Posts Tagged ‘Aldgate’
Party at the Dispensary, Aldgate
Nov 29th, 2009 |
I’ve written about the Dispensary in Aldgate before in my Aldgate lunchtime series. But on Friday 20th November I left my last job and had my leaving party there. The turnout was very good as you can see from this picture.
Annie, who runs the Dispensary, always keeps the beer well and I was sustained for the evening by pints of Dark Star Hophead and Harvey’s Best. I didn’t try the Itchen Valley Gold or the Dark Star Porter but I’m told they were good too.
If you are ever in the Aldgate area I do recommend the Dispensary for a fine pint – it’s a bit cheaper than some pubs around as well. They put out complimentary nibbles on a Friday evening too.
Aldgate Pub Lunch Options 5 – Brown Bear
Sep 24th, 2009 |
The Brown Bear is situated down at the southern end of Leman Street E1, just by the railway bridge. At times since I’ve been working in the area it’s been a regular haunt and I’ve had some great times there. But pubs go down as well as up and fall out of use. I’m pleased to say though that the Brown Bear is in the ascendant again and is now a regular lunch time stop.
The Brown Bear has a horseshoe shaped bar that extends down the right hand side to a more secluded seating area at the back.
As you can (maybe) see from the photo of the outside, the pub was originally a Taylor Walker pub. I’m not clear who owns it at the moment but I do know that it offers good real ales from an ever-changing selection of guests. Only London Pride seems to be a constant, and on my last visit the O’Hanlons Yellowhammer was good. (It’s what I should have been drinking on my last visit to the Double Locks near Exeter).
On the food side they have a standard pub-type menu with some specials on the board. But there are also many Thai dishes available as well – all priced at around £6 – £8.
On my last visit I had a Pad Thai (see pic) which was delicious. There was also so much that I couldn’t finish it. In the past I’ve had burgers here and they’re good too.
Previous posts in this series
Aldgate Pub Lunch Options 4 – Hoop and Grapes
Sep 11th, 2009 |
I’ve been coming to the Hoop & Grapes on and off for nearly 20 years. It’s situated on Aldgate Hight Street, just east of and opposite Aldgate tube station.
The Hoop & Grapes is a Nicholson’s pub so to a certain extent you know what you’re going to get. But I think that Nicholson’s is one of the better pub chains – compared to the All Bar One, Pitcher & Piano indentikit establishments. The interior is old and woody, mainly dark but with pools of light beneath the ceiling windows half way up and at the back. You’ll be amazed how big the pub is inside given the small frontage on Aldgate High St.
I always make sure to get there as early as possible to get a table when eating lunch as it can get quite busy – especially towards the end of the week.
The food menu contains few surprises but the prices are pretty reasonable and lunchtime deals are available on some dishes. My enormous gammon steak with two eggs and chips was £5. The food always tastes good.
Beer-wise, the Hoop & Grapes usually carries four real ales. London Pride, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, and Sharp’s Doom Bar seem pretty constant and there is one guest. Usually the beers taste well kept but some colleagues have remarked on the odd dodgy pint.
The pub’s good in the evening too – once again getting busy quickly after work. Food is not available in the evenings though. They do ale tastings every Thursday nights.
Previous posts in this series
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.
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.
Previous posts in this series:
Aldgate Lunchtime Options No2 – The Dispensary
Aug 17th, 2009 |
Number 2 in an occasional series of pubs I can visit at lunchtime. It follows on from my first ever post which concerned the Pride of Spitalfields.
The Dispensary is situated on the junction of Leman Street and Alie Street – just down the road from Aldgate East tube station. There used to be 3 pubs on this crossroads a few years ago. The Old Monk has now become a ‘gentlemans club’ and the Black Horse which reinvented itself as Bar Bed recently became a crime scene.
The Dispensary itself is enjoying a bit of a resurgence after having reopened some months ago. Prior to that it was closed for ages after a drastic decline in quality. It originally opened in 1998.
On the beer front, the Dispensary is now the local CAMRA group’s Pub of the Year, so you’d expect something special. I started with Hog’s Back HBB – refreshing and tasty, but I preferred the Nethergate Umbel which is a fruity, floral beer but slightly bitter. I know not everyone likes beer like this, but I do.
If you’re eating here and ordering from the menu make sure your bank balance is healthy. I chose the steak burger – almost the cheapest item on the main course menu at £9.50. But it was superb – cooked slightly rare, how I like it. And I was cetainly full up when I finished it.
The Dispensary is very much geared up like a restaurant at lunchtimes – you’re shown to a table and the order is taken from the table.
I was going to say that I’d be unlikely to eat there again given the prices but during a conversation with Annie who runs the pub she told me that they do offer Beer and Baguette lunches for £5, and Beer and Ploughmans for £9.50. I’ll certainly be back to try those.
I did pop back today for an excellent pint of Harvey’s Best which they usually stock. Dark Star Hophead is another regular apparently.