realale/Home.htm  Choose "Lists". Publist will give 
> information where to (probably) find drinkable beer, and pubs of historic 
> interest.
>
> This is a Norwegian site under construction. The most under-developed 
> right now is the language of the travelreports - but I think you will have 
> no problem.
>
> To your question: There are a lot of gems out there. Be sure to define 
> what type of gems you are looking for.
> English breakfast at 8AM with a well-kept Adnams Best Bitter in nice 
> surroundings is a rare gem - in our eyes.
>
> Happy crawling!
>
> "Bard O Haland"  skrev i melding 
> news:4268ddcd$1@news.wineasy.se...
>> I'm visiting London this summer, and intend to do some serious 
>> pubcrawling.
>> I need suggestions for the top 10 pubs of London (zone 1-6). Some are 
>> pretty
>> obvious, such as the Wenlock Arms/Royal Oak/Priory Arms, but are there 
>> any
>> hidden gems out there? The pubs mentioned are good examples of the sort 
>> of
>> pubs I'm after.
>>
>> Are there still pubs in London with outside toilets, or are those days 
>> gone?
>>
>>
>
> 

"Martin"  wrote in message 
news:MPG.1cd30c6bc00a97f498980b@news.individual.net...
snip

> While talking of West London I should mention the Red Lion in Ealing
> (historic links with Ealing Studios) and The Fox in Hanwell (classic
> canalside free house). Both have been voted pub of the year by the local
> CAMRA branch on several occasions.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Martin


There is the pre - Ealing Beer Festival Real Ale Trail that visits both of 
those.

Have a look at http://www.beeronbroadway.org.uk/realaletrail/ . It has a 
pictures of 10 pubs in the area and a brief description. I don't think any 
of them have outside toilets though......

Central London I would always recommend for the Victorian splendour, the 
Argyle Arms right next to Oxford Circus. Beer is good too, although the 
Wenlock will probably always have the edge.

The Magpie and Crown in Brentford High Street always has excellent quality 
beers in a traditional local pub.

Cheers
Andy.

On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 15:53:31 +0100, being the year 2756 AUC, loobyloo
 wrote:


>Kings Arms, Roupell St. SE1 (behind Waterloo station)
>http://www.pubs.com/kingse1.htm
>It's in a gorgeous looking street of early C18th houses, and is a former
>funeral parlour!  Lovely atmosphere.  Only Pedigree and Adnmans, but
>well-kept.


Seconded, but 19thc. not 18thc.

I'd also add the Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell. http://tinyurl.com/8mago
which /is/ 18thc :)

-- 
st mym.
saeva indignatio.

On Sun, 24 Apr 2005 19:21:23 +0200, Realale wrote:


> Well - we probably have something useful for you - developed for 
> real-ale-pubcrawls in London:
> http://home.online.no/~realale/Home.htm  Choose "Lists". Publist will give 
> information where to (probably) find drinkable beer, and pubs of historic 
> interest.


Thanks!  That's a very good list.  Obviously you like to start drinking in
Norway very early, as "breakfast" is listed on every entry :)

Thanks very much.  It's very flattering when a foreigner shows such a
detailed interest in our culture.

-- 
Cliff Laine, The Old Lard Factory, Lancaster  http://www.loobynet.com
* remove any trace of rudeness before you reply *
------------------------------------------------------------------
They want only to look at nude pictures, go to football matches, 
have a few pints and go to sleep.

  Abu Hamza on the English

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 08:33:26 +0100, mym wrote:


> On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 15:53:31 +0100, being the year 2756 AUC, loobyloo
>  wrote:
> 
>>Kings Arms, Roupell St. SE1 (behind Waterloo station)
>>http://www.pubs.com/kingse1.htm
>>It's in a gorgeous looking street of early C18th houses, and is a former
>>funeral parlour!  Lovely atmosphere.  Only Pedigree and Adnmans, but
>>well-kept.
> 
> Seconded, but 19thc. not 18thc.
> 
> I'd also add the Jerusalem Tavern in Clerkenwell. http://tinyurl.com/8mago
> which /is/ 18thc :)


Sorry!  Thanks.  Never been to the JT, but it's on my list.
-- 
Cliff Laine, The Old Lard Factory, Lancaster  http://www.loobynet.com
* remove any trace of rudeness before you reply *
------------------------------------------------------------------
They want only to look at nude pictures, go to football matches, 
have a few pints and go to sleep.

  Abu Hamza on the English

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 19:06:52 +0100, loobyloo
 wrote:

snip

>Thanks!  That's a very good list.  Obviously you like to start drinking in
>Norway very early, as "breakfast" is listed on every entry :)
>
>Thanks very much.  It's very flattering when a foreigner shows such a
>detailed interest in our culture.

as a lurker I find this ng very interesting. so try that for some more
flattery.

I'll be in London next week (from Melbourne Australia, although I'm a
Kiwi) and looking at the list will give me plenty to do & see down the
Balham High Rd.

If anyone here is in the Balham area and would like to meet up for a
pint on Sunday 8 or Monday 9 May my mate and I would be starters.

Email me off ng before 4/04/05. remove the NOSPAM

Kind regards
Dave Milligan

In article <4268ddcd$1@news.wineasy.se>, Bard O Haland
 wrote:

> Are there still pubs in London with outside toilets, or are those
> days gone?


Why do you want a pub with outside toilets?

We have one near here in Cum,bria if you really want one!

-- 
Chris de Cordova (West Cumbria & Western Lakes) www.cumbriacamra.org.uk
Whitehaven Beer Festival: Sept 30th & Oct 1st 2005 (www.whitehavenbeerfestival.co.uk)

A bicycle can't stand alone because it's two tyred.

Bard O Haland wrote:

> I'm visiting London this summer, and intend to do some serious
pubcrawling.
> I need suggestions for the top 10 pubs of London (zone 1-6). Some are
pretty
> obvious, such as the Wenlock Arms/Royal Oak/Priory Arms, but are
there any
> hidden gems out there? The pubs mentioned are good examples of the
sort of
> pubs I'm after.
>
> Are there still pubs in London with outside toilets, or are those

days gone?


UK pubs are either 'tied' to a brewery (offering their own products and
possibly one 'guest' beer), 'free' (independently owned,
often offering a changing selection of guest beers) or 'chain' pubs run
by a management company (with varying policies on the choice of beer
offered). Many London pubs are tied to one of the city's two
indenpendent breweries, Young's and Fuller's, and will
always offer tradtional atmosphere, good beer, and reasonable prices.
Breweries outside London also own pubs in the capital. One to watch
out for is Samuel Smith, who own some of the city's most historic
pubs, but tend not to serve real hand-dranw ale in them -- although
they have an intersting selection of bottled beers.
The T.J Bernard, Hogshead, Whetherspoon's and Nicholsons chains are
generally the best for beer.

WEST END/SOHO.(The main tourist area is stronger on trendy bars than
traditional pubs).

The Bear and Staff-- Charring Cross Road-- pricey, but good selection
of beers.

The Roundhouse -- Covent Garden -- good selection of beers, vertical
drinking is customary.

Lamb and Flag -- Rose Street, near the Roundhouse -- historic pub with
OK beers.

The Cross Keys -- Endell Street -- small,packed pub with interestingly
cluttered
interior, 1 guest beer.

The Porterhouse -- Maiden Lane -- sister to the Dublin Brewpub. Copper
interior, several draught stouts, large selection of bottled beers.

The Lowlander -- Drury Lane -- authentic Dutch/Belgian style Grand
Cafe.


THE HOLBORN CRAWL (slightly north and east of the centre):

Lamb -- Lamb's Conduit St -- Youngs. Much admired, lovely old pub.

Cheshire Cheese -- Fleet Street -- Sam Smiths, very historic.

The Cittie of Yorke -- High Holborn -- Sam Smith. Baronial interior.

Ye Olde Mitre -- Ely Court, off Holborn -- very historic pub, hidden
down an alleyway.

The Black Friar -- by Blackfriars station -- Ok selection of beers and
extraordinary decor.

(NB The Yorkshire Grey no longer brew, the Princess Louise
is now Sam Smiths, there are some good Fuller's and Wetherspoon's pubs
in the area too).

ISLINGTON MEGA-CRAWL.

(These pubs are the best of the best in many ways,
but it is a good 15 minutes walk between them, and the
tube stations are not helpfully located).

Bierodrome -- St Johns Street -- modern style bar with 100 Belgian
beers.

Jerusalem -- Britton Street -- Unusual beers from the St Peters
Brewery, unusual and pleasant layout.

Wenlock Arms-- Wenlock Street -- Traditional local with one of the best
selections of guest beers in the city. Hard to find though: get out of
Old Street Tube, follow signs to Moorfields eye Hospital, cross road,
and look for side street called Shepherdess Walk.
http://www.wenlock-arms.co.uk.

In the area is the Pitfield brewery and shop, Pitfield St.
O'Hanlons (name may change)-- Tysoe Street -- Charmingly disorganised
Irish Pub,
with beers from O'Hanlons Brewery.


NORTH CENTRAL MINI-CRAWL:

Jeremy Bentham -- University Street, Bloomsbury -- comfotable
university pub with good selection brews.

Head of Steam -- Euston Station-- excellent selection of brews.


WEST LONDON.

White Horse -- Parson's Green, Putney -- One guest beer, always
excellent
condition, frequent festivals. Yuppie clientelle.


SOUTH LONDON MINI_CRAWL

(Both pubs are very near London Bridge Station and each other).

Market Porter -- Stoney street -- Possibly the best guest beer policy
in London, very keen Lanlord. Raucous Hooray Henry customers, though.

George -- Borough High Street -- historic galleried pub, good selection
of
beers. No real regulars, so lacks atmosphere.
(not sure of the current status of the Wheatsheaf, formerly the
Porter's neighbour and rival).

UNUSUAL AND NON-TRADITIONAL.

already mentioned:
Bierodrome -- St Johns Street -- modern style bar with 100 Belgian
beers.

already mentioned:
The Porterhouse -- Maiden Lane -- sister to the Dublin Brewpub. Copper
interior, several draught stouts, large selection of bottled beers.

De Hems -- Macclesfield street (off Leicester square) -- Anglo-Dutch
pub with late licence.

already mentioned:
The Lowlander -- Drury Lane -- authentic Dutch/Belgian style Grand
Cafe.

On 12 May 2005 08:13:04 -0700, "Uncle Dunkel" 
wrote:


>One to watch
>out for is Samuel Smith, who own some of the city's most historic
>pubs, but tend not to serve real hand-dranw ale in them


The Chandos, Cheshire Cheese, Princes Louise and Citte of York serve
real ale, at least.

....


>Market Porter -- Stoney street -- Possibly the best guest beer policy
>in London, very keen Lanlord. Raucous Hooray Henry customers, though.


I've usually found quite a cross section of city types, beer anoraks,
tourists, etc etc. It is simply busy, more than anything. Well worth a
visit.


>(not sure of the current status of the Wheatsheaf, formerly the
>Porter's neighbour and rival).


Now functioning again, as a decent enough Youngs pub. Handy if the
Market Porter is too full (the MP tends to quieten down dramtically
after about 20:00 or so).

-- 
Arthur Figgis                Surrey, UK