please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I returned to this pub, in a characterful part of Clerkenwell, after an 18 year gap, to find it unchanged Bath Ales' standard ale Gem was on tap and well kept and they have an unexciting range of craft offerings. Styled as gastro and they were quite early to the game but visiting during the coronavirus scare of winter 2020 meant that crowds were down.
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I can't really fault this pub. It has a nice character about it and the current staff are friendly enough. Good range of beer and excellent food with good size portions. Admittedly it was not full last Saturday evening - what pub is round here? - but that's probably another reason why we had a good time.
Open fire which is always nice to see, and when I left my phone on another seat it was returned to me by another punter via the bar staff - always a nice touch.
Definitely one to visit if around there of a weekend.
p.s. actually one gripe - nowhere could I see why it's called the Peasant... I also assumed it's to do with the Revolt but it would be a nice touch to have a plaque or something up in the pub explaining the name.
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I don't like Gastro pubs.I don't like it when they take an old school london boozer and "do it up" beyond all recognition.
However.They have got this right.Whilst it now has a good wine list and serves food(which looked excellent,it has to be said) it still feels like a pub.The Guinness was superb and the my mate assured me the brewers gold was good as well.As for the mosaic and the flooring,.These are not details put in when the pub was refurbed,but leftovers from its old name "the George and Dragon".It would have been criminal to change them.The "new" name a nod at Watt Tyler and his Peasant Army who camped in the area before going on to make a mischief many centuries ago, i presume.
A great pub,that i will always vist when drinking in the area.
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Super little gastro pub with pop culture posters on the walls and an attractive Belgian style mosaic to give it a touch of class. Had the Pacific Pale Ale by Meantime with a glorious thick steak, fries and tenderstem broccoli. Finished the decadant lunch with a big slice of Tiramisu rather incongruously accompanied by a pear shaped blob of pistachio. Still to find a tiramisu that matches the legendary ones from Ciao Bella in Lambs Conduit Street in the early noughties. This one didn't quite have the alcoholic kick for me but presentation excellent. Staff very nice too.
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My favourite London pub. I love everything about this pub, from the decor, great staff, awesome food, and of course the ever changing line up of ale, always anchored by the excellent Brewers Gold. Last time I was in I think it was Skinners Cornish Knocker on which was excellent. The Sunday roast was incredible.
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8 months on, I made a return visit to the Peasant and this time I found it open for custom. As the previous reviewer states, the tiled floor is quite impressive. In fact, it's a very nice drinking environment. Although I could imagine it feeling a little cold in the winter. Service was fine. A large party had formed around the pumpclips, making beer choice difficult. However, beers on were Trumans Runner, Sambrooks Pumphouse Pale Ale & Crouch Vale Brewers Gold. Cider was Orchard Pig. Rating increased to 6/10.
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Stopped for a quick one - staff seemed friendly enough despite other comments here. There was plenty of room and the decor was impressive - the floor looked like a Roman mosaic. A good selection of beers available, I had a Meantime London Pale Ale and I'd happily go back to work my way through the cask and kegs from various good quality brewers - Redemption, Meantime etc
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Saw this pub listed in the 2012 Good Beer Guide and saw that it was open on a Saturday. So I tore myself away from the excellent selection in the Craft to try it out. 4 ales were on - Keltec Magic, Brains SA, Crouch Vale Brewers Gold & Trumans Runner. Cider was Orchard Pig. The barstaff immediately acknowledged me and asked if they could help. I said I wanted to see what they were serving first. But they soon told me they were closed for a private function. Looked promising and they were also advertising a beer festival for next weekend. I will probably return. But for now I can only rate this a 1/10, as a public house had turned into a private house. 1 point for the promise.
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I took a friend here off the back of some good reviews. Not what I expected. Here's what you need to know.
- Four pounds and forty pence for a bottle of Brooklyn IPA.
- Eurotrash dance music on the stereo.
- Four pounds and forty pence for a bottle of Brooklyn IPA.
The clientele seemed to be a mix of tourists and suits-just-finished-work.
A big fat fucking zero.
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I came to this pub with my dad tonight, as I'd heard lots of good things. We were put off by the attitude of the lady behind the bar. For some reason she seemed quite unwelcoming and dismissive, telling us there was just one table free, and pointing in a vague direction.
The pub was quite empty, but we were there quite early (7:30pm), so it could be that there were reservations for a later time. That's fine - we were just taken by surprise with her behaviour, and not fancying an evening of that, decided to go on to another gastro pub, which was very nice!
Maybe I'll try another time - the ale selection looks good :-)
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The Beef and ale pie was nicely cooked and the Saltaire beer they had on was in top condition. Great place to take the wife or anyone else for that matter.
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This pub is a must! Excellent bar staff, friendy and great service. Good range of ever changing guest ales with Crouch Vale's Brewers gold a regular and tasting very good. I would recommend this pub as friendy, great service and great beer
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Yes, do watch out for the local 'geezers' calling your girlfriend 'darling'!! (see StuartW review, March 2008) Ha ha, ridiculous - surely this adds to the atmosphere of the pub, and not detracts from it as your review replies. Stick to the wine bars - i hear the Guardian is doing a 2-for-1 special at All Bar One this weekend which you'll probably enjoy.
For me, this was my pub find of 2008 - went to the Beer Festival there in October, and was blown away. Cracking nosh, superb ale, and a great couple of lads (brothers) who run it. Couldn't believe i hadn't been there before - all that wasted time!
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Great pub - high ceilings, good atmosphere. Good beer too.
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this is the best pub in the area. great owners and staff. top grub and crowd. sure you get a bit more edge further south down the street, but if you just want an easy time in pleasant surroundings then go here, no flash city suits, no charlie big-potatoes, no glum frowners, flawless.
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oh do watch out for those nasty geezers that call ladies darling !!!! how terribly common.....sorry mate but thats all part of the rich tapestry of a proper london pub....whats so offensive about calling a lady darling? ..actors do it all the time ....
This is a great pub with a extensive range of beers.
Clerkenwell is fortunate and has lots of good pubs.
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Okay for a quick drink or night out with mates, but watch out for the local 'geezers' who seem to think it is alright to call a woman that they don't know 'darling'. Lacks atmosphere inside, and is very open plan so there is nowhere to hide, so the paranoid could think that everyone is looking at them. Reasonably priced, lots of beers (although I am a wine drinker), and nice traditional decor (although the furniture is ancient so watch out for collapsing chairs). Good place to have a couple of quiet ones.
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Tried a pint recently and just managed not to burst into tears. This is high praise indeed as I was prepared to be appalled. In the 60's when this was The George & Dragon I spent most of my grant and sacrificed a grade of degree here. In company with many City undergrads from up the street and a number of now eminent MD's from Barts I developed my life long enthusiasm for things alcoholic in these hallowed halls.
Nowhere on earth has more or happier memories for me so there are probably too many ghosts for me to be objective about the place. Judgement is clouded with wonderful recollections - old friends then young-the pervading warm almond smell of cyanide drifting in from the electroplating works across street-the near all night lock ins and the top quality lunchtime folk sessions featuring all the big names of the scene. Above all Ray & Doreen the late wonderous landlords who funded the concerts at a loss, frequently subbed hard up students and were then suicidily lax about chasing up the debts. Their comment when I visited them in retirement is a fitting epitaph to a probably extinct way of life "We had so much fun we just aimed to make enough profit to let us keep doing it".
With that proviso.The place seemed souless and lacking a real personality. The name change exemplifies the problem it seems inoffensive but random - so does the pub. It probably could not survive as the classic Victorian local boozer it was but I couldn't define what it has become.
To be fair it is still one of the better pubs in the area - the beer was excellent( much better than 1960's Truman's) the staff friendly (and decorative-sorry I'm too old to be PC)others spoke well of the food and blessedly no one has vandalised the magic mosaics of the old persona. Much worse fates have befallen other fondly remembered watering holes!
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Excellent and attentive staff here the other Saturday night, and a good range of real ales and quality lagers. The Crouch Vale Brewer's Gold was perfect.
Nice ambience in the place, and they have a good reputation for food upstairs.
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The Peasant has plenty of positives that appeal to me but somehow I find it all a bit too open and lacking any intrinsic charm. The interior is spacious but the high dark moulded ceiling and large plain picture windows make it seem a bit cavernous. The real gem of the place is the fantastic mosaic floor, a bit of a rarity these days even if the wording does depict its previous life as the George & Dragon. The music posters give it a bit of an arty edge and there is a decent enough selection of beers (Bombardier, Crouch End Gold and Skinners Betty Stogs). There is an upstairs restaurant which gives the place its gastropub tag although the restauarant and bar are quite separate. All in all, this is a fine place for a couple of beers but I wouldn�t specifically choose it for a full session.
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came for a friends birthday and couldn't believe just how many great beers they had, too many to name. I asked the barman to recommend one and had the crouch vale amarillo. Will most certainly go back when I am in clerkenwell again. Really friendly staff, lots of beer knowledge.
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Liked this place - anywhere with Brewers Gold has to be ok.
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Came for lunch. Service was slow, food was nice but disappointing given the expectation I had had. Not particularly good value but not rip off prices.
We came at the end of a beer festival so they had many cask beers to try. Ordinarily the beers are okay but go to the Jerusalem for a better experience.
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Came for lunch. Service was slow, food was nice but disappointing given the expectation I had had. Not particularly good value but not rip off prices.
We came at the end of a beer festival so they had many cask beers to try. Ordinarily the beers are okay but go to the Jerusalem for a better experience.
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Sat in the corner in this pub and noticed the name "George and Dragon" in the mosaic. I never really see the point in changing names this way - especially when the original name is there for all to see. But maybe I am missing something - presumably "Peasant" is considered to be a better name for marketing purposes, but I can't see it. Missed the Budvar on tap unfortunately. There are better pubs within easy reach - Sekforde Arms or Jerusalem Tavern which are both more like "real" pubs (even if the Jerusalem has only been on its present site for 10 years or so). Won't go out of my way to go there again.
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Got the impression staff couldn't give much of a monkey, in the restaurant anyway, the bar was fine. Service was subtly tetchy, maybe caused by understaffing, and selling-up technique was heavy handed. Food was ok, no more than that. Go somewhere else for a good meal, plenty of choice locally...
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more of a restaurant than a pub as I had been hoping, although it was lunch and the real restaurant is upstairs.
The good beer selection made up for the lack of menu options.
Maybe for a drink, but i'll lunch a miss next time
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Had hoped to nip into this pub to see if they had any MILD or any other dark drink but a crowd of football rowdies were sitting outside making a lot of noise so decided to give it a miss. Didn't look like the sort of place to have any of the dark stuff anyway. Besides, not far to the "Wenlock" from here.
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I don't love this place so much now - the quality of service has nose dived and the menu in the bar is hopeless. I get the impression previously hands-on owners have stopped caring as much... a great shame.
anonymous - 11 May 2006 13:54 |
The restaurant upstairs is great during the evening but terrible at lunch-time, empty, poor customer service, and no atmosphere. The food was ok but not cooked as we asked, very dissapointing. Only reccommended for evening meals - the pub downstairs however is good at all times!
anonymous - 23 Mar 2006 14:31 |
A rare example of a gastropub that also manages to be an appealing place to go for a just a drink, thanks to the great beer selection and the amazingly friendly vibe. I love this place.
anonymous - 14 Dec 2005 14:20 |
budvar on tap is always a plus. food lovely, staff very friendly - one of the bartenders even lit my girlfriend's fag when she looked like she needed a light. beats the Well (just down the road) hand-over-foot for atmosphere. also enough staff on a Friday to not wait long at all.
anonymous - 27 Feb 2005 19:00 |
Lovely old pub - great hearty food and a smashing dining room upstairs! It also boasts a fireplace and the staff are always happy to help. Sunday brunch is the best around.
Fabrice Conin - 12 Nov 2004 21:15 |
