The Black Lion

Address: 59-61 High Street, E13 0AD

Nearest Station: Plaistow

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

Cost of two pints: £6.80 (Courage & Adnams Southwold)

Guest: Jim; Word: Pub; Person: Danny Dyer

Rating: 6.5/10

“Are you sure it’s The Black Lion?  Have we got the right one?”  Dad’s confusion was understandable.  After a long journey from Stoke Newington, and with a thunderstorm rumbling ever closer overhead, it wasn’t clear why we were here.  The Black Lion was entirely ordinary.  The interior was like so many of the pubs we’d walked past previously – red carpet, sofa and chairs; dark wooden tables; framed pages of London Illustrated News.  Tudor windows.  Basic toilets.  Why had this made the cut?

The Grapes

Address: 76 Narrow Street, E14 8BP

Nearest Station: Westferry

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

Cost of two pints: £8.00 (Doombar)

Guest: Jim; Word: Genial; Person: Leonard Hofstadter, The Big Bang Theory

Rating: 8.5/10

Without wanting to sound too philosophical, there is a certain simplicity to a good pub.  Well-kept beer, a friendly barman, comfort, warmth and a sense of culture or history are all you need to create a popular establishment.  The Grapes is a case in point.  The straightforward sign outside (simply “The Grapes, 1583”) offers a hint to the relative plainness within: it’s a small pub, with basic wooden furniture and faded cushions.  Yet, the excellent choice of beers and the superb service – the barman heard our conversation and started pulling our pints before we even reached the bar – make the popularity of The Grapes entirely unsurprising.

The Royal Oak

Address: 73 Columbia Road, E2 7RG

Nearest Station: Hoxton

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

Cost of two pints: £7.80 (Doombar)

Rating: 6.5/10

The nature of ‘Pub Impressions’ is that sometimes we don’t feel we’ve seen a pub in its best light.  Unfortunately, The Royal Oak is a case in point: we know you could have a completely different experience, but for us, it failed to excel.  Although we were delighted and somewhat surprised to find any pub at all after a long walk down Columbia Road, architecturally it isn’t striking: a predominantly wooden room is filled with simple furniture around a large central bar under a white chequered ceiling.  The smell of food from the adjoining kitchen crept over the relaxed drinkers, a mixture of men and women, either seated as groups in each corner or standing in the middle.  Service at the bar seemed quite sullen but in turn and we selected two pints of Doombar.  Also available were ESB from Fuller’s, and Pale Ale and Foundation Bitter from the East London Brewing Company.

The Lamb Tavern

Address: 10-12 Leadenhall Market, EC3V 1LR

Nearest Station: London Fenchurch Street

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

Cost of three pints: £12.12 (Young’s Bitter x 2 and Peroni)

Guest: Rob; Word: Surreptitious; Person: Sweeney Todd

Rating: 8/10

The location of The Lamb Tavern makes it quite extraordinary.  It forms part of Leadenhall Market – that of Harry Potter fame (think scenes of Diagon Alley) – and, as such, its throng of drinkers aren’t constrained within the pub’s own walls, but can spread out onto the cobbles of the market beyond.  And there were a lot of people there – mainly men but with some women, and almost all workers in the city unwinding after a long day.  It’s no exaggeration to say that the noise of their animated conversations reached us long before we saw the market itself.  Even so, the sight of Leadenhall Market was striking: its vast archways, hanging lanterns and gold-topped pillars combining to make an unusual and magnificent setting for a pub.

The Dickens Inn

Address: Marble Quay, St Katharine’s Way, E1W 1UH

Nearest Station: Tower Hill

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

Cost of two pints: £8.90 (London Pride)

Guest: Rob; Word: Flowery; Person: Bob Hoskins

Rating: 8/10

It probably tells you something about our family mentality that we should choose to visit a pub by the river on the night of a severe weather warning.  It probably also confirms everything you’ve ever thought about the Met Office that on the night in question The Dickens Inn was bathed in glorious sunshine.  A long walk around St Katherine’s Docks was rewarded with the sight of the tavern, adorned on each level with colourful flowers.  With a separate restaurant on each storey, the size of The Dickens Inn is the most striking first impression; and, as we passed the merry crowds enjoying the weather on the terrace and crossed the threshold, that awareness of the building’s vastness continued.  It meant that, even though the pub was unquestionably busy, particularly with large groups, it still retained the feeling of space – almost to the point of appearing empty.

The Blackfriar

Address: 174 Queen Victoria Street, EC4V 4EG

Nearest Station: London Blackfriars

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

Cost of two pints: £7.00 (Doombar)

Rating: 8.5/10

Even if The Blackfriar had nothing else going for it, one would say that it’s easy to find: it’s impossible to miss the large mass of people and sizeable building just next to London Blackfriars station.  However, there are many more things to commend about The Blackfriar, not least its excellent range of beers and superb atmosphere.  Its popularity was evident even from the outside, as large crowds of happy drinkers swarmed around the pub’s entrance.  We weaved our way through and found the inside busy too, the range of happy drinkers and striking frescos making this a pub well worth a visit.

The Punch Tavern

Address: 99 Fleet Street, EC4Y 1DE

Nearest Station: City Thameslink

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

Cost of two pints: £8.20 (Doombar)

Rating: 7/10

Our first visit to The Punch Tavern had not gone well.  We hadn’t even been able to cross the threshold before being informed – somewhat brusquely – that the pub was closed for a private party.  At the time, we thought it a poor reflection on a pub that it should so willingly cast out its regular drinkers.  However, concerned that we may be missing out on a real gem, we returned to give The Punch Tavern a second chance.  Our first impression was that this was a surprisingly poor choice as a venue for a private party – although, as we became accustomed to the atmosphere and noticed the unusual decoration, we warmed to it.  From a sunny Fleet Street we walked past signs advertising ‘Gin Palace’ and award-winning pies, through an avenue of blue and yellow tiling and large mirrors eventually to reach the main room.  Light, modern music and the chatter of different nationalities (mainly American) reached our ears, while a long circular skylight lit the bar below.

The Hoop and Grapes

Address: 47 Aldgate High Street, EC3N 1AL

Nearest Station: Aldgate

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

Cost of two pints: £6.30 (Doombar)

Rating: 8/10

The Hoop and Grapes is a comfortable and pleasant pub, but somewhat lacking in character. There are old bricks and archways, wooden divides with internal windows, and a range of paintings or photographs of London in elaborate frames. The image nearest to us showed Aldgate station in 1910, and nearby was portrayed the Illustrated London News’ image of the founding of Waterloo barracks, St Katharine’s Docks, and Aldgate in 1830. The story goes that the Great Fire of London stopped only 50 yards from the pub’s front door. Nevertheless, The Hoop and Grapes perhaps bears its Nicholson’s parentage a little too prominently. The emphasis appears to be on food – a large area is restricted for dining – and fake blackboards advertise the meals and wines available throughout the pub. It’s also available for private hire. In short, The Hoop and Grapes – while certainly a pleasant place for a drink – on first impression felt to us like a chain pub, its history neutered by an excessive emphasis on the Nicholson’s brand.

The Pride of Spitalfields

Address: 3 Heneage Street, E1 5LJ

Nearest Station: Aldgate East

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

Cost of two pints: £6.20 (Doombar)

Rating: 8/10

Perhaps we were still reeling from Grandad’s insights during our trip the week before to The Spaniards Inn, but our first impression of The Pride of Spitalfields was that it had been decorated in the same style as his living room. With red curtains, lace over the windows, a floral carpet, black and white pictures of London and family photos on the walls, The Pride of Spitalfields has a homely feel. The sepia portrait of a soldier could have been a copy of Grandad’s own. An upright piano, bearing a vase of tulips, stood in the corner; and there was even a cat, out-stretched and asleep, on the back of the sofa. The bar – offering Doombar, London Pride, Emperor Truman’s and Fuller’s ESB – was adorned with beer mats and a collection of stoneware bottles; while “Mary’s Pantry” next to it appeared to offer sandwiches during the day.

The Three Kings

Address: 7 Clerkenwell Close, EC1R 0DY

Nearest Station: Farringdon

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

Cost of two pints: £7.70 (Landlord and Woodforde Wherry)

Rating: 8/10

Imagine condensing a French film from the 1980s into a London pub, and you probably have something similar to The Three Kings.  Or, as Dad put it, “it works, but there’s no word for it.”  We had a passed an extraordinary number of pubs as we walked through Farringdon, and from outside The Three Kings, there was very little to suggest what distinguished it from its geographical contemporaries.  Inside, however, it is unique.  Illumination is provided from a disco ball in the centre, fairy lights on the wall and tea lights on the bar.  The burgundy and mustard walls are covered with a wide variety of decoration including modern art, a large mirror, posters of record players and Chet Baker, old newspaper cuttings of musical greats, and a Rotamint machine.  A record player stands by the bar.  The windowsills, below striking red curtains, are adorned with tea lights, flowers and water bottles topped by duck-shaped lids.  It’s fair to say we hadn’t expected anything like this when we stood outside.