Uk Barblog

The Bountiful Cow (Holborn - London)

The Bountiful Cow

This bar is essentially an america diner/steak house with two floors and a meat loving crowd - vegetarians beware. The steaks and burgers in here are quite heavy but not the nicest quality and the whole style of the pub is quite dark and basically very similiar to an american speak-easy. There is a tiny bar and a few booths on the top level and downstairs there is a brief chorus of tables with memorabelia from varies occurances of cows in the media to go with what appears to be a theme for this venue.

Overall the place is not very friendly, its quiet downstairs and brash upstairs. The drinks are unvaried and not at all on theme with the rest of the place, it should probably scrap the bar and keep the restaurant but in such a hidden cove of the city it will likely just stay as a corner side street wannabe american bar and diner - 3/10

Vats Wine Bar (Russell Square - London)

Vats Wine Bar

A floorboard clad long wine bar, well buried up a pedestrianised road in the rich pickings behind Russell Square. This is an established older, middle-market sophisticated wine bar with some fine examples and not for those living on the cheap. The place is communal and glowing with wine knowledge, old bottles on random shelves and a heavy fireplace with the length of the bar trailing off deeply into the back of the building. The hospitality of the place comes as a surprise as landlady selects a table for us and brings out the wine and glasses for us after we had made a selection. In almost table-waiting fashion the place has such a richness of character and hospitality as to impress the unsuspecting passer-by to wander in and sample some of the finer qualities this place has to offer.

Overall particularly communal but not exclusively local, the place welcomes guests new and old but perhaps requires a slice of wine knowledge to best fit in, pricey to match the quality but unexpectedly comfortable - 8/10

The Goose (High Holborn - London)

The Goose

The goose is a fitting description for this abode. It sits just off of the high street in a cove of its own making on the well pedestrianised edges of Hatton and from a distance could be percieved as a swan. Fact, it is not a swan. Outside the bar is completely crammed with folk scrambling to keep their buttocks upon the wooden benches in front and within the pub-chain vibe sweeps the place in a coating sour to the tasteless and predictable decor that it displays and then it is drowned in the swarms of folk - five deep at the bar with the souls at the back waiting for the bar outside. Having said this it is a friday night feeling that brings the calling of this plague of people upon the place. In the week it is a sad, untouched standard chain-pub with slightly-less-expensive-than-normal beers, an average selection of other drinks and a forgiveable temprement for the less-than-exciting suited punters that occupy.

Overall not to the taste of anyone who wants a nicer experience than a lloyds bar crammed into a phone box in a back alley in a pretigious area - 3/10

Shanghai Blues Bar & Restaurant (Holborn - London)

Shanghai Blues Bar & Restaurant

Built in the Holborn town hall building this is 95% restaurant and only 5% bar. In fact the bar poriton is such a crust of the sandwich of this wonderful establishment that it would be dubious to review just its bar without noting that its food, although rather expensive, reflects a fusion in chinese cuisine that completely makes the eater feel closer to the routes of eastern aural enlightenment than monkey feasting on the first ripe banana of the season. The bar in comparison stocks your usual variety of liquors and spirits, a few of the more obscure chinese beers and serves and pours everything with the sharpest of skill and precision to leave you feeling completely overwhelmed by the service, yet hurtung in the regiosn of the wallet.

Overall a well decorated, knock-out experience in cuisine with a bar that doesn't quite match or even compliment the experience but leaves one with the impression that waiting for a table at the bar would hold very few individuals to stay and not seek quality eats elesewhere. 6/10

The Griffin Strip Club (Farringdon - London)

The Griffin Strip Club

From the road this looks like any other pub, except of course that the windows are blacked out and it looks rather ghostly and rather than an open door there is a heavy closed one which serves to repel any curious individuals. Once inside the door there are no heavy bouncers but a small light pub atmosphere. A little dark but not as heavy as proper clubs. There is a curtain to the left of the front door which serves as the private room area and after the bar - served drinks by yound bar women who are in no way scantily clad, is a stage on which performs one of seven strippers to full nudity every ten minutes or so on a cycle. The drinks are not overly proced with a happy hour £2.80 rate on spirits every day between 12 and 5. The place seems a little seedy but it gets relatively busy and every ten minute shift another stripper comes round demanding a pound from every punter for the show. For this reason you need to bring change to this pub and lots of it. No putting pennies in the collection mug since the girls are keen eyed and professional.

Overall the place is a strange dimension of pub mixed with strip bar but its size is a downfall but then again it is the workinbg man's affordable strip club and full body exposure can be expected with a minute of the start of every dance. A bit different and awesome that it opens at lunchtime. One for the girls to avoid however a totally "lads only" affair - 7/10

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (Fleet Street - London)

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

With a name like this you do stop and wonder what on earth could be the attraction to a name which sounds more like a 1940's North Western Cheddar Factory than one of the oldest surviving taverns in the City of London. This pub is a very ancient network of old medevil rooms and bars in a complete throwback to the times of the Great Fire of London and the rich history in this part of the world in that era. In fact very little looks to have changed. Authenticity follows you around this multi-story maze as wood-chippings on the floors, aged black oak panels, underground wine cellars, tudor windows and that tingling feeling that you are sitting among the ghosts of the past. Upon entrance one finds a diners bar to the left and up the stairs two more bars and a bar to the right. Futher down the pub is a narrow staircase which leads to the toilets then a larger room, more steps and then a large bar. The place serves good value hot food, london priced drinks and the sound effects of groups talking in distant passages puts cherries on this museum of a cake.

Outside the pub we are told of his historical connections to writers of the past, Dickens, Peeps, Twain and even Jackie Collins find the inspiration in this network of what is apparently 2 restaurants and nine bars. The bar to visit for brave tourists and even londoners would be surprised by its rich offerings- unfortunately different parts get closed off during the day so the full expereince is never felt - 8/10

The Hope (Farringdon - London)

The Hope

A very small pub beside Fabric nightclub with a traditional fell but with almost as few people inside as there are tables. So thats about six small locations to place your pint and I've ever much been a fan of laying my drink at the nose of another punter. Immeadiatly on the left of the pub as you enter are one of two booths and to the right is the bar. At the back the toilets and there's your pub. it remains quiet even on a Saturday night although this maybe due largely to the fact that several hundred young rowdy clubbers begin cramming themselves in the pub's doorway to get out of the rain while queuing for Fabric. The music is fairly good in here but you can only really enjoy it outsdie where there is at least enough room to swings one's feline.

Overall small, shoebox pub but traditional, not suited to the area but one of the few places you can go in this snippet of Farringdon for that heavier stout. 4/10

Smiths of Smithfield (Farringdon - London)

Smiths of Smithfield

A warehouse-style bar next to Fabric in Farringdon by one of the more eccentric names on the Bar circuit. Smiths of Smithfield is a very large old disused manufactoring warehouse which throws elements of dining, raving and drinking into an infused evening not bettered by many establishments around. The music on the ground floor is urban and RnB which is pumped through the surging crowd as they all seem to stand at tables where seating is available - all wanting to miss any of the electric conversation. The bar at the back can be hard to navigate to but once there is it fairly easy to get served if a little expensive. Upward there are three more floors packed with private rooms and a dining room - so staying all evening is a possibility but you really need to arrive early to be sure to get a table in this young 30-something affair.

Overall the attitude and feel to the place remains with the punters who are upbeat and cheery. It does tend to get a bit over crowded but the warehouse effect means it always feels somewhat spacious, well worth heading down early to get a table for the rest of the night - 8/10

The Bung Hole (Holborn - London)

The Bung Hole

Sounding something like an old well filled with sewage this seemingly small pub masquarades as a wine bar and then once you are inside tells you that all the wine decor splattered around the place is for show and that the wines available are severely limited and frankly not particularly nice. The ground floor bar is a small dank affair but at the back a staircase takes you down to lower floor with a large area of wine cellars and a function room. The basement is rather chilly so take a coat if you intend to enjoy the renoundly difficult monthly quiz which is held here. A trifle expensive but friendly and of upper-middle class air, this place does not extend itself to the new punter - only the old.

Overall a pompus wine bar with a pretty bad selection of food as well as drinks. Small an uninviting and a weeping shadow next to the El Vino chain which dwells a few roads away. 3/10

The Evangelist (Blackfriars - London)

The Evangelist

Well hidden on the back cobbled streets of Blackfriar's you seriously wouldn't even know it was there, the very long very slender effect of this large gastro style bar with open kitchen, sheek booths and a scattering of outdoor tables. The interior is set on different levels and the impression changes around each corner. In short you are impressed until you finally reach the bar at the end. Wine is around £5 a glass, the table service is terrible and the food is bad value for money. It does work well as a relaxing after-work bar but it is all show and little delivery. The essence of a bar-in-a-box, the only imgination used here is to hide punters in cubby hole booths which look like petals pulled from an exotic flower in the middle of, well, a gastro-pub.

Overall a nice place to bring a crowd mid-week for a few and its relatively unknwon except by the peopel in the area because it is well hidden from view so the target audience here is the audience and that might not be favourable by an outsider - 6/10

The Punch Tavern (Fleet Street - London)

The Punch Tavern

The hundredth time I walked past this pub I realised it was even there. A well hidden tavern situated in one of the busiest areas of london yet inside it houses oldy-worldy illusions of times past when children would watch the Punch and Judy puppet show. And this seems to be the theme of the place - a kind of rag-time theatre bar meets slap-up buffet lunches. The bar lady seems to spend more time in the pub than behind the bar which is constructed like a long hallway to the bar and to the left a significant oddity of furniture appears to have been squiched together so as to make navigation between the tables impossible. There is a larger lounge-style room at the back and down an overbleached stairwell are some toilets.

The good points - fresh fruit cocktails, quiet enough for a conversation, friendly service. The decor has been allowed to break and rot and its glory has gone - 4/10

Slug and Lettuce (Farringdon - London)

Slug and Lettuce

Hidden well, under a sneaky archway and at the back of a short tunnel is a branch of the ever infamous Slug and Lettuce bar chain. There a couple of tables out front but the view is not very good from them, beyond this glass double doors take you inside to a wide oval bar, busy of a Friday evening with assorted table types sitting around a pit, into which you must descend to get served at the bar. Behind the bar, neon green lights add a spooky glow to everything and display plenty of holes in the bar crowd from which getting served is the easiest of tasks. Fidning a table however can be more of a chore and once you have that slightly more expensive pint of juice you turn around and feel like you are standing in some kind of over-done up version of Yates. The feel is too ladish for the slug and lettuce banner and the toilets arent the only thing whcih cry "I used to be a hogs head".

Overall the place works quite well, theres no other chain bars as close to the station but because it is hidden you can get the popularity just right to enjoy at least a slither of your evening here. Probably worth a look in - 6/10

Fabric Nightclub (Farringdon - London)

Fabric Nightclub

London has been able to offer serious clubbers a single central venue for the past few years and this is it. A 3000 capacity premier venue for ravers, clubbers and lovers of Drum and Bass, Hip Hop and Dance music. Fabric is a seriously busy place to be on a friday night attracting some of the biggest names in these genre's from all over the world and yet from the outside it looks like a relatively medium sized club. That is until the queue starts forming down the road with waiting times in excess of an hour from when the doors open. the queue gives you a good insight into the occupants you will be sharing the evening with - a heavy gathering of badly dressed track-suit wearing drug scare-crows out-numbering the clubbers by about 10 to one. Entrance can c ost around £15 which is worth it if you realise how popular the Djs inside are...

Bleeding Heart Tavern (Farringdon - London)

Bleeding Heart Tavern

With a shed-load of heritage this is one of clerkenwell's favoured taverns. Probably still in its original design its a wooden style drinking area parked to the right of a walkway which takes you down to a plush restaurant downstairs. The pub itself is small but with heaps of character. The bar persons are a bit stuck up though and the clientel suggest top end gastro rather than dank old brandy drinkery. The floors and walls feel authentic and hollow and with large windows the effect is dusty but bright and with an old time selection of whiskies and beer at the bar. Wine is around £25 a bottle, a specialty collection delivered up from the basement below and if you ever venture into the resturant downstairs, the steak is to die for.

Overall this place does have the makings of something great but it seems its time may well have passed and i can see an end to the pub part and it become a contemporary yet higher qulaity restaurant. For the drinker however, it doesnt quite hit the mark unless you are fond of your wine- 6/10

City Retreat (Chancery Lane - London)

City Retreat

From the outside this place looks like a small but wide shoebox of a pub. Within it is an octagonal central layout with younger relaxed half-posh city boys and few women. There is light pop music played throughout but the place does feel warm and inviting. In the corner is a traditional bar with eaves overhanging the serving area and it is aroudn £3 a pint. There is odd memorabilia filling the other corners and the toilets are downstairs. The place is noticably filled with rich colours of red and with ales at the bar and gaming machines to accompany them the place matches the after-work drinker on the start of his monthly wage.

Overall it is far from novelty and stands as yet another tradional pub in a sea of others and as such remains an average 5/10

All Bar One (Holborn - London)

All Bar One

Less than a short thought away from the tube station this well-windowed bar with a corner entrance does not really do the reputation of this chain of wine bars any justice. The place is a slither of a normal sized all bar one. the bar is about half as well stocked as a usual All Bar One but without the towering bottles of wine. The few tables are crowded throughout the day and this is nt really the place for lunch. Stopping in for a business meeting between two colleagues and a well polished window looking out into the alley seems to be the best one can hope for.

Overall it is clearly a nice place to drink in but it feel like a well corregraphed mcdonalds - uniform and trafficed so that one can navigate a glass of wine around the badly sectioned off tables without spillage and despite the fact that it wouldnt make for a good night out it is still respectable - 5/10

Elvino Wine Merchants (Blackfriars - London)

Elvino Wine Merchants

El Vino, I am told, is an instituation in London wines. The venue looks like a very old bakery from the front but inside it becomes a deep set bar and cafe behind the shop front with a very thorough stock of interesting wines. In the summer an area to the right of the bar outside is used with the odd picnic bench and insdie remains fairly quiet despite the fact that it has plenty of seating for any crowd offering more than one floor of fine wine drinking. It is seemingly popular yet never overcrowds and it is assuringly expensive but definitely a nice change from the chain pubs and standard 4 lagers on tap attitude of this area of town.

Overall a pleasent refreshing mature approach the wine bar scene and worth a look in if you are reaching the end of your best drinking years - 6/10

Shaw's Bookseller's (Blackfriars - London)

Shaw's Bookseller's

A gastro, multi-level pub with a lower pit of wooden tables, floorboards, light green walls and a few steps up sits a medium sized bar- completely packed with people (this would be a friday afternoon) but less crowded during the week I am told. The place has character and generally popular with the after-work crowd of young suited professionals but this is all also reflected in the unfortunately high prices. One pint of cider and one double vodka later the price hits £9 and i feel it in the wallet. Okay they do actaully have a better variety of cider's than a lot of pubs and similiar gastro's all over london but there was not enough space to stand any closer to the bar than 10m down the road.

Overall a very nice place to enjoy a pint - as long as you enjoy the view of the pub from afar and can afford to delve into the assorted treats that the bar has to offer - 5/10

The Ivy House (Holborn - London)

The Ivy House

The Ivy conjures up images of celebrity and fame but of course this is not "The Ivy". This particular venue is a rich, middle market pub and restaurant serving up Thai food and continental beers. The pub itself is divided by two entrances. The one coming from Holborn station on the right delivers the drinker toward a snooker table and a set of stairs leading up to the second floor. The door on the left puts the drinkers beside the bar (which is of reasonable length) with a few tables and games machines. The place is spacious and the selection at the bar is rather varied with Staropramen, Leffe and variosu types of Atious. Noteabley the bar woman is also a pleasure on the eyes and the although the customers tend to be a close to working class as a nice part of london can lend the venue still appeals to females, lottery winners and the middle class.

Overall the checkerboard tiling on the floor, warm wooden finishings and the variety behind the bar present a face in favour of a good pub but the place does get rather crowded of an evening and is a champion for a lunch beer so long as youa re not looking for a beer garden. However a little expensive- cashing in on its celebrity name at £3.50 a pint - 6/10

Pitcher and Piano (Holborn - London)

Pitcher and Piano

Pitcher and Piano's is located one block from the station in Holborn and seems to be just another large office entrance until you notice the badly place tables and chrome chairs scattered outside. A closer peer reveals the thin entrance which reveals a short bar to the right and a few tables assorted throughout the rest of the esablishment. Towards the back left corner are stairs up to a rather subtle galley overlooking the rest of the bar and a small windowless room at the back. It does get quite busy but not rammed at lunchtime.

Overall its not really big enough to accomodate a crowd or too comfortable for a lunch just a quick drinka dn a short chat is all and certainly not a consideration on any night out. Overall a rather unimpressive 5/10

Turquoise Bar and Restaurant (Holborn - London)

Turquoise Bar and Restaurant

A rather posh looking restaurant and bar on this quite side road in Holborn. Outside is light wooden frames holding in place a slightly hazed glass watching upon odd customer poised to enjoy rich turkish suppers. Entering one finds the bar area directly opposite the door. To be honest it is much more a restaurant than a bar and although the food i very good the bar and food service is rather slow. The place feels much like a glorified kebab shop although perhaps the tiny baked leather stools at the bar positioned in front of a massive wide screen TV suggest it is more than that. The selection of drinks at the bar is quite poor and unless its a simple whisky and coke one should not ask for much more.

Overall the bar area is a poor waiting area let alone a place to enjoy a drink in. I would far prefer a good drink in one of the excellent establishments along the same strip of road over the restaurant's feeble attempt to generate a quality bar area - 3/10. A shame because the food is pretty good.

The Square Pig (Holborn - London)

The Square Pig

This bar is tucked bside one of the smaller squares in the back of Holborn yet enjoys the polluted air of passing traffic and the bustle of the workers int he surrounding blocks at lunchtime. Outside there is soem seating on some of the most rickety chairs you can imagine but within the atmosphere is upbeat-communial and bright with a friendly team behind the bar. There is a good selection of Rum and Whisky but a Jug of Pimms will set you back £15. Cider is only available by the bottle and this place definitely needs more chairs - thankfully it doesnt get so crowded that you are falling over.

Overall its a nice atmosphere but a little on the expensive and uncomfortable side in terms of seating and relaxing but good for a pint at lunch - 6/10.

The Perseverance (Holborn - London)

The Perseverance

Down a rather nice quiet street of Holborn sits this small local pub with a more wine bar feel with its varnished floors and maroon walls. Entering you almost stumble over the bar which sits side on directly in front of you and then standing to face it you can gladly discover no cider on tap, very poor variety behind the bar and a desperate selection of cheap wines all marked up over the average RRP. There are a few cramped tables out the front which is where most of the crowds congregate. The owners are nice enough but slow to serve the punters who themselves are "ive-never-been-in-a-pub-before" types. "Do they bring the beverage to the table?", "How do I pay?" and in one fowl swoop a queue forms which as luck would have it lands you on the doorstep of the lamb - a far better pub in all its standing.

Overall this pub is in a nice quiet spot despite being in the heart of town but the longer I mill around the worse it feels, even hobbits would have trouble using these tiny toilets - 3/10

The Cittie of Yorke (Chancery lane - London)

The Cittie of Yorke

This super old time pub is utterly amazing. From the front it looks like the entrance to an old court building and looks like another nook in the meaty shoulders of high holborn. In fact the Cittie of York is revealed as you walk down the open passageway of the entrance through the wooden archways and dim lighting. There is a room to the left, a cellar bar downstairs and a large barn-like brewery hall at the back. There are large disused beer vats along the walls and the place is served by an independent brewery so everything from the Cola to the Cider is of a private brand. Drinks are £2.50 a pint and food is served from a canteen at the front at £5.50 a meal. The seating is divided between echoic booths with medieval furnishings and some tables out in the open of the bar.

The place is excellent value for money, very well themed and a pillar of the London drinking community also it doesn't tend to get too overcrowded because of the lack of brand-names at the bar - 8/10.

Slug & Lettuce (Fleet Street)

Slug & Lettuce

This bar location was once used as a Hog's Head and the transformation to a Slug and Lettuce has been a good one. This particular bar is a rather posh version of this typical chain but with waited tables newly painted white walls thorughout and a very clean interior which appears to be a world away from many others like it. The place has quite a few mid-week office workers in expensive suits and the blue lighting behind the bottled bar adds a nice glow to correspond with the light streaming in over the tables that sit by them overlooking the lower street outside. However this Slug and Lettuce has a few unfriendly bar staff but nice waitresses serving all the tables and at £3 each, these might be the cheapest cocktails in the surrounding streets.

The place does seem loud yet it is not overcrowded but then the place isnt huge and wouldnt be able to accomodate a crowd, overall 5/10.

The Old Bank of England (Fleet Street - London)

The Old Bank of England

Large building on Fleet street with large flaming torches outside. Large gates and steps inside with a clocktower hanging overhead, another of the great banks-turned pubs in the centre of this wonderful city! Inside the decor is incredible- the detail on the walls, ceiling and entrance is almost spooky and heavy set curtains hang beside large windows up high. There is a set of stairs upward on the left which go to a small galley on the first floor and on the ground floor the bar is the centrepiece taking up much of the available room- the rest of which is occupied with small tables and chairs of which the maximum capacity is a group of 4. The walls are all lined with small classical pieces of art and the clientell remain smart but casual.

Overall this is an excellent building but i feel the large, tall, gothic bar takes up too much room and although it doesnt get too overcrowded at lunchtime and serves food it still needs a little more space to really enjoy the bank as it was once meant to be enjoyed, 7/10 for eye candy to look upon and slipping a little on practicality and high prices.

Dolphin Tavern (Holborn - London)

Dolphin Tavern

Just off Red lion street sits the Dolphin Tavern, a green painted small pub tucked in a corner beside a cobbled street, an old florist and a Cafe. It seems like a very well established, old pillar of the traditional community of what at one time would have been Gray's Inn. The door reached just into the street and once inside is found to be a very small room with traditonal bar facing the door and a couple of smaller booths. The place is full with a dripping of clientell.

Despite the small size there is no-where to sit and punters simply gaze outside at the Enterprise opposite through the rounded glass window panes, clearly this is the over-flow pub and it's not a very good one either- 3/10.

The Blue Anchor (Chancery Lane - London)

The Blue Anchor

Summarising this pub is not hard: Very quiet outside, colourful inside, okay so maybe I can say a bit more about this veritable icon of history in the plume of London's darkest alleyways. The pub is on two floors, it has a warm friendly atmosphere, its not overcrowded at lunchtime and theres light rock music echoing through the background. There is reserved seating and eating downstairs with another bar. Upstairs there are a few tables and very small standing space. Throughout there scne is set for a few nice drinks with polished floor boards and stained glass windows. Attentive service is given by the staff offering wine at £4 a glass and pints are £3. Apparently the place has history with the story of jack the ripper and from the looks of it the street outside was preserved as such. Nice wooden panelling follows your eye up the stairs and back outside a couple of tables are availabel for the nicer weather. Its quite relaxing but a bit cramped. Quiz machine available.

Good for a few at lunch and a fiddle on the quizzer but otherwise its a bit expensive and not the sort of place you could actually eat your lunch in with much elbow room overall 5/10

Anexo Bar (Farringdon - London)

Anexo Bar

Anexo bar is a small comfortable live music venue that serves food with a bar-yearning-to-be-club atmosphere on two floors. Its not a crowded place and can easily be navigated in a few moments. Strangely early on a friday night is a good time to come on down and bathe in the wonderful colours and unseedy neon lights. The clients are young first-time earners but to get away from their harmless bitching about workmates head upstairs where the room stays small but is big enough good for a snack. In fact this author is not recommending any of the place for a fuill blown meal or really an all nighter but nice for a few quiet drinks; in what appears to be a trendy spot.

Happy hour is from 5-7pm on a Friday night and its a nice-not-scary shed to bring your out-of-town mates to see the big city in a little way. Overall 7/10

The Horseshoe (Farringdon - London)

The Horseshoe

The Horseshoe is a pub situated in a very quiet part of Farringdon. From outside you have you really squint from afar to see there is indeed a pub tucked away here. Inside it is larger than it looks in this hidden cove of a place. The bar serves up a good ale on tap and the make-up of the crowd is local people enjoying each others company to the tune of up-beat dance music which doesn't bust any ears drums for noise level. Its not over-crowded making it a good place to have a conversation. Cider tap was out but at least the ale quenched my thirst. Its ten quid for a round of 3 pints and a gin and Tonic and really the place is nothing spectacular but if the company is good it does the job. Not sure I could spend a full night in here, its a world away but that might be the problem. Navigating back to where all the action is means plodding through some very quiet back roads of Farringdon.

I would say go here if you feel like getting out the city for a local ale of an evening without leaving the comfort of the centre of town. 5/10.

Knights Templar (Chauncery lane - London)

Knights Templar (wetherspoons)

You hear rumours on the wind of a themed wetherspoons with a monty-python and the quest for the holy grail type atmosphere and heading up the glorious steps into what seems like it muyst be a palace surrounded by the steep university buildings of london and you face becomes horrfied as you peert through the glass int he front doors. Yes inside it is a large pre-victorian hall with magnificent black pillars supporting the ceiling stretching right back and then becoming a staircase up to the next level. Yet it is an appauling display of young men strewn with work suits and cheap beers filling all walkable ways, seat,s tables, aisles, doorways and bar room. Literally waiting here all lunchtime will leave you sour of expression and thirsty.

The knights templar is an overcrowded monster of a wetherspoons whcih trashes the beauty of this building and although its popularlity must stem from some source of goodness only the bad is visible to the eager drinker from afar, a disappointing 3/10.

The Melton Mowbray(Chancery Lane - London)

The Melton Mowbray

This woody, old style pub has great positioning by the tube and despite its rather ancient sounding name it is rather up to date inside. Inside is a rich dark green decor, and corresponding rich browns which make the pub feel very lordish and proper, and with tradtional pies and no cocktails sold here, yuou had better believe it! The place benfits from various alcoves and small tables with middle aged men populating them and almost gothic interior leading upstairs at the back with a few more tables. The bar is occupied by fast friendly female bar staff who shoot me over a fine scrumpy cider on tap seated proudly next to traditional ales and with no music one can certainly see the appeal of a quiet at lunchtime over a more tradtional beverage.

Overall an excellent daytime pub to stop for something more traditional but later on it tends to get overcrowded but thankfully never overheated since the front doors open up in summer removing the front from the pub inviting its guests in for ales or the weekly quiz nights on a monday. Not my kind of place to be fair but a good establishment all the same 6/10.

The Lamb (Russell Square - London)

The Lamb

Some certain websites have reviewed this pub as the best in London and I was taken here to see just if it fitted the bill. The public house itself is situated in a quiet part of Bloomsbury in London. Inside there is a bar in the certre of a small old victorian style room with alcoves off of it into an eating area, upstairs and toilets. The at first glance looks like a bank tellers at the sides with walls of glasses, windows and an opening at the front to serve from. The surrounding tables are wrought-iron weighted with a high brass rim on the surface - for whatever reason I remain unsure. In the day it is a very quiet pub but gets more up beat later on, there is egenrally an over 40's crowd. The place serves traditional homemade food at about £7.00 for a main for lunch. The seating mainly consists of the sort of high back green chairs you find in the house of commons. Another bar is featured upstairs and throughout there are dark wooden panels, pillars above the bar in gold leaf and frosted glass at the front windows for privacy. Noteably there is a wide selection of specialist ales and a nice Chilian Merlot available with the food.

Overall a very smart pub in a nice quiet location, upmarket and exclusive in its way but with homecooking and comfortable seating. Some parts of the place although adding to authenticity pull it down a little but it is without doubt one of the best examples of a pub in england- 8/10

Dean's Brasserie (Holborn - London)

Dean's Brasserie

This rather interesting venue on Southampton road serves as the bar for a small Hotel next door and is accessible straight off the street as a cafe/bar type room. I can feel the hamstrings of Ikea as I enter, the eery bright light of a show-home to take this reviewers eye off the bar that looks like it has been stocked from a cheap off-license. However the thing is noteably well stocked and at five pounds for alarge bottle of beer, £3 for a pint you can be sure you are paying for the decor rather than the drink or atmosphere. Despite being very clearly busy the punters are not even sure the bar is open since childrne are milling around the feet of the bar-woman and in a slight shock turn away to face a monster crowd of badly dressed tourists just beginning their night out behind me.

Overall a horrible place for a drink although relatively cheap for the area, the decor is nasty and for a £90 a night hotel i expected more than a floodlit, waxed, wooden armoury of all-night trucker meals and bar-women that think a "cider" contains a cocktail umbrella and a curly straw- 2/10.

Shakespeares Head (Holborn - London)

Shakespeares Head (wetherspoons)

From outside on the bustling street the shakespeare's head looks like something of a jewel in a bucket of sand, that is from the outside until you experience it within. Once through the old fashioned hotel-front off the london street; the place opens up like a badly designed aeroplane hanger, bustling with the cheapest forms of human life, badly dressed interns, withering office workers and although rather enormous, not a chair in sight. It is the traditional Wetherspoon's layout - cheap bar with cheap drinks but the service is pretty slow and half the bottles in the optics behind the bar are empty. The place really has very little character and is the sort of place you would come to when your wporld is falling apart and you can only afford a £1.20 pint in the centre of london.

Overall pretty unbeatable location but its a rat in the body of an olympic female wrestler - 3/10.

Penderel Oak (Holborn - London)

Penderel Oak (Wetherspoons)

As luck would have it there is a Wetherspoons situated underneath a certain office block of much reported fame. Okay private comments aside this place is a well situated, well laid out pub with a platform sitting at the front of the venue leading back to a bar on the left and seating in alcoves and at high tables dotted around the rest of the pub. The drinks are cheap as you well might be used to in this chain and one could not be happier that the breakfast follows suite. The staff are firnedly and fast but the place gets a bit overcrowded at peak times. Downstairs there is a Wetherspoons anomaly consiting of a large pinkly lit bar with a lot of different decor, music and lots of places to sit but again the packing out means there is often not a place to sit and eating under pink lights in pretty unnerving in any case.

Overall the place is in a convieniant location for well priced drinks but needs to stop serving food downstairs and open earlier for breakfast ;-)  other than that a proud memeber of the chain with 7/10.

[last visit: Jan '07]

Gray's Inn Wine Bar (Holborn - London)

Gray's Inn Wine Bar

Utterly hidden in the back of holborn in a quiet side road sitting barely a shadow away from Grays Inn road is the "Grays inn wine bar" a small wooden shack of a bar that looks like it has not changed since it was opened in the 60's. The front is a glass wall of panes that have been well peered into since it looks very empty indeed before a lunch hour. And that would be because we found it to be empty and entered onto a long wooden floor with long tables eitherside a main passageway with a rounded bar and kitchen at the end. The place packed it relatively quickly and it is clearly more for the lover of a good meal in the back streets than a pale ale in the hippest part of the city. Bottles of wine vary from about £12 upward and the atmosphere is posher and more adult that most surrounding bars but maintains true character with the surrey-born landlord struitting his stuff up and down this establishment ensuring you are enjoying yourself.

Overall its small, friendly and gives a sense of warmth and community that doesn't show it head in many places anymore, very good for lunch. I doubt i'd venture for dinner or real drinks: 5/10.

[last visit: Dec '07]

The Seven Stars (Holborn - London)

The Seven Stars

A small fragile wooden abode set on a high street parallell to high holborn sports is otherwise known as the Seven Stars. the first impression is its age and tiny features such as narrow staircase, lift for the bar and compact 17th century stove. The place offers a wide room the length of the bar with two offshoots running either side of the bar. The place serves fairly nice food but completely overpriced at about £9 a main or £8 for soup with no menus on the tables. The tables being small rickety wooden shelves hoisted above the floor. The staff are varied with the bar women being grouchy and unhelpful while the landlady is eccentric and entertaining.

its difficult to know what kind of impression to take away from this place. It is clearly old, and has full character (just ask the black cat parading around the pub) but is not the social accolade of anyone under the age of 30 even if the ales and ciders are of premium quality. Overall a see-saw decision on 5/10.

The Lounge Bar (Holborn - London)

The Lounge Bar

A rather top notch upper-middle class establishment set on high holborn- inside it is small but spacious with polished floors comfortable tables and plenty of three seater sofas. Drinks cost around £3 a pint and there is an upper level for more private dinners, drinks and a large flat screen plasma TV for those top sporting fans. Its perfect for a queit drink in lush surroundings in the day with some excellently placed decor and a relaxing atmosphere.

Overall the place was very practical both for socialising and for business and is probably the best place on high holborn for just such gatherings. I should image it gets over-populated after work but it is the perfect accompanyment to a quality evening on the town so 7/10.

The One Tun (Farringdon - London)

The One Tun

A hidden pub of might, magic and glory!! All hail the one tun for its majestic entrance, sweeping interior, fine carpeted floors, friendly punters and greasy Thai food served in cafe format from a school-cafe setup at the back! Careful not to sit too close to the door as it gets draughty in the winter!! Not the most superb place to drink but it is not at all the old man pub it may appear from the outside. the bar staff are not very friendly and the Thai food isn't excellent quality (but its good value at £5 a main). No real cider to see except for a pint of scrumpy and other than that not the most exotic selection on tap.

This place appears to have a strong heritage but I would guess it wasn't serving Thai food some 200 years ago- which is the appeal of this place for me- plus it in a good location. Overall I'd say it was an above average 6/10. The drinks could have been cheaper and the staff could have afforded a smile.

Bar Polski (Holborn - London)

Bar Polski

This has not been the best decorated bar by a long shot and gets very busy very early in the evening. It is a bar hidden behind holborn station in an alley opposite the ship tavern and is a pciture of wide glass front with shallow interior, high bar stools at even higher tables seating parties of 2 or 3 at a time. In fact it is a very small bar with the actual bar just inside the door on the right. From outside an during the day it looks like a badly stocked cafe but once at the bar you find a host of polish staff- very fast in service with a huge array of polish alcohols- a selection of enormity from the draughts and ales, lagers and wines to the spirits- all are polish- for the british punter there is a tap with a few select traditional british beers.

The place is excellent for that taste of the continent and has recently changed its name, i would expect it to become eeven busier in the future but its a great place to get anything polish and heartily different. Perhaps good for that informal business meeting as well- if only it were a little bigger and better decorated- overall 5/10.

The Ship Tavern (Holborn - London)

The Ship Tavern

A busy male-dominated pub set just behind holborn station packed into a cobbled street and rather small. The place is decorated for Christmas even in the middle of november which would suggest the staff have little else to do yet it look all of twenty minutes to be served in here though the place was only moderately busy one friday evening. The variety of drinks was rather standard, nothing special what-so-ever and there were not enough seats at all- in fact looking around there were no women in the pub at all.

Overall I would really have to say it is a waste of time- even for the male ale lover this is in too busy a location for any merit and there are far better tradtional pubs in walking distance. Still, no actual bad points so to speak of so a slightly-below-average 4/10.

Beduin Bar (Farringdon - London)

Beduin Bar

Can you say "Coool" with your hands behind your back and a hamster on your head? Well you wont have to, the first impression of this place will give you all the feeling of "Coool" you're ever going to need. A quality streamline establishment set against the background of middle east flavours. Yes there is shisha available on the top floor, the middle floor houses a few comfortable seats and a bar with the same in the basement. Undoubtedly this venue had some of the best stocked bar i've ever seen and the deep bass light dance-with-african-influence music courses through the veins. The decor is by no means subtle, maroon walls and large silver plates as tables, hanging fabrics from the ceiling and symbolic egyptian icons in walkway, at bar and even in the toilets which sprays starry lighting from above. The bar is also rather dark and givews a mysterious vibe with soft christmas style lights to lightly illuminate the corners. The only set back of the place is price, there is no happy hour and cocktails start at £7 each with bottles at £3 a piece. the place packs quickly so its best to get here after work at say 6pm for the nicest sleakest experience, after that it jams too quickly and it can be hard to get served.

Overall a stunning venue if a little small for any kind of a party unless you hired the whole place, shisha and cocktails are crazy-good if they cut the price and the crowd it would be perfect, 7/10.

The Old Nick (Holborn - London)

The Old Nick

Set back behind Holborn's main road is this seemingly quiet tavern, it is a medium sized pub with a circular bar with wooden floors and small tables. The bar has a good selection of wines but the main reason epople come here is for the food which is a little on the expensive side. The menu itself is not even that varied. the pub itself is bright with old fashioned wrought iron light fixtures. In all honesty it is a nice establishemnt to come to for a quiet lunchtime drink set back from the bustle of london. At the back its darker and more cosy. Theres nothing special about the bar staff either and the place is not overcrowded.

Overall its a bog standrad average pub witha  little character and with an orange juice at £1.30 its about a 5/10.

The Enterprise (Holborn - London)

The Enterprise

Naturally nothing whatsoever to do with Star Trek by any means this venue appeals to the sailor and the gentleman. A short trek from Holborn station one finds a clean hall-like pub with echotic spaciousness, bar with european staff and a strong atmosphere of up-market living and backless-stools. There are a number of assorted tables ranging in height and an old style leather couch with coffee table at the front of the pub. On tap one can find various beers including Staropramen but the range of ciders is disappointing. What I liked about this place was the classical music which paired amazingly well with the decor to bring about a feeling of upper class drinking and in all a fine establishment. Little to speak of was wrong, perhaps there could have been more variety on tap and more seating but the place has character and esteem.

Overall a deserving 6/10. A little on the expensive side but an air of grace that suits the kind of person that enjoys Vivaldi on a thursday lunchtime!

The Old Red Lion (Holborn - London)

The Old Red Lion

The old red lion stands majestic among pubs similar in type on the breast of high holborn. This classic local has a bar surrounded by standing floor space. Very few chairs and a bar upstairs as well, the variety available is limited but the atmosphere is friendly and with such a central location is never quiet. This particular venue proves to be as expensive as the other establishments in the area with perhaps a little more of character in the air but the sort of pub that helps keep a classic pub like feel to the area of holborn. Worth droppin in for one, yes it might be a little small but its perfectly respectable, a nice little watering hole for a quick round at lunchtime ;-)

Overall a satisfactory 5/10. I would like to see some chairs, a bigger pub in all aspects and perhaps the introduction of a theme but then, its a good little local and it should also remain as such.

Murphis Karaoke Bar (Farringdon - London)

Murphis Karaoke Bar (ex Zyrus)

This newly named Karaoke bar (was Zyrus Karaoke & Cocktail Lounge) had the good fortune to recieve our crowd for its opening night. The original attraction was the happy hour which claimed to run until 9pm and finished promptly at 8pm in the end and the deal turned out to only be £2 a bottle of beer and that was all. Anyhow, the place was not easy to find it looked like an unwelcoming up market cafe jammed on the farringdon main road. Once inside it felt like a small bar with a high ceiling and neon lights. After standing for ten minutes, clueless how this bar could pull in the punter we realise that the steps leading down to what was signposted "toilets" actaully led into a luxious jazz lounge flourishing with dark blue lighting and corner tables. When the place finally gets going it gets busy (but not rammed) and with the price of vodka and mixer evening out at around £2.50 it becomes clear why this is considered a fun evening out. Before I know it I'm arm in arm with world class kylie fans who cant get a note out for the beams on their faces.

Overall a very cheesy but characteristic place which offered us a free buffet on their opening night and made all guests feel warmly welcomed. Perhaps the only downside was the cheap karoke system which, although running different music up and downstairs was the pits to look at- with old railway scenes and images of the ocean while singing to Garth brooks *shudders* ,still it gets 7/10

The Crown Tavern (Farringdon - London)

The Crown Tavern

A nice quiet pub set in the classic setting of London's Farringdon. It seems best for one or two during the day and has quite reasonable prices at about £3 for a glass of wine. The toilets were nice and clean (for a change) and the atmosphere also makes it a suitor for after-work drinkers laden with starched suits, briefcases and business-natter. Not a bad word to say and so overall a pretty nice experience.

7/10

Authored by Sam J

Nama Bar (Holborn - London)

Nama Bar & Restaurant

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10/06/2007 - This bar has changed its name

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An up market bar just off of the high street that stretched between tottenham court road/oxford street into holborn. This place is definitely the place to bring young affluent individuals who have the style qand grace of interiro decorators that like drum and bass. This bar serves cocktails at about £6.50 each and serves thai food in a restaurnat area at the back. The lighting and decor is of a thai-asian fusion origin with red neon lighting and a Dj spilling out electronica and chillout breakbeat tunes. The bar staff were not particularly friendly but the atmosphere of the place rounded itself off as a nice little gem to bring a date for a quiet yet cool drink even late into the evening at the weekend.

Overall a little expensive for a night out on the town but for the right company this lookms to be no lower than a 7/10, cut down only because the bar area is rather small.

The Crown (Holborn - London)

The Crown

A squaler of a shadow of the most alternative pub in holborn and probably also the smallest. This tiny corner pub boasts beer at £3 a pint and no room whatsoever to sit or stand. With about three tables and fifty people this place gets crowded quickly. Sure the music is great, very rocky but should you require the toilet you will find yourself in a room with a sink on a tree trunk and see-through doors to the cubicles. Wandering back downstairs i notice that the place is decorated like a badly lit 1840's lounge with massive windows onto the street, and with that i exit this place.

Overall a horrible 2/10. No music on earth could keep me in that hole.

The Old Crown (Holborn - London)

The Crown

An independent brewery owns this pub, in fact the same company that owns and runs the cardinal in victoria. The place is a fairly standard old english style pub with lots of space for seating but very few punters inside- probably due to the fact that on a high street on a weekend evening in london you aren't going to get the best clientell in when you are surrounded by cheap bars. This place is friendly if a little expensive giving us a round of tequilas at £2 a shot but, as with the cardinal, don't expect any brand names, even the coke is unbranded, but be assured no watering down of these dodgy looking brands occurs, or so the bar staff inform me.

Overall a 5/10. Much higher if you are a pub lover in search of the 'spirit' of old england.

Bierodrome (Holborn - London)

Bierodrome
If you like schnapz by the rack of 32 shots and beer by the strawberry flavour load then this addition to the Bierodrome family will give you a good night out. The crowd this one pulls is an London urban student one, the drinks are a bit pricey at £4 a pint but well worth it for the taste. The toilets are very disappointing though for such a classy establishment, having to walk through barrel storage to get there.

Overall a 7/10 . Very good night out though I'm not sure if i'd be up for such an expensive one in future.

The George (Holborn - London)

The George (A Royal Court Bar)