Address: 13 Eyre Street Hill, EC1R 5ET
Nearest Station: Farringdon
Welcome: Good; Service: Good (SIT); Beer: Good; Toilets: Basic
Cost of two pints: £7.80 (Harvey’s Sussex Best Bitter)
Guest: Rick; Word: Mismatch; Person: Reggie Kray
Rating: 8/10
“I quite like the atmosphere in here,” said Dad, and indeed it’s the pleasant atmosphere which dominated our impression of The Gunmakers. Excited chatter filled the air from groups gathered round plain wooden tables. The bar staff – a tattooed version of 118 118 – were friendly, and the pub consequently welcoming. We sensed that this wasn’t quite a student-filled establishment, but perhaps it was dominated by recent graduates, appreciating the characterful yet understated decoration and the straight-forward food and drink on offer. It might not be London’s most remarkable pub, but we enjoyed our time there.
The Gunmakers used to play host to the Newcastle United supporters club, but has changed since Dad was one of its regulars; he lamented the loss of the dart-board. However, a football element remains in the eclectic décor, with a picture of England vs Germany in 1966 by the bar. The pub’s name also inspires ornamentation, in the form of three guns above the mirror on one wall. More difficult to explain is the foreign currency and a picture of the Kaiser above the bar. The fittings themselves are plain, but the thick candles on each table added a nice touch.
There was a good choice of beers at the bar, including Harvey’s Sussex Best Bitter, Portabello’s Market Porter and Purity’s Mad Goose. With three pints of the Harvey’s we were happy to stand by the bar. Rick found it quite a challenge to suggest a person and a word with so many different elements to The Gunmakers, but he eventually settled on ‘mismatch’ in reference to the décor, and on Reggie Kray of the Kray twins, an allusion perhaps to the guns on the wall. It was very different to both the earlier pubs of the night, but nevertheless a good end to our time around Chancery Lane.
Date of Visit: 10 July 2014
Website: http://thegunmakers.co.uk/
Pub Impressions 