Uk Barblog

The Bridge Tavern (Tower Bridge - London)

The Bridge Tavern

A light, woody, office of a pub popped quite conviniantly on the edge of tower-bridge - south side. The bar offers a good selection of drinks in a haz, bright, lazy-afternoon style atmosphere. The place buzzes with a number of ex city peoples in comfortable dress, the odd tourists and one or two of the older more mature london crowd. The atmosphere is built with office-style blinds which still let heaps of sunlight flood it during the day as it skims off the Thames outside and somehow this gives the owners license to serve at high prices and top off with disproportionately expensive bar nuts in a place that unfortunately too small to hold the image it tries to preserve of itself.

Overall a bar with a bit of upper crust, hang-out-in-here-if-your-an-MD style decor and attitude in what is essentially a well fitted filing cabinet of a drinkery - 5/10

The Shipwright's Arms (London Bridge - London)

The Shipwright's Arms

A ub with the mission to safe-guard the keep of its flurry of locals and shun away the tourists, thrill seekers and bar reviewers of this world. The toilets display an angry warning about misuse by non-drinkers and the main room is literally a high-ceiled hall with a rounded- skeletal bar filling its centre. The drinks are too expensive, the variety is insufficient for much choice and the offering of sports is thrown to a large, hard-to-see screen at the back. The bar-women are loud and brash and serve all the locals before any other poor souls and it feels defintiely like this is their kept establishment- that they are centre-of-attention for what is essentially a room full of market-stall owners and less-than-common folk.

Overall the effect is far to clique although not to the extent of quiet and nosy as to your prescence but in an ignorant way and with vocal volumes to bowl over the unsuspecting victim who has become dizzy circling the bar looking for an empty stool at 4pm on a friday afternoon. 4/10

Barrowboy and Banker (London Bridge - London)

Barrowboy and Banker

A deep, thick set pub on two levels, popular, charastmatic and fun. The place is full of young people, oversized lighting and the layout of the place has an element of surrounding the people at the bar with the whole atmosphere of the place. Perhaps its the tall bar compared to the apparent lack of people waiting for a drink and the speed of the service which actually gives the punter a warm feeling inside for a change. The variety is pretty cheerful as well, the only complaint is that due to popularity, finding seating is next to impossible and although leaning on the bar can be pleasent I can see it getting overcrowded as the night wears on.

Overall a rather champion establishment. First port of call for anyone coming out of London Bridge station - 8/10

Pommeler's Rest (London Bridge - London)

Pommeler's Rest (wetherspoons)

This fairly small Wetherspoons is a sham and puts the notoriously high class area to shame on a level that its city wetherspoon counterparts would be thoroughly ashamed of! To begin with the place is infested by loudmouth elderly fish market men with booming unfriendliness and filling up the space like blimps. The bar is set at the back and its a bit of an obsticle course to get there. Once arriving the waiting time can be up to half an hour - which mine was - depite the fact that there were 3 people at the bar and only about 3 customers to serve the whole time I waited. The spoons does have its fair share of gaming and gambling machines though which is more than can be said than the availability of chairs.

Perhaps a rule of thumb is don't pick a wetherspoons in the most expensive part of town, but you'd think that niche would fill this place with an edge over its neighbours - it doesn't - this pub exploits its prices with its flat-as-a-pancake service - hardly worth a 2/10.

Horniman at Hay's (London Bridge - London)

Horniman at Hay's

A rather large tourist trap in the ghostly form of a pub placed rather strategically on the banks of the Thames, with a beer garden literally on the river. The views are spectacular in the summer at the pub is situated right next to the HMS Belfast. The bar staff within are quite slow and much of the pub is swamped in tourists trying to barter for their beverages. The place also feels very lounge like and its name is somewhat curious enough to attract visitors of all sorts.

Unfortunately it does has much charisma- it has been sectioned in a building and looks like the afterthought of this development. You wouldnt even know it was a pub if it wasnt for the horders of pints drinkers milling out the front in the summer. I can't imagine why you would come here during winter. 5/10

Anchor Tap (Tower Bridge - London)

Anchor Tap

An independent pub, quite fitting for this backstreet backdrop. £2.50 a pint even the barman is on the booze. out the back is an beer garden fitted snuggly inside the concrete jungle around the pub. The place has several odd rooms dotted about leading one around in a complex labyrinth of lounges, seated areas and finding the toilets can be somewhat of a mission. However it serves very favourabley as a traditional tavern despite the hushing of the small crowd of regulars upon entrance. Possibley one of the strangest style of pubs in the area but with such complexity comes insecurity. It doesnt fare well as a location for entertainment - maybe instead the passing of an inconspicious suitcase or to discuss well laid plans to take over the world...

Overall a rather uninviting very old style independent pub offering a sedated charm for those that are looking for the most quiet of drinks on a friday evening in the middle of the city - 6/10

Southwark Tavern (Borough Market - London)

Southwark Tavern

This single venue is infamous and great. More recently updated this place used to be the drinking den for all the late late drinkers running their own stools on the borough market sitting opposite with very odd opening hours and rough-as-a-biscuit clientele. However in its more modern times the place appears to be delivering into the Gastro-pub domain offering powerful selections of fine foods, light jazz on the audible and would you believe it? Eight different types of cider at the bar. The place still shows its age however with traditional wooden panelling, ancient style front and basement bar. It carries itself as popular but not over crowded through out the day and the bar persons are as friendly as a shiny button.

Overall the place lends itself well to the community feel of the area, yet with such proximity to the City along with a powerful punch of the Cider and food offering, i see few stones unturned it the name of excellence. I only with my bottom didn't hurt so much once I got up from the most uncomfortable stool in the western world , 8/10

The Wheatsheaf (Borough Market - London)

The Wheatsheaf

The Wheatsheaf is something of a cultural landmark in one of London's most untouched parts of the city. Its not the venue as such which brings the atmosphere in here to life but the animation of its characters. The Wheatsheaf sits opposite borough market and therefore this means its locals are all wearing aprons, carrying loud laughs and cheery smilkes while the food on the menu has migrated from a fresh meat stand only 2 metres across the road. The food is pukka. The venue is all old and wooden with sphereical gaussian glass in the left wall to seperate out the two sides and the bar is a small but tiny space served by the friendly (if not forgetful) bar persons. With food and drink more reasonable than any you may get further into town this is definitely worth popping in for a pint.

Overall it remains quite small but the place cant have been decorated in 200 years and it really smiles over the testiment of time, I am even told it gets packed on a saturday - 7/10