Posts Tagged ‘O’Hanlons’
Aldgate Pub Lunch Options 5 – Brown Bear
Sep 24th, 2009 |
The Brown Bear, Aldgate
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).
The Brown Bear, Aldgate - Pad Thai and O'Hanlons Yellow Hammer
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.
Other posts tagged Aldgate
- Party at the Dispensary, Aldgate Nov 29th, 2009
- Aldgate Pub Lunch Options 4 – Hoop and Grapes Sep 11th, 2009
- Aldgate Lunchtime Options No3 – The Peacock Sep 2nd, 2009
- Aldgate Lunchtime Options No2 – The Dispensary Aug 17th, 2009
- Pride of Spitalfields, E1 Jul 2nd, 2009
The Double Locks, Exeter
Sep 18th, 2009 |
We popped in to the Double Locks on the canal near Exeter for lunch on the way down to our recent holiday Wembury. It’s an old favourite of mine and I’ve been coming here sporadically for 30 years.
The Double Locks, Exeter
The pub building itself hasn’t changed in that time, but what was originally a free house selling mainly Wadworths 6X became a Smiles pub in the late 90s and then a Young’s pub after the demise of the Bristol brewery.
Although a Young’s pub the beer selection does still feature some local Devon beers – notably from O’Hanlons and Branscombe Vale. Many of these are served on gravity from barrels racked up behind the bar and I’ve no proof but I bet they all outsell the Young’s own beers. The beers are all well looked after and my usual favourite is the O’Hanlons Yellowhammer (although that had run out).
The canal-side location for the Double Locks is superb in good weather and the pub is best approached on foot or by bike. By car the pub is tricky to find and then you have to drive across an extremely narrow bridge over the canal to get onto the towpath and then on to the car park.
My curse on the residents of Exeter is that is always rains when I visit the Double Locks so we have to eat and drink inside. Whilst I love the place, not all members of my family agree and liken the inside to a bus station waiting room. It’s not helped matters that sometimes the food has been a bit average in the past. This summer however it was pretty good. I still may struggle to keep everyone onside next summer.
I’ve just noticed that the Double Locks is no longer in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. I’m wondering if that’s because the competition in the area has got better – I hadn’t noticed any drop in beer quality on my (admittedly infrequent) visits.
You can read a more recent review of the Double Locks here.
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