BITE user comments - ThLoneBoozer
Comments by ThLoneBoozer
Craft Beer pub, leased from GK. As reported below, knocks the you-know-what out of the other pubs around Angel. It's more of a 'pubby' pub than the one in Leather Lane, this one has carpets and furniture. There is seperate seating space, with a little 'nook' around the back for those intimate liaisons ! Amazing how they squeezed all the pumps and taps into such a small space. The cask ales are served from a sort-of 'double-decker' beer engine, with two rows of taps, one above t'other. When things are busy it resembles three people trying to play one piano !
As to beers, similar to the range at Clerkenwell, with the addition of a couple of Cromarty offerings. Late opening (1.AM?) Friday and Saturday.
27 Nov 2012 17:44
The Pig and Butcher, Islington
The old 'Tap' is now fully open as the Pig and Butcher.
It's one of those 'gastro-ish' places with a seperate dining area and an open kitchen. There are three handpumps, but only one working on my visit, so just the ubiquitous Doombar. I was told that Wandle and Bath are cellared. I rather like the place; it's not so full of the 'Gilded Youth' crowd found on Upper Street, and most importantly, they have a cellarman who knows his beer.
(Cellar at 11 degrees, I was told, with jacketed beer-lines)
Any football afficionados who used the old pub en route to Arsenal are in for a shock when they see what's become of the 'Tap' ! No rating yet, let's see some more beers on first.
25 Jul 2012 15:40
The Pig and Butcher, Islington
This pub is currrently undergoing a refurbishment. It has been taken on by the people who run the 'Lady Ottoline' and the 'Princess of Shoreditch' and like them, is 'gastro-ish', but welcomes beer-drinkers also. It opens sometime end of July.
More anon.
10 Jul 2012 11:03
The Hope, Tottenham Court Road
Yes, the Hope is under new management and it is beginning to show ! Like many other regulars, I sort-of liked the tatty incarnation from before, but maybe a make-over is in order. Main differences are that there is always BEER on ! No more walking in on a Saturday and finding 5 dry pumps, and one can actually use the bogs without having to paddle and / or getting dripped-on from above. The lightbulbs have been replaced also ! Can't say on the ales provided as I can't remember (!!) but will probably drop in this afto for the football results and report back.
31 Mar 2012 12:01
Just for information, the 'sister' pub is now open in Clerkenwell. It's at the top of Leather Lane, the Clerkenwell road end, not the Holborn end. Mostly 'Fyne' beers there. Now I've seen what they can do, I shall probably visit the Pimlico one.
8 Jul 2011 16:26
This pub is now under new management - Kiwi Chris has left.
Nothing else seems to have changed though; still very good (Fullers) beer and still very cr*ppy sound system ! Still, I like it, and prefer it to the blue-neon-lit Bacardi-Breezer shop next door.
3 Jul 2011 00:57
Went in this Saturday - the place is *awesome*, at least
14 handpumps and as many fonts (quite honestly, I lost count!)
The main handpump beer is Fynes, which I have never heard of;
in fact, I've never heard of any of the beers on sale there, but there is no sign of the usual old GK, Bombardier, Doombar, etc, etc.
There is also no food served, so no problem with the bar staff being distracted from serving beer! Efficient, friendly and knowledgeable staff (and management) and it will be interesting to see how it pans-out when the Clerkenwell Hipsters discover it. I shall certainly return.
3 Jul 2011 00:42
This is sort-of an 'update'; the recent shut-out on Saturday was a one-off; a prior booking from before the refurb. The pub has settled down now, the furniture has been moved around to make room for the customers (a nice touch !!) and the kitchen is in full working order. I've never eaten here, but what I have seen come down looks good and plentiful. Four handpumps - my last visit had Sambrooks, Hophead, Redemption Hopspur (sic) and a very dark 'porter-ish' BrewDog beer from Fraserburgh. The beer-engine is working well, I usually have the Bitter & Twisted, which is a mix of lager and bitter from Harviestouns. The staff will always offer a taster, which is nice. Yes, you *can* pay �15 for a bottle of beer, if that's your thing, but there's something for everybody.
27 May 2011 23:56
Had a look in here mainly because I drink in the 'sister pub'
the Old Red Cow in Clerkenwell. Max the guv'nor designed both bars.
On the Sunday afternoon I visited, it was not that crowded, most people were sitting at tables 'Wi-Fi'-ing or watching the football.
Had a pint of Redemption (forget which) and some Windsor&Eton Dark IPA (really!) The bar is small and full of 'stuff'; six ? fonts and four hand-pumps, and there is a lot of food traffic, but beer service is quick, and Max always takes time out to talk about what beers are on. Didn't see any 'grown men with jewelry' (previous review) but there *were* a couple of Bermondsey 'Geezers' showing their posh totty around the 'manor'. All in all, a great start to what
was a very nice Sunday afternoon; walked up by Guys and the Shard of Glass (awesome), and had a mini-crawl round the local pubs, mostly Youngs, would you believe?
.
18 May 2011 17:50
The Charles Lamb, Angel, Islington
Yes, I used to love this pub, good choice of ale (Hophead, usually plus 2 others) but recently seems to have turned into a kindergarten for Islington's little-uns, although they are usually well-behaved. Last few times I have been there on a Saturday were shut-outs for private parties or un-announced closures.
Have given this one up for weekend drinking.
14 May 2011 23:21
Went over on Saturday evening - another shut-out for a private party. I know they have to make a living, but I think I'll give this one a miss from now on at weekends.
14 May 2011 23:03
Like a couple of other posters here, I've tried very hard to like this pub - I work very near, and the Bree is ostensibly a real-ale paradise, but.................
/inter alia/, it can get totally rammed early evenings, more so than some of the other pubs around, and with people asking the staff "what's the <insert name of beer> taste like?"
Maybe it's me, but there also seems to be a 'Supermarket queue' effect, where the staff are all in one bar and the customers are all in the other bit !
Last time I was there was a (hot) Saturday lunchtime and chose to sit outside. After half an hour of being panhandled by the scuzzers and alkies from Euston station I drank up and left.
I know it sounds snobby, but it's a shame the Bree can't be moved half-a-mile into Fitzrovia or Marylebone.
Despite all the above whingeing, I still can't bring myself to write it off.
27 Apr 2011 13:09
Just re-opened on 6th April. I went in to have a 'nosey' on the way to somewhere else and was rather impressed ! The refurb is, in a word, drastic! However, despite my earlier fears it is still a real ale pub. The bar has been rebuilt and extended and now has five hand-pumps. (Hophead, Tribute, Sambrooks Wandle + 2)
The usual T-bar for Lagers etc has been replaced by a strange 'beer-engine' contraption on the back bar with a series of numbered taps and a blackboard with the various beers and lagers chalked up against the numbers.
The entire bar has been completely made-over, with new, clean floorboards, comfortable stools and little LED lights on the stairs. The 'Snogging Corner' with the settee under the up-stairs has gone, and the only niggle I have is the bloody great 6-seater table in the middle of the room which has to be squeezed round to get to & from the facilities. The bogs have all been renewed with new ware and even the hand-dryer works (after 2 years !) I shall probably go again on a Saturday to check my first impressions on what was a bit of a flyer, despite the long review above, as I only had two pints !
Also, I don't think the kitchen is working yet.
more anon.
TLB
7 Apr 2011 12:50
Sign on the windows say it re-opens on 1st April. I hope that isn't a bad omen ;-) There is a new bar and back-bar, and the rickety stairs have been 'sorted' (I got a look inside as the fitters had the doors open. ) Will check it out after opening-day.
27 Mar 2011 14:24
Been past this pub a few times going to/from Barts, but never been in, partly because the mob of people outside got me thinking it was packed inside. Noting the kicking this pub got on this site prompted me to check it out, once on a Weekday, and on a Saturday. I was always served promptly and politely with well-kept beer, and had a pleasant chat with a couple of medics from 'round the corner' Yes, there was one Suit in, effing and blinding into his mobile 'phone, and the landlady can be a bit sharp with those she considers time-wasters, but it's never worried me, and I don't tend to go into pubs just because the owners buy me drinks <grin>
27 Mar 2011 14:19
The Marlborough Head, Marble Arch
Walked past this pub countless times on the way to Shepherd Market but first time I've ventured in. Very civilised pub with the usual Youngs line - had a fine pint of Ordinary and a chat with a very pleasant Polish barmaid -er- person. It's a bit blighted by the building site opposite, and I went on a Saturday, so lots of Happy Shoppers in. I am told the management has changed also.
I shall certainly visit again on a non-Saturday-afternoon !
17 Jan 2011 12:50
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The Sekforde Arms, Clerkenwell
Youngs have sold the lease back to the freeholder, and the pub will probably be converted into a restaurant.
5 Feb 2014 18:26