BITE profile - alefellowwellmet # beerintheevening.com

The Junction Tavern, Kentish Town

This is and has always been for past decades the discerning ale drinkers' predominant pub in London - as well as serving the best cider ever from the oldest living family cider maker in the UK (no - not in the west Country, but in Suffolk!) - Aspalls.
Please tell me also where in London will you ever be able to purchase a pint of the excellent Itchen Valley Godfathers at �2.70 per pint and especially in this salubrious area of SW London - let alone find it being served in any other pub in London! Also Harveys best bitter at �2.90 per pint - far cheaper than at any Harveys tied pub that I know (including The Royal Oak in Borough) - and I used to live near the brewery in Lewes! My own and other locals' favourite tipple, sometimes available here (but not often enough, despite what "Sharp" hereunder incorrectly states) is from Lancashire - the award- winning Moorhouse Black Cat. And I, in company with a lot of regulars here would hardly agree with "Sharp's"description hereunder (as with his opinion of the similar award-winning Godfathers) as being uninspiring real ales!
Fantastic unique American micro-brew ale festival this weekend - and I have tended to be the biggest sceptic of American ales in the past! Literally tons of American micro-brews imported at impossible logistics and cost - accordingly and understandably on offer at higher retail prices than UK brews ( but however mostly priced at not that much more than tasteless chemical lagers brewed under licence in the UK and dispensed under the pernicious "beer tie"!).
Especially looking forward to tomorrow afternoon when the exceptionally long established and talented international headline band of The SPIKEdrivers (USA) will be appearing here to enhance my enjoyment of Odells' Cutthroat Porter (5.1% ABV) amongst other unique USA micro-brews that we may sadly never see again in the foreseeable future in the UK and which are scarce even in the USA. Well done to all of the staff and management at The White Horse - yet another first. Sadly many people appear to be only too quick to complain ( and rightly so, if justified) but all too slow to praise! If anyone were to ever award a Michelin star to a pub for its food and drink then the first should be The White Horse on Parsons Green. Furthermore in this writer's opinion it is far more deserving of such an award for its food alone than the nearby over-hyped Harwood Arms - which I have personally tested in company who we unanimously found undeserving of such an award!

4 Jul 2010 02:00

My wife and I visited here for the first time yesterday evening. Very friendly and accommodating staff who refreshingly appreciate that its customers have come out to enjoy themselves. The menu was sensibly short with the good food served from an open kitchen. Four real ales on handpump including excellent well kept Wye Valley Hereford IPA (4%). Also tried a stronger real ale which was also very good. The dining room, conservatory and garden were all full - testament to them providing customers with the ingredient for success. We look forward to our next visit here.

16 May 2010 14:11

The Falcon, Clapham Junction

Excellent Godfathers (3.8%) apparently being kept on here as a regular real ale in view of turnover and reduced to �2.70 per pint (from �2.95) from today. Name me any other pub that has ever reduced the price of a pint of beer! Harveys Best Bitter increased to �2.90 per pint but still far cheaper here than at The Harveys tied pub, the Royal Oak, in Southwark!
All 18 handpumps downstairs each dispensing a different real ale for this week - cask ale week.
Apologies for my repeated eulogies but this pub just keeps doing it right which is why I keep coming back.

31 Mar 2010 00:05

Great new selection of real ales including Moorhouse Black Cat which I understand will be a regular for the next three months at least.

30 Mar 2010 23:46

My wife and I had the sup(h)erb herb crusted rack of lamb (for two) last night here for dinner which was perfectly cooked and succulently tender which we followed with a delicious (Valrhona?) chocolate fondant which was one of the specials which we hope will appear on the regular menu - one would not have got a better dinner at a Michelin starred restaurant and indeed the food here is far better than at the over-hyped and undeserved (in our opinion) Michelin starred Harwood Arms nearby.
Like the food the real ales here are first class - the Godfathers and Wild Swan being particularly to our taste this past week.
Easily the best place to imbibe and dine in the area and in most of London. The White Horse has the largest range of draught and bottled beers from all over the world that I have seen in any pub - and the wine selection is pretty impressive also. Very welcoming, hard working and helpful staff.

25 Mar 2010 12:43

Wow! Spoilt for choice this week with Moorhouse Black Cat at long last back on the real ale menu as well as Itchen Valley Godfathers, Hillsborough Pale Ale and Wolf Coyote. Fantastic micro-brew selection!

10 Feb 2010 00:18

The Wellington, Birmingham

Great treat and debut at The White Horse of Itchen Valley Godfathers ale (3.8%)on handpump which I have been recommending for a long time along with Bowmans Swift One which The White Horse also managed to get in earlier last year - and which did not last long as I suspect will be the case with Godfathers! Give yourselves a treat to one of the great session real ales before I drink it all! Many thanks Dan.

2 Feb 2010 20:42

Great pub with fantastic selection of well-kept real ales on seventeen handpumps. Friendly, knowledgeable manager and staff who will willingly let you sample ales to help you decide from the vast choice. Extreme difficulty in dragging myself away from here and willingly missed my return train by more than two hours. Sorely tempted to stay longer for their beer festival with a further 24+ real ales racked up on tressles by the side of the bar but discretion had to prevail. Will definitely return asap and this will be my permanent outpost for future expeditions to Birmingham. Thank you so much Nigel and staff for making my trip to Birmingham so memorable. Definitely a pub not to be missed.

30 Jan 2010 17:15

The Half Moon, Putney

Good to hear that this long established live music venue has had a reprieve from pubco Youngs who apparently seem to have finally become enlightened as to the repeat PR disaster that they might have unleashed again!
Also hopefully customers here will be spared the overpriced pseudo gastro fare so predominantly pedalled in many of pubco Youngs' other London establishments. Sadly though the inferior Charles Well's (ex Youngs) Bitter will presumably remain, as elsewhere, one of the most expensive ordinary bitters in London in view of pubco Youngs' active pursuit and support of the exhorbitant, restrictive and anti-competitive "beer tie"!

8 Jan 2010 19:29

Whereas I would have enjoyed whileing away a few hours here today with some friends it was sadly impossible due to the strength of the majority of the real ales on offer - from the eighteen handpumps in situ there were seven real ales available today and only one of them was under 4.6% which was the usual Harveys Best Bitter (4%). We had to repair elsewhere for somewhere more conducive to dispensing more sociable palatable session real ales.

24 Dec 2009 23:36

Harveys Best Bitter (4%) increased last week to �2.70 per pint (from �2.60 for a long time) but still a reasonable price in comparison with elsewhere. Conversely, curiously priced Harveys Mild (3.5%) recently at �2.90 per pint! Also Thornbridge Ashford (4.2%) yesterday at �3.25 per pint which is somewhat steep! Not apparently subject to the extortionate "beer tie" and consequently real ale selection mostly good and mostly comprised of microbrews, although Fullers noticeably creeping in! Usually seven or eight handpumps in use out of eighteen handpumps in total. The ales are always well kept and served by friendly hard working staff. However sadly I am informed by the management that two great brews, Moorhouse Black Cat and Hobsons Mild, will no longer be seen in the White Horse as they are too expensive for them to purchase. However thankfully the Trafalgar Ale House in South Wimbledon still frequently dispense Moorhouse Black Cat (at �2.70 per pint only last week) as it is a big seller for them - and they must be using the right supplier as the management there inform me that it is one of their most reasonably priced beers to purchase!
Food still of a high standard and excellent refurbishment/long overdue resurrection of upstairs general eating and drinking area (instead of previous isolation for private functions only).

20 Dec 2009 22:14

The Half Moon, Putney

Not one of my favourite pubs for a number of reasons but it is always sad to see a live music venue under threat of closure - especially one as long established as this one. And please not another Youngs' pubco overpriced pseudo gastro pub?

8 Dec 2009 01:54

To unionjak - it takes one to know one!

8 Dec 2009 01:36

The Globe on the Lake, Alresford

To holbornboy. I am a longtime (>40 yrs) 'local' of this pub and I do not drink lager, soft drinks or endure children in pubs. I also do not reserve tables other than in the restaurant. However it also irks me and a lot of the other regular locals that I drink with here that this pub reserves tables in the bar area especially on Chelsea home football matches. I have taken this up with the management in the past but to no avail and so please give us locals a break will you! And I nor any of the other local ale drinkers here that I know reserved a table for the recent old ale festival although we were there like yourselves in similar apparent discomfort -which was one of the reasons that my wife and I left early. In fact we were seated at a table upstairs and were actually requested to move as it had been booked for 6.30 pm by someone else.
Please get your facts correct before making generalisations in blaming the locals. Take it up with the management and good luck!

8 Dec 2009 01:25

If you don't use it you lose it - especially in this day and age. This is really sad news that it is closed as it was a great pub serving excellent real ales and excellent food.

24 Nov 2009 22:51

Excellent Argentinian dinner evening last Thursday. Four courses including sea bass fillet (perfectly cooked) and succulent lamb with a separate Argentinian wine with every course as well as a welcome Argentinian sparkling wine beforehand - all for �25. Food was excellent with generous portions and all of the wines were very good. No wonder it was fully booked. Looking forward to the next special dinner.
Also nice to see two delicious new real ales on handpump - Weltons Export Stout (4.7%) and Downton Quadhop (3.9%) in addition to the regular Weltons Semaphor (3.8%).

21 Nov 2009 18:42

Over the last couple of days at the intimate "Traf" I have delighted in rediscovering Moorhouse Black Cat (selling at �2.70 per pint) which the management of the "Sloaney Pony" (White Horse on Parsons Green) curiously informed me recently was too expensive, along with Hobsons Mild, for them to continue to purchase any more, despite the past sales success there of both of these unique Milds. All power therefore to the "Traf" over Mitchells & Butlers!
Also an excellent Porter here at the "Traf" which was also consumed by the clientele at a similarly alarming rate as Black Cat. Always a very interesting and varied selection of six real ales from micro-breweries throughout the country.
Thank goodness for pubs like the "Traf" run by astute and experienced traditional pub landlords.

27 Oct 2009 00:30

The Hop Leaf, Reading

Great hospitable little pub.
Excellent Downton Chocolate Orange Stout at �2.70 per pint as well as nice Hopback range with GFB at �2.25 per pint.
By car one has to negotiate the tortuous Reading one-way system and parking nearby is not easy - but well worth the effort.
Will return asap.

20 Oct 2009 12:06

Nags Head, Reading

Superb hospitable pub with twelve different micro-brews on handpump, all at �2.80 per pint. Also good value food.
Looking forward to launch here tomorrow evening of new Reading micro-brewery and also hopefully finally getting around to trying the Downton Orange Chocolate Stout before it disappears!

18 Oct 2009 21:51

Excellent ale festival today including some very rare micro-brews with live jazz (in beer garden) & complimentary cheese & biscuits and seafood. Looking forward to more dark milds and stouts apparently planned for later this month including Moorhouse Black Cat.
Many thanks for a most hospitable and enjoyable afternoon.

18 Oct 2009 21:43

Welcome return to The Telegraph of Weltons ale from Horsham - specially brewed as Semaphor.
Very pleased that the grazing boards (UK tapas!) have been retained on the new menu.

18 Oct 2009 21:34

A terrific South London pub!

18 Oct 2009 21:30

Like granny I think that this place is lovely (and in a lovely setting) even though I may have to (occasionally) wait for a few minutes to be served at the bar especially on a very busy Sunday.
Like granny I am also discerning and thoroughly enjoy the food here, especially the grazing plates (somewhat similar to tapas, which I wish more pubs would indulge in) with individual selections at �1.50 (yes, �1.50) each! My wife and I have tasted much of the food here and had seven selections on two grazing plates yesterday afternoon (delicious!) which filled us up for the whole day (no need for dinner) - at a combined total cost of �10.50 (I would suggest pretty good value by any standards at �5.25 per head!).
Also excellent selection of well kept session real ales, Weltons Semaphor from Horsham, Twickenham Grandstand & Brakspears. St Austell Tribute & Everards Sunchaser for those with a bit stronger real ale tastes.
Also nice to see Brooks Blues Bar return on a Friday with a mouthwatering international star line-up for the autumn. Last Friday was a full house for Eddie Martin - absolutely superb.
Keep up the good work at The Telegraph for granny, me, my wife and many other satisfied customers hereunder.

13 Sep 2009 04:57

To Strange_Fashion - I can assure you that the 2008 CAMRA SW London pub of the year award is nothing really special at all! - but the Eagle Ale House really is very special, as most local real ale drinkers, and those discerning ale drinkers from far afield, have discovered - but don't tell everyone!
As an original 1974 CAMRA member myself I am bemused by SW London CAMRA's apparent consistent besottedness with the Bricklayers Arms when the Eagle Ale House has regularly served a far greater range of micro-brews at far more competitive prices in excellent condition - but then the Eagle Ale House just rest on their laurels without encouraging plaudits!
A superb real ale festival this last weekend at the Eagle Ale House witnessed some great surprises, even for a hardened real ale drinker, such as myself - and all at mostly around �2.90 per pint straight out of the barrel in excellent condition - Hornbeam Black Coral Stout, Leydon Black Pudding, Castle Rock Black Gold, Blue Monkey Original, Coastal Hop Monster, Hawkshead Red, Three B's Tacklers Tipple, Valhalla Old Scatness, Bushys Manx Bitter and sometime regular there Surrey Hills Ranmore Ale - I have never seen half of these at other real ale festivals (including 2009 CAMRA national beer festival at Earls Court) and they were all superb - unusually, not a duff one to my palate!
Very many thanks to Dave, Simon, Dan and all of the staff for all of their dedicated hard work and passion ensuring a unique bank holiday weekend for all real ale aficionados. This has to be one of the best ale houses in London and I feel really sorry for those who were absent this last weekend - you missed many real gems that you probably won't see anywhere else in London for a long time (apart from, I hope, again at the Eagle Ale House!!).

1 Sep 2009 00:43

Thoroughly enjoyed the American Beer Festival and live music - amazing selection of rare real ales (many never seen elsewhere in UK) at reasonable prices considering the distance and logistics of importation from USA (I understand that around ten tons in barrelage weight were imported from USA via Rotterdam) - and especially when one considers that most of these rare real ales were selling at only 4p more per pint than a pint of chemical lager (brewed under licence in UK) on sale at the pub over the other side of Parsons Green! Furthermore I am a local who has been coming to this pub since 1964 and take exception to being referred to in derogatory terms by infrequent and uninformed visitors in their aforementioned ignorant comments. I challenge anybody to find a pub anywhere else in the UK that still charges only �2.60 for a pint of Harveys Best Bitter on handpump. This is still one of the best pubs in London (and perhaps the UK) dispensing well kept real ales at very competitive prices (far better value than the Youngs pub across the Green or at The Bricklayers Arms over Putney Bridge or at the only Harveys tied house in London, The Royal Oak in Borough). Thank you Dan, Ben, Carol, Mark, Martin, Della and all the staff for your immense hard work and enthusiasm. It is about time that the UK consumer is as quick to praise as he/she is to complain (and believe me, I am the first to complain if something is wrong).

12 Jul 2009 23:25

Looking forward to their second American real ale festival (and don't be fooled in to thinking that they don't have any good real ales!) with a very good live band (including ex-Mungo Jerry piano player and one of UK's best blues guitarists) on Saturday afternoon (4th July) to complement the frolics of the Fair On The Green. Don't miss the Sierra Nevada on handpump which was delicious last time - but beware, they are mostly a lot stronger than British session ales!

17 Jun 2009 01:34

Superb beer festival last bank holiday weekend - more than 30 micro-brewery real ales - many thanks, thoroughly enjoyable with the civilised rugby crowd as well on the Saturday.This is one of the best traditional real ale pubs in London where I have been watching all of the England and Lions rugby matches on comfortable leather chesterfields (inside or in the garden under the marquee) whilst at the same time supping a well-kept varied selection of at least six micro-brewery real ales at sensible prices (e.g. Surrey Hills, Downton, Westerham, Loddons, Brakspear, ). Concentration on the beer and so no food but they allow you to BYO sandwiches etc. A real gem of a pub with a great welcome. Should have won SW London CAMRA pub of the year but then maybe it is just as well that it came second! (by the margin of only a handful of votes though?). Shame about them not showing Royal Ascot/horse-racing though - but then one can't have everything and I fully understand their reasons apparently based on a bad past experience - its always the few who ruin it for the many! Very well-run pub.

17 Jun 2009 01:14

The Sultan, South Wimbledon

I notice from this month's issue of The London Drinker (far more objective publication than the CAMRA national newspaper!) that The Traf is offering their excellent selection of micro-brewery real ales at �2.20 per pint for the month of February in order to help customers overcome the "Credit Crunch". What a marvellous example of improvisation and realisation that a number of other pubs could be well advised to follow in the current economic climate (e.g. over-priced Bricklayers Arms in Putney!) and which should be supported by CAMRA as a national policy in relation to pubs supporting micro-breweries (as CAMRA & SW CAMRA London also should be - rather than having "lost the plot" by being apparently subservient to their advertisers e.g. Youngs & Greene King). Look out for Hammerpot ales here - WOW! Also real ale lovers should vote for "value for money" in the current SW London CAMRA pub of the year - The Traf commendably won it last year, but the Eagle Ale House & Sultan are in the vote for 2009.

3 Feb 2009 17:13

Excellent pub - wish it were nearer, especially with Hopback GFB at �2.30 per pint and Summer Lightning at �2.50 per pint in the current economic climate - long may it thrive.

18 Jan 2009 18:58

The Bricklayers Arms, Putney

Timothy Taylors Dark Mild HERE at �3.00 per pint!!
At White Horse on Parsons Green, Fulham (just over putney Bridge) Timothy Taylors Dark Mild at �2.90 per pint and Harveys Best Bitter at �2.60 per pint. At Eagle Ale House in Clapham Loddons Hoppit & Brakspears at �2.75 per pint. At Trafalgar in Sth Wimbledon most draught bitters at �2.80 per pint plus free live jazz & cheese board on Sundays. At The Sultan in Sth Wimbledon Hopback GFB at �2.30 per pint & Summer Lightning at �2.50 per pint. WHY GO HERE IN THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CLIMATE?

18 Jan 2009 18:44

Excellent Bowmans' Swift One on handpump over the last weekend - sadly all gone by today - but always a good selection of unusual & well kept real ales here (including, in the past, Moorhouse Black Cat). Unusual slip up with a couple of hot glasses on Sunday but pints readily replaced by barmaid with an apology - many thanks.

7 Jan 2009 20:16