Ed’s Central London Pub Directory
Top Real Ale Pubs in London
London Pubs, Bars & Taverns in Zone 1
from
PUBNETWORK.COM™ and the barstool of
Ed Vidunas
Posted November 2004
The consumer organization, CAMRA, has criteria to identify a
good-ale pub. I have too but for this paper I am using beer selection and
condition as the major factors. I have three pubs that I go to most often
because they offer a wide range of ale and cider from around the UK and they are
always good.
Head of Steam
1 Eversholt Street NW1 (Entrance
from the Colonnade near the bus stop at Euston Square) Somers Town
Phone 020 7388 2221, Web www.theheadofsteam.co.uk
Euston Underground Station
I have seen
1100 as the opening hours listed in some papers but found the pub closed until noon during some visits. Very few
pubs in London
offer a wide range of ale on pump and this one has 12 active beer engines. Very
often I do see one or two mild ales and draft cider. This pub has a nice range
of bottled beer and, at times, some of it is bottled conditioned. I have also
been in when they had a cask cider sitting on the back bar. Drinking here is
like being at a beer festival.
Market
Porter
9 Stoney Street SE1 off Clink
Street AT THE MARKET
Southwark- Borough Market
Phone 020 7407 2495
London
Bridge Underground
Station
Many
tourists shy away from the land south of the Thames
and they are missing out on an exciting area and good pubs. This is one of my
favorites as I can get a good selection here. About six different ales are
always on tap and they hale from all across England,
Scotland and Wales.
The pub opens Monday-Saturday from 6 to 8:30 AM (Drinks only) then 11-11. Sun
at noon-10:30
Wenlock Arms (Free House)
26 Wenlock Rd N1 north of City Rd via Windsor
Terrace
Hoxton-Shoreditch
Phone 020 7608 3406, Web www.wenlock-arms.co.uk
Old Street (exit 1) or Angle Underground Stations
If you stop
in London's
pubs looking for unique ale from around the county you can save quite a bit of
walking time by coming here. The Wenlock Arms has
quite a few beer engines dispensing some of the finer English Ales not found
elsewhere in London.
They always have Mild and most often a real cider on draught. The North London branch of CAMRA has functions here often,
which should be an endorsement of some sort. No pub tour of London is complete without stopping here.
This pub is a short walk off City Road and very
much a local for the community it is in. Everyone truly knows everyone else and
women and children sit here like they belonged to the same family. On my first
visit I felt as if I was intruding in somebody’s home. If you could only visit
one pub this would be my recommendation.
Read Me
I know that
I have omitted many good pubs but I have narrowed my list to shown pubs that
have many different brands rather than the pubs that have only one or two
engines. There are however more to say on this matter. Youngs
and Fullers are London
brewers that produce cask ale and all of their pubs should be mentioned. JD Wetherspoon is a pub company that serves a good many brands
and they rotate selection often. Dinking at a Wetherspoon
pub always feels like a beer festival.
Fullers Smith &
Turner (Simply referred to as Fullers) Web www.fullers.co.uk
This Chiswick, London
brewer is the maker of London Pride, Chiswick Bitter.
The have many tied houses around London.
JD Wetherspoon Web www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk
This is what is known as a Pubco
or simply a pub company; that is a company that owns pubs and they buy beer
from many breweries. You can find beer from across the country here, much like
those listed above and you can’t go wrong drinking in them. However, they are
not you father’s pub so don’t expect much talk from the staff or a dog with his
master near a cozy fireplace. They do have a reputation for having the cleanest
ladies rooms and some are masterfully designed. The men’s rooms are very nice
too.
Young’s Web www.youngs.co.uk
One of many
independent brewers this Wandsworth, London brewery was always
a major producer of cask ale. Just like Fullers, Young’s has many pubs about London.