Of course some of you may recognise that these pictures show what became of the Cove Bar – London’s only cornish pub which closed at the beginning of 2011 – see So Farewell to the Cove Bar in Covent Garden for my sparse collection of photos from the Cove. The transformation is significant – gone is the plain wood and the cosy rustic charm. Also gone is the old bar formed from a part of a real fishing boat.

I’d like to thank the staff of La Duree who were happy for me to take these pictures even if they weren’t really sure why. I even tried to describe what the Cove was like since the French staff had never experienced its previous incarnation.

See also my original pub review of the Cove Bar and Cornish Beer in Covent Garden from 2009.

The Speaker in Westminster

Don’t expect them all to be on at once – Dennis has 4 handpumps and he sets aside 2 of them for his festival beers. Contact the pub directly (020 7222 1749) if you need to know what’s on today. Also, remember that the Speaker doesn’t open at weekends – just Monday to Friday midday – 11:00pm.

Anyway, here’s the list:

• Zenith Pale Ale (ABV 4.0%) Summer Wine (Holmfirth, W. Yorkshire) – No tasting notes available.
• Pail Ale (ABV 3.7%) Concrete Cow (Milton Keynes) – A very pale beer brewed using lager malt and hops.
• Welsh Pale Ale (ABV 3.7%) Breconshire (Brecon, Powys, Wales) – Pale golden and mildly hopped, based on an old Welsh beer style.
• Brentwood IPA (ABV 3.7%) Brentwood (Brentwood, Essex) – A lightly hopped, pale session beer.
• Harvest Pale Ale (ABV 3.8%) Castle Rock (Nottingham) – Pale yellow and hoppy, Champion Beer of Britain 2010.
• Whitwell & Mark Pale Ale (ABV 4.4%) Derwent (Silloth, Cumbria) – A full flavoured, classic pale ale.
• Farne Island Pale Ale (ABV 4.0%) Hadrian & Border (Newcastle upon Tyne) – A copper coloured, well balanced bitter.
• East Anglia Pale Ale (ABV 4.6%) Humpty Dumpty (Reedham, Norfolk) – Dry, amber coloured best bitter with a citrussy aroma.
• Leeds Pale (ABV 3.8%) Leeds (Leeds) – A golden, citrussy ale with a hoppy finish.
• Palmer’s Best Bitter (ABV 4.2%) Palmer’s (Bridport, Dorset) – A predominantly malty best bitter. AKA Palmer’s Traditional IPA.
• Funnel Blower (ABV 4.5%) Box Steam (Colerne, Wiltshire) – A dark brown porter with a subtle vanilla aroma.
• Burton Porter (ABV 4.5%) Burton Bridge (Burton, Staffordshire) – Smooth yet smoky, hints of coffee and chocolate.
• Bottle Wreck Porter (ABV 4.7%) Hammerpot (Poling, West Sussex) – A traditional, flavoursome black porter. Named after a local 19th century shipwreck that contained hundreds of bottles of porter.
• Yorkshire Porter (ABV 4.4%) Old Mill (Snaith, East Yorkshire) – A delicious, slightly sweet porter with roasted chocolate flavours and a pleasant hop aroma.
• Old Slug Porter (ABV 4.5%) RCH (Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset) – A rich, dark brown beer. Chocolate, coffee, roast malt and hops, with lots of body and dark fruits.
• Black Bee (ABV 4.5%) Phoenix (Heywood, Greater Manchester) – Brewed with a blend of roasted malts and honey.
• Captain Pigwash (ABV 5.0%) Potbelly (Kettering, Northants.) – An easy drinking, dark porter.
• Humpty Dumpty Porter (ABV 5.4%) Humpty dumpty (Reedham, Norfolk) – A full bodied, malty brew with hints of liqourice.
• Battledown Porter (ABV 4.5%) Battledown (Cheltenham, Glous.) – A dark red porter with a hint of coffee, velvety smooth and rich in malt.
• ST. PATRICK’S SPECIAL – Shenanigans Black Lager (ABV 4.2%) Harviestoun (Alva, Clacks.) – A black lager brewed with roasted barley. Strangely familiar.
• ST. PATRICK’S SPECIAL – Paddy’s Tarmac Tipple (ABV 4.5%) Moles (Melksham, Wiltshire) – A dark and smooth porter style beer with a rich, fruity palate.

See you there…

Related Posts

• The Speaker in Westminster The highlight of our pub crawl in the St James's Park area of Westminster was a pub called the Speaker. Aug 13th, 2009

It is the first time that a London pub has won this award, and the Harp has beaten three other excellent pubs which made it to the final shortlist.

Julian Hough of CAMRA gives Bridget the National Pub of the Year Award

Those who are familiar with the Harp will know that the award is well deserved – it’s a fine pub with a welcoming atmosphere and great real ales and ciders. The pub is very welcoming and is loved by regular customers and occasional visitors alike.

The presentation of the award to Bridget Walsh (Binnie to her friends) took place at lunchtime on the 16th and I was lucky enough to be invited along.

The day got off to a good start with a quarter page write up in the printed version of the Guardian Newspaper (online version here). Other papers carried the story too and there was even a sentence in the Sun. Binnie was also interviewed by the breakfast team at BBC Radio London.

Duncan Sambrook helps himself to some Wandle

I got to the Harp early and initially the pub was eerily quiet. Binnie was talking to a journalist from Asylum mag. By 11:15 the pub was its usual busy self, and all the CAMRA people had arrived. Julian Hough kicked off with a speech that culminated in a review of some of the comments that the CAMRA surveyors had made about the Harp. After receiving the award Binnie gave a short acceptance speech thanking the CAMRA members, the various breweries and her staff.

Once the formalities were out the way it was time for a drink. Both Sambrooks and Dark Star breweries had generously donated a cask each for the day – Wandle and Hophead respectively. Mmm, decisions, decisions… Duncan Sambrook (MD of Sambrooks) had no doubts and led the attck on the Wandle. In the end I had some of both – very nice. Some excellent food was provided by a team from the First Step Trust.

The Harp shaped cake

There was also a superb cake made by Siobhan Fitzpatrick – shaped like a Harp (the cake, not Siobhan) to represent the beautiful stained glass windows at the front of the pub. After Binnie had cut the cake we all realised how tasty it was. It was easy to spot who’d eaten some as the green glitter on the icing tended to stick to your face.

After several rounds of the Hophead vs Wandle taste test I plumped for the Wandle but only just.

If you’re ever thirsty in the Covent Garden area I recommend a detour to The Harp – you won’t regret it.

Thanks to the Harp for inviting me and for allowing me to use some of their photos – you can see more on their Facebook album page.

Other Places to Visit

• The Harp website
• The Harp on Twitter
• The Harp on Facebook
• The Harp’s collection of YouTube videos
• My pub review of The Harp

Apparently the lease had run out, and the pasty shop and the Cove above have both closed. I believe this happened right at the start of 2011 and on Friday I could see that all fittings from the pasty shop have gone – it’s just an empty shell.

Cove Bar, Covent Garden – the entrance beside the pasty shop

A Cornish Theme Pub?

A favourite of many people – including myself – the Cove was an amazing place – a Cornish themed bar in the heart of London. On the face of it that doesn’t sound too exciting but it was one of the only pubs in London to sell Skinners beers. The three Skinners beers were usually Ice Blonde, Betty Stoggs and my favourite – Cornish Knocker. The Cove also regularly carried St Austell Tribute and latterly Proper Job. All the beers were well kept.

Given its location the Cove was one of the West End’s best kept secrets. You had to know to find the door beside the West Cornwall Pasty shop in the main Covent Garden market building and have the confidence just to walk in and up the stairs – and there it was, complete with a pretend Cornish fishing boat for a bar. Cove Bar was picked out in letters above the door – but so far above eye line that hardly anyone saw that. There was a small brass plate screwed to the wooden stairs that stated “Real ale served here” or something like that. And that was all the signage there was.

Enough people did know about it though to make it pretty busy at times, but you could usually find some space – even on the balcony which overlooked the entertainment on the Piazza. You were of course very close to the drinkers on the balcony of the dire Punch & Judy opposite but we all knew which pub we preferred.

I first encountered the Cove in the early noughties when I stumbled across it by accident while checking out the pasty shop. It quickly became a regular West End haunt of mine, and everyone I took there really liked it. In the early days it was actually run by Cornish people – including staff from the Old Inn, Mullion.

One off-putting aspect of the Cove was the prices. Even given it’s location it was extremely expensive and I read from the latest reviews that they were charging over £4 per pint.

But despite that it’s shame it’s closed and although I hadn’t visited for a while I’m not sure where my next pint of Cornish Knocker is going to come from.

Photos of the Cove Bar

I never really took many pictures of the inside of the Cove – it was on my list…  But here are some pics – mainly from my dodgy mobile phone.

Cove Bar, Covent Garden – The balcony was usually full

Cove Bar, Covent Garden – a pub sign in a first floor window?

Cove Bar, Covent Garden – The sign over the door

Cove Bar, Covent Garden – The barmaid pulls my pint of Skinners Cornish Knocker

Cove Bar, Covent Garden – Two St Austell beers were regulars alongside the 3 from Skinners

Cove Bar, Covent Garden – The balcony was a great place to watch the street entertainers on the Piazza

Other Pages Featuring the Cove

• Pub review of the Cove.
• Cornish Beer in Covent Garden.

The Old Wheatsheaf and the new Thameslink bridge

The first photo shows the Old Wheatsheaf in Stoney Street with the new railway bridge scything through what used to be the top two floors. I got close to the old pub when I took this and you can still see the old wooden panelling hidden behind some protective surfaces. The space top the right of the pub will apparently become a courtyard garden for the pub when it reopens at some point in the future.

Globe Tavern. Borough Market

The second photo features the nearby Globe Tavern right next to the new railway. When the train line is operational it will be possible to reach out the upper floors and touch the trains – it’s that close.

Hope you all have a great Christmas.