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.  

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.