Truckles of Pied Bull Yard, Bloomsburyback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Best thing I can say about this place is the outside on the occasional day we have sunshine in London. Other than that wouldn't recommend as overpriced and inside is more like an All Bar One (but more expensive!).
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nice place if you like wine bars
you have to go downstairs to get a pint of ale
a tad pricey at �3.30 perhaps but tasty enough and an unusual and interesting place to make it worthwhile
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I only visit this place for the Quiz Night. It's a bit pricy, though I do like the Old Wallop ale they have.
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Not impressed. Advertises on it's windows as purveyor of wine and ales, they sell virtually no beer, bottled lager is your lot.
Service was quick though so I'll give them that
TheGP - 29 Jun 2007 11:57 |
Ah, time for me to own up to being a bit of a cock. On my third or fourth visit to the Pie (far too many given its average nature) I discover that there is actually a second alley that allows access and eventually leads to Bloomsbury Way.
I would still maintain that finding this courtyard is a fair test of the brain matter, but clearly a little easier than I portrayed below ...
anonymous - 13 Nov 2006 16:05 |
Locating Truckles after a couple of strong pints is actually more difficult than trying to pin down exactly what planet Mike Tyson comes from. The problem really is this: Truckles is located to one side of a small courtyard ringed by large Bloomsbury buildings that segregate the whole area from the nearest signed streets. Unless you want to parachute in, your only route of entry is therefore a small roofed alley that cuts snugly through one building and is denoted only by a flimsy street sign. I�m sure a few smug people and most well trained carrier pigeons could get there without much trouble, but if your judgement is impaired by the odd barrel or you�re the sort of person who gets lost in their own bathroom (me on both counts) I would strongly suggest a few pin pointed directions from whoever you�re meeting there. Streetmap, usually flawless, isn�t a great deal of help I�m afraid.
Anyway, once there, the courtyard is the most impressive feature you�ll find. It�s hardly Paris in spring time, but the cobbled pavings, relaxing ambiance and sense of calm isolation in the middle of London is very pleasant, especially during the summer months. In addition, the difficulties of locating the place seem to deter the capitals arsehole community, resulting in a nice mix of people and a relatively lively atmosphere.
However, while this outside area is pretty faultless, Truckles itself is more of a disappointment. The interior doesn�t have the soulless tang of yuppyness that most wine bars have, but it is pretty bland if smartly maintained, with a standard light wooden interior and mail ordered furniture that don�t exactly burst with character or distinctiveness. The taps � or rather the fairly piss poor excuse for taps � are either uninspired downstairs or non-existent upstairs, and pretty damn expensive on both levels. The food also follows the pattern of the liquid: ordinary, a tad over priced and not exactly notable for its width or imagination.
Still I have to confess on these latter points that I am a bevies/ales man and as such I�m not exactly the target market for a wine bar. For those more inclined, Truckles does I concede offer a pretty good (though not spectacular) range of wines/cocktails at standard London prices and I suppose most people come here to yap over a glass of chardonnay, not to stuff their face with chef produced cuisine.
This wonder into neutrality makes me less inclined to score Truckles too low, especially when combined with the lack of yuppy crap that usually cakes itself to wine bars. However, a poor tap selection, middling food and a dull interior (despite a nice exterior) must result in an average 5/10.
anonymous - 19 May 2006 16:30 |
There's a pub quiz at 6:30pm on the 22nd November
Techno - 12 Nov 2004 14:57 |
Haven't been here for years, but last time I did, it was a wine bar with outside seating in the courtyard and a "pub" bar in the cellar. We stayed in the cellar because the beer was pretty good and surprisingly cheap if you bought a 4 pint jug. It was also lovely and cool down there which was ideal on a hot day!
I feel another visit coming on!
Phil - 15 May 2004 10:38 |
I'm sure it would have been lovely if we'd actually been let in! They close at 10, so at 9:45 they weren't letting anyone else in. Grr.
Clare - 19 Sep 2003 12:16 |
One of the less 'discovered' outdoor pubs with plenty of room to spread out - always plenty of staff to hand and lots of good wine to drink.
JT - 27 Aug 2003 16:08 |
Defintely a good summer place - loads of seating in a nice courtyard, so no traffic fumes. More of a wine bar than a pub though.
Striker - 5 Aug 2003 12:23 |
Rather pleasant little bar with large, quiet outdoor seating. Great in the summer.
It is tucked away though, not far from the British Museum main entrance.
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