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.