Borough Pub Crawl

Bring on the weekend!  What better way to start than with a good old pub crawl!  Even better a totally unplanned one at that.  We made our way to a favourite drinking spot of ours the Lord Clyde.  The Lord Clyde is a pub that I have been meaning to do a proper review of for sometime and I think I will leave a full review for another blog post but this pub will be on my list of pubs that should be in the good pub guide.  It is a great pub with real natural charm, good beer and a great atmosphere.  I would definitely recommend this pub.  We started our pub crawl with a pint of Hogsback T.E.A and a pint of Doombar standing outside the Clyde. 

Next pub on the crawl was a short walk past Borough Tube station to the previously reviewed (LINK) Royal Oak.  Beer at the pub is always good and well kept.  Being the only Harvey’s pub in London we stuck to the Harvey’s beers.  Unfortunately the porter was off on this visit which Ben was disappointed about.   Feeling the need for a bit more atmosphere with our Friday night out we made our way on to the next pub. 

Dave had been to the The Roebuck before and assured us it was a good pub.  He wasn’t wrong.  It was exactly the kind of lively atmosphere we had been hoping for after the quietness of the Royal Oak.  Looking around it was clearly a pub for the young and trendy of Borough.  They had two ales on tap both from the Purity Brewing Company, Ubu and Mad Goose.  I quite like both of these choices but they could do with two more ales on tap and I moved on to have the Budvar dark for my second pint in there.  They did have a good range of beers with Liberty ales and a few different lagers and ciders too.  The lads I was with spotted a good ‘z’ list celebrity in there, the singer from brit pop band Republica.  Rain delayed the move on to the next pub but we eventually decided to go to George Inn.  

The Roebuck

I’ve reviewed the George Inn locate just off Borough High Street already for this blog and this visit was good too.  We got a seat straight away inside as it was raining and tucked into the ales on tap.  Still well kept as ever.  It’s a cracking pub and it rounded up the crawl nicely.  We’d been out since work ended at 5 and several pints and no dinner were beginning to take effect. 

If you are going to do this crawl I’d recommend grabbing a bite to eat half way somewhere and then carrying on to the Market Porter in Borough Market.  That’d be a cracking end to the crawl.  All in all a good route with really good pubs and good beer.  

The Royal Oak

I’ve finished my sporting commitments for the year so will be getting on with my pubs quest.  I wanted to get one in over the weekend if I could so I went to The Royal Oak on the corner of Tabard Street in Borough.  It was a Saturday afternoon so not prime time drinking and the pub was about half full.  Most of the tables were taken by people sitting around chatting.  The pub is owned by Harveys of Lewes and is their only London pub.  I told the bar lady about my pub quest and she recommended a pint of the mild to start with (I don’t know if that was out of concern for my liver or not).  

The Royal Oak

The pub is located in the backstreets off Borough High Street and is almost everything you would hope for in a classic backstreet pub.  Inside it is split in half by the bar which dominates the centre of the room.  A large ornate section at the back of the bar made of carved wood cumulates in a big clock.  The range of beers is good with almost all the Harvey’s offerings being on sale.  They also have a guest beer and fullers London pride.  It was clear that the pub has a good reputation with ale drinkers of London, two of the blokes in there were wearing real ale tshirts.  I found the beers to be exceptionally well kept and the porter I had was very good, with its smoky, charcoal, flavours and sweet caramel and bitter coffee notes.  

I had a look at the menu which had to be one of the most classic examples of British pub grub I’ve every seen.  Loads of simple, comforting food and by the looks of what other were getting good portions too. 

I thoroughly enjoyed sitting there on a Saturday afternoon with my girlfriend enjoying some good company, good beers and a pack of dry roasted nuts.  However I felt that I wanted to check out the pub during a more prime time slot. 

The following Friday with a few blokes from work I went back to the Royal Oak.  All the pubs on the way were rammed, we got to the Royal Oak and….. it was empty again.  Well there were a few tables taken but we walked straight up to the bar where the bar man put down his paper and served us.  So the backstreet location off the main thoroughfare along with the classic pub interior of with no music doesn’t make it the liveliest pub in the area.  That would be my only negative observation as the one thing it did seem to lack was a bit of atmosphere.  I really do not understand why Harvey’s have not bought a more centrally located London pub, they could do better in my opinion. 

Overall if you are looking for a quite drink and a very good pint of real ale then this is the place to visit.  It is let down by its location which is a shame as it is a beautiful well managed pub.  If only it had a bit more atmosphere it would be much better. 

The Dog and Duck

On a warm Friday evening a few weeks ago I went to The Miller over near where I work.  The work lads like to go there as the nurses from guys hospital go there after work, not that I’ve ever seen any of them actually talk to a nurse.  It’s a pub that’s gone for the trendy approach to pub life and it seems to be doing well.  After a pint there I went over to London Bridge to hop on a Boris Bike, they are easily one of the best ways to get around central London.  They cost less than the tube or a bus and you don’t have to cram on with lots of sweaty Londoners.  I’d recommend them but don’t drink and cycle of course!  I cycled up to Soho and parked the bike. 

Soho is a vibrant and busy part of London with lots of bars and restaurants.  There are plenty of good pubs as well as the more modern wine and cocktail bars as well as the unfortunately inescapable eye sores of pubs like a ‘Slug and Lettuce’.  In terms of pubs, there must be 100 pubs within 10 minutes walk of Soho Square.  There is a good website that has mapped all 48 of the pubs within the Soho area, it’d be one hell of a pub crawl.  

The Dog and Duck

My destination for the evening was the The Dog and Duck on the corner of Frith St and Bateman St.  My mates were drinking outside on the pavement so after saying a quick hello nipped inside, crossing the interesting mosaic of a dog and duck to get a pint.  I’d never been for a pint in this pub before and from the outside it looked like a good establishment.  I had my suspicion that it might have been a Nicholsons pub and on entering my suspicions were confirmed. Not that it is a bad thing by any means, they always have a good range of interesting beers. 

The pub would certainly fall into the historical pub interior section.  It is certainly old, the note on the website made me laugh though saying it was ‘famous for serving John Constable, George Orwell and Madona’, I wouldn’t exactly put Madona into the same historical figure list as the previous two.  It’s not very big inside and the bar is particularly small.  The three bar staff behind the bar were whirling around in the non choreographed dance of the bar staff, always just managing to miss one another.  They were doing a good trade but the queue went quite fast and I got a decent IPA style beer.  I am generally a fan of a Nicholsons pub and this one had been done well in my opinion.  The back area of the pub where the tables were looked like it could have done with a bit of work to smarten it up a bit but least there was somewhere to sit if you wanted to.  We were happy enough outside and we had bumped into a school mate of ours.  Our mate ‘Coogs’ was working the crowd and came to say hi for a while.  I told him about this blog and asked his opinion of the pub.  “More Duck less Dog” was the reply, a slightly cryptic message but one that at the time when a few pints down I somehow completely understood.  

Overall I thought it was a good pub.  It had just enough to make it stand slightly above other pubs in the immediate area.  I’d definitely go there again for a beer or two.  As far a recommendation I’d say its worth going to if you are fan of historic pub interiors, the etched glass, wooden panelling and interior features are worth a look.  If you are looking for a real ale then you are guaranteed a good one here.  If you have time I’d suggest exploring the area a little and trying other pubs in the area too as many of them have a lot to offer.