The Hand and Shears, Barbican

Well! Well!—it seems that the term ‘On the Wagon’ originated from my new favourite local pub.

It also seems that the tradition of cutting tapes to open things arises from the tradition of the Lord Mayor, standing on the steps of the Hand & Shears and cutting the first cloth to open the Cloth Fair.

Actually, I was never very keen on this pub but the new governor has got in some decent real ales (which change frequently), put on some unobtrusive jazz/blues music that’s actually worth listening to and generally rejuvenated the place.

Yesterday, I had excellent pints of of Hackney Best Bitter, Foundation Bitter and Redemption Pale Ale.

They also had Grandstand Bitter, Taylor's Landlord and Doombar.

Apart from the well-known names, the ‘guv’ seems keen to stock local brews.

Well worth a visit!

8 Jan 2013 13:29

The Royal Oak, Borough

A potentially great pub sadly ruined by the rather lackadaisical attitude of the bar staff.

On the positive side, the Royal Oak is a traditional back-street London pub with a buzzy atmosphere and a good range of Harvey�s Ales�there is also an attractive pub menu and good choice of wine.

However, it took several minutes to even be noticed by the 3 bar staff who didn�t appear particularly busy but did seem to wander about a lot.

The person appearing to be the Manager primarily performed his supervisory role from in front of the bar rather than behind it.

After a couple of rounds, I was served a 'cloudy' half-pint of Harvey's Best which wasn�t noticed by the barman until I pointed it out.

In response, there was much �consultation� among the staff with various beer samples being held �up to the light� in a manner suggestive of the laboratory procedures in nearby Guy�s Hospital.

Perhaps this is an NHS pub which provides a better service to �private� patients.

After waiting unattended for around 15 minutes, the barrel was apparently changed though the resulting drink was still decidedly cloudy.

Returning to my table, we allowed the drink to settle for 10 minutes but there was no improvement, which was drawn to the attention of a glass-collecting staff member who asked my companion if he wanted to drink it�being told NO, he simply took it away without further comment or action.

It was only when leaving some 20 minutes later that my companion approached the bar and requested a refund which was given without question.

Personally, I would have been happy to just leave and never to return.

5 May 2012 08:28

Britannia, Euston Station

What a truly dire pub.

When I visited last night, there was no beer, no Guiness and the staff barely understood English.

For some reason, they also closed the balcony some time before the main pub.

Absolutely nothing to commend this establishment.

Never again.

13 Oct 2007 18:19