Archive for September, 2009
The New Wheatsheaf, Southwark
Sep 8th, 2009 |
Photo by Ewan-M
at Flickr
The old Wheatsheaf in Stoney Street by Borough Market closed in January 2009. It was unfortunately situated right in the path of the controversial Thameslink extension works which will put in an extra couple of railway tracks between London Bridge and Blackfriars.
I discovered fairly recently that the Wheatsheaf had relocated round the corner into Southwark Street underneath the Hop Exchange, into what once was a Davey’s bar called the Hop Cellar. The other night I had my first opportunity to visit.
Whereas the old Wheatsheaf was a small two-room bar with an intimate atmosphere, the new Wheatsheaf is situated in a cavernous basement. The first thing you notice is the noise – it is really loud! Not from music or TV (although both are present) but from the conversation. There are no sound deadening surfaces so every noise is echoing around – seemingly amplified by the arched ceilings.
The New Wheatsheaf, Southwark
The move to larger premises has enabled the Red Car Pub Co to increase the selection of real ales on offer. There appear to be 8 or 9 handpumps on the bar compared to 3 or 4 in the old pub – which was effectively a Young’s pub with an odd guest.
I tried the Iceni Honey Mild and it was tasty and obviously kept well.
I didn’t eat, but food is available at reasonable prices – both main meals and sandwiches. Someone’s meaty pie dish certainly smelled delicious as it was carried past.
Unfortunately on the whole I’m not minded to stay here for a long time. I can tolerate the standing room only nature of the nearby Rake and Market Porter because they’re much more homely, but I’m finding this place is hurting my ears – something I definitely don’t look for in a pub.
So I’m heading off to the Royal Oak in Borough for my meal.
Read a more recent review of the new Wheatsheaf here.
Champion Poster on Beer in the Evening
Sep 6th, 2009 |
Now I’m sure many of us use the Beer in the Evening website to check up on pubs before visiting. And I expect that a few of us have contributed reviews now and again as well. “It’s good to give something back” as my friend Jon put it.
Well I feel we should salute ‘Millay’ who must be the champion poster on that site. I stumbled across one of his reviews recently and then when I looked at his profile I discovered that he has made a total of 574 comments on pubs – 178 of them this year alone. The comments are all level-headed – even on the pubs he doesn’t really like.
This is a treasure trove if you’re planning a trip as he seems to have been everywhere – Edinburgh, Brighton, London, Bristol, Croydon, etc. So would you like to read Millay’s reviews on Beer in the Evening?
Mind you, ‘trainman‘ is not far behind with 529.
Other Winchester Gems
Sep 4th, 2009 |
On my recent pub crawl round Winchester I managed to visit most of my favourite pubs in the city. However it’s just impossible to fit in all the good ones in an evening as they’re so spread out so some of them got missed.
This post mentions the ones that I didn’t get to but that in my view are still worth a visit.
Other Winchester Gems: Read the full post »
Aldgate Lunchtime Options No3 – The Peacock
Sep 2nd, 2009 |
Situated in Minories, the Peacock is a spacious, open one-room pub in a superb old art-deco building.
The Peacock, Aldgate
Even though it’s very close to where I work the Peacock had been completely off my radar until fairly recently, but a team social after work changed that.
Three to four real ales are generally available with Harvey’s Best and Ringwood Best being regulars. The beers always seem well kept.
Bizarrely for a lunchtime recommendation the Peacock does not actually sell food at all. But they are happy for you to bring in your own sandwiches or whatever, and many people do. So head up to Kelly’s, or the Pret nearby and then pop in here for a pint.
Food is available however for pre-booked social gatherings when you can use the games room upstairs – featuring a pool table and a couple of dart boards. There’s also a table football machine but you do need to give a bit of notice for that.
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