More country drinking

I know this is a bit off track but I really  like the Swan on the Green and I went there for lunch a few weeks ago and thought it was too good not to put in the blog.  It’s down in Kent not that far from London.  It has a classic pub spot right on the village green next to the church opposite some Oast Houses.  Such a brilliant setting and it gets better.  The pub has its own micro brewery and brews some good micro brew beers.  A list of their beers is available on their website here.  They also have good hearty home made food, real fires and a homely relaxed feel.  

The Swan on the Green

A pub worth visiting if you can get down to West Peckham. 

Beauty

The George Inn

Pubs in the city are best to visit in the week when the hard working citizens of London make their way out from the daily grind to enjoy a well earned break meeting friends and having fun.  

As a hard working citizen of London I like nothing better than to join the masses and have a pint after work.  The main night for pubs in the city is Thursdays and Fridays.  With this pub I had the luxury of visiting twice in a week.  I work near Borough Market so after work on Monday I met my friends Woody, Ed and my brother at the The George Inn on Borough High Street.  AND then I went there again on Friday night with Ben from work.  

The George Inn

The George Inn would fall into the category of good pubs that have a real character and history to them.  The pub follows on nicely from my visit to the Fleece Inn as the George Inn is also a National Trust owned pub.  The George occupies one side of a courtyard that you enter into from an alley way off Borough High Street.  It used to be a coach house and would have at one time been around all sides of the court yard.  Now it is the only galleried original coach house left in London.  This is another pub that mentions Dickens drank there, he seems to have been quite the drinker!  As I like a bit of the history it was cool to see the old rooms such as the first on the right as you come in the pub.  The court yard now no longer is filled with horses but instead filled with pub benches.  Much better in my opinion.  

George Inn Ale, London Glory, Sam and Woody looking happy

Going on a Monday allowed me to see the pub when it was not full of people and get a good look around the historical pub interior.  It’s a cool pub to go to in the summer as the benches outside make up way more space than is inside.  On the Monday there were still not many spaces left out there as it was the first warm evening of the year.  When I went on the Friday it was rammo.  I like pubs when they are busy though.  I enjoy the buzz of a busy pub full of happy people.  The pub has done a good job of making the most of its history along with its city location.  One weaker point however is the bar which is not as in keeping with the historic sections of the pub.  It would have been good if they had built it keeping with the historic interior.  I’m not sure why they didn’t do that.  The bar is also not that big but even when it was busy the bar staff were fast and most importantly knowledgeable. 

The beer on tap is all from the Green King Brewery.  The nice touches however are the specialist beers from Green King, the pub has its own brew. The George Inn ale is an IPA style hoppy pint with a good nose and citrus notes.  Also the London Glory is a darker beer with fruity notes and is very easy to drink.  Also on tap were the standard Green King beer like Old Speckled Hen, Abbot Ale and Green King IPA.  The guest beer was from Brew Dog and was eminently drinkable.  The usual other bar drinks were available too. 

With the court yard being so open to the street you may have a few encounters with the ‘street’ coming into the pub.  On Monday we had three people begging for money, which can be annoying and on Friday Ben was amused (secretly enjoyed) to find a copy of Mayfair in the gents open to the middle spread... 

Overall the George Inn is worth its place in the guide and from experience this pub is definitely best in the summer when you can stand outside.  

Friday Night at the George Inn

Galleries

Research

I took a holiday with my lovely girlfriend and whilst away did a bit of pub research.  I thought I’d check out some of the Good Pub Guide pubs that are over in the Cotswolds.  Having had a look in the little maps provided in the middle of the book I realised to my delight that the Cotswolds had to have the highest density of GPG pubs anywhere in the country.  Every other little village seemed to have a pub that was listed.  They must be doing something right then and also there must be some fierce competition and high standards.  

I was not let down.... Apart from the fact the Cotswolds are a beautiful part of the country with very picturesque villages they also had quality pubs to match.  The first I visited was The Eight Bells Inn in Chipping Camden.  A typical honey coloured stone Cotswold building.  They had three wood fires burning inside keeping the rooms warm.  Good beer on tap too, Purity Brewery (Mad Goose), Wye Valley Brewery (HPA), and Hook Norton.  I really enjoyed sitting for a few hours on the Sunday, Monday and Thursday nights.  They do really good food as well which changed every night I was there and was locally sourced.  I had a really good fish and chips there and a good steak too.  

Cotswolds Village

So the Eight Bells seemed to sum up for me what a good pub should be.  It was the type of pub that locals could be comfortable in and have a chat to Neil the bar man and also was good for visitors to sit by the fire and have a good meal.  

Eight Bells Inn

The next pub I went to was in Bretforton.  The Fleece Inn is owned by the National Trust and is over 600 years old.  A pub has been on the site since 1848.  I entered the pub into the small bar area at the entrance and was greeted by several large bearded men.  The beers were good although not numerous.  The pub is a genuine backcountry pub with dark low beamed ceilings and a big fire place.  This is not a posh nosh gastro pub with modern designs and airly feel to the pub.  This felt like a mans pub, the kind of place you’d go after a hard day in the fields.  The locals had the fire place covered and so they should in my opinion, it’s their pub after all.  I did like this pub though, it had great nooks to sit in and relax.  The locals were friendly and service was good.  I really like the sense of history, the old beams and worn floor seemed to ooze history.  I loved it!  This is a totally different type of pub to the eight bells, it is all about the character and feel of the place.   

The Fleece Inn

Another pub, on the way home just to finish off the holiday was a must.  We stopped off at The Plough in Kingham.  Again a totally different pub than the last two pubs, this pub is a more modern light airy design.  Daffodils in the windows added to the light spring atmosphere.  The focus at this pub is on food.  The beers were local and well kept.  They make a real effort with the food at this pub and it is truly excellent!  They make everything at the pub, even the bread.  The food we had was so tasty.  What a perfect end to the holiday.  

The Plough

I was so lucky with the pubs I went to on this trip that really gave quality spectrum of top notch English pubs.  The comfortable relaxed atmosphere of the Eight Bells, the character of The Fleece Inn and the great food of The Plough.  I have seen a lot which I will be able to take back to London with me to help me decide on the best pub in London. 

West End Drinking

Hopped on the train from South East London was an uneventful journey with the usual mix of weekend shoppers and people speaking loudly about their personal lives on their phones.  I happened to be sitting next to a man dressed like a spy!  

Definitely a spy!

I wandered out of Charring Cross and into the Princess of Wales the usual meeting place.  As always they were supplying a good selection I had a very nice pint of Gunpowder Mild from the Coach House Brewing Company.  It was in my opinion one on the best milds I’d had for a while.  It was such a nice refreshing easy to drink pint with the right amount of flavour and hoppy notes.  I bought the Stoat a pint of White Horse Village Idiot just so I could say when he arrived that I got him a pint that reminded me of him.  

 

We headed up into the heart of Covent Garden, tourist central for London.  Making our way through the crowds we finally reached the Lamb and Flag.    

Lamb and Flag

We arrived at about 3pm and it was already filling up.  There is a decent selection on tap with Dark Star, Adnams and Youngs all being represented.  We both went for the Dark Star Best.  Being in the centre of Covent Garden I cannot imagine there is a quiet time at this pub so if you come be prepared to have to stand up.  We managed to get some bar stools near the entrance and chatted to lots of people who were coming in on some form of pub based history quiz competition.  We were sitting right by the notice which gives the history of the pub.  It’s certainly been around for a long time and it shows with some interesting pub design elements.  It’s always fascinating to visit pubs that have such an interesting history and famous visitors such as Dickens.   We did have a look upstairs where they have some food which looked to be a mini carvery.  It didn’t smell great, bit like that horrible sprouts smell you get in a Toby Carvery.  But we didn’t try it so won’t comment on it more than to say you can get some food there but remember you are in Covent Garden where there are numerous other restaurants.  Talking of other smells I broke a rule of mine and had a look at some other reviews before writing mine and I noticed they often mentioned a wiff about the place like toilets!  I did notice this and it’s not the first time I’ve noticed it in a pub in London, one of the worst I’d been in for that was the Market Porter in Borough Market.  However I did like the Lamb and Flag but I wasn’t blown away by any means.  I would see it as a decent place for a pint in Covent Garden but not somewhere I’d make a special effort to go to.  It does have the history but it’s not really backed up with any other outstanding features like a wide beer selection, interesting decor or good food.  They probably don’t need to make too much effort to keep going as they get enough foot traffic from passers by who drop in for a beer.  

Bar at the Lamb - it's not that small that lady is just really tall!!

Next pub on the list for today was The Salisbury.  This is a pub that I have been visiting for years.  I have always loved visiting this pub and I had my first pint of Doom Bar here.  From the first moment you enter you realise there is something special about the place by the amazing etched glass all around the pub.  It is the classic ‘gin palace’ style pub.  The Salisbury always has a busy bustling atmosphere due to its theatre district location.  The staff have always been top notch when I’ve been there and service is usually swift even if the bar is busy.  They have a similar range of beer to the Lamb with Sharps Doom Bar, Youngs and St Austell Tribute.  I hope the Doom Bar will always be as good as the first time I visited now that it has been bought out by the beer giant Molson Coors!  We met a few more mates in there and most of us went for the Doom Bar with the exception of Hoody who I’ve not managed to convince to drink ale yet and don’t hold out much hope of ever doing so.   I’m not sure what it is about The Salisbury but it always has that cozy relaxed pub feel to it.  It is a pub that is bursting with character and charm, with good beers and good service it has to be a top contender for best pub in the west end.  

The Salisbury

Some randoms and the etched glass

Overall a good day out at two good west end pubs.  After some consideration (about 6 pints worth) I’d always visit The Salisbury over the Lamb and Flag even though they have a similar beer range and beer snacks The Salisbury has that extra edge that makes a great pub.