Riverside pubs

Pubs on rivers always have a certain draw to them and a natural geographical advantage.  Sitting by a river at a good pub in the summer enjoying a pint on the banks is a beautiful thing.  Seeing the swans, ducks or other water fowl, seeing fish leaping, listening to the sound of the river or just enjoying the scenery is a great way to spend an afternoon.  There are a great number of pubs along rivers in the UK and I’d love to hear from people about what they think is the best one.  Just thinking of a few that I have been to The The Trout Inn in Oxfordshire is a cool pub with good food and ales right on the upper reaches of the Thames with a big pub garden overlooking the river as it winds its way across the countryside.  One other pub that has diversified to make the most of its river side setting is the Peat Spade Inn in Hampshire located on the river Test in prime fishing territory.  They hire out fishing equipment to tourists and experienced anglers along with providing them with a good quality packed lunch made with local ingredients.  Across the county there must be loads of good pubs long our nations rivers and all the pubs along the canals too that sprouted up in the industrial age.  

The Trout Inn at Tadpole Bridge

Tadpole Bridge

Thinking closer to home again now about pubs on the river in London, I certainly would not profess to know them all and in fact I’m sure there are a great number that I’ve not been to yet.  Just off the top of my head I know there a few on my list for this year such as The Dove, The Gun and The Prospect of Whitby.  Being a city dominated by the river Thames it’s hardly a surprise that there are pubs along the river front.  

The River (not my pic)

So you are probably wondering why I am going on about river side pubs so much today…   The reason is on Saturday night I went to the Founders Arms located by the Tate Modern to the west of the millennium bridge.  The pub was on my list and having only been there once before I was eager to go back for a proper visit.  The first thing you notice about the pub is that it is clearly a fairly new building plonked right on the south bank.  It’s a fairly ugly edifice to be honest.  Outside is a patio along the Thames with the usual pub benches, they have created a bit of atmosphere (and warmth) with flames that spring out of the patio around the benches.  The seats outside are the prime location for the pub and even on the evening when I was there when it was pretty cold people were still sitting out there.  The views are of blackfriers bridge now a train station and across to the city and St Pauls.  It’s a good view but I’m afraid that’s about the only positive thing I can say about the pub.  Upon entering you will notice that its owned by Youngs who have given it the air port lounge feel.  It’s also more of a bar than a pub with loud generic music with a thumping baseline repeating over and over.  When I was there it was full of pissed up blokes.  I’d say the cliental is pretty chav as far as that works as an analogy.  A bunch of skin head eastern Europeans were getting stuck into some heavy drinking while other groups cracked on with jeager bombs, vodka lemonades and anything else that would get them pissed up as quick as possible.  Lager drinkers dominated and with only three ales on tap not much choice for anyone who didn’t want fizzy tasteless beer.  The general cliental seemed to have the devolved in terms of mental capacity.  The two pints of courage I had were Okay but not that well kept.  We eventually got a seat by the window and sat at the sticky table and shouted at one another over the music for a while.  Food was being served and it looked grim, lifeless frozen re heated meats and microwave foods came out looking limp and un appetizing.  I was glad I had eaten down the river already.  I guess if the customers are all hammered then they wont be too fussed about what the food is like.  To add a little perspective I should mention I had been once before and had a similar experience so I was not overly surprised.  Another point to make it that I do see the point of pubs like the Founders Arms, I’d not make out like I’ve never been on a night out with a bunch of blokes looking to get drunk far from it and on those occasions the Founders Arms is the sort of place we would be looking for (except for the prices).  So to sum up what I thought of the pub… Souless, over prices, loud, uncomfortable and not worth visiting.  I am shocked the Good Pub Guide have it as an entry and not at all what I would class as a good pub!!

The Founders Arms

I know my riverside pub experience has not got off to a great start on this journey what with not being a fan of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich and definitely not being a fan of the Founders Arms but I know there is some good stuff to come!  The last point I would make is a positive one as there are a number of better pubs in the area around the South Bank that can be visited and while they may not all meet my high standards for a ‘good pub’ are much better than the Founders Arms.  For example the Anchor Bankside and the The Old Thameside Inn  and the Doggets right on the river with great views.  The Anchor probably being the best of these three.  I might get around to doing a proper review of some of these in time. 

So pub fans do not be disheartened by the Founders Arms and do try to visit some of the other riverside pubs in London when you get a chance.  I’m looking forward to getting to the rest of the river side pubs on my list. 

***New Pics added below, I had to go back from a work drinks so took some new pics.

The View

The pub

The bar, four deep

Still a rubbish pub!!

London Waterloo Pubs

Friday night and I needed a beer after work.  On the pub menu for the evening was the Fire Station at Waterloo.  I met up with a few mates including my usual pub chum, Eddy.  I felt a bit bad having suggested the pub as I’d been before and knew it wasn’t great.  But on the other hand it was on the list so I had to give it a visit.  

Fire Station Waterloo (not my pic)

The Fire Station is just outside Waterloo train station and I’d been there several times before due to its useful location for a cheeky pint while waiting for a train.  The pub is divided into three parts.  Most of the so called pub is actually a restaurant that you have to be eating in to sit there.  The other two parts are where the bar is and some sitting area.  The pub doesn’t have much character.  It was once a fire station and I’m guessing some of the original features are the same like the floor tiles but it’s not that interesting in terms of design.  It is probably a good thing they got rid of the fireman’s pole as that may lead to some confusion about the function of the pub!  The feel of the pub is very much wine bar rather than pub.  The shiny black tiled area that is the restaurant looks like a pizza express or other bland chain restaurant.  So the place is part wine bar, part pub and part restaurant.  Unfortunately it has not done any of these very well.  It would be better off just focusing on one and getting good at that rather than having three poor elements to make the whole.  

Ed and Catherine

As I usually do I like to sample some pub snacks, I asked for a pack of nuts and was told I would have to wait until they were heated.  I told them not to bother, I didn’t need some stupid hot nuts.  One of my mates got some later on and it was not worth the cost or the fact they were warmed up.  Pointless.  

Pub or bar I can't decide

The other problem is the price.  Don’t expect much change from a tenner if you get two drinks in there.  So pretty disappointing overall, I wouldn’t recommend visiting this pub if you are a fan of real ale with the 3 ales being fairly ordinary, I wouldn’t recommend visiting as pub lover.  Oh well let’s hope the next pub is better.