Thursday 3 April 2008

Hole In The Wall, Waterloo

The Hole In The Wall
5 Mepham St.
London
SE1 8SQ

Phone: 0207 928 6196

 

 

Last night I met up with a friend in the Hole in the Wall pub next to London Waterloo station. It wasn't my first time there, nor will it be my last. I quite like the HITW. It is just obscure enough to never be overly full. If there aren't any seats, there is usually ample standing room for you not to get jostled too much.

The pub is situated in an arch beneath what I believe to be the one of the main routes used by trains to enter Waterloo station. Every few minutes there is a rumbling throughout the pub which is not due to the food.

The food is very simple fare, chips, burgers, baguettes. This is never going to be a gastro pub, but it fills a gap.

The pub does have a rather large selection of beers on tap. There are five ale hand pumps, but I did not get to see. They also do Leffe Blonde on tap, which is one of my favourite beers. I was rather disappointed to see that they no longer serve Peetermans (of the Stella stables). It is a great tasting lager, which I try to drink whenever I can.  Other beers on tap include Hoegaarden, and Becks Vier, the latter of which I have never really been impressed with. Tastes like someone has watered down a normal Becks.

The staff are quite attentive. I was there during a football match night, and it never got deeper than three at the bar, which was during half time. Whenever I ordered, I barely had time to look around (hence missing what ales/bitters they served).

Overall, a good pub to go to for a nifty-swifty before your train, or for a full on meet up.

6 comments:

Stonch said...

In your photo, it looks like the bus is about to hit you!

I must admit I find the Hole in the Wall a bit too dingy.

I just noticed you aren't in my beer blogroll, so have added you.

Cheers

Unknown said...

Does anyone know who Charles Burke is? please

Shey said...

Sabby - A very curious request, but it piqued my curiosity. I am not sure in which context you wanted to know about Charles Burke, but since this is a beer/pub blog, I am assuming that you want to know about him from this angle.
According to sites found via Google, Charles Burke Cronin Oat was the Master of Mixology (1967-2007) at the Connecticut School of Bartending. He invented the Original Irish Car Bomb in 1979. Here is the recipe (serves 1 in a pint glass):
1/2 oz Bailey's® Irish cream
1/4 oz Kahlua® coffee liqueur
8 - 10 oz Guinness® stout
An article about the drink can be found on Drinks Mixer.

Hope this helps.

Anonymous said...

Charles Burke is a boss of this pub - hole in the wall. Why do U ask?:)

Anonymous said...

Apparently my paternal grandad Robert Smith was landlord of this pub in the 1940s. I would like to find out any information about him if anyone can help! It's probably not the right website to request such help but it's worth a shot!

BTSH said...

My 3x great grandfather was the original owner of this bar. Initially with a partner, his father-in-law, but eventually bought him out.