The Seven Stars

Address: 53-54 Carey Street, WC2A 2JB

Nearest Station: Chancery Lane

Welcome: Good; Service: Good (SIT); Beer: Good; Toilets: Basic

Cost of two pints: £7.80 (Adnams Bitter)

Guest: Rick; Word: Bijoux; Person: René Artois, ‘Allo ‘Allo!

Rating: 8/10

Chancery Lane meets Paris in The Seven Stars, a pub which combines tributes to the legal profession with the charm and fittings of a French café.  Outside we found a large crowd, hanging baskets, and the shop front for ‘The Wig Shop’.  Passing through the narrow entrance, on the brown walls of the three rooms we could see posters for legal dramas (such as Trial and Error), pictures of judges and images of old texts.  Drinkers had gathered around the small bar under the pinkish red ceiling; a few had secured places at one of the tables, each covered in a green and white chequered cloth.  The Seven Stars had more esoteric elements too.  There was a photo of an accordion player behind the bar, and another by the window of a black cat wearing a jacket.  A cabinet to the left of the spirits held a violin, books and an exotic figure.  Handwriting on blackboards advertised wine and an extensive food menu, including breaded quail.  Peanuts were served at the bar in brown paper bags, and a small sign above offered Havana cigars (the most expensive coming in at £34).  It might be cramped, we thought, but it’s got style.

It took a while for us to spot our guest, hiding round the side of the bar at his own little table.  Rick is one of Dad’s longstanding friends, more accustomed in recent times to the bars of Las Vegas than the taverns of London, but very willing to help out nonetheless.  Service at the bar was good, and between the four of us we claimed two pints of Adnams Bitter, one pint of Harvey’s IPA, and a Jack Daniels and coke.  We could also have selected Adnams Broadside; the Cornish Coaster was off.  We found space to stand by the window, there being no tables available and only just room to move.  Our fellow drinkers were a range of ages, both men and women, but mainly younger men.  The atmosphere was not as intense as the legal paraphernalia might imply; perhaps we were surrounded by barristers relaxing after work.

Reflecting on the compactness of the establishment, the quirky decoration (with its allusions to the 1970s) and the French fittings, Rick selected ‘bijoux’ as his word for describing The Seven Stars, and the gentle café-owner René Artois from ‘Allo ‘Allo! as the person he could most easily imagine there.  With the picture of the accordion player above us, and the chequered table-cloths around us, I too was humming the ‘Allo ‘Allo! theme-tune on our way out of the door.  The Seven Stars had provided a good start to our evening: it’s a perfectly pleasant place to enjoy a pint.

Date of Visit: 10 July 2014