The Harp, Covent Garden

My favourite boozer in London, a wonderful spot to stop off and have a drink or three before catching the train home from Charing Cross. It may sound like an Irish pub but it consistently has on at least three or four excellent English bitters, some of which are a pleasant surprise, including - if memory serves - London Pride (expected), Timothy Taylor's Landlord, Black Sheep and Harveys Best (the finest beer known to humanity, and proving that it can travel beyond Sussex!). Unlike the so-called beer festivals which run sporadically and briefly in over London pubs the beer at Harp is nearly always excellent because they always have it.

The building itself has a rather long and narrow layout, with considerably more width at the rear. The back door is also a useful escape route if things get too busy at the front during the rush hour. It really is a great place to sit (or prop) and watch city life go by in the summer when the large windows towards the front of the bar are unlatched and bolted down. The Harp is also not a bad place to watch the rugby on the small TV high in the corner wall as I did during the Six Nations; the compact nature of the interior gave it a close but friendly atmosphere.

Another thing in the Harps favour is the decor, with its dozens of paintings, is strangely different but nonetheless pleasing. Also the cooked sausages make it a good place to take a hurried snack (although the lack of plates can make actual consumption rather tricky!). I believe as well that a small upstairs room has been opened, although I only caught a quick glimpse, but I think I'll be staying downstairs on my next visit.

19 Oct 2006 15:41

The Stag, Hastings

A fine pub, and perhaps the most typically "traditional" in Hastings Old Town with its wooden floor, genuine beams and two open fire places (sadly neither appear ever to be in use!).

Other points it The Stag's favour are a good atmosphere, friendly staff, enjoyable regular folk and quiz nights, a decent back room for darts and a good and reasonably priced menu. It is also far away enough from the sea front so as not to allow too much riff raff in even when it is busy over peak times such as the May Day bank holiday.

However, despite the fine building (which is the biggest plus) it does suffer from the rather unavoidable fact that is a Shepherd Neame pub (one of many in the Old Town, and one generally being enough per county). Although the beer is kept very well (probably the best Shepherd Neame in Hastings) it is still Shepherd-bloody-Neame (!) and is not that cheap (which could be avoided!). The other main draw-back is that the back room has also been tarted up in the last year or so to give it a more "contemporary" feel; the leather sofa and cocktail bar style stools do not really suit the place and it was much better and far more unique when it the now disposed of bar billards table was allowed to dominate the area. However, when its not too packed it still makes an excellent place to play darts.

As regards the garden, I have never been a great fan of it. It is open in the summer months and is certainly long and with a fair capacity. Nonetheless, it is a little unkempt and rather too much of a climb which puts you at too great a distance from the pub to enjoy its atmosphere if you happen to be near the top end. Personally, I'd rather stay inside!

All in all, the Stag is a very good pub, but I would only recommend spending an entire evening in there for the live music, or if yopu don't mind Shepherd Neame. Good for a few drinks, but pop across to the FILO and its beer for a full session.

19 Oct 2006 15:22

The Filo (First In Last Out), Hastings

A truly great and independent pub. My regular hang-out for the past five years, and it keeps improving.

All four home-brewed beers are decent and are well priced (even though they have gone beyond the �1.80 mark I remember when I first went here!). They range from the best bitter Crofters, which is a solid beer, its interesting derivative cousin Ginger Tom (does exactly what it says on the tin, and my personal favourite), and the seasonal and slightly stronger offerings of the light-coloured Gold (summer) and the Porter. For real ale lovers there are frequent themeatic beer festivals in the covered beer garden at fairly regular intervals, featuring around a dozen types. Best time for these and similar events would be Hastings week in mid-October, Old Town Week in August and the May Day bank holiday. These events also often include some rather good live musical acts, which make for an especially good summer's evening when the front windows are latched down.

The food is also excellent and well-priced. Added to the rather unique wooden booths, open fire and friendly staff this makes the FILO the best pub in Hastings by some distance. The only problem as other reviewers have pointed out is that the carpet is rather knackered, but the rest of the decor is fine for a traditional style and busy pub which is of good size.

18 Oct 2006 23:16