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The Great Pubs of London Town
But how do you choose? There are more than 4500 London Pubs - some great, some OK and some which you would be better off avoiding.
Here is a selection of pubs and bars that I personally recommend for either a swift pint or a good night out. I've included basic details and a link to the Beer in the Evening listing to make it easier to find out more information.
The Market Porter
The Market PorterAddress: 9 Stoney St, London SE1 9AA
The Market Porter
Good Pub, nice drinks and a grand location.
The Market Porter is a great looking pub in one of the best locations in London - Borough Market!
In fact it could be that all these plus points lead to it's one downside - it can get really busy... Despite this it has a beautiful interior and serves a lovely pint of Harveys Sussex amongst other quality beers on tap.
Top Tip: Take a Friday afternoon, grab a pint and then order some food from the market
Work is the curse of the drinking class.
-- Oscar Wilde
Beer and the Market
Man Walks into a Pub: A Sociable History of Beer
A well researched book about british beer habits and drinking establishments - plus the origin of beer! Also Some good little notes (like where the phrases 'barmy' and 'scot free' come from).
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Amazon Price: $11.70 (as of 11/11/2009) 
List Price: $15.00
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The Borough Market Book
A Guide to Borough Market
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Amazon Price: $25.04 (as of 11/11/2009)
List Price: $32.95
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Historic Pubs of London
This is a guide to the authentic London pub for which no trip to London would be complete without.
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Amazon Price: (as of 11/11/2009)
List Price: $24.95
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London Pubs on Flickr
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Gordons Wine Bar
Gordons Wine BarAddress: 47 Villiers St, London, WC2N 6NE
Gordon's Wine Bar
I'm not a fan of wine bars, but this place could have been designed by a publican.
Situated on Villiers St. which runs from the Strand next to Charing Cross down to the Embankment. The bar was established in 1890, making it the oldest wine bar in London and has housed luminaries like Samuel Pepys in the 1680s and Rudyard Kipling in 1890 where he famously wrote "The Light That Failed" in the parlour above the bar.
You enter by descending a steep narrow staircase to a room whose walls are covered in historical newspaper cuttings and memorabilia faded with age.
Before you is a food counter offering a range of tasty home made pies and wonderful mature cheeses. To the left is the bar offering a varied wine list with sherries, madeiras and ports - all served from the barrel by helpful staff.
At the back is the cellar dotted with candlelit tables, where you'll feel the occasional rumble of the underground.
This is a fantastic venue for all occasions, especially if you want to impress someone with the taste and character of old London, but try to pop in early as it can get busy.
TOP TIP: The ploughmans lunch with a large beaker of tawny Port is a lovely way to spend the afternoon!
We want the finest wines available to humanity, we want them here, and we want them now.
--Withnail & I
Authors inspired by Gordon's
Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self
Fascinating biography of Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) the most famous diarist in English letters. From 1660 to 1669, he penned an unforgettable day-by-day description of Restoration London, with its disasters (the Great Plague of 1665, the Great Fire of 1666). Claire Tomalin, biographer of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, goes beyond Pepys's diary years to examine his entire life.
Release Date: 11/11/2003
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The Light That Failed
One of Kipling's earliest novels and written in the parlour above Gordons Wines Bar.
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Withnail and I - Criterion Collection
Probably not inspired by Gordon's directly, but there is no funnier or finer movie on drinking in the UK.
Release Date: 07/10/2001
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Bradleys Spanish Bar
Bradleys Spanish BarAddress: 42 Hanway St, London, W1T 1UP
Bradleys (The Spanish Bar)
History wise I'm on shaky ground, so lets head straight to the bar and discuss what we know. Like all good drinking holes its hidden away - surprisingly off Oxford St. (North side) near the Virgin Media store and inside it's quite small so people regularly spill onto the street outside. Don't let this put you off though. A lot of people go because it is good and after a couple of drinks I always get a seat.
Downstairs, there's a slightly larger basement bar with mood lighting for those wishing to remain anonymous. Bull fighting posters, pictures of the Spanish football team and ladies of beauty adorn the walls upstairs, adding to the comfort and warm atmosphere. A huge jukebox lays across the front window like a sleeping bear waiting to be awoken and when it does, it plays old vinyl 7"s of classic tunes from Motown to Glam and Punk.
The bar staff are happy and the clientele mixed and welcoming. Beers include: Cruzcampo, San Miguel, Bitburger, Budvar and Amstel and there's a selection of spirits behind the bar which are pretty reasonable.
The toilets are unique, but then so's this place and if you do visit you won't forget it.
The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind.
-- Humphrey Bogart
Get in the mood for the Spanish Bar
Don Quixote
A Spanish Classic. Constantly rated in the top 100 books ever written.
Release Date: 04/26/2005
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Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 11/11/2009)
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Man of La Mancha
Very good film musical adapted from broadway about the fictional story of Don Quixote. Stars Peter O'Toole & Sophia Loren. Includes the song 'the Impossible Dream'
Release Date: 05/11/2004
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Amazon Price: $11.99 (as of 11/11/2009)
List Price: $14.98
Used Price: $9.45
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Open Your Eyes
Fantastic Spanish sci-fi, thriller and mystery movie staring Penélope Cruz.
Release Date: 08/21/2001
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The Champion
The ChampionAddress: 12-13 Wells St, London, W1T 3PA
The Champion
The beautiful stained glass windows give the interior the appearance of a church - which makes it an ideal place for worshipping the ale.
The Champion is a fiercely independant pub owned by the Samuel Smiths brewery - one of the oldest in Yorkshire and notable for selling no large-corporation spirits or soft-drinks and keeping prices at a minimal by only increasing in line with alcohol duty and inflation increases. This means they sell the chepest pints in London town!
It's also this independance that sets Smith's pubs aside from those that continually update to attract customers and it's the classic design of this pub in particular, that makes it so unique. Apart from the required wooden interior, every window has a stained glass representation of a champion from history. These adorn all three walls and must be at least 2 metres high, so that when the sun's rays come through on a sunny afternoon... it's an amazing sight.
There are a wide range of beers - all vegan and the pub is quietly located just a few meters from Oxford St. A haven from the chaos of shopping.
TOP TIP: Try a pint of the Alpine Lager (formerly Ayingerbrau Lager). It comes in a huge pint glass and makes you look like the cat who got the cream!
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
-- Benjamin Franklin
Beer in General
Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England: Women's Work in a Changing World
Women brewed and sold most of the ale drunk in medieval England, but after 1350, men slowly took over the trade. By 1600, most brewers in London--as well as in many towns and villages--were male, not female. Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England investigates this transition, asking how, when, and why brewing ceased to be a women's trade and became a trade of men.
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Amazon Price: $29.25 (as of 11/11/2009)
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The New World Guide to Beer
This update of Michael Jackson's landmark World Guide to Beer (Prentice-Hall, 1977) follows the format of the earlier book and includes many of the same photographs, but it also features a completely rewritten text with revised maps and charts which cover the changes in the international beer scene over the past decade. Jackson leads the reader on a worldwide tour of the great brewing nations - the greatest emphasis, however, is on the beers of Europe.
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Beer (Eyewitness Companions)
Whether you are looking to find out more about the brewing and history of your favorite beer or want to discover a hidden gem that you've never tried, this book tells and shows you everything you need to know from comprehensive tasting notes to how to choose and serve each beer correctly. AUTHOR BIO: Michael has written numerous books on the subjects of beer and whisky, and has won many awards, including 1999 Glenfiddich Drinks Writer of the Year and the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Wine or Spirits Book in 2006 for Whisky. He is also a journalist, and writes regularly for a variety of publications, including Whisky magazine, The Washington Post, and a number of websites.
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Amazon Price: $15.00 (as of 11/11/2009)
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Ben Crouch's Tavern
Ben Crouch's TavernAddress: 77a Wells St. London, W1P 3RE
Bn Crouch's Tavern
It's a bit of the wall, but I like this pub. There's no interesting range of fine ales or historical reference, but it's unpretentious, fun and has a good crowd and music.
Part of the Eerie Pub Company, which is a UK pub chain specialising in pubs with a spooky gothic decor, this pub doesn't take itself seriously and instead delights in a theatrical homage to gothic horror. This means, upon entering, you'd be forgiven for thinking they were celebrating October 31st...Halloween.
Medical equipment sits in glass exhibition cages and TV's at the bar run old silent screen films of Dracula and Frankenstein whilst you order. The bar offers standard pub drinks, but you can also buy test tubes filled with strange looking spirits, each named after members of the Adams Family. The decor is well maintained with wonderfully dramatic high backed booths and the music is a mix of indie/rock/goth.
The bar staff are friendly and this resonates in the clientele who are from all walks of life.
Drinks are usual prices for off Oxford St.
Enjoy some Gothic Horror with your Pint
Dracula (Signet Classics)
One of the greatest Horror novels ever written.
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Nosferatu: The Vampyre/Phantom Der Nacht
A silent screen classic.
Release Date: 07/09/2002
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Amazon Price: $14.49 (as of 11/11/2009)
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Frankenstein (Penguin Classics)
Classic gothic fiction
Release Date: 05/06/2003
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Ideas, Handy Guides and Great Drinking reads...
The Good Pub Guide 2007: 25th Anniversary Special Edition
Invaluable Guide
Release Date: 11/28/2006
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Amazon Price: $24.95 (as of 11/11/2009)
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GOOD BEER GUIDE 2006
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Used Price: $0.16
London (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE)
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Amazon Price: $16.50 (as of 11/11/2009)
List Price: $25.00
Used Price: $11.07
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Last Orders
Life, death, love, war and beer in London.
Release Date: 01/14/1997
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Amazon Price: $10.20 (as of 11/11/2009)
List Price: $15.00
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Random Harvest
A fantastic story that may go out of print if nobody buys it - Read the reviews on Amazon, then buy!
James Hilton is the author of Lost Horizon and Goodbye Mr. Chips.
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Great Beer Links
- Stonchs Beer Blog
- Well written and funny blog about a Londoner who likes beer.
- Beer in the Evening
- A website where you can list your favourite pub.
Written by ordinary folk that like to drink - its one of the best pub databases in the UK. - O'Hanlons Brewery
- A small specialist UK brewery that brew an award-winning range of top quality handmade ales to the highest craft brewing standards using premium ingredients and water from their own well.
- Beer Hunter
- The website of the late Michael Jackson - the best selling writer of beer.
Share Your Favourite London Pubs here!
project90 wrote...
Nice lens. I am working on a number of lenses for pubs that my company currently runs or has run the the past, and the Queens Head - on your flickr, but not mentioned here is one of them! Have added you onto the lensroll at my href="http://www.squidoo.com/pubs_u_like" target="_blank">hub site here.
Take a look and let me know - I'm new to this game and would appreciate feedback.
Posted July 11, 2009
GHouse wrote...
Hi!! Just come to see your nice lens. I did my travel lens too. It's about my hotel in hua hin Thailand. Hua Hin is a charming town of clean white sandy beach. If you come to Thailand, please visit us.
Posted December 06, 2008
Nimsy wrote...
Love your lens. I have a related lens My Favourite Spots in London and will put a link to your lens.
Posted May 28, 2008
Bruce_Beerdrinker wrote...
Great lens. I've never been to London, but this lens is making me want to go to my local pub later this evening. Cheers!
Posted March 03, 2008
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